charlesbookman.bsky.social
@charlesbookman.bsky.social
“Proto: How One Ancient Language Went Global” by Laura Spinney
A fascinating journey across continents to the common roots of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, Norse, and English. The proto language was “The most successful language the world ever knew.”
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:13 AM
“New York’s Secret Subway” by Matthew Algeo

Alfred Beach, publisher of Scientific American built a pneumatic subway right under Boss Tweed’s nose. In telling the story, the author also describes Tweed's corruption. This readable, illustrated book will interest fans of New York and mass transit.
December 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM
“What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator” by Barabara Butcher

Barbara Butcher investigated suspicious or unexplained deaths in NYC . Anyone interested in memoir—or death—will enjoy “what the Dead Know.” It’s a one-of-a-kind story.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:29 AM
“Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress—and How to Bring It Back,” by Marc J. Dunkelman

We are in an era where too much power has devolved to too many—any interest group can stop any project. There will be a reset.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
October 28, 2025 at 12:59 AM
“Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI” by Yuval Noah Harari
Why are we so good at accumulating information and power, but far less successful at acquiring wisdom?
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:49 PM
“The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis” by Amitav Ghosh
A rumination on the imperialist process of occupation, slaughter, resource extraction and eventually land depletion, which has repeated itself so many times across the globe.

bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-...
“The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis” by Amitav Ghosh
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:15 PM
“A Marriage at Sea: A Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck” by Sophie Elmhirst
A couple survived 117 days in a life raft after a whale sank their boat. The author elevates a thrilling retelling of a maritime adventure to a beautiful commentary about fate and marriage.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
September 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism" by Amanda Montell
“Cultish” offers a breezy, non-technical introduction to understanding the importance of language in developing trust, loyalty, and identity within a group.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
September 8, 2025 at 2:17 AM
"Dr. Calhoun's Mousery" by Lee Allen Dugatkin
Does society break down in overcrowded cities? With a background in behavioral ecology, John B. Calhoun attempted to address the societal concern for unbridled population growth and overcrowding by studying rats and mice.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
August 26, 2025 at 4:13 PM
“Double Exposure: Resurveying the West with Timothy O'Sullivan, America's Most Mysterious War Photographer” by Robert Sullivan

The author visits O’Sullivan's famous photographic sites from the Civil War to the American West. The book is structured around photographs, so is best read in hard cover.
August 17, 2025 at 6:32 PM
“What it Took to Win: A History of the Democratic Party” by Michael Kazin
Authoritative and elegant history. Kazin introduces the leading Democrats of the age, the battles they fought and the choices they made. A message from the past: “We organize, we vote, and we win.”
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
July 31, 2025 at 2:45 AM
On Democracies and Death Cults: Israel and the Future of Civilization, by Douglas Murray,
Why is the world not with the victims, but with the perpetrators? An eyewitness to Gaza, the author asks, “What can people who value life do in the face of those who worship death?”
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
July 21, 2025 at 5:21 PM
“The Witch's Door: Oddities and Tales from the Esoteric to the Extreme” by Ryan Cohn and Regina Rossi
“All collectors are a little strange. It’s practically a prerequisite in this business.” bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
July 14, 2025 at 6:11 PM
"Operation Nemesis" by Eric Bogosian
Operation Nemesis was an assassination campaign mounted by expatriate Armenians to punish and destroy those who led the campaign to rid the new Muslim Turkey of Christian Armenians. First-person accounts form the core of the book.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
July 12, 2025 at 4:08 PM
"A Gorgeous Excitement" by Cynthia Weiner
A picaresque coming of age novel set in New York’s preppy upper east side in the 1980s. Nina learns the hard way that avoiding pain isn’t the same thing as happiness. Sometimes you must hurt to know the difference.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/06/a-go...
"A Gorgeous Excitement: A Novel" by Cynthia Weiner
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
June 18, 2025 at 3:28 AM
"Orbital" by Samantha Harvey
“Orbital describes a day in the life—and sixteen orbits of our planet—of six astronauts. In so doing, Samantha Harvey has given us an elegy to our planet and a paean to the pain of our human condition.”
bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/06/orbi...
"Orbital" by Samantha Harvey
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
June 14, 2025 at 8:53 PM
"The Unknown Adventurer" by Barry Walton
Documentarian Barry Walton grew up in the heartland, attended bible college, then headed west to seek his fortune. Here, he recounts how his many failures contributed to his many successes. The strength of the book is in its stories, well-told.
June 14, 2025 at 5:17 PM
A remarkable memoir from the Amazon:
--firsthand account of what happens after initial contact,
--window on primitive, sustainable living and itsbelief systems and cultures,
--stirring case study of the power of organizing to protect the environment.

bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/05/we-w...
“We Will Be Jaguars: A Memoir of my People” by Nemonte Nenquimo and Mitch Anderson
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
May 27, 2025 at 10:34 PM
"The World After Gaza" by Pankaj Mishra
An Indian public intellectual looks at Gaza, sees post-colonial parallels with his own country, and asks, where did we go so wrong?
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
May 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
"Danger on Peaks" by Gary Snyder
Northwest-set, Buddhist inspired poetry book-ended by the tragedies of the bomb, Mt. St. Helens, and the Bamiyan Buddhas and Twin Towers. This slim volume is notable for Snyder's strong sense of place and the strength of his observations.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
May 3, 2025 at 12:50 AM
"Washington's Gay General" (Trujillo and Hastings)
The man who trained George Washington’s army was gay. The graphic novel forthrightly depicts the life and times of America’s first gay general. Kudos to the authors for bringing this tale out of the closet.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/04/wash...
“Washington’s Gay General: The Legends and Loves of Baron von Steuben” by Josh Trujillo and Levi Hastings
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
April 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
"Seotse" by MIchael W. Shurgot
A rich tale of spiritual renewal set in the Old West.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/04/seot...
"Seotse" by MIchael W. Shurgot
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
April 20, 2025 at 4:42 PM
"This is Happiness" by Niall Williams
As electricity comes, Ireland's rains pause. Our narrator recalls a time of great change, when he lived with his grandparents in a humble cottage and literally tumbled for love. Irish storytelling at its best.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com/2025/04/this...
“This is Happiness” by Niall Williams
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
April 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
“20,000 Miles South: A Pan-American Adventure in a Seagoing Jeep from the Arctic Circle to Tierra del Fuego” by Helen and Frank Schreider
Just like the title says, great adventure tale from 1954.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
April 6, 2025 at 4:19 AM
“Frozen in Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition” (Beattie& Geiger)
Modern forensic science answers the question, why did the a Franklin expedition fail so completely? Modern forensic evidence has changed the story of the expedition.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
Bookman's Book reports
A blog of book reviews, many eclectic, all very interesting.
bookmanreader.blogspot.com
March 16, 2025 at 6:38 PM