Young Rupert: the making of the Murdoch empire, by Walter Marsh

In this uneven account of the evolution of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, journalist Walter Marsh presents meticulous reporting on the tangled fortunes of the Murdoch news business as it grows from its base in Adelaide to encompass all of Australia and beyond. Opening with five chapters recounting the career of Keith Murdoch, Rupert’s father, the book shares little about Rupert’s childhood or education. He barely makes an entrance until 80 pages into the book when the senior Murdoch died, and Rupert returned from Oxford to pick up the reins of the family business. Brash and inexperienced, Murdoch relies on the advice of his longtime friend and then colleague, Rohan Rivett, who guides him over the next eight years. While there is an enormous amount of information about the many transactions Murdoch made (or attempted to make), it does not provide a sense of Murdoch as a man, beyond his insatiable need to grow his operation with each acquisition leading to the next. A disproportionate part of the book is an account of a murder case that resulted in libel charges against The News, Murdoch’s most high-profile paper. VERDICT An authoritative yet scattered history of the early Murdoch media empire.

This review was published previously in Library Journal here.

Death is now my neighbor, by Colin Dexter

 

This is another complex Inspector Morse mystery set in Oxford, England. Similar to his other books, Morse jumps to conclusions about how the murders were committed and by whom, only to abandon each theory when more details are uncovered. This is the 12th in the series, nearing the end, and Morse is feeling his age as he suffers from a series of physical ailments that barely slow him down. Well written as always, the book reveals a more sentimental side of Morse, although he hasn't lost his ability to enchant the ladies.

Nature's best hope: a new approach to conservation that starts in your yard, by Douglas W. Tallamy

 

University of Delaware professor of entomology and wildlife sciences presents a convincing case for why everyone should create a haven for wildlife in their backyard. While not a how-to guide, Nature's best hope will give readers a good idea on how to get started making changes in their own properties that will improve the ecosystem by attracting more insects such as bees and butterflies, which will in turn attract more birds and other wildlife. Simple steps such as shrinking your lawn; planting more native plants, bushes, and trees; not raking all the leaves up; and allowing some dead plants to remain in the yard until spring will support the insect population that birds rely on to survive the winter. Examples in the book are more likely to reflect the northeastern U.S. geographically, but the concepts would apply everywhere and there's enough in this book to help anyone get started implementing them.