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Open Letters Review

Open Letters Review

An Arts & Literature Review

Open Letters Review

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January 31, 2019

Four Novels of the 1930s by John O’Hara

January 31, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Four Novels of the 1930s by John O’Hara

These novels gave form to the unreachable dreams of glory that would motivate and torment O’Hara for the rest of his professional career.

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January 31, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Literary Criticism
Four Novels of the 1930's, John O'Hara, Library of America, anthology, literary fiction, Penguin Random House
January 30, 2019

Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely by Andrew S. Curran

January 30, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely by Andrew S. Curran

Curran’s book is a brilliant, sparkling affair that courses over every major and minor incident in Diderot’s remarkable life.

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January 30, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Biography/Memoir, Philosophy
Andrew S. Curran, The Other Press, biography, philosophy, Steve Donoghue
January 26, 2019

The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

January 26, 2019/ Michael Feeney
The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden

The final entry in the Winternight trilogy, this novel blends both the political intrigue of the second novel and whimsical nature of the first.

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January 26, 2019/ Michael Feeney/
Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Katherine Arden, Winternight Trilogy, fantasy, Michael Feeney, Del Ray Books, Penguin Random House
January 24, 2019

The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark

January 24, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Last Whalers by Doug Bock Clark

The story of the world’s last remaining subsistence whalers.

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January 24, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Science/Technology, Animals & Nature
Doug Bock Clark, environmental science, social science, anthropology, Little Brown and Company, Steve Donoghue
January 23, 2019

Hark by Sam Lipsyte

January 23, 2019/ Tom LeClair
Hark by Sam Lipsyte

Perceptive and revealing social satire about the Americans who helped elect Trump.

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January 23, 2019/ Tom LeClair/
Literary Fiction, Politics & Economics
Hark, Sam Lipsyte, Simon & Schuster, Tom LeClair, social satire, contemporary fiction, political fiction
January 22, 2019

Eva Salomon's War by Gabriella Goliger

January 22, 2019/ Akumbu Uche
Eva Salomon's War by Gabriella Goliger

The author effectively captures the historical and moral ambiguities of Mandate Palestine.

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January 22, 2019/ Akumbu Uche/
Historical Fiction
Eva Salomon's War, Gabriella Goliger, Bink Books, Bedazzled Ink, historical fiction, Jewish fiction, A. E. Smith
January 19, 2019

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream by Jay Rubenstein

January 19, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream by Jay Rubenstein

This book deals with the Crusades in general and the First Crusade in specific, and is at least as much about myth as history.

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January 19, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Jay Rubinstein, Oxford University Press, The Crusades, Biblical legends, Christianity, medieval history, Renaissance, ancient warfare, Steve Donoghue, History
January 17, 2019

Up with the Angels

January 17, 2019/ Steve Danziger
Up with the Angels

Recent books about avant-garde film critic Jonas Mekas.

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January 17, 2019/ Steve Danziger/
Film & Theatre; Adaptations
Jonas Mekas, Columbia University Press, Spector Books, filmmaking, Films, movies, film criticism, entertainment, Steve Danziger, History
January 16, 2019

The End of Ice by Dahr Jamail

January 16, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The End of Ice by Dahr Jamail

Jamail’s journalistic skills allow him to evoke details with a succinct power that many other accounts might lack.

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January 16, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Science/Technology
Dahr Jamail, The New Press, climate change, environmental movement, environmental science
January 15, 2019

It’s a Mystery:  “We all have public lives, and private lives, and secret lives”

January 15, 2019/ Irma Heldman
It’s a Mystery:  “We all have public lives, and private lives, and secret lives”

A giddy, heart-stopping read with distinctive, vibrant characters coming at you full throttle.

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January 15, 2019/ Irma Heldman/
Fiction-Mystery/Suspense
Stephen Mack Jones, Soho Crime, Irma Heldman, It's a Mystery, crime fiction, mystery fiction
January 14, 2019

White Stag by Kara Barbieri

January 14, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
White Stag by Kara Barbieri

White Stag is thrilling and sharply complex throughout, exactly the kind of fiction debut that makes a reader eager for more.

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January 14, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Horror, Fiction-Young Adult
Kara Barbieri, Wednesday Books, Wattpad, St. Martin's Press, science fiction, fantasy, horror, Young Adult Fiction, Steve Donoghue
January 12, 2019

The Misinformation Age by Cailin O’Connor & James Owen Weatherall

January 12, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Misinformation Age by Cailin O’Connor & James Owen Weatherall

For a book of 200 pages, The Misinformation Age covers a great deal of territory.

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January 12, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Politics & Economics, Society & Culture
Cailin O'Connor, James Owen Weatherall, Yale University Press, Sean Spicer, journalism, American culture, American government, media, Donald Trump, Steve Donoghue
January 11, 2019

Through Fiery Trials by David Weber

January 11, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Through Fiery Trials by David Weber

This is a continuation of the Safehold series by an author to stick with, a modern-day version of Golden Age SF.

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January 11, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Through Fiery Trials, David Weber, Tor Books, Safehold series, military fiction, science fiction, MacMillan Publishers, Steve Donoghue
January 10, 2019

Queen of the World by Robert Hardman

January 10, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
Queen of the World by Robert Hardman

Queen Elizabeth II has met more people, smiled into more eyes, and shaken more hands than any other human being on Earth.

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January 10, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History
Queen of the World, Robert Hardman, Queen Elizabeth, English Monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II, Steve Donoghue
January 09, 2019

The Persecution of the Knights Templar by Alain Demurger

January 09, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Persecution of the Knights Templar by Alain Demurger

A deeply researched account of the relentless persecution of the Knights Templar.

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January 09, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
History, Nonfiction Translations
Alain Demurger, The Crusades, Pegasus Books, Profile Books, Steve Donoghue, translations
January 08, 2019

The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake

January 08, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Duke I Once Knew by Olivia Drake

The Duke I Once Knew grows much stronger as it goes along and gains momentum, and its conclusion will put a smile on every reader’s face.

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January 08, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Romance
Olivia Drake, Regency Romance, writers, Steve Donoghue
January 07, 2019

In a House of Lies by Ian Rankin

January 07, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
In a House of Lies by Ian Rankin

John Rebus retired a few books ago, but he has a way of turning up.

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January 07, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Fiction-Crime & Thrillers
Ian Rankin, police procedural, detective fiction, Little Brown and Company, Steve Donoghue
January 04, 2019

The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King by Jerome Charyn

January 04, 2019/ Steve Donoghue
The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King by Jerome Charyn

This historical novel portrays Roosevelt as a crime fighter and features his mountain lion Josephine.

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January 04, 2019/ Steve Donoghue/
Historical Fiction
Jerome Charyn, Liveright, WW Norton, Theodore Roosevelt, historical fiction, Steve Donoghue
December 27, 2018

Civil War Barons by Jeffrey D. Wert

December 27, 2018/ Kip Wedel
Civil War Barons by Jeffrey D. Wert

A brisk gallivant through nineteen biographies of men who made fortunes in the business of war.

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December 27, 2018/ Kip Wedel/
History
Civil War Barons, Jeffrey D. Wert, Da Capo, Civil War, American History, Kip Wedel, History
December 26, 2018

The Gown by Jennifer Robson

December 26, 2018/ Steve Donoghue
The Gown by Jennifer Robson

A historical novel about Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown, and the women who made it.

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December 26, 2018/ Steve Donoghue/
Historical Fiction
Jennifer Robson, William Morrow, Harper Collins, British Royal Family, British aristocracy, Queen Elizabeth, historical fiction, English Monarchy, English history, Steve Donoghue
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Editors:

Steve Donoghue
Sam Sacks
Britta Böhler
____________________

Eric Karl Anderson
Olive Fellows
Jack Hanson
Jennifer Helinek
Justin Hickey
Hannah Joyner
Zach Rabiroff
Jessica Tvordi

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