Reviews Archive | Los Angeles Review of Books

All Reviews

VR: Between Hope, Hype, and Humbug
Three new books consider the future of virtual reality.
William UricchioJun 25, 2018
- Science & Technology
No More Nature: On Ecopoetics in the Anthropocene
"Poetry might best represent what capitalism has spoiled." Jean-Thomas Tremblay reviews two new books of ecopoetry.
Jean-Thomas TremblayJun 24, 2018
- Philosophy & Religion
- Poetry
Fashion It Thus: Stephen Greenblatt’s “Tyrant”
What Shakespeare’s tyrants tell us about our own political crisis.
Rhodri LewisJun 24, 2018
- Literary Criticism
- Politics
Dreams from Bunker Hill: On Robin Robertson’s “The Long Take”
Woody Haut reviews “The Long Take,” a long-form noir poem by Robin Robertson.
Woody HautJun 22, 2018
- Noir
- Poetry
“When I Was Alive”: William T. Vollmann’s Climate Letter to the Future
“Vollmann is less interested in how we imagine the future than in how the future imagines us.” Ted Hamilton on William Vollmann's "Carbon Ideologies."
Ted HamiltonJun 22, 2018
Tools for Tots: On Alexandra Lange’s “The Design of Childhood”
Allyn West reviews “The Design of Childhood,” an exploration of the material conditions of childhood by architectural critic Alexandra Lange.
Allyn WestJun 21, 2018
- Art & Architecture
Max Eastman: From Left to Right
Georgiy Chernyavskiy reviews “Max Eastman: A Life,” a biography by Christoph Irmscher.
Georgiy ChernyavskiyJun 21, 2018
- Biography & Autobiography
- Politics
Being There
Peter Grandbois on why we should read David McGlynn's "One Day You’ll Thank Me: Lessons from an Unexpected Fatherhood."
Peter GrandboisJun 20, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
Breaking Out of Narrative Prison in Debra Jo Immergut’s “The Captives”
Katharine Coldiron admires the structural audacity of Debra Jo Immergut’s prison-bound psychological thriller.
Katharine ColdironJun 20, 2018
- Fiction
A Gift to Our Spirit: On Wasting Time
Rebecca Foster reviews “The Art of the Wasted Day” by Patricia Hampl and “In Praise of Wasting Time” by Alan Lightman.
Rebecca FosterJun 20, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
- Poetry
Left Mountebanks: On Agnès Poirier’s “Left Bank: Art, Passion, and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940–1950”
Robert Zaretsky finds fault with “Left Bank: Art, Passion, and the Rebirth of Paris, 1940–1950” by Agnès Poirier.
Robert ZaretskyJun 19, 2018
- Art & Architecture
- History
A Love Letter to Wild Bees
Mark L. Winston reviews Thor Hanson's "Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees."
Mark L. WinstonJun 19, 2018
- Science & Technology
Hard Stands
Jennifer Kabat reviews James Pogue's "Chosen Country," which details the Malheur Reservation standoff and events over the two years preceding it.
Jennifer KabatJun 18, 2018
- Memoir & Essay
- Politics
Rock of Ages
Frank Johnson finds solace in Christina Zanfagna's "Holy Hip Hop in the City of Angels."
Frank JohnsonJun 17, 2018
- Music
- Religion
Hate Speech: An Imaginary Debate
Stephen Rohde offers an imaginary debate between Nadine Strossen and Richard Delgado.
Stephen RohdeJun 17, 2018
- Law
The Cow Whisperer
“The Secret Life of Cows” is a collection of anecdotes dedicated to the proposition that cows are individuals and should be treated as such.
Mark EssigJun 16, 2018