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Martha Anne Toll

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Wednesday January 25, 2023

'Children of the State' examines the American juvenile justice system

Scribner

Review

Book Reviews

'Children of the State' examines the American juvenile justice system

January 25, 2023 • In a new book, Jeff Hobbs, author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, looks at the evolution of the juvenile justice system in America — primarily through people, not statistics.

Monday September 12, 2022

NPR's Nina Totenberg offers a window into her world in 'Dinners with Ruth'

Simon & Schuster

Review

Books

NPR's Nina Totenberg offers a window into her world in 'Dinners with Ruth'

September 12, 2022 • The reporter's memoir takes readers on a jaunt through her captivating life and career, nose for the jugular, forthrightness about her joys and sorrows — and the history of women in the workplace.

Monday April 25, 2022

'Slaves for Peanuts' weaves a complex story crossing time and oceans

The Free Press

Review

Books

'Slaves for Peanuts' weaves a complex story crossing time and oceans

April 25, 2022 • Jori Lewis tells eye-opening stories of individuals despite scant historical record. At the outset she asks: "How do we tell the stories of people that history forgets and the present avoids?"

Tuesday March 1, 2022

A woman finds as many constraints in America as at home in India in 'Border Less'

7.13 Books

Review

Book Reviews

A woman finds as many constraints in America as at home in India in 'Border Less'

March 1, 2022 • The character in Namrata Poddar's novel works in a call center and dreams of a new life in the U.S. but once there, she and other emigrants feel "othered" at work and in daily life.

Friday December 24, 2021

In 'The Four Humors,' a woman delves into the past on a journey of self-discovery

The Four Humors, by Mina Seçkin Catapult hide caption

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Catapult

Review

Book Reviews

In 'The Four Humors,' a woman delves into the past on a journey of self-discovery

December 24, 2021 • Turkish American writer Mina Seçkin's debut is an engrossing exploration of national identity, the meaning of family and loss, and what happens when a family hides its central secret.

Saturday September 11, 2021

A Boy Aims To Save His Mom — And Himself — In 'The War For Gloria'

Knopf

Review

Book Reviews

A Boy Aims To Save His Mom — And Himself — In 'The War For Gloria'

September 11, 2021 • Atticus Lish's book opens a disturbing window into a teenager's battle to save his mother, our broken healthcare system — and the power that humans have to inflict harm on one another.

Thursday August 19, 2021

Immigration And Prejudice, Colonialism And Inheritance At Heart Of 'Names For Light'

Names for Light: A Family History, by Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint Graywolf Press hide caption

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Graywolf Press

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Book Reviews

Immigration And Prejudice, Colonialism And Inheritance At Heart Of 'Names For Light'

August 19, 2021 • Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint's second book reads like poetry, an embodied experience of exquisite reflections on family and rootedness and deracination and sorrow and love.

Sunday August 1, 2021

A Russian Immigrant To The U.S. Humorously Recounts Her Experience, Love For America

I Named My Dog Pushkin (And Other Immigrant Tales): Notes From a Soviet Girl on Becoming an American Woman, by Margarita Gokum Silver Thead Books hide caption

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Thead Books

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Book Reviews

A Russian Immigrant To The U.S. Humorously Recounts Her Experience, Love For America

August 1, 2021 • It's a particular pleasure to see our splintered country through the eyes of Margarita Gokun Silver, a determined and appreciative emigree, in 'I Named My Dog Pushkin.'

Monday June 7, 2021

These Stories Dance Deftly Between America And Cameroon

Graywolf

Review

Book Reviews

These Stories Dance Deftly Between America And Cameroon

June 7, 2021 • In her debut collection Walking On Cowrie Shells, Nana Nkweti bends language like a master, delivering keenly observed details and wicked humor no matter which side of the Atlantic she's on.

Wednesday April 21, 2021

In 'We Are Bridges,' A Writer Resurrects Her Great Grandfather's Memory

We Are Bridges: A Memoir, by Cassandra Lane The Feminist Press at CUNY hide caption

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The Feminist Press at CUNY

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Book Reviews

In 'We Are Bridges,' A Writer Resurrects Her Great Grandfather's Memory

April 21, 2021 • In 1904, Cassandra Lane's great grandfather Burt Bridges was lynched. In telling his story, Lane offers her own memoir — and lessons on family and American history for her future child and readers.

Sunday March 14, 2021

'The Impudent Ones' Shows Signs Of Future Greatness

The Impudent Ones, by Marguerite Duras The New Press hide caption

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The New Press

Review

Books

'The Impudent Ones' Shows Signs Of Future Greatness

March 14, 2021 • Marguerite Duras' never-before-translated debut novel The Impudent Ones, first published in 1943, isn't a pleasant read — but it is a signpost to what she would later achieve with The Lover.

Tuesday February 23, 2021

Pigeons Star In A Tale Of Mining In 'Flight Of The Diamond Smugglers'

Flight of the Diamond Smugglers: A Tale of Pigeons, Obsession, and Greed Along Coastal South Africa, by Matthew Gavin Frank Liveright hide caption

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Liveright

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Pigeons Star In A Tale Of Mining In 'Flight Of The Diamond Smugglers'

February 23, 2021 • Journalist Matthew Gavin Frank exposes the history of South Africa's nefarious diamond industry, accompanied by a tale of pigeons and their role in subversion, in crisp and poetic prose.

Thursday January 21, 2021

As 19th Century Females, Sisters In 'The Doctors Blackwell' Achieve Many Firsts

The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine, by Janice P. Nimura W.W.Norton & Co. hide caption

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W.W.Norton & Co.

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As 19th Century Females, Sisters In 'The Doctors Blackwell' Achieve Many Firsts

January 21, 2021 • Historian Janice P. Nimura tells the story of America's first and third certified women doctors and the role these sisters played in building medical institutions.

Thursday November 5, 2020

Amid Violence And Tragedy, A Library Brings Hope In 'The Book Collectors'

The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War, by Delphine Minoui Farrar, Straus and Giroux hide caption

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Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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Book Reviews

Amid Violence And Tragedy, A Library Brings Hope In 'The Book Collectors'

November 5, 2020 • Journalist Delphine Minoui tells the true tale of a young man who refused to escape the terrors of Assad's regime in Syria, instead working with friends to make a library — a beacon of hope.

Monday November 2, 2020

In 'The Upswing,' History Holds The Keys To Moving Away From Today's Tumultuous Age

The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, by Robert R. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett Simon & Schuster hide caption

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Simon & Schuster

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In 'The Upswing,' History Holds The Keys To Moving Away From Today's Tumultuous Age

November 2, 2020 • Bowling Alone author Robert Putnam joins with Shaylyn Romney Garrett to form the thesis that America's Gilded Age shows remarkable similarity to today — with a societal focus on "I" rather than "we."