Reading Brouwer's book reviews of other contemporary poets' works provides insight on what he looks for in poetry and the elements he finds least appealing. He has written various reviews— two in Progressive (Vol. 63, No. 8, August 1999; Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1999 respectively), for example.

The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries by Mark Lehner, published in 1997, is a thorough, fully illustrated compilation of every major pyramid of ancient Egypt. Lehner is a leading Egyptologist, and in this book he surveys the history, building, and purpose of the pyramids in extensive detail.

Brouwer's Exactly What Happened deals heavily with the concepts of illusion and truth and how a magician's work depends on the audience believing that what just happened really did happen. Harry Houdini is one of the most popular illusionists and escape artists in history, and many books have been written about...