In one of Elizabeth Bishop’s poems, which Bill Belleville quotes, she wrote that Florida is “the state that floats in brackish water / held together by mangrove roots.” That sentiment serves to bolster one of his main points: that... Read More

Sam Keith is remembered for chronicling the life in the Alaska wilderness of his friend Dick Proenneke, arguably the world’s most famous recluse. He did it in One Man’s Wilderness, which has sold 400,000 copies since its publication... Read More

There is an assumption that accomplished writers possess a more finely honed sense of observation than the rest of us. Or, at the very least, a heightened proclivity for the quirky. This anthology, which features the likes of Tim Cahill,... Read More

Prague, the focus city of revolutions and ethnic slaughters since the 9th century, has somehow maintained its architectural heritage and its literary and artistic fervor, according to Andrew Beattie, the author of this devilishly... Read More

Korea is different and takes some getting used to, Daniel Tudor declares. Unless, for instance, your culinary tastes run toward silkworm larvae, a common fare offered by street vendors. Tudor doesn’t confess his personal opinion about... Read More

In Stan Schatt’s "Silent Partner", a tabloid reporter into S&M and his lover of the week are found dead in a motel room, and Detective Frankie Ryan is back on duty just in time to get the case. As a woman in a male-dominated... Read More

Richard Gid Powers’s "The Mystery of the Trinity" takes off in medias res and doesn’t let up its relentless pace until the very end. Ann Grayce, heiress and one of America’s most prominent Catholics, suddenly finds herself leading... Read More

Georgia Frontiere’s "Horoscope" is a thrilling race against time, as a serial killer obsessed with astrology terrorizes the east coast. Women are turning up dead, tied together by the astrological symbols carved into their legs. And... Read More