Reviews of other people’s books
Bud Smith and Michael McCallister. Word Press in Depth. Indianapolis: Que, 2010. 410 pages. If you haven’t noticed, this blog is in WordPress. I’ve been using the software for about five years, and I’ve never felt that I’ve unlocked its full potential. So I was eager to read WORDPRESS IN DEPTH to get some insight […]
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book reviewsDavid S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. Henry Clay: The Essential American. New York: Random House, 2010. 624 pages. Henry Clay was a giant of early American politics. As Speaker of the House, senator from Kentucky, secretary of state, and de facto leader of the Whig opposition to Andrew Jackson, his power often rivaled that
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book reviewsMax Watman. Chasing the White Dog: An Amateur Outlaw’s Adventures in Moonshine. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010. 293 pages. In Chasing the White Dog, Max Watman blends three spirits, so to speak: a bit of bootlegging history, going back to the Whiskey Rebellion, some reportage on the current state of moonshine (it’s a surprisingly
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book reviewsSarah Rose. For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History. New York: Viking, 2010. 252 pages. Fears about the deleterious impact of globalism are nothing new, as For All the Tea in China reminds us. From 1848 to 1851, Scottish botanist Robert Fortune pulled off a gutsy
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book reviewsStephen Fried. Appetite for America: Fred Harvey Civilizing the West–One Meal at a Time. New York: Bantam Books, 2010. 528 pages. If you’ve driven from LA to Las Vegas and wondered what the “Harvey House” sign in Barstow was all about, here’s the scoop: from roughly 1876 to 1930, many train passengers took their meal
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book reviewsI was interviewed for this piece last week, and it’s interesting to see how it all came together. I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t think that this proposal made no sense. From Arkansas Business: If a proposed constitutional amendment allowing Texas businessman Michael J. Wasserman to build casinos in Arkansas sounds like
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book reviewsDavid Grann. The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession. New York: Doubleday, 2010. 352 pages. Great non-fiction is just as suspenseful and revealing of the human condition as great fiction. With The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, David Grann gives the reader twelve intriguing pieces of great non-fiction. The collection starts with
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book reviewsPeter Milligan. Art by James Romberger. The Bronx Kill. New York: DC Comics, 2010. 181 pages. It’s book review Friday–this week I’m featuring another book that I got through Amazon Vine. The “comic book” can be a powerful story-telling medium. Graphic novels like Art Speigelman’s MAUS and Majane Satrapi’s PERSEPOLIS can do things that standard
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book reviewsIan James Corlett. Illustrated by R.A. Holt. E is for Ethics: How to Talk to Kids About Morals, Values, and What Matters Most. New York: Atria Books, 201. 111 pages. Most people would say that ethics aren’t something that parents can teach, that they can only show them by example. That may be true, but
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book reviewsGary Myers. The Catch: One Play, Two Dynasties, and the Game that Changed the NFL. New York:Crown Publishers, 2009. 304 pages. With the Super Bowl behind us, here’s a review of a book about another momentous NFL game. THE CATCH is filled with good reportage, including interviews from many of the key surviving figures of
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book reviewsCharlie Huston. Sleepless: A Novel. New York: Ballantine Books, 2010. 368 pages. Charlie Huston’s latest novel is a thought-provoking mix of several strands: noirish mystery, police procedural, hard medical science fiction (think ANDROMEDA STRAIN), dystopian near-future Los Angeles, narco-thriller, zombie horror-fest, and philosophical love story. It’s a credit to the author that all of these
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book reviewsLinn Mills and Dick Post. Nevada Gardener’s Guide. Revised Edition. Franklin, Tennessee: Cool Springs Press, 2001. 272 pages. Few, if any, people move to Nevada for the gardening, but it is possible to grow a healthy and productive garden in the Silver State. In the NEVADA GARDENER’S GUIDE, authors Linn Mills and Dick Post–respected authorities
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book reviewsJane White. America, Welcome to the Poorhouse: What You Must Do to Protect Your Financial Future and the Reform We Need. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: FT Press, 2010. 247 pages. I’m leery of anyone who tells you what bad shape you’re in, then says that they and only they can help you get out
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book reviewsKim Nelson. A Desert Gardener’s Companion. Tucson, Arizona. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2001. 328 pages. Gardening in a desert isn’t easy, but in A DESERT GARDENER’S COMPANION, Kim Nelson offers helpful advice about how to tend trees, flowers, vegetables, and herbs in the arid southwest. Written from her Arizonan perspective, it’s nonetheless valuable to those who
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book reviewsMiklos Vamos. The Book of Fathers. Translated by Peter Sherwood. New York: Other Press, 2009. 480 pages. This is a thoroughly Hungarian novel that has some crossover appeal, particularly if you think 19th century Russian novels are too light-hearted. Twenty pages in, an entire village is laid waste, not for any strategic military objective, but
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book reviewsJames McCommons. Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 285 pages. Transportation is a big part of the American national character. We’ve all learned how canals helped to tie the fledgling United States together in the ante-bellum period and railroads did the same
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book reviewsWilliam R. Eadington and Meighan R. Doyle, editors. Integrated Resort Casinos: Implications for Economic Growth and Social Impacts. Reno: Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming, 2009. 309 pages. In November 2005, Harrah’s Entertainment announced plans to partner with Slovenia’s Hit group to build what was described as a $1.5 billion destination casino
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book reviewsHarold S. Kushner. Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World. New York: Alfred F. Knopf, 2009. 192 pages. Humans are the only animals that fear the future–a consequence of the gift of foresight. Harold Kushner, best known as the author of WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE, takes on fear in this quick
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book reviewsMichael Greenberg. Beg, Borrow, Steal: A Writer’s Life. New York: Other Press, 2009. 240 pages. Longtime fans of Doctor Who, the British sci-fi tv classic, talk about watching it “from behind the sofa.” Scared out of their wits by the Doctor’s horrifying adversaries like the Daleks, Cybermen, or Autons (but definitely not the Myrka) they
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book reviewsEditors of Babble.com. Dirt is Good for You: True Stories of Surviving Parenthood. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2009. 256 pages. This book is intended for “urban, hipster” parents, which I’ve concluded is code for “since we pay $2500 a month for a 4th floor 800 square-foot walkup, we think we’re better than people who live
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book reviews