Book Review | ‘House of Diggs: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Consequential Black Congressman, Charles C. Diggs Jr.’ by Marion Orr
The story of Michigan’s first Black member of Congress.
Brian Tanguay
Recent Stories
10 Best Books of 2025
The California Review of Books’s team shares their picks for the best books of the year.
Book Review | ‘Savings and Trust: The Rise and Betrayal of the Freedman’s Bank’ by Justene Hill Edwards
A leading historian exposes how the rise and tragic failure of the Freedman’s Bank has shaped economic inequality in America.
Book Review | ‘Thanks to Life: A Biography of Violeta Parra’ by Ericka Verba
A Chilean folklorista gets a long-awaited due.
Book Review | ‘Mendell Station: A Novel’ by J. B. Hwang
A remarkably assured debut novel and realistic portrayal of working-class life.
Book Review | ‘A Case of Mice and Murder’ by Sally Smith
A murder mystery well told, taking place in a cloistered sanctuary in the heart of London where lawyers and judges have plied their trade since the 14th century.
Book Review | The Chutnification of History: Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’
Revisiting Rushdie’s 1981 novel.
Book Review | ‘Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy’ by Katherine Stewart
An example of how outstanding journalism provides context and connection on the rise of a political movement.
Book Review | ‘Awake For Ever in a Sweet Unrest: a novel’ by Chuck Rosenthal
A magical literary (fictional) adventure with John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley, and Lord Byron.
Book Review | ‘The Big Green Tent: A Novel’ by Ludmila Ulitskaya, Translated by Polly Gannon
A Russian epic in the tradition of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, set in the period after Stalin’s death.
