Washington Independent Review of Books

The Independent is a nonprofit platform focused on book reviews and discussions about the literary world. It is a passion project created by a dedicated group of writers and editors primarily based in the Washington, DC area, who are concerned about the decline of quality book reviews in major newspapers. We update our site daily with: - Insightful reviews of newly released books. - Special content, including interviews with prominent authors, essays on various literary themes, and other enjoyable reading-related articles we believe you'll love. - Information on literary events taking place in and around Washington, DC, including Baltimore.

Local

English

Online/Digital

Outlet metrics

Domain Authority

Ranking

Global

#1492825

United States

#503301

Arts and Entertainment/Books and Literature

#2045

Traffic sources

Monthly visitors

Articles

Shake It Up, Baby!

1 week ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Michael Causey

I figure these two evergreen, can’t-fail subjects will ensure that I move enough inventory to live the lavish life I deserve in my twilight years. (I’m currently accepting pitches from venture capitalists.) And good news! I have an inaugural offering: Ken McNab’s Shake It Up, Baby!: The Rise of Beatlemania and the Mayhem of 1963.
A Bard by Any Other Name

2 weeks ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Darrell Delamaide

I am an avowed Oxfordian because it’s impossible for me to believe that an untutored actor like William Shakespeare penned all those magnificent plays. Rather, I’m confident they were authored by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Nonetheless, there’s a whole establishment of scholars who oppose this theory and maintain that it was indeed an untutored actor — who died barely able to scrawl his name — who somehow conjured those timeless works. Ultimately, of course, it doesn’t matter.
Washington Independent Review of Books

2 weeks ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Brody Mullins |Luke Mullins |Diane Kiesel |Steven Ujifusa

The historian rediscovers a hidden founder of the Underground Railroad and a remarkably human clergyman. Author Q&A,
Newshawks in Berlin

4 weeks ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Eugene Meyer

But what exactly is the job? Is it to tell truthfully and fully the news, without fear or favor, as the cherished mantra of the New York Times would have it? Or is it to engage in “responsibility censorship,” what Germany expected of foreign correspondents under the Third Riech? Violating this often ill-defined rule could — and did — result in the expulsion of journalists who then were free to report from the outside on what they actually saw.
Of Novellas & Other Niches

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Caroline Bock

Cue “Pomp and Circumstance”! Ready the tassels and caps! With graduation season underway, I thought it timely to speak with another student-run literary press, George Mason University’s Stillhouse Press.
Flight of the Wild Swan

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Carrie Callaghan

When she is 7 years old, young Florence hears the piteous cries of an ensnared hare outside her wealthy family’s house. She disentangles the animal and finds herself deeply moved by the terror in its eyes, only to have the poor creature die, bloody, in her arms as she rushes home. Her family’s sensible housekeeper naturally serves the hare for dinner.
Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Freidan, Mailer

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Eugene Meyer

What does it mean in 2025 to be a Jew in America? It is sometimes to be demonized by the far right and the radical left. Or to be a pawn in the political wars, where antisemitism has become not so much anathema as, in the hands of demagogues, opposition to it has become a cynical tool, an excuse to achieve other ends — like withdrawing federal funds from universities or criminalizing free speech. But it wasn’t always so.
When the World Explodes: Essays

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Alice Stephens

By the age of 7, Amy Lee Scott has experienced the loss of two mothers: one through adoption from South Korea to the United States, and the other to cancer. In her debut collection of essays, When the World Explodes, Scott sees the violence and disruption of her personal history reflected in global catastrophes. Adopted as an infant into a white family which eventually grew to include six children, the author writes, “My childhood was riddled with a series of disasters, natural and otherwise.
The Watermark: A Novel

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Drew Gallagher

Once upon a time, a fairy princess named Taylor Swift held random drawings on a fan website, and a few lucky Swifties would be chosen and invited to meet with her in Nashville to listen to new songs. For those happy few, it was a magical trip to the chocolate factory without having to buy a candy bar. The concept behind The Watermark is similar: A reclusive Welsh author, Augustus Fate, invites fans Rachel and Jaime to an exclusive meeting at his cottage for talks, interviews, and a spot of tea.
The Franklin Stove: An Unintended American Revolution

1 month ago | washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com | Stephen Case

Benjamin Franklin’s “stoves” — meant for heating, not cooking — were heavy cast-iron contraptions about the “size of a side table,” writes Joyce E. Chaplin. Burning fewer logs than other devices, they boasted ingeniously located metal plates that channeled the fire to radiate more heat and expel smoke more efficiently than other woodstoves. Harvard history professor Chaplin, a superb scholar, has written in The Franklin Stovea reader-friendly, fact-packed, and meaty book.