Something about the article was weird. I didn't grok that it was a book review until after I finished reading it, but I'm not sure exactly why that was.
That's kind of what high-end book reviews are like -- read The New York or Los Angeles Review of Books to see what I mean. Basically the reviewers write essays on a topic and tie it in loosely with a review of a new book published on the topic. Bonus points if the reviewer has also written a book on the subject and negatively compares the new book to their own.