Category: books

Book Review: ‘Einstein: The Man and His Mind’: Easy Introduction to an Extraordinary Mind

For centuries, Isaac Newton was the man when it came to our understanding of how the universe works. And then came Albert Einstein, who forever changed the dynamics of space, time, energy, and gravity. “Einstein: The Man and His Mind” is not a scholarly, theoretical tome. It is not an in-depth biography of this man…


Book Review: ‘The Economy of Promises: Trust, Power, and Credit in America’

Bruce G. Carruthers, the John D. MacArthur professor of sociology at Northwestern University, has written a new book entitled “The Economy of Promises: Trust, Power, and Credit in America.” In his book, Carruthers thoroughly presents the history of America’s credit economy, going back to the beginning of the republic to modern times. This will indeed…


Book Review: ‘Prisoners of the Castle: An Epic Story of Survival and Escape from Colditz, the Nazis’ Fortress Prison’

This past spring, I watched the movie “Operation Mincemeat.” It was based on Ben Macintyre’s book on the British Operation Mincemeat during World War II. There’s plenty of intrigue, clashing personalities, and drama, but the entire scenario—while embellished for film audiences—is true. Macintyre, as an author and a historian, has a deft knack for bringing…


Book Review: Father Alexander Krylov’s ‘How I Became a Man’

When Alexander Krylov was in elementary school, he and his classmates toured the Museum of the Revolution in Moscow. “The female museum guide told us that Communists are genuine heroes,” he recollected years later. She said that “we no longer need to invent gods for ourselves; we divinize the proletarians next door.” The guide went…


Epoch Booklist: Recommended Reading for Nov. 18–24

This week, we feature a Pulitzer-winning novel unveiling the insanity of North Korea and a grim exploration of the covert spread of CCP espionage. Fiction Love and Insanity in North Korea ‘The Orphan Master’s Son’ By Adam Johnson Basing his novel on his months of experience in North Korea and his knowledge of the Kim…


Book Recommender: The Heroic Story of a Ranger and the Battle That Defined WWII

Ronald Reagan made the 2nd Ranger Battalion famous with his 1984 “Boys of Pointe Du Hoc” speech. There, he extolled the exploits of the Rangers who scaled those heights on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Ever since, many believe that the Rangers started and ended their World War II efforts on that day in June. In…


Eric Hoffer: Champion of the Working Man

What makes a fanatic? To many today, this is less a question than an assumption. “They’re just crazy,” practical people are apt to say—particularly when observing the behaviors of their political enemies. However, 70 years ago, a German immigrant sought to explain fanaticism by analyzing the common characteristics of people prone to joining radical political…


Throwing Caution to the Wind: Louisa May Alcott’s Short Story ‘How They Ran Away’

Adventure can be very hard to resist. However, when we boldly rush into adventure without any consideration for what happens, we can fall prey to the deepest dangers. In her short story, “How They Ran Away” (1908), Louisa May Alcott follows two young boys, “cautious Billy” and “bold Tommy,” as they head out on a…


Book Recommender: “1776” by David McCullough Delves Into the Lesser-known Moments That Helped Define Our Nation

In some ways, the Colonies had endured a slow political boil since the Stamp Act of 1765. And with the 1774 Coercive Acts, there came the tipping point. Passions flared, and rebellion ignited. Thus, historian and Pulitzer Prize winning writer David McCullough begins “1776” with a January 14 quote by Gen. George Washington: “Few people…


More Books Removed From Public Libraries for Suspected Violation of Hong Kong National Security Law

On Oct. 5, Wen Wei Po, a local Hong Kong mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), named seven books in public libraries and accused them of smearing the CCP by “inciting soft confrontation.” The named books and a total of 17 books in the same series have been removed from the shelves. The books…