Baum on Books

A Dutch national bank gets swindled out of a fortune by one of its bankers. It wasn’t a crime of greed but an act of resistance. This historic case is documented in a book that has just been translated into English. Our book critic Joan Baum read it and has this review.

She lost the man she planned to marry. Her grief gets her kicked out of her oncology unit. And now young doctor Lark Smith struggles to heal her life and career. The head surgeon of the hospital, “Dr. Satan,” offers her a deal. But he hates her. Is Lark willing to pay the price to get her job back?

In her new book, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion, journalist and author Julie Satow reveals the stories of three women who elevated fashion and the retail industry during the golden age of department stores in New York City.

The handsome new oversized book A Year in the Vineyard by Sophie Menin and Bob Chaplin, takes readers on an international romp to explore the life cycle of grapes, vines and wines. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

A high-end investment firm in Connecticut is the backdrop for a new murder mystery novel. And its author may surprise you. WSHU's book critic Joan Baum has this review.

The Mark Twain classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gets a fresh retelling in Percival Everett’s new work: James: A Novel. This time we see the story through the eyes of Jim/James, a man who escapes slavery to keep his family together. Everett shares a deeply complex James who code-switches to survive. Here' WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum's review.

What is the creative process? How does art get made? These are some of the questions a new book by former New York magazine editor Adam Moss strives to answer. Our book critic Joan Baum has this review.

Essayist Arthur Krystal shares his reflections on aging, cultural appropriation, and oversharing on social media in his latest publication. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

Yale University Press has published a catalog highlighting rarely-seen drawings and prints by the pre-eminent Renaissance Italian painter, Botticelli. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

In her latest novel, The Vixen Amber Holloway, New York author Carol LaHines crafts a tense psychological tale where a Dante scholar descends into her own personal hell. Our book critic, Joan Baum, had this review.