The title "Human Love" (Arcade Publishing, 978-1-55970-857-9) by Andreï Makine seems tragically ironic during the first few pages in which the nameless narrator, held prisoner in a region between Angola and Zaire, watches while a woman... Read More

Near the end of World War II the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, conducted one of the war’s most secretive and important missions. It aimed to drive the Nazis from the geographically criti-calBrenner Pass. The... Read More

In her preface, the author warns her readers not to expect what she calls a “typical cookbook.” In fact, she professes a loathing for the kitchen and a late start in the preparation of the Chinese cuisine that is the book’s... Read More

Mandarin Matches. The roster of exceptional pairings, from Fred and Ginger to peanut butter and chocolate, shouldn’t make such a fuss over the relationship between wine and food. Clever chefs and sommeliers know that adding a... Read More

You can always tell when a pro is clicking on all cylinders. "Smoke and Whispers" (Soho Constable, 978-1-56947-564-5), Mick Herrons fifth novel, crackles from the start as writer Sarah Tucker arrives in northern England to identify the... Read More

“The great myth of war is that it can be left behind,” Catherine Whitney observes in this stirring, yet sadly familiar story about her brother, Jim Schuler. Retired Staff Sergeant Schuler lived through three years in Vietnam, but he... Read More

Its the tritest of academic cliches, of course: the professor/student affair. While Rackstraw only suggests that she and Vonnegut may have been intimate, she leaves absolutely no doubt that their relationship was, more than anything... Read More

A one-on-one casual basketball game turned into true friendship that lasted for years. “Big Toe” Jim Toback, as he was affectionately called by NFL great Jim Brown, or “J. B.,” writes an attention-grabbing accumulation of... Read More