Category Archives: Reviewers’ Top Picks

Our favorite underrated reads

On Heroism: McCain, Milley, Mattis, and the Cowardice of Donald Trump – Jeffrey Goldberg

Posted on September 9, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Why do so many politicians and public servants continue to support a man who has little regard for the military, no regard for the Constitution, and holds dictators in such high regard? Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in … Continue reading →

Posted in American Politics, History, Non-fiction, Politics and Social Justice, Reviewers' Top Picks, Social Justice | Tagged military, political history, President, Trump | Comments Off

Rakiya -: Stories of Bulgaria – Ellis Shuman

Posted on July 19, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Rakiya is a very interesting collection of eleven short stories that feature various characters in bizarre situations that cover some of the history of Bulgaria. Each story has a protagonist that struggles to find answers to … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks, Slavic Literature | Tagged Bulgaria, history, Holocaust, short stories, WWII | Comments Off

The Safekeep – Yael van der Wouden

Posted on May 29, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s 1961, almost twenty years after the war, and it would appear as if the Netherlands has recovered. However, scars linger beneath the surface in unimaginable ways. Isabel, who is almost thirty years old, doesn’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks, World Literature | Tagged Dutch literature, Netherlands | Comments Off

Nein, Nein, Nein!: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust – Jerry Stahl

Posted on March 22, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Why stay in this country, listening to mere Proud Boy-esque neo-Nazis, when you could go to the source, to Poland and Germany, and experience the birthplace of actual Nazi-Nazis? How better to soak up fascist antibodies?” … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged addiction, Auschwitz, Holocaust, Nazism, tourism | Comments Off

Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family – Mark Daley

Posted on February 18, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jay Gendron) Mark Daley takes us through a courageous, heartbreaking journey in Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family. This book serves as an indictment of the foster care system in … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged foster care, memoir | Comments Off

Goldenseal – Maria Hummel

Posted on February 15, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Lacey and Edith, ages seventy and seventy-one respectively, have been estranged for forty-four years. It’s now 1990, and Edith decides to travel across the country to visit her one-time best friend. Lacey, born in Prague, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Fiction, Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged friendship, Los Angeles, relationships, socio-economic class, WWII | Comments Off

Ilium: A novel – Lea Carpenter

Posted on January 16, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The game of espionage, at its essence, is observation, seduction, patience. And a fluid relationship with your sense of self. To commit espionage at the highest levels you have to be willing to forget who you … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged CIA, espionage, M16, Mossad | Comments Off

The Vacation House – Jane Shemilt

Posted on December 26, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) 2003 -Thirteen-year-old Sofie and her family toiled at a vacation house on the island of Paxos, Greece. This house was owned by a wealthy British family and frequented every summer by them and their friends. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged class, Greece, London, Sexual abuse | Comments Off

All Who Wander – Joe Clifford

Posted on September 21, 2023 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I’ve spent years in therapy pushing dark memories into a black corner where, without light, I though the wild things could not grow. I was wrong. Left alone and ignored, I’ve provided ideal conditions for them to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged family dysfunction, psychological drama | Comments Off