| The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven, 313 pages Jeff Gadd 04 February 2002 Great Story. Great movie too. | Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Jaqi Ross 11 February 2004 "Valuable and illuminating... We have Barbara Ehrenreich to thank for bringing us the news of America's working poor so clearly and directly, and conveying with it a deep moral outrage... She is our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism." -The New York Times Book Review |
Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Kristin Schrock 02 June 2004 Writer goes undercover as a low-wage worker to discover that (surprise!) you can't really live on $7/hour. Tell me something I don't know. Although there's not much new here (I've worked as a waittress and in retail), it was interesting to read about her experience working for the evil, evil Wal-Mart. Also, as I was writing this, when I wrote "evil, evil Wal-Mart" the first time, the site suddenly closed down. Be gone ghost of Sam Walton! |
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Jonathan Misirian 02 February 2005 Ehrenreich leaves her Blue State life, and takes up temporary residence working in what we would consider are menial jobs. At times poignant, biting, and revealing, the author shows us what it is like to work along the shadows of society. This comes as a great shock to her, but not to those of us who live and work along these margins. |
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich, 221 pages Steve Gadd 24 September 2006 A courageous bit of journalism, as the author takes minimum-wage jobs and tries to make ends meet. She doesn't let you forget that she's really a writer though -- required vocabulary: tchotchke, encomium, aphasic, intercalation, hortatory. |
Other Powers: The Age of Suffrage, Spiritualism, and the Scandalous Victoria Woodhull by Barbara Goldsmith, 447 pages Micaela Larkin 03 February 2007 Goldsmith offers an engaging account of early suffragists, spiritualism, and the infamous Beecher family. |
Smart Girls: A New Pyschology of Girls, Women, and Giftedness by Barbara Kerr, 262 pages Micaela Larkin 29 June 2006 I was trying to balance out my Jung/Gordon reading for next week with a more "scientific" perspective. |
Houses of Stone by Barbara Michaels, 385 pages Micaela Larkin 04 May 2007 academic cozy literary mystery with funny commentary about lady academics |
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym, 272 pages Micaela Larkin 27 November 2006 Awesome |
The Peace Ship: Henry Ford's Pacifist Adventure in the First World War (1978) by Barbara S. Kraft, 297 pages James Donahue 24 November 2008 In 1915 Henry Ford becomes instantly converted to pacifism and hires a ship to convey a delegation of pacifists to go to Europe and stop the war by appealing to everyone's humanity. Hijinks ensue. |
John Gardner: Literary Outlaw by Barry Silesky, 358 pages Steven Krise 06 July 2008 I need to stop reading authors' biographies because it seems they all seem to turn out to be loons, but I do have a better understanding of who Gardner is and what his fiction was about. |
How to win at poker by Belinda Levez, 106 pages Steven Krise 08 October 2009 Probably the lamest poker book I've ever read. This is what passes for good advice: develop a betting strategy that maximizes profit whilst minimizing loss (with no explanation of how to evaluate a strategy to see if it meets that criterion) or bluff but not too much because when people call your bluff you lose money. |
The X-file Skin by Ben Mezrich, 261 pages Jeff Gadd 15 January 2001 |
Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West (2008) by Benazir Bhutto, 247 pages James Donahue 20 March 2008 Can one wholeheartedly agree with a book that one finds somewhat unconvincing? |
The Church in Africa by Bengt Sundkler, 1040 pages James Donahue 03 August 2005 A very impressive capstone to a career devoted to the subject. |
Consumed: How markets corrupt children, infantilize adults, and swallow citizens whole (2007) by Benjamin Barber, 402 pages Jonathan Misirian 18 June 2007 Barber’s tour de force is a critique of the way unbridled capitalism works to foment a puerile mindset among consumers. Barber reviews everything from politics to sports to Christian music, and connects the threads which show how our economic system manipulates those who are caught up in capitalism’s ebb. |
The Temperamet God Gave You by Bennett, 288 pages Micaela Larkin 05 January 2007 |
Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict 1881-2001 by Benny Morris, 694 pages Tony Pisarenkov 11 October 2005 An exhaustively comrehensive, painstakingly detailed, eminently readable and, amazingly, truly unbiased history of the development of Zionism, the creation of Israel and its struggle with the Arab world. The obvious historian's detachment aside (a very good thing in this case), Morris did for the Middle East what Rbecca West had done for the Balkans. |
Ciao, America by Beppe Severgnini, 242 pages Tony Pisarenkov 10 February 2006 A mostly insightful, marvellously self-deprecating, but alas, only marginally funny memoir of an Italian who spent a year living in Washington, DC. Thank you, Steve, for the gift, and apologies for having taken so long to read it. |
Calvin: A Biography by Bernard Cottret, 296 pages James Donahue 26 August 2005 Still gearing up for Geneva. |
American Vertigo: Travelling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville by Bernard-Henri Levy, 308 pages Jonathan Misirian 15 May 2006 The Atlantic sponsored a French philosopher to retrace Tocqueville’s travels across America. Levy’s insights are at times relevant and profound; but more often then not are reflective of his French weltanschauung. |
North Pole, South Pole by Bertrand Imbert, 175 pages Steve Gadd 30 December 1998 |
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, 331 pages Mike Gadd 17 April 2002 |
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, 276 pages Mike Gadd 13 March 2003 After only 2 books this guy has become one of my favorite reads. Reading this was like enjoying my own pint of Ben and Jerry's. His 'walk in the woods' was an attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. The people he met, his buddy he hiked with, the strange noises outside his tent... all meshed into a delightful account. If only he had taken pictures. |
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, 478 pages Steve Gadd 14 June 2005 Ever wonder how we know the mass of the earth, or the size of the universe? Years after being put off by dry science textbooks as a child, this author decided to learn as much as he could about the world, and significantly, to find out how we know these things. The result is an entertaining overview of the natural sciences as we understand them today, including the most interesting stories of the historic researchers. |
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson, 304 pages Steve Gadd 28 August 2007 Quite a charming travel book about Australia, with much attention given to the ways you can die or be maimed there. Little-known fact: Australian prime minister Harold Holt died in power when he went for a swim in the sea and was carried off by a rip current, never to be seen again. |
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson, 274 pages Steve Gadd 16 September 2007 "Now here's a thought to consider. Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week." |
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (1998) by Bill Bryson, 274 pages Brad Snyder 20 September 2007 A fun book made all the more enjoyable by the fact that I have been in many of the same places Bryson visited in this book (most recently, the dreadful towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN). I too hiked small portions of the Appalachian Trail in my youth and now foster a strange desire to visit again sometime soon. Steve, thanks for the recommendation. |
I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson, 288 pages Steve Gadd 24 November 2007 This collection of weekly columns for a British newspaper following Bryson's return to the U.S. after 20 years draws comparisons to Dave Barry. Each makes light of some aspect of American lifestyle and ends with a weak zinger. |
A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson, 276 pages Steven Krise 15 March 2008 Once, aeons ago, the Appalachians were of a scale and majesty to rival the Himalayas....That the Appalachian Mountains present so much more modest an aspect today is because they have had so much time in which to wear away. The Appalachians are immensely old--older than the oceans and continents (at least in their present configurations), far, far older than almost all other landscape features on earth. When simple plants colonized the land and the first creatures crawled gasping from the sea, the Appalachians were there to greet them. |
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir (2006) by Bill Bryson, 288 pages Brad Snyder 21 May 2008 This collection of memories describing growing up in Des Moines in the fifties is the funniest thing I have read in a long time. Excellent. |
Among the Thugs by Bill Buford, 313 pages Tony Pisarenkov 10 November 2002 A fascinating, if stomach-churning, look at the phenomenon of English football hooligans |
Heat by Bill Buford, 318 pages Tony Pisarenkov 23 January 2007 The majority of the book -- an account of the author's apprenticeship at Mario Batali's legendary restaurant Babbo -- is enjoyable enough, though this will be familiar, and thus not very informative, territory for fans of Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. The rest, however -- Buford's adventures in Italy as an apprentice butcher and amateur food historian -- is priceless. |
New Rules by Bill Maher, 228 pages Jonathan Misirian 10 March 2006 Maher's acerbic wit is on display in this brief collection of thoughts. A few laugh out loud comments are interspersed among his musings on everything from CNN to Michael Jackson. |
The O'Reilly Factor by Bill O'Reilly, 224 pages Erik Bauer 07 October 2001 A quick afternoon read, it was like a giant op-ed piece. Lots of opinion, some good, some bad, nothing earth shattering. |
Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change Your World by Bob Briner, 179 pages Brad Snyder 04 March 2008 Briner could have summed up his entire book with one paragraph. Nothing really earth shattering but not a bad read. |
The Beatles : The Biography by Bob Spitz, 992 pages Brad Snyder 26 March 2006 Any true fan of rock 'n' roll must acknowledge the influence and legend of the Beatles--the band that was turned down by every record label at the time, and then recorded at first only as an audition. Sometimes, though, it's best to leave legends alone. This book, while mostly interesting, is very depressing. It's all here, from the mundane Lennon family history, through the ultimate drug-, financial-, and ego-induced decline. Unfortunately, there is no redemption in this story. The individual members were never able tap into the greatness they enjoyed as a group, leaving us with Paul's Wings, John's forays into the avante-garde, George's collaborations as a back-up artist, and Ringo playing the role of "Mr. Conductor" on Thomas the Tank Engine. |
State of Denial (2006) by Bob Woodward, 560 pages Jonathan Misirian 11 January 2007 Masterful account of the failure of the Iraq war, voiced by the insiders themselves… Bush –who comes across as the intellectual light weight that he is, and Rumsfeld –the micromanager hawk -are shown as the main contributors to the failure in Iraq. The image of Bush and Cheney making fart jokes –during a White House meeting- while tens of thousands are dieing in the gulf –is one that sadly will not leave me anytime soon. |
Plan of Attack (2004) by Bob Woodward, 470 pages Jonathan Misirian 17 January 2007 Woodward’s 2nd volume traces the Bush administration’s internal plans to link Saddam with 9-11. The blood lust for war drove the administration to misconstrue intelligence, over play the WMD card, and cast aside any who presented a different option from all-out war. Powell is the tragic figure here, the diplomat - reluctant warrior, who sold the world the case for war with his UN speech, only to later regret his role. |
Bush at War (2002) by Bob Woodward, 400 pages Jonathan Misirian 21 January 2007 Woodward’s behind the scenes look at the planning and strategy that led to the 100 day Afghanistan War. At times compelling and moving, -especially recounting the inside events in response to the September 11th bombings of the WTC and the Pentagon. Bush’s own voice paints himself as more of a Texas Sheriff, then the leader of a bloodied nation. |
In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason, 245 pages Kristin Schrock 15 June 2002 This is the second book in a row to feature an egret. This one takes place in 1984 and Sam, our spunky heroine, is trying to find out what Vietnam was like. But when she finds out, she realizes she didn't really want to know. Isn't that always the way? It begins with dialogue, and I'm just never going to be a fan of that. |
On the Move (2006) by Bono, 64 pages Brad Snyder 04 April 2007 This little book contains the full text of the sermon/speech/homily Bono gave at the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast accompanied by pictures he took while visiting a refugee camp in Ethiopia in 1986. |
The Gentleman From Indiana (1899) by Booth Tarkington, 384 pages James Donahue 20 June 2008 I picked up a Tarkington novel because of my sojourn here in Indiana. I began with his first publication - from 1899. I can only assume he got better before his Pulitzers. This book is cheesy, with little depth of character, overly-florid pastoral descriptions (of Indiana, no less!!), and an insipid resolution in which the good peasantry adore their gentlemanly protector. This is Progressivism at its worst: elitist, idealistic, and looking to the völkische Hinterland for political and moral regeneration. |
Messiah by Boris Starling, 457 pages Mike Gadd 29 June 2002 Bad guy thinks he's the next Messiah and he's looking to kill his 'apostles' in the same manner they died in history in order to bring them to martyrdom. Rather gory but quite intense. Nice character movement throughout and non-hollywood ending a plus. |
Storm by Boris Starling, 427 pages Mike Gadd 22 August 2002 Mr. Donahue, take a breath. Put the book down. Go see a movie. I hear the pool's nice. Find another hobby... Anyway- the book. Another serial killer type. Protagonist Kate figures out who bad guy is and drags him in to be questioned. He denies all. Kate goes home to relax with the boyfriend. Oh no! Kate's wrong! The bad guy is the boyfriend! Upstairs with your son! Kate rushes out and hides at a friend's house. Ugh! Now the friend is the bad guy and Kate's in a tight spot. Fortunately a well timed lightning bolt saves the day. A little much, I should say. The first half was pretty good....... James, you're getting sleepy. Very sleepy. |
Goat: A Memoir by Brad Land, 224 pages Jaqi Ross 25 September 2004 Terrible terrible terrible book about a typical college Greek and his loser friends. |
The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, 240 pages Brad Snyder 31 December 2005 Manning challenges us to truly come to Jesus just as we are: without pretensions, moral rectitude, or religious language that always manage to trip us up on our journey to Him. |
Lunar Park by Bret Easton Ellis, 308 pages Steven Krise 13 July 2009 Fictional characters from Bret's previous works come to life as an all to real "metaphor" of Bret's need to come to terms with his past, including his father's death and the son he never wanted...until now. |
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, 448 pages Steven Krise 13 October 2002 Starting with a chapter long overview of Special Relativity, General Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics, the author goes on to explore the details, implications, and possible future of the cutting edge of theoretical physics, superstring/M-theory, which purports to unify these disparate branches of modern physics into a single grandly elegant theoretical framework. Greene uses an easy to read style and simple profound analogies to help the reader get a grasp of the current best candidate for that holy grail of modern physics, the theory of everything. |
Growing Up Hockey by Brian Kennedy, 384 pages Steve Gadd 01 January 2008 This book easily doubled my knowledge of hockey. |
A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren, 304 pages Brad Snyder 25 August 2005 The subtitle of this book is, "Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished Christian". As you can probably surmise from the extremely long subtitle, McLaren has written a book where he draws some of the good from about every single Christian, political, and social philosophy. In so doing, however, he comes off sounding as if he believes, well...nothing. Great if you're a nihilist; bad if you're the pastor of a church...like McLaren. I give this book one whole thumb down, instead of the usual two I would give a book I hate, first because there were at least three paragraphs that I liked, and second because I'm being "generous". |
Stuffed by Brian Wiprud, 354 pages Mike Gadd 21 September 2005 This was a weak attempt at being amusing. A taxidermist runs around chasing an albino crow. He's being chased by penguin boy and a mob of pygmies. Oh dear. |
History of the Independent Loudoun Rangers by Briscoe Goodhart, 243 pages Steven Krise 27 November 2002 A history of the only military unit from Virginia to fight for the Union during the Civil War (mustered almost entirely from the German Settlement (Lovettsville, Waterford, Wheatland, Short Hill, and Neersville) and the Quaker settlement (parts of Waterford and Hamilton). By extension the book is a detailed account of the various skirmishes in Loudoun County and a few of the major battles fought in the area, including Antietam, Gettysburg, Monocacy, and Sheridan's Valley Campaign. The book concludes by recounting the author's grim experiences in a southern POW camp. Should be of interest to Civil War buffs, especially those familiar with Loudoun County. |
If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell, 302 pages Kristin Schrock 04 January 2002 The writing isn't great, but the stories of the beginnings of Evil Dead are very funny. Plus, pictures! |
Make Love! the Bruce Campbell Way (a novel) by Bruce Campbell, 306 pages Kristin Schrock 27 February 2006 Bruce Campbell goes on a series of adventures after being cast in a "A" list movie. He amusingly references his "B" movie filmography throughout--including Tornado! (which was totally awesome) and Terminal Invasion (Classic Bad Book of TiVO movie). |
God's Man for the Gilded Age by Bruce Evensen, 227 pages James Donahue 03 February 2004 What seems to be a biography of D.L. Moody is really a one-dimensional account of how Moody massaged the muckracking press into a symbiotic account in order to become the first "celebrity evangelist." An interesting account of the birth of the glam faith that haunts our current landscape. (Not that I have an opinion on the matter.) |
Prayer Of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson, 98 pages Erik Bauer 30 November 2001 The small book that packs a lot of controversy. |
Impossible Victories by Bryan Perrett, 215 pages Steve Gadd 07 October 2003 Disappointing collection of battle stories. Despite the maps, I had a hard time following the action and learned very little about battlefield tactics or military history. The chronological format (from the 1811 Peninsular War to 1967 Vietnam) does give a vivid feel for the the improvements in the brutal efficiency of warfare. |
The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes, 306 pages Steven Krise 07 August 2008 A Discovery Channel-esque narrative of the author's work on mitochondrial DNA, culminating in his identification of the 7 "clans" of Europe - implying 7 mothers of these clans. Closes with a brief chapter for each mother iterating a possible life story for her. |
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, 629 pages Mike Gadd 28 January 2002 |
Tandia by Bryce Courtenay, 905 pages Mike Gadd 15 February 2002 |