Book Review: Be Like the Fox
/A vivid new biography attempts to get at the true nature of the perennially-misunderstood Machiavelli
Read MoreBook Review: Jane Austen, The Secret Radical
/A hugely readable new book examines the progressive social thinker behind the most beloved novels of English literature.
Read MoreBook Review: Sting Like a Bee
/The greatest boxer of all time was once involved in a years-long battle ... with the US government. A hugely readable new book tells the story.
Read MoreBook Review: He's Got Rhythm
/The legendary hoofer and showman Gene Kelly gets a big, winning new biography
Read MoreNorman Lebrecht's Album of the Week - Impromptu
/Shai Wosner has released a fine recording of impromptus by various composers. But when you're done listening, where do you put it?
Read MoreBook Review: How the Zebra Got Its Stripes
/Popular YouTube sensation Léo Grasset imports his brand of easygoing biology lessons to the pages of a slim book.
Read MoreNormal Lebrecht's Album of the Week - Mahler's Third Symphony
/There is no wholly recommendable performance on record of Mahler’s third symphony. This performance, by Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, is uneven but worthwhile nonetheless.
Read MoreBook Review: Salt Houses
/A Palestinian family is driven from one place of exile to another in this memorable debut novel.
Read MoreBook Review: The End of Eddy
/The English-language translation of a French novella about the everyday trials and setbacks of growing up gay
Read MoreBook Review: The Dinner Party and Other Stories
/The latest volume from Joshua Ferris collects eleven of his punchy and evocative short stories.
Read MoreCollateral Damage
/Back in the halcyon days of the 1990s, writer Fabian Nicieza and artitst Rob Liefeld created "X-Force," perhaps the worst spin-off of Marvel's "X-Men" ever to see print. A new collection invites a trip down memory lane.
Read MoreThe Book Beneath the Noise
/Both a new TV adaptation and the alarmingly dystopian trend of current political news have brought new attention to Margaret Atwood's classic The Handmaid's Tale, but underneath the hype there's the book itself.
Read MorePoetry Everywhere
/a poem
Read MoreThe Face in the Locket
/Margaret Douglas was the niece of Henry VIII - and a tireless, lifelong schemer and rule-breaker. A definitive new biography portrays the life of the woman who was almost Queen Margaret
Read MoreOf Trowels and Temples
/Archaeology holds the key to 99% of the human past. But how many people really understand it? A new book by archaeologist Eric H. Cline attempts to shed some light on what's buried underground.
Read MoreIt’s a Mystery: “Where money speaks, conscience is silent”
/A down-on-his-luck lawyer in New York and a hangdog investigator in Scandinavia are the heroes in two atmospheric, action-packed new murder mysteries.
Read MoreNorman Lebrecht's Album of the Week - Lokshin's Clarinet quintet
/A composer uncompromising in his reckless independence, Alexander Lokshin is not always approachable. Consider this release an icebreaker.
Read MoreBook Review: Dogs of War
/Killer robot dogs playing fetch with weapons of mass destruction! Killer 'smart' machines the size of a grain of sand! And every last little thing weaponized! It's the latest Joe Ledger novel.
Read MoreNorman Lebrecht's Album of the Week - Davidsbündlertänze
/Do not be put off either by the coupling of Schumann with a record newbie whose name you may not recognize. Schumann requires intense contemplation before an artist can make more than pretty gallery pictures of his pieces, and Luca Burrato is up to the challenge.
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