Book Review: Iran: A Modern History
/A sprawling new history of Iran from the 16th century to the present brings the multi-faceted story of Persia alive.
Read MoreNorman Lebrecht's CD of the Week - Weiner Divertimentos
/The five Divertimentos that make up the bulk of this release date from the 1930s to 1950s and, rooted in folk dances, are determinedly upbeat. You’d never know that Hitler and Stalin were banging at the door.
Read MoreBook Review: Istanbul
/Orhan Pamuk's bestselling love letter to Istanbul receives a gorgeous new illustrated edition.
Read MoreBook Review: Tamed & Untamed
/Two beloved writers of natural history team up to tell stories about a host of animal species, from the ones in our homes to the ones in our gardens to the ones still prowling the wild.
Read MoreBook Review: Calder
/The legendary avant-garde sculptor Alexander Calder gets his very first biography, written by art critic Jed Perl
Read MoreNormal Lebrecht's CD of the Week - Chopin Evocations
/Daniil Trifonov thinks nothing of coming on stage with one wrist in a bandage, no explanation offered, or of asking the audience not to applaud at any time through a 90-minute recital, so it would be absurd to expect him to release a conventional Chopin album.
Read MoreBook Review: Leonardo Da Vinci
/Bestselling biographer Walter Isaacson adds another massive tome to the pile of those devoted to the quintessential Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci.
Read MoreBook Review: The Big Book of Rogues and Villains
/The latest enormous anthology from Otto Penzler features the dandies of the demimonde, the stylish thieves and ruthless killers of popular fiction.
Read MoreBook Review: Stalin - Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941
/Stephen Kotkin's groundbreaking multi-volume biography of Stalin continues with the uneasy alliance between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
Read MoreBook Review: Russia in Flames
/A big, lively new history assesses the troubled life and blighted nature of Bolshevism.
Read MoreNorman Lebrecht's CD of the Week - Mozart: Violin Concerto, Sonata
/Noa Wildschut first appeared on Dutch television at six years old and at the Concertgebouw a year later. She's 16 now, old enough to take a bit of criticism and interesting enough to warrant adult consideration.
Read MoreBook Review: Vanguard of the Revolution
/The grand, global history of Communism's century-long reign of terror is the subject of A. James McAdams' authoritative new book.
Read MoreBook Review: Adults in the Room
/Former finance minister for Greece Yanis Varoufakis has written a book about his time on the world stage during his country's financial crisis.
Read MoreBook Review: The Meaning of Belief
/The gap between the religious and the "New Atheists" seems wider than ever - but have both sides failed even to understand each other? A pocket-sized new book examines some of the oldest questions of all.
Read MoreBook Review: The New Testament
/A new translation of the New Testament strips away the baroque filigree and presents the raw, jumbled voices of the original.
Read MoreTell Them They’re Not Trees
/How can one be both a Jew and a Romanian? This quandary is at the heart of Mihail Sebastian’s brilliant novel For Two Thousand Years, now in a sparkling new translation.
Read MoreMemory Sickness
/Madeleine Thien's Dogs at the Perimeter - getting its first US publication - uses the Khmer Rouge atrocities as a backdrop against which to explore its characters' various losses.
Read MoreA Precedent Whilst the World Stands
/In addition to the pageantry, marital eccentricities, and political fireworks, the Tudors were also industrious religious persecutors. As "A Year with the Tudors" continues, a vivid new book tells the stories of the martyrs burned by Henry VIII, Edward VI, and Mary I.
Read MoreWe Are Not Heroes
/In his boisterous new book, veteran video game writer and industry leader Walt Williams tells the story of his past and shares his thoughts on the industry's future.
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