About Book Marks
Recent Reviews
Reid Forgrave
Positive The Star Tribune At intervals throughout his well-written narrative, Forgrave removes his intense focus on Zac to provide character sketches that offer divergent perspectives about football ... In the future, families will be confronting whether their children should participate in football — and, if yes, at what age the participation should commence. When Zac began playing in third grade, knowledge about the short-term and long-term impacts of concussions could fairly be termed as \'limited.\' That is no longer the case.
Bryan Stevenson
Positive The Star Tribune Because Stevenson\'s reform efforts within the criminal justice system are so diverse, his memoir jumps around from chapter to chapter, somewhat compromising effective narrative ... Stevenson\'s book moved me because of his obviously brilliant mind, his bottomless compassion for the underdog and his successful championing of justice on so many fronts.
Kevin Boyle
Rave Houston Chronicle \"Using one dramatic case to illuminate the bigger picture, Boyle has written a book that ought to become a standard text and might just become a classic of historical literature ... Boyle... is masterful at placing every nuance of the Sweet case within a larger context, not only in Detroit but nationally.
Patricia O'Toole
Rave The Star Tribune Many biographies of important individuals can feel like a slog to read (including perhaps the biographies I have written). Writing as dynamic as O’Toole’s makes every one of her books a pleasure to read, no matter the number of pages. The most important value of O’Toole’s new book is its sharp-edged treatment of Wilson — severely critical of his character and policies when appropriate, praising his idealism and persistence when appropriate. Most previous biographies of Wilson border on hagiography, or shrill negativity. Most previous Wilson biographers are intelligent individuals, but one of the most egregious shortcomings has been their misplaced reliance on Wilson aide and sometimes confidant Edward Mandell House. O’Toole explains how and why House can be an unreliable source ... After Wilson suffered a debilitating illness, he refused to accept his physical, emotional and cognitive limitations. Better than any previous biographer, O’Toole plumbs the depths of Wilson’s deception, interpreting the de facto presidency of spouse Edith Wilson as an immoral outrage.
Richard Powers
Rave The Seattle Times Powers' plots transcend straightforward description. His nailing of character, however, is precise ... Powers proves himself a first-rate stylist whose characters are never caricatures in service to abstract theory. In fact, many of this idea-driven novelist's characters are unforgettable, flesh-and-blood individuals as finely drawn as those of any contemporary fiction writer.
Mark Bowden
Rave The Philadelphia Inquirer For readers who enjoy learning about battle tactics and bloody encounters, Bowden delivers, as he did in Black Hawk Down. The book offers so much more than that, however. For readers who care little about military strategy or precisely how each combatant died, Bowden offers copious context about why it matters what occurred in Vietnam at the beginning of 1968 - why it mattered so much then, and why it matters so much in 2017 ... Bowden is masterful in introducing characters whose names have often never appeared in the news but whose actions help explain the complications for the United States of becoming involved in faraway wars involving nearly invisible enemies.
Amy Goldstein
Positive The Minneapolis Star Tribune Goldstein portrays the ups and downs of Ryan in Janesville and Washington with great acuity ... The stars of the book are the less famous folks. When authors try to juggle so many major characters in one book, the narrative drive often suffers, and the characters never come to life. Goldstein avoids those pitfalls, and the mostly chronological saga never loses its zip. Along the way, she shatters a lot of conventional wisdom.
Ben Ehrenreich
Positive The Minneapolis Star Tribune By the time Ehrenreich started writing this heartfelt book, he had decided that Israeli political and military leaders were monsters, cruelly ordering Jewish troops and civil servants to harass, oppress and sometimes murder Palestinians day after day. Much of Ehrenreich’s conclusion is based on what he observed directly. The remainder derives from a copious amount of interviewing, as well as archival research and extensive reading of contemporary texts ... At times, Ehrenreich attempts to understand and explain the Israeli/Jewish perspective, but such passages in the book are rare. He did not intend to offer any sort of balance. Whether the intentional imbalance resulted in a necessary exposé or an emotional screed must be left with each reader ... Speaking only for myself, I am grateful to have absorbed Ehrenreich’s accounts.