From history and espionage to suspense thrillers, biographies and baseball, we have a little something for everyone. Here are The Washington Times reviewers’ top choices for this summer’s must-read list:
THE MOSCOW RULES: THE SECRET CIA TACTICS THAT HELPED AMERICA WIN THE COLD WAR
By Antonio and Jonna Mendez
Public Affairs, $28, 238 pages
How to be a good spy: The Moscow Rules that emerged over the years proved invaluable. The cardinal goal was to convince the KGB that an officer was simply going through his daily routine, when in fact he was planning to “go black” for a swift meeting with a contact. (more)
BACKLASH
By Brad Thor
Atria, $27.99, 384 pages
Brad Thor keeps getting better and better: The daunting challenge Brad Thor faces as America’s greatest thriller writer is trying to best himself — yet he keeps right on doing it. (more)
THE BODY LIES
By Jo Baker
Alfred A. Knopf, $25.95, 288 pages
Does it have to start with a dead woman? There are two preludes to “The Body Lies.” The first is a brief description of snow falling on a frozen landscape in the north of England. (more)
CHAPLAIN: THE WORLD WAR II LETTERS OF ARMY AIR CORPS CHAPLAIN PASCHAL DUPUY FOWLKES
Edited by Rives Fowlkes Carroll
Opus/Politics and Prose Bookstore, $16.95, 327 pages
Letters from a member of the greatest generation: The picture that emerges is not one of a naive, gung-ho zealot, but rather of an intelligent, devoted family man, not unaware of imperfections in his own country. (more)
DOING JUSTICE: A PROSECUTOR’S THOUGHTS ON CRIME, PUNISHMENT, AND THE RULE OF LAW
By Preet Bharara
Knopf, $26.95, 345 pages
Distilling the nature and meaning of justice: Want food for thought? Here’s a banquet. This book makes you think about subjects eminently worth thinking about, like truth, justice and the rule of law. (more)
ON FAITH: LESSONS FROM AN AMERICAN BELIEVER
By Antonin Scalia
Edited by Christopher J. Scalia and Ed Whelan
Foreword by Justice Clarence Thomas
Crown Forum, $22, 256 pages
Faith in American society and its protection under the law: This treasure of a book offers a glimpse into the central role Catholicism played in Antonin Scalia’s personal life and the late Supreme Court justice’s understanding of religious liberty in our public life. (more)
COLLAPSE: A WORLD IN CRISIS AND THE URGENCY OF AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
By Douglas E. Schoen
Encounter Books, $25.99, 255 pages
How America can recover its rightful place in world affairs: Mr. Schoen is judicious in his evaluation, separating statements of policy and actions from tweets and chit-chat designed to outrage political opponents, of whom there’s no shortage. (more)
THE BRITISH ARE COMING: THE WAR FOR AMERICA, LEXINGTON TO PRINCETON, 1775-1777
By Rick Atkinson
Henry Holt and Co., $40, 800 pages
Bringing the early days of America to life: Paul Revere probably never yelled “The British are coming.” This is only one of many surprising revelations in Rick Atkinson’s well-researched and eminently readable new book “The British are Coming.” (more)
THE MATRIARCH: BARBARA BUSH AND THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN DYNASTY
By Susan Page
Twelve, $32.50, 432 pages
Recalling the tough and witty first lady who helped shape history: She was first lady and second lady and there may be few more difficult social or psychological roles to play. (more)
ROGUE STRIKE
By David Ricciardi
Berkley, $27, 416 pages
Drones in Yemen keep this thriller percolating: This tale from thriller writer David Ricciardi takes place in Zinjibar, Yemen. The main character, Jake Keller, is there on his first mission with the CIA’s elite Special Activities Center working alongside senior officer Curt Roach. (more)
TO CATCH A SPY: THE ART OF COUNTERINTELLIGENCE
By James M. Olson
Georgetown University Press, $29, 233 pages
Why counterintelligence is important: A five-cloak, five-dagger read for anyone interested in intelligence. (more)
HUNTING LEROUX: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE TAKEDOWN OF A CRIMINAL GENIUS AND HIS EMPIRE
By Elaine Shannon
Michael Mann Books/William Morrow, $27.99, 368 pages
Every villain needs his own island: “Hunting LeRoux” is well-written, informative and suspenseful book that reads like a thriller. (more)
THOSE PEOPLE
By Louise Candlish Berkley, $26, 368 pages
Homeowner expectations on a street called Lowland Way: We see there’s something a little overwrought in the denizens of such places as Lowland Way. (more)
K: A HISTORY OF BASEBALL IN TEN PITCHES
By Tyler Kepner
Doubleday, $28.95, 302 pages
We all love this little thing, this miracle: baseball. An exceptionally well written treatment of a significant part of American social history from the 19th century to today. (more)
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