André Bernard is vice president and secretary of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The author of four books, he also compiles “Commonplace Book” for the American Scholar. He
Book Reviews
Fall 2008
The Casual Reader
As the pile by my bedside grows, and the piles in various corners of my house grow, I feel both happy and alarmed. Happy because I know there will never […]
Book Reviews
Spring 2008
The Casual Reader
Wish I Could Be There: Notes from a Phobic Life. By Allen Shawn. New York: Viking, 2007. 288 pp. $24.95. For me, it’s the trains. As a resident of a […]
Book Reviews
Fall 2007
The Casual Reader
Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food by Jane and Michael Stern. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006, 304 pp. $24.00. Not long ago, heading home […]
Book Reviews
Spring 2007
The Casual Reader
Arthur & George by Julian Barnes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 2006. 400 pp., $24.95. I had not intended to read this book. Although I read and completely loved, […]
Book Reviews
Winter 2007
The Casual Reader
The Devil’s Teeth: A True Story of Obsession and Survival among America’s Great White Sharks by Susan Casey. New York: Owl Books, 2006. 304 pp. $25.00. The killing took place […]
Book Reviews
Autumn 2006
The Casual Reader
Melville: His World and Work by Andrew Delbanco. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. 448 pp. $30.00. In the 1840s New York City had a population of six hundred thousand, […]
Book Reviews
Summer 2006
The Casual Reader
Some say life is the thing, but I prefer reading.—Ruth Rendell I have never read War and Peace. Nor have I read The Magic Mountain, James Frey’s now-infamous A Million […]
Andre Bernard
A Conversation With Andre Bernard By KReditor David Lynn Transcript David Lynn: What was the initial draw or inspiration to writing a column such as “The Casual Reader”? How does […]