John McMurtrie

San Francisco

Nonfiction Editor at Kirkus Reviews

Nonfiction editor, @KirkusReviews. General editor of LITERARY JOURNEYS, published by @princetonupress.

Articles

Best of the Century: ‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’

3 weeks ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

Reading Lolita in Tehran drew admirers around the world when it came out in 2003. A rousing account of young women secretly gathering to read Western classics—against the dictates of a repressive regime in Iran—the book was appealing to anyone who believed in the power of literature and the fundamental principle that anyone should have the right to access it.
Best of the Century: ‘Alexander Hamilton’

3 weeks ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

Ron Chernow, who grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in Queens, bought a place last year in the Dakota, the storied Manhattan apartment building whose residents have included Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, and John Lennon. It’s safe to say that most people who live at the exclusive address have made their fortunes in fields more lucrative than historical authorship. But few historians are like Chernow. This year marks the 10th anniversary of that revolutionary work’s off-Broadway premiere.
IRON MAIDEN's BRUCE DICKINSON announces 'The Mandrake Project: Year One' graphic novel

4 weeks ago | revolvermag.com | John McMurtrie

“It has long been obvious to me that comics and metal should be related,” Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson told Revolver in 2024, speaking about his solo album and comic-book series The Mandrake Project. Today (March 27th), the project continues with the announcement The Mandrake Project: Year One graphic novel, which collects the first four issues in the series, along with the prologue (previously only available in the vinyl release of Dickinson's “The Afterglow of Ragnarok” single).
5 Nonfiction Books To Make Your Reading Global

1 month ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

Running a cemetery is perhaps not the most obvious route to becoming a bestselling author. But that’s exactly what happened to Benoît Gallot. The curator of Père-Lachaise, the famous cemetery in Paris, Gallot drew praise for his 2022 memoir, La vie secrète d’un cimetière; the book grew out of the buzz he generated in sharing photos of the burial ground during the quiet of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Women Are Making History in These Nonfiction Reads

1 month ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

It takes initiative to research one’s roots. It takes far more drive—and outright courage—to challenge a world-renowned university to establish ownership of images documenting one’s ancestors.
How Flexible Crystals Are Able To Bend Without Breaking?

2 months ago | bizzbuzz.news | Jack K. Clegg |John McMurtrie

The molecules and atoms don't strongly resist changes, making the crystal highly elastic despite its molecular structure which is typical of a regular, inflexible crystal. We could not have learned this with either of the traditional approaches for analysing elasticity We are all familiar with elastic materials – just think of a rubber band that can return to its original shape after being stretched. Humans have used elastic materials for millennia.
Crystals can’t bend - or can they? New research sheds light on elusive ‘flexible crystals’

2 months ago | theconversation.com | Jack K. Clegg |Ben Powell |John McMurtrie

We are all familiar with elastic materials – just think of a rubber band which can return to its original shape after being stretched. Humans have used elastic materials for millennia. These days, they’re in everything from optical fibres to aeroplanes and buildings. But until now, scientists haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly how these materials return to their original shape. What happens at the level of their molecules?
4 Nonfiction Debuts That Stand Out From the Crowd

2 months ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

Each of us, if we are lucky, has transformative experiences in our lives that make us more sensitive to our surroundings. For Chloe Dalton, such an awakening came after she crossed paths with a baby hare—a leveret—in rural England. The surprise encounter with the palm-size creature, which soon grew into a playful and prancing marvel that lived with Dalton, inspired her to write a book about the experience.
Spring 2025 Preview: The Nonfiction Must-Reads

2 months ago | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

New years are about renewals, and few know more about starting fresh than Hanif Kureishi. In 2022, the British Pakistani author and filmmaker broke his neck in a fall, leaving him largely paralyzed. Since then, Kureishi, who’s 70, has undergone spinal surgery and rehabilitation and struggles with constant pain. Through it all, he’s retained his dark sense of humor. It’s on full display in his forthcoming memoir, Shattered (Ecco, Feb. 4).
6 Essential New Reads for Black History Month

Jan 24, 2025 | kirkusreviews.com | John McMurtrie

It was July 11, 1932. Angelo Herndon dropped by his local post office in Atlanta to pick up his mail when two police officers handcuffed him, brought him to their station, and proceeded to beat him. Eleven days passed before Herndon was charged with a crime: attempting to incite insurrection. He would remain jailed, in squalid conditions, for close to six months before being released on bail. At Herndon’s trial, the prosecutor urged the jury—all white men—to impose the death penalty.