Rutten Book Reviews: An Archive of Past Reviews

The satirist’s memoir of his parents, William F. and Patricia Taylor, lacks the characteristic candor and engagement found in his other works.

A debut novelist successfully imagines what might have happened had Sherlock Holmes hunted for the serial murderer known as Jack the Ripper.

Previous uncollected stories and essays drawn mostly from his papers and correspondence show why he is so beloved.

The Dutch writer offers deep, intriguing meditations on place and history drawing from his travels over 40 years.

This captivating study of secret British intelligence over the last century draws its power from rich anecdotes and interviews.

Correspondence reveals the famed playwright’s profound seriousness of purpose.

‘The Siege’ is a compelling account of a 15th century attack by the Ottomans in Albania.

An explosive, revealing account of the U.S. military in Iraq under Gen. Petraeus and the efforts to develop a better strategy there.

A rising star of Belgian literature goes gothic in a novel of science pushed too far.

An in-depth and readable history of U.S. relations in the Middle East.

When belief in God is gone, there are still plenty of sacred things to desecrate, as the author’s hypnotic new novel suggests.

The charges of corruption the author levels at the Bush family are extraordinary and sensational--but are they believable? Our reviewer wonders.

The new biography does justice to one of the English language’s towering intellects.

A final miscellany from the late chronicler of American life.

The French philosopher and activist gets on his soapbox about the United States, Israel, Islam, the left and the right.

An account of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that deserves a place in humanity’s long tradition of war reportage.

ONE OF THE ways to recognize truly great writers is that even their mistakes engage us.

In the fourth book in Woodward’s series, Bush is painted as a failed wartime chief for his handling of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Thirty years after the Eurasian trek he chronicled in ‘The Great Railway Bazaar,’ the author revisits his journey and finds much has changed.

There aren’t enough good moments in a day in the life of dysfunctional women in a small Iowa town.

A look at the Kennedy White House and the author’s lifelong romance with politics.

In ‘1940,’ Jay Neugeboren examines the roots of Hitler’s hatred of Jews with a story about the family physician, who was Jewish.

The subtle historian excels on 20th century European intellectuals but trips in polemics on Israel.

Which handles money better? A casino or Wall Street? A look at the reckless financing and political decision-making preceding the current economic crisis.

Matthew Parker’s book tells the epic story of the building of the Panama Canal.

In “The Silver Swan,” John Banville’s latest foray as Benjamin Black, a pathologist’s demons mar his search for a murderer.