Featured Reviews

The Wind in the Willows (1908) - Kenneth Grahame  (Grade:A+)

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Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland (2018) - Patrick Raden Keefe  (Grade:A-)

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Come Back Dead (1997) - Terence Faherty  (Grade:B+)

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The Hawaiian Cult that raised Tulsi Gabbard (with Christine Gralow) [Podcast] (2026) - Christine Gralow  (Grade:B)

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Rebecca (1938) - Daphne du Maurier  (Grade:A)

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Pay-Off in Blood (1962) - Brett Halliday  (Grade:B)

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Silent Covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform (2004) - Derrick A. Bell, Jr  (Grade:B+)

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A Political Philosophy of Conservatism: Prudence, Moderation and Tradition (Bloomsbury Studies in the Aristotelian Tradition) (2021) - Ferenc Horcher  (Grade:A-)

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On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century (2017) - Timothy Snyder  (Grade:B+)

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The Right Darwin?: Evolution, Religion, And the Future of Democracy (2006) - Carson L. Holloway  (Grade:A)

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Mantle of the Prophet : Religion and Politics in Iran (1985) - Roy Mottahedeh  (Grade:B)

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Death on a Friday Afternoon: Meditations on the Last Words of Jesus from the Cross (2000) - Richard John Neuhaus  (Grade:A+)

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AUTHOR SUBMISSIONS:
Life of Pi: A Novel (2001) - Yann Martel  (Grade:A)

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The Population Bomb (1968) - Paul R. Ehrlich  (Grade:F)

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Barabbas (1951) - Par Lagerkvist  (Grade:A+)

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The Universal Baseball Association, Inc. : J. Henry Waugh, Prop. () - Robert Coover  (Grade:A-)

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MOVIE REVIEWS:

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F1; The Movie (2025) - Joseph Kosinski  (Grade:A+)

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Phantom Thread (2017) - Paul Thomas Anderson  (Grade:A-)

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BEST CONSERVATIVE FILMS:
Andrei Rublev (1966) - Andrei Tarkovsky  (Grade:A)

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It Happens Every Spring (1949) - Lloyd Bacon  (Grade:B)

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The Apostle (1997) - Robert Duvall  (Grade:A)

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Brothers Judd Daily

Brothers Judd QuasiDaily Bookmarks:
05/20/26:

Charles Lindbergh flew solo from New York to Paris on May 20-21, 1927. Read Orrin's review of Scott Berg's tremendous new biography Lindbergh (Grade: A+) The excellent movie version of the flight, The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)(read Orrin's review of the Pulitzer Prize winning book), stars Jimmy Stewart (1908-97), who was born in Indiana, PA on May 20, 1908 and charted Lindbergh's progress with a wooden plane and a wall map.

Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) became known as Lady Lindy when she crossed the Atlantic on May 20, 1932

John Stuart Mill (1806-73) was born in London, ENG on May 20, 1806. He was one of the founders of the philosophy of Utilitarianism. Brothers Judd recommends On Liberty (1859)

Jimmy Stewart (1908-97) was born in Indiana, PA on May 20, 1908. Perhaps the greatest American actor of all time, he made dozens of great movies, particular favorites of Brothers Judd include: You Can't Take It With You (1938); Destry Rides Again (1939); Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939); The Philadelphia Story (1940); It's a Wonderful Life (1946); Harvey (1950); Winchester '73 (1950); Rear Window (1954); The Spirit of St. Louis (1957); Vertigo (1958); Anatomy of a Murder (1959); The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962); and, Flight of the Phoenix (1966).

Malcolm X (1925-65) was born in Omaha, NE on May 19, 1925. He became a Black Muslim in prison and a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. Following a hadj to Mecca in 1964, he converted to orthodox Islam and abandoned black separatist nationalism. He was gunned down by Black Muslim assassins in February, 1965. His book The Autobiography of Malcolm X (read Orrin's review) made the Modern Library Top 100 Nonfiction books and Mr. Doggett's Student's Summer Reading List.

Karol Jozef (John Paul II) Wojtyla (1920-) was born in Wadowice, POL on May 18, 1920. He is one of Brothers Judd's Ten Greatest Figures of the 20th Century.

On May 17, 1954, in Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court unanimously declared that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal" and, as such, violate the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees all citizens "equal protection of the laws."

THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE opened on May 17, 1792.

James "Cool Papa" Bell (1903-91) was born in Starkville, MS on May 17, 1903. Satchel Paige said of Bell that he was so fast that he could flick the light switch in their hotel room and be in bed before the light went out.

Andy Kaufman died on May 16, 1984. Jim Carrey starred as Kaufman in the Milos Forman biopic Man in the Moon.

L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) was born in Chittenango, NY on May 15, 1856. Read Orrin's review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1899)

The state of Israel was born on May 14, 1948.

George Lucas (1944) was born in Modesto, CA on May 14, 1944. Visit the official Star Wars site.

Arlington National Cemetery opened on May 13, 1864, on land previously owned by Robert E. Lee. Stephen spent many days with The Old Guard honoring and burying America's fallen soldiers. Read Gardens of Stone by Nicholas Proffitt, or see the movie (if you listen carefully you can hear Stephen singing cadence during the Vietnam war scene montage.)

Farley Mowatt (1921-), author of the nature classic Never Cry Wolf, was born in Belleville, ONT on May 12, 1921. Here's an interesting article from Salon about his alleged embellishments of his tales.

Edward Lear , illustrator and author of nonsense verse, was born in Halloway, England on May 12, 1812.

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (1925-) was born in St. Louis, MO on May 12, 1925. Three time MVP, he hit 358 homeruns and appeared in 14 World Series. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Camilo Jose Cela (1916-) was born in Spain on May 11, 1916. Read Orrin's review of The Family of Pacual Duarte (1942)(Grade: A-)

Richard McKenna (1913-64) was born in Mountain Home, ID on May 9, 1913. Read Orrin's review of The Sand Pebbles (1962)

Richard Adams was born in Newbury, GB on May 9, 1920. His excellent fantasy Watership Down (1972) made Joe Doggett's Suggested Summer Reading List for Students.