Four Takes: On Maine, The Boston Sunday Globe
July 25, 2021 In July, the summer people fan out to homes in Maine. For those who can only fantasize, books set in the state offer a fine...
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Four Takes: 50 years after the Pentagon Papers, does a free press still function?
June 27, 2021 Fifty years ago, on June 27, Daniel Ellsberg distributed his last remaining copies of what are now known as the Pentagon...
Four Takes: Four books that find us heading West, The Boston Sunday Globe
May 23, 2021 In the 1830s, curious Americans paid 25 cents apiece to see Joice Heth, an elderly Black woman reputed to have been George...
Four Takes: Books about gardens can help satisfy cravings for plant life
April 25, 2021 Even among apartment dwellers, spring can prompt longings to connect with the soil. Perhaps for that reason, the Boston...
Four Takes: New books about life in our galaxy, and beyond it.
March 28, 2021 Some years ago, when I lived in Providence, I learned to avoid a busy intersection where five streets converged. A...
Four Takes: On Hollywood, The Boston Sunday Globe
February 21, 2021 In this winter of discontent, the pandemic has claimed even the things we love to hate. The Oscars, traditionally aired...
Four Takes: Every book is arguably a journey; those explicitly about journeys hold special appeal
January 30, 2021 The other day, a bank officer told me she is dying to travel. Imagine: She has always hated travel. I resisted saying...
Four Takes: On artists and art, New biographies take us behind the pictures, The Boston Sunday Globe
December 20, 2020 Books about artists place their authors, at best, in a draw with their subjects. After all, the art is what drives our...
Four Takes: The art of the short story, The Boston Sunday Globe
November 15, 2020 On the train that is literature, the short story is often relegated to second-class, while the novel travels in luxury....
Four Takes: If few of us know about China, it is not for lack of books, The Boston Sunday Globe
October 25, 2020 A few months into his presidency, Donald Trump wooed Chinese president Xi Jinping with cake. “We had the most beautiful...
Four Takes: On the rights of women 25 years after the Beijing Declaration on Women
September 20, 2020 Earlier this month, the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on Women passed with little notice. Produced by...
FOUR TAKES: An imperfect union Readings on racial justice and injustices
August 30, 2020 For months following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, Americans have turned out in the streets, breathing new life...
Too good to be true?
In 'Veritas,' veteran journalist Ariel Sabar examines a sweet religious historical find that turned sour August 9, 2020 See if this rings...
Four Takes: Music and composers, The Boston Sunday Globe
July 26, 2020 The suspension of live performances at Tanglewood added another dreary loss to this pandemic summer. In the green lap of...
Four Takes: The mysteries of fatherhood
June 28, 2020 If this year’s graduates have been under-celebrated, June’s other traditional honorees — fathers — have carried on much as...
Four Takes; Authors fascinated with other authors, The Boston Sunday Globe
May 31, 2020 Readers, we are stuck at home. If, like me, you detest reading electronically, and have qualms about getting books...
Four Takes:Earth Day, 50 years of celebrating the planet, The Boston Sunday Globe
April 25, 2020 The author’s longstanding fascination with 18th-century explorer James Cook draws these disparate locations together. For...
In four tantalizing titles, food for thought - The Boston Globe
February 16, 2020 A former New York Times restaurant critic, Reichl remains among the most appealing food writers in the business. She...
Four Takes: Mount Olympus revisited in four contemporary titles, The Boston Globe
January 26, 2020 In classical mythology, the gods cannot get enough of defying higher-ups. The latest to cross this tripwire are Harry...
Leaving the Paper
Politics/ Letters This essay was cited among “Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2018” in “The Best American Essays,” published by...