New York Hustle: Pool Rooms, School Rooms and Street Corners Review: Intense
Stan Maron’s New York Hustle is a moving and intense memoir, a look back that begins in the 1940s. As a working-class Jewish kid growing […]
Articles by Eleanor J. Bader
Woman With Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues Review: A Haphazard, But Intriguing Read
Her birth name was Lizzie Douglas [1893-1973] but blues aficionados have long known her as Memphis Minnie, a brash, feisty, independent woman who refused to […]
Why I Killed My Best Friend Review: When BFFs Become Frienemies
Amanda Michalopoulou’s Why I Killed My Best Friend is an intense and evocative examination of female friendship. The story begins when nine-year-old Maria arrives in […]
Voice Male: The Untold Story of the Profeminist Men’s Movement Review: Thought Provoking
For more than 40 years, women throughout the world have been organizing for gender equality. Of course, this has meant different things to different people. […]
‘Forward 13: Waking Up the American Dream’ Review: Eye Opening
Filmmaker Patrick S. Lovell calls January 15, 2008 his “personal Pearl Harbor,†the day the “world turned to darkness.†Until then, life had gone according […]
They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars—The Untold Story Review: Brutally Honest
“They Were Soldiers” is a horrifying book. No, it’s not filled with ghosts, goblins, or vampires and it’s not badly written, boring, or unintelligible. But […]
Dream Maker Review: Good Counsel, Just Buried
In Dream Maker, Sammy Hassan, one of Nigeria’s most celebrated spoken-word poets, takes readers into the kingdom established by the Biblical King Solomon. There, through […]
A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up With George Review: Sassy
To say that Kelly Carlin, daughter of legendary comic and social critic George Carlin [1937-2008], had an unconventional childhood is like saying Coney Island is […]
Stop Here Review: A Women’s Take on the American Dream
Beverly Gologorsky’s kaleidoscopic and complex second novel introduces four diverse women—Ava, Dina, Mila, and Rosalyn—and the working-class, suburban Long Island community in which they live. […]
YUDL and Other Stories Review: Gritty and Powerful
Yudl and his wife Ryah—Jewish immigrants from Ukraine– and their native-born daughters, Ellen and Baby, are trying to gain a toehold in the US of […]
The Happy Poet Review: When Credit Card Bills Meet Tofu
Bill [played by writer/director Paul Gordon], the hapless hero of The Happy Poet is in trouble. His freshly minted Master’s Degree in creative writing—concentration poetry—has […]