Category: America

June 21, 2010

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer * (of 4)

Has received excellent reviews from Newsweek, New York Times, New Yorker, and my mother, but I couldn’t read even half of it, so take my...

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June 21, 2010

East of Eden by John Steinbeck **** (of 4)

A retelling of the stories of Adam, Eve, Cain, and Abel transposed to three generations of two families living mostly in Salinas, California during the...

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June 21, 2010

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon *** (of 4)

Written for a thinking reader, treats you like you are intelligent, though he could have used a bit of editing to cut some of the...

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June 21, 2010

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers **** (of 4)

A Syrian-American businessman, Zeitoun, rides out Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Eggers gives us a vivid view of the storm and its aftermath from inside...

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June 21, 2010

Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean **** (of 4)

Norman Maclean is like Roger Angell: an old school Master of wordsmithing. His command of English and of writing is simply superior. Maclean’s first great...

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June 21, 2010

Winter by Rick Bass *** (of 4)

At the age of 29, Bass forsakes his worldly belongings, save for his broken down truck, and leaves Houston for the very limit of the...

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June 21, 2010

Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson **** (of 4)

This was my first Bryson. It’s his description of walking the Appalachian trail. I can think of no other book that made me laugh out...

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June 21, 2010

Taking on the Trust by Steven Weinberg *** (of 4)

This is the story of how Ida Tarbell, one of the first women to attend Allegheny College, probably the first woman to be a paid...

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June 21, 2010

1776 by David McCullough ** (of 4)

A recounting of one year of the Revolutionary War, without explaining why the Americans are fighting the British, why fighting for independence was not the...

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June 21, 2010

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand *** (of 4)

The primary reason this story of a race horse, his owner, jockey, and especially, his trainer, became a best seller is Hillenbrand’s ability to create...

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