Anthony Gottlieb,"The Reach of an Ancient Greek," WSJ, 17 May, reviews Kitty Ferguson's The Music of Pythagorus.

Steve Jones,"Darwin's Joyful Journey of Discovery," WSJ, 31 May, looks back at Charles Darwin's most readable book, The Voyage of the Beagle. Hat tip.

Ben Lewis,"Comedy of Terrors," Financial Times, 30 May, is excerpted from the new edition of his Hammer & Tickle: Clandestine Laughter in the Soviet Empire. Hat tip.

Kevin Mattson,"Right Makes Might," BookForum, June/August, reviews Allan J. Lichtman's White Protestant Nation: The Rise of the American Conservative Movement, Joseph E. Lowndes's From the New Deal to the New Right: Race and the Southern Origins of Modern Conservatism, and William F. Buckley Jr.'s Flying High: Remembering Barry Goldwater.