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Book of the week
| Thrilling Russian spy novels have taught me as much about the internecine violence, bone deep corruption and shameless greed that characterizes Vladimir Putin and the toadies who surround him.
But David McCloskey's portrait of the Russian president in his novel "Moscow X," and the CIA's plot to steal millions from him, is delicious in its detail and ingenuity.
McCloskey, a former CIA analyst who was stationed in the Middle East, has concocted a hall of mirrors plot.
He moves from St. Petersburg, Russia, to an old-money horse farm in Mexico to the icy and soulless inner circle of Russia's government elite.
The author finished the first draft as Putin invaded Ukraine, and there are numerous references to the drain and political upheaval the war has created.
But the heart of the novel is the trio of Western operatives who are both colluding with and conniving against Russian Anna Andreevna Agapova, who will conclude that she is a traitor and a hero.
"I am both, like all good Russians."
The answer to the mystery character of the month: Alice in Wonderland.
— Kerri Miller | MPR News |
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| | Talking Volumes: Leif Enger |
Join Kerri Miller at a special on-the-road edition of Talking Volumes. She’ll be at the Sheldon Theater in Red Wing on June 4 to talk with Minnesotan Leif Enger about his new book, “I Cheerfully Refuse.” Tickets are limited. Learn more at mprevents.org. | |
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| | The feminists who built America |
Many of their names are unknown, but early American feminists fought hard for the freedoms that are cornerstones to democracy. This week on Big Books and Bold Ideas, historian Elizabeth Cobbs and our new series, “Big Books, Bold Americans.” | |
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| | Ask a Bookseller: ‘Art and Fear’ |
Elaine Eckert of Dickson St. Bookshop in Arkansas says she gets particularly excited when she comes across a copy of her favorite nonfiction book, “Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking,” by David Bayles and Ted Orland. | |
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| | Minnesota author’s book is being shot for star studded film adaptation ‘Nuremberg’ |
Minnesota historian Jack El-Hai is seeing a book he published more than ten years ago turned into a Hollywood film and a stage play. His book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist” tells the story of a young army doctor whose job was to evaluate top-ranking Nazi officials and decide whether they were fit to stand trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. | |
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