MJ AndersenApr 25, 20213 min readFour Takes: Books about gardens can help satisfy cravings for plant lifeApril 25, 2021 Even among apartment dwellers, spring can prompt longings to connect with the soil. Perhaps for that reason, the Boston...
MJ AndersenMar 28, 20213 min readFour 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...
MJ AndersenFeb 21, 20214 min readFour Takes: On Hollywood, The Boston Sunday GlobeFebruary 21, 2021 In this winter of discontent, the pandemic has claimed even the things we love to hate. The Oscars, traditionally aired...
MJ AndersenJan 30, 20213 min readFour Takes: Every book is arguably a journey; those explicitly about journeys hold special appealJanuary 30, 2021 The other day, a bank officer told me she is dying to travel. Imagine: She has always hated travel. I resisted saying...
MJ AndersenDec 19, 20203 min readFour Takes: On artists and art, New biographies take us behind the pictures, The Boston Sunday GlobeDecember 20, 2020 Books about artists place their authors, at best, in a draw with their subjects. After all, the art is what drives our...
MJ AndersenNov 15, 20203 min readFour Takes: The art of the short story, The Boston Sunday GlobeNovember 15, 2020 On the train that is literature, the short story is often relegated to second-class, while the novel travels in luxury....
MJ AndersenOct 25, 20203 min readFour Takes: If few of us know about China, it is not for lack of books, The Boston Sunday GlobeOctober 25, 2020 A few months into his presidency, Donald Trump wooed Chinese president Xi Jinping with cake. “We had the most beautiful...
MJ AndersenSep 20, 20203 min readFour Takes: On the rights of women 25 years after the Beijing Declaration on WomenSeptember 20, 2020 Earlier this month, the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration on Women passed with little notice. Produced by...
MJ AndersenAug 30, 20203 min readFOUR TAKES: An imperfect union Readings on racial justice and injusticesAugust 30, 2020 For months following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, Americans have turned out in the streets, breathing new life...
MJ AndersenAug 9, 20204 min readToo 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...
MJ AndersenJul 25, 20203 min readFour Takes: Music and composers, The Boston Sunday GlobeJuly 26, 2020 The suspension of live performances at Tanglewood added another dreary loss to this pandemic summer. In the green lap of...
MJ AndersenJun 28, 20203 min readFour 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...
MJ AndersenJun 1, 20203 min readFour Takes; Authors fascinated with other authors, The Boston Sunday GlobeMay 31, 2020 Readers, we are stuck at home. If, like me, you detest reading electronically, and have qualms about getting books...
MJ AndersenApr 26, 20203 min readFour Takes:Earth Day, 50 years of celebrating the planet, The Boston Sunday GlobeApril 25, 2020 The author’s longstanding fascination with 18th-century explorer James Cook draws these disparate locations together. For...
MJ AndersenFeb 16, 20203 min readIn four tantalizing titles, food for thought - The Boston GlobeFebruary 16, 2020 A former New York Times restaurant critic, Reichl remains among the most appealing food writers in the business. She...
MJ AndersenJan 26, 20203 min readFour 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...
MJ AndersenJan 23, 202015 min readLeaving the PaperPolitics/ Letters This essay was cited among “Notable Essays and Literary Nonfiction of 2018” in “The Best American Essays,” published by...
MJ AndersenDec 28, 20193 min readFour Takes: A boom, a backlash, and a reckoning with Big Tech -The Boston GlobeDecember 28, 2019 Sing, O Muse, of geeks in garages. Then tell of Big Technology’s fall. Somewhere an epic tale is taking shape, and it...
MJ AndersenDec 28, 20193 min readFour Takes: Native narratives of reclaimed identity and recovered sovereignty -The Boston GlobeNovember 21, 2019 On Dec. 29, 1890, US soldiers massacred more than 150 Lakota people at Wounded Knee, in South Dakota. In a view that...
MJ AndersenNov 3, 20193 min readFour Takes: Digging in to the looming challenge of sustainable food, The Boston Sunday GlobeNovember 3, 2019 Mark Bittman may have done the most in recent years to focus Americans’ attention on ethical dining. A decade ago, in...
