The Life Behind the Dance

The Life Behind the Dance

by | Sep 30, 2018

Anthony Powell: Dancing to the Music of Time by Hilary Spurling. Hamish Hamilton, 2017 (Knopf 2018). Hardcover, 509 pages, $29.70. Reviewed by James Baresel Over four decades ago the novelist Anthony Powell asked his friend Hilary Spurling if she was willing to be his...
The Last Years of Theodore Roosevelt

The Last Years of Theodore Roosevelt

by | Sep 16, 2018

TR’s Last War: Theodore Roosevelt, The Great War, and a Journey of Triumph and Tragedy by David Pietrusza. Lyons Press, 2018. Hardcover, 424 pages, $35. Reviewed by Carl Rollyson TR’s Last War is about an ex-president who believed he could not retire from history. Too...
He Knew the Reason We Fight

He Knew the Reason We Fight

by | Aug 19, 2018

Evolution of Desire: A Life of René Girard by Cynthia L. Haven. Michigan State University Press, 2018. Paperback, 346 pages, $30. Reviewed by Patrick Kurp In their 1941 short feature In the Sweet Pie and Pie, Larry, Curly, and Moe are ex-cons hoping to marry three...
The Neighborliness Not Taken

The Neighborliness Not Taken

by | Aug 19, 2018

Won’t You Be My Neighbor directed by Morgan Neville. Tremolo Productions, 2018. Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes. By Ryan Shinkel The neighborhood could have never been that friendly. There must have been scars or tattoos underneath all his sweaters, my fellow...
The Forgotten Farnese

The Forgotten Farnese

by | Jul 29, 2018

Alexander: La Extraordinaria Historia de Alejandro Farnesio by Luis de Carlos Bertrán. Barcelona: Editorial Crítica, 2018. Hardcover, 614 pages, $61. reviewed by Alberto M. Fernandez The Golden Age of Spain was safeguarded by men of iron. Some, like the third Duke of...