An understanding of history and the art that came out of the 1960s adds a robust sense of time and place to this vibrant story. "Crystal Ships" is an epic story about a group of young friends living through the turmoil of the 1960s and... Read More

A nineteenth-century Virginia coal mine is the backdrop for this exciting story of greed, fortune, and family. An axiom, often credited to Balzac, states that behind every great fortune lies a crime. This aptly describes the story... Read More

The proverbial all-American boy gets caught up in history’s whirlwind in this intriguing novel of war, law, and art. In Dickson Loos’s historical-fiction novel, Elmer Davis, WWII combat veteran, becomes a hard-charging defense... Read More

Vivid descriptions of postwar Japan bring the history of the country to life. Set in occupied Japan just after World War II, "Red Chrysanthemum" is an interesting story full of mystery and political intrigue. Henry F. Mazel does a... Read More

Popkin brings alive the individuals who engineered a culture for the new world. Any history of visual art in America should include a review of Nathaniel Popkin’s "Lion and Leopard", a fictionalized account of early-American painters... Read More

"Caribbee" is a melding of good fiction and historical fact enlivened with colorful, well-drawn characters. A plot rich in sailing lore, pirate raids, vengeful spies, and shipboard discontent enlivens Julian Stockwin’s fourteenth book... Read More

The Gold Rush is over, and San Francisco teems with entrepreneurs of all stripes—shady and otherwise. Set in 1851, after the height of the Gold Rush, Ken Salter’s novel on French emigrants portrays entrepreneurialism‎ in San... Read More

An entertaining roast of “News Performance” in eighteenth-century London, this novel paints a vivid cultural melange of celebrity, misfortune, comedy, and moral bankruptcy. Leeds Merriweather is a gifted patterer whose livelihood... Read More