NY Review of Books

The New York Review of Books

I recently bought an introductory-priced subscription to this monthly periodical printed on newsprint, about sixty pages, and somewhat bigger than a Sunday newspaper insert. It reviews books coming on the market, mostly nonfiction, though some fiction and poetry. The layout at first confused me as I expected straightforward reviews of books.

Whether discussing one book or several books on one specific topic, the reviews are full articles that give an overview of the subject, often from the viewpoint of the writer of the article, who goes on to discuss the book on the subject in question.

The June 8^th edition for example explores one book on the rising return of religion in China and two books on Egypt’s current political structure. For the first, I wasn’t always sure when a point came from the author of the article or the author of the book on it, though it was mostly documented. Either way, I found the information fascinating that religion is expanding unimpeded as long as it doesn’t send up red flags to the current political powers. Protestantism for instance is accepted and growing rapidly, whereas Catholicism—with its loyalty to an outside power, the Vatican—has been stonewalled. The second article was more clearly from the author’s point of view since he discussed two books on the subject of Egypt’s current power structure—a dictatorship that has dealt violently with dissenters.

American Politics

With the new administration and so much controversy surrounding it, it isn’t surprising that many of the reviews center on works about those controversies and how Donald Trump won the presidency. Two books in particular talk about the role of Facebook in getting political messages to voters and the dangers of hacking in regards to politics.

I found it interesting that one article about the firing of FBI Director James Comey had no accompanying book, the article a sequel, I gather, to a previous article about his role in Hilary Clinton’s loss—before my subscription, so I haven’t read it. This one was interesting and a good review of what I had heard on the news, though nothing new was added to what I have already heard.

Advertising

Most of the advertising is for books—the majority nonfiction, but novels as well—sprinkled with ads for cultural events or offers from museums, universities, etc. Unobtrusive, they blend into the surrounding articles and are interesting to explore.

If anyone is interested, the website for subscriptions is: www.nybooks.com/customer-service