Review_NONFICTION
classifications outperformed any result
provided by each alone,” proving crowd-
sourcing’s applicability to disparate fields.
Thorough, casually written, and full of
anecdotes, Lintott’s narrative digresses
and ventures off track at times but
remains engaging. His enthusiastic
account should persuade anyone who
reads it of the value of citizen science.
(Dec.)
For Kids of All Ages:
The National Society of Film
Critics on Children’s Movies
Edited by Peter Keough. Rowman & Littlefield,
$22.95 trade paper (254p) ISBN 978-1-5381-
2858-9
Film critic Keough presents a splendid
group of essays from fellow reviewers in
celebration of children’s cinema. Parents
seeking viewing suggestions will find
plenty, but the focus is on learning to view
movies critically, as in Ebert’s description
of his grand-
children’s first
viewing of E.T.
the Extra-
Terrestrial. More
than a doting
grandfather’s
story, it illus-
trates how even
young children
can intuitively
understand a
filmmaker’s stylistic choices. Essays about
the authors’ own formative film experiences
have an irresistible earnestness. Critic
James Verniere’s fascination with The 7th
Voyage of Sinbad and its Ray Harryhausen
special effects led him into his school’s
library in search of books about Sinbad,
and later, into a film reviewing career.
Keough’s connection to Old Yeller is a
memorable if heartbreaking story revealing
how films can resonate with significant
events (such as a pet’s death) in one’s life.
Each selection is a gem, particularly Carrie
Rickey’s on Little Women’s many adapta-
tions. Glancing at the contributor list
gives the only reason for pause: out of 28,
only four are women. Otherwise, Keough
has assembled an admirable collection
that cinephiles will want to read straight
through as they embrace a “wondrous
immersion into another world.” (Dec.)
An Impeccable Spy: Richard
Sorge, Stalin’s Master Agent
Owen Matthews. Bloomsbury, $30 (448p)
ISBN 978-1-4088-5778-6
Former war correspondent Matthews
(Stalin’s Children) examines Soviet spy-
master Richard Sorge in this vivid biog-
raphy. Born in 1895 in Baku, Russia,
(now Azerbaijan) to a Russian mother and
German father, Sorge fought for the
German Imperial Army in WWI. After
the war, he joined the German
Communist Party and made his way to
Moscow, where he was recruited by the
Red Army’s intelligence agency. He was
sent back to Germany to spy on the Nazi
Party, and then worked undercover in
Shanghai as a foreign newspaper corre-
spondent. Arriving in Tokyo in 1933, he
infiltrated Japan’s military and political
elite, forming a spy ring of communist
sympathizers. His insights into Japan
were valued by the German ambassador to
Tokyo, who made the spy privy to Nazi
plans. Sorge gave Moscow early notice
that Hitler would betray the 1939 nonag-
gression pact he signed with the SovietUnion, and sent messages warning that
Germany would invade Russia. Stalin
dismissed those missives, however, and
Sorge, according to Matthews, spiraled
into alcoholism and engaged in such risky
behavior as sleeping with the German
ambassador’s wife. Arrested by Japanese
police in October 1941, Sorge confessed
under torture and was hanged. His intelli-
gence proved crucial in the Soviet victory
at the Battle of Moscow, however. This
exhaustive, crisply written portrait of
“one of the greatest spies who ever lived”
will fascinate espionage fans. (Dec.)Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant
and Tragic Greeley Polar Expedition
Buddy Levy. St. Martin’s, $29.99 (400p)
ISBN 978-1-250-18219-7
Levy (River of Darkness) recounts the
story of the 1881–1884 Lady Franklin
Bay Expedition in this evocative, deeply
researched account. Led by Lt. Adolphus
W. Greeley, the U.S. Army Signal Corps
expedition sought to establish a research
station in the Canadian Arctic; collect
“magnetic, astronomical, and meteoro-Gre at Expectations
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and Canada
by Jack LohmanA provocative, progressive
rejoinder to the status quo,
from the perspective of a
disrupter and global leader
in the museum world.Available at rbcm.ca/books
or your favourite bookstore