The title did not give me any sense of what to expect, but having read several others Jill Lepore works, including one of my top ten books of all time, “These Truths”, I requested a copy from NetGalley as soon as I saw it as an option. It took me a while to get through the essentially over 600 pages, and the NetGalley transfer to Kindle app is not smooth in converting the fonts and pages breaks. BUT the work itself is outstanding. Contemplative and expansive of topics, I giggled and teared-up. The history of topics I didn’t know to care about, examples being the Volkswagen Beetle and the Magna Carta, were engaging and always seemed to connect past to present- that is what I adore in this historians work.

“Most of the essays here, concern law and politics but a lot have to do with technology, some with culture, and very many with constitutional rule, Trump and Trumpism.” Other than first 2 (out of 10) parts of the book “…the essays constitute reflections on the relationship between the American past and its fractious, violent present.”

Most of the essays in this book were previously published. They cover a wide range of topics and not all of them were of interest to me. I skimmed or skipped some of those essays, but all of the essays that I read were excellent. I have also read and enjoyed two of the author’s history books.

The first part of the book was autobiographical and the second part dealt with the lives of a few famous people, including Herman Melville and Rachel Carson. There are also essays about Magna Carta, Doctor Who, dystopian fiction, newspapers and digital news, plague years in literature, loneliness, the history of the police, the history of the US Supreme Court, constitutions, immigration, democracies and the on-going debacle that is Trump. I most enjoyed the historical and political essays.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

I am such a fan of Lepore's podcast and this book did not disappoint. It was a refreshing approach to history in book form.

This enormous collection featuring much of Lepore's best work plus three previously unpublished essays will delight nonfiction lovers, and is expected to be a major gift book for the fall season.

Forty-six essays, 640 pages. That would suggest a book meant to be dipped into over a month or so. Instead I read through it in one go, in order to try and review this before publication date. These essays are so good that they stand up such a read.

The basic Lepore New Yorker formula is to take a contemporary topic (e.g. gun control, impeachment, commission reports) and alternate between the contemporary story and its historical precedents. Often we learn there is nothing new under the sun, which is either comforting or abhorrent.

My favorite essays were the ones that deviated from the formula a bit: a history of the Barbie and Bratz franchises; a deep dive about Rachel Carson; and a consideration of the parallels between the monster's memoir in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and slave memoirs. In a bit of a surprise, the book opens with four highly personal essays; I found her love of utilitarian bicycling especially endearing. And there is even some old-fashioned reporting such as a preview of the latest VW van, and a visit to the Internet Archive

I must admit I came in as a fan of Jill Lepore's books and her New Yorker articles which I catch occasionally (I wish she had cut one Donald Trump related article in exchange for her profile of Mick Herron). Reading this book is the next best thing to having Ms. Lepore at the family dinner table; she is invited to come over anytime.

Many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this copy for review, even if they didn't give me very much time.

What an extraordinary book! In THE DEADLINE by Jill Lepore, I was captivated by intelligent, beautiful writing of fascinating essays that got me thinking -- and I'm still pondering the elegant, thoughtful, and incredibly immediate way she poses questions, explores alternatives, and shines a light for her readers. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This is an eclectic and wide-ranging collection of essays. I am enjoying Lenore’s capacity to teach and tell stories. I learn so much from her writing. This will be an important read.