Plus Richard Manuel's life playing with the Band
| | | …what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support —John Milton, "Paradise Lost" As John Milton labored in 1660 on his epic poem "Paradise Lost," he faced numerous obstacles: His role as an advocate for republicanism left him politically disgraced during the Restoration reign of Charles II. His second wife had recently died, and he had lost his vision entirely. Lying in bed at night, he composed verses of a poem vast in scale; it encompassed nothing less than the creation of the world and the fate of mankind. In the morning, he would dictate fresh lines to his daughters. Alan Jacobs's "Paradise Lost: A Biography" traces the unlikely completion of this astonishing work and its eventual triumph as a monument of English literature. The poem is, Dana Gioia writes, a source of images and ideas that would inspire—and sometimes bedevil—generations of writers and artists. Read the review And don't miss: | | | | Stanford University Press | | | Struggle: From early on in the Chinese Communist Party's rise to power, Xi Zhongxun took part as a guerilla leader. Under Mao Zedong's regime, he held important offices and was often forced to reconcile the shifting and self-contradictory policies Mao used to consolidate his power. After an attack by a political rival in 1962, Xi Zhongxun fell from grace with the Party, only to rise again years later. Can his turbulent career illuminate the character of his son, China's current president, Xi Jinping? Robert B. Zoellick on "The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping" by Joseph Torigian. Read the review | | | | | | | | The Great Museum of the Sea By James P. Delgado The practice of building boats and putting to sea is as old as human civilization. Over the millennia, the remains of great ships and small craft alike have descended to the ocean floor. Each wreck tells a tragic story. Read the review | | The Buried City By Gabriel Zuchtriegel The excavated ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii—which was buried beneath volcanic ash nearly 2,000 years ago—offer an astonishingly direct view into the lives of ordinary people of the ancient world. Read the review | | | | | John Scheele | | | Audition: As a teenager playing in a local Stratford, Ontario, band, the pianist and singer Richard Manuel wanted to be part of something bigger. When he was offered a job as a sideman for the Arkansas rockabilly performer Ronnie Hawkins, Manuel met the other members of Hawkins's touring act—Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson. It wouldn't be long before the group would be playing with Bob Dylan, and on their own, as the Band. Alan Paul on "Richard Manuel: His Life and Music, From the Hawks and Bob Dylan to the Band" by Stephen T. Lewis. Read the review | | | "The Man in the Iron Mask": Lawrence Ellsworth's new translation of Alexandre Dumas's tale of royal impersonation and revenge completes the swashbuckling saga that began in "The Three Musketeers." Read the review | | | | | | Thomas Sully's Philadelphians By Peter Conn In the years following America's independence, the city of Philadelphia became the young nation's cultural and political center. Its leading citizens were ready to have their portraits painted, and Thomas Sully was happy to oblige. Read the review | | Lincoln's Lady Spymaster By Gerri Willis The abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew used her society position in Richmond, Va., to get permission to visit imprisoned Union soldiers. Soon she was smuggling out military information and aiding escapees. Read the review | | | | | - The Grapes of Wrath By John Steinbeck (1939)
- Whose Names Are Unknown By Sanora Babb (2004)
- Black Sunday By Benjamin Myers (2019)
- Out of the Dust By Karen Hesse (1997)
- The Worst Hard Time By Timothy Egan (2006)
| | | Joanne Kaufman on Megan Hunter's saga of an art-loving English family (Read the review) and Maggie Stiefvater's novel about Axis diplomats interned at a West Virginia resort (Read the review). | | | |