news archive
March 2025
Posted 03.17.25: Kirkus Reviews on Carpet Diem: Tales from the World of Oriental Rugs by George Bradley: “An unexpectedly engrossing account of a decades-long preoccupation with carpets, their history and lore, and his interactions with kindred connoisseurs, dealers, restorers, and disreputable players in the trade.... Bradley's personal journey of discovery, learning, bargaining, acquisition, and lamentation, which began in 2003, is fascinating. Even those not immediately drawn to the subject will find his weave hard to resist.... Carpet Diem is an education. Bradley's take on the strategies of bargaining is particularly enjoyable.... Bradley's prose is crisp, fresh as a new loaf of bread, and not without a certain elegance of description. He can paint vivid word pictures, especially of New England and Asia. Bradley augments his book with engaging asides, a detailed appendix, a glossary of terms, a bibliography, and 11 full-color photographs. The allure of artisanal rugs is afforded the treatment it deserves.”
February 2025
Posted 02.15.25: “Gen. Douglas MacArthur was a conniving glory hound who sold out his second-in-command, Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, according to this incisive chronicle. Historian Horn recaps the 1941 Japanese invasion of the Philippines, when MacArthur was hailed as a hero after his men on the Bataan peninsula held out for several months despite facing starvation. But Horn argues that MacArthur bungled the campaign, stayed relatively safe and well-fed, and was derelict in abandoning his men for Australia. The real hero, Horn contends, was Wainwright, who skillfully led the troops at the front and shared their hardships.... Horn's profile is a colorful addition to the library of disparaging MacArthur portraits.... The result is a perceptive take on the psychology of military leadership.”— Publishers Weekly on The Fate of the Generals: MacArthur, Wainwright, and the Epic Battle for the Philippines by Jonathan D. Horn