Those Who Are About to Die: A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator

Book Review

Those Who Are About to Die: A Day in the Life of a Roman Gladiator

By Harry Sidebottom

Russell Crowe was good, but this book is even better.

Poetry Review
On Poetry: April 2026

New collections to make life more lyrical.

Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small American Town

Book Review

Strange People on the Hill: How Extremism Tore Apart a Small American Town

By Michael Edison Hayden

An oddly (and overly) personal account of tumult in West Virginia.

Book Review

The Keeper: A Novel

By Tana French

The Keeper: A Novel

A superb, genre-defying conclusion to the author’s Cal Hooper trilogy.

Children’s Books

Children’s Book Roundup: April 2026

Big new titles perfect for the littles.

Book Review

Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class

That bachelor’s degree doesn’t go as far as it used to.

Book Review

Happy Land

By Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Happy Land

A DC woman discovers she’s heir to a long-ago, real-life Black kingdom.

Book Review

The Mesopotamian Riddle

By Joshua Hammer

The Mesopotamian Riddle

An overabundance of detail hobbles what could’ve been an absorbing saga.

Feature

Our Week in Reviews: 4/18/26

A recap of the books we’ve spotlighted in the past few days.

Book News

The Whiting Foundation Honors Emerging Writers

Its recent awards support 10 promising authors.