Memoir

Book Critic John Leonard reviews From Beirut to Jerusalem, Thomas Friedman's account of his ten years covering the Middle East for The New York Times.

Book critic John Leonard reviews the German author's new book, about his travels to Calcutta. Frustrated with the industrial revival of the two Germanies, Grass goes abroad to learn about other models of national identity.

Baker's new memoir, a sequel to his book Growing Up, chronicles his career as a reporter during his twenties and thirties. Book critic John Leonard says that the story, like Baker's New York Times columns, twists and turns to explore the fraught inner workings of journalism.

John Leonard reviews fellow book critic Jonathan Yardley's new memoir, Our Kind of People. Leonard disagrees with Yardley's world view, but his real criticism lies in how the author glosses over the enduring literary and cultural legacy of WASPs in the United States.

Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein has a new memoir about his parents, two left-wing organizers who faced persecution because of their politics. Book critic John Leonard says it demystifies the McCarthy era and the day-to-day lives of activists.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Eva Hoffman's new memoir, Lost in Translation, about the writer's childhood in Eastern Europe and later move to North America. Leonard says the book deserves the same praise as other literary memoirs like Nabokov's Speak, Memory and Kingston's The Woman Warrior.

Bassist Milt Hinton pushed his instrument to new territories in jazz. He was also an avid photographer, who took pictures other noteworthy musicians during their tours across the country. His new memoir and photography collection is called Bass Lines. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says the book brings Hinton out of the shadows.

Book critic John Leonard says that Ingmar Bergman's lacerating new autobiography, The Magic Lantern, is an important literary text. It explores Bergman's bleak inner life as well as his philosophies on filmmaking.

Book critic John Leonard reviews Roth's new autobiography, which includes imagined critiques of the author by some of his recurring characters. Leonard says it's an interesting but tiresome exploration of Roth's neuroses and thematic predilections.

Book critic John Leonard reviews a collection of essays by Primo Levi.