Category: NON FICTION

June 18, 2010

The Know it All by A.J. Jacobs **** (of 4)

Proof that passionate writing overwhelms mundane subject matter. AJ Jacobs read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and writes a book about it.. Naturally, his book begins...

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June 18, 2010

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Burdain *** (of 4)

Extremely well written, if a little long, about the inside view of being a New York City chef.

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June 18, 2010

Jarhead by Anthony Swofford *** (of 4)

An excellent memoir of life in the marines during the first Gulf War.

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June 18, 2010

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer **** (of 4)

This book about climbing Mount Everest made Krakauer famous with good reason. It’s a page turner. Suspenseful. Informative. A terrific read.

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June 18, 2010

The Inextinguishable Symphony by Martin Goldsmith ** (of 4)

I listened to about half of the book on cassette and have to say I was disappointed. I love listening to Goldsmith on the radio....

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June 18, 2010

Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir by D.J. Waldie **** (of 4)

A quirky recounting of the birth of one of America’s first post-war suburbs: Long Beach. Written by a city councilman who has lived his entire...

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June 18, 2010

A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson *** (of 4)

Johnson is an anti-Semitic summofabitch. He blames the victim at times. He seems incredulous that the Jews didn’t recognize Christ as part of the Holy...

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June 18, 2010

Heat by Bill Buford ** (of 4)

Buford does his best to make Mario Batali into an eccentric, bigger-than-life, Artiste comparable in status to Michaelangeolo, DaVinci, and Jackie Gleason, but in the...

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June 17, 2010

To Hate Like This is to be Happy Forever by Will Blythe *** (of 4)

One of the great first chapters in literature. Blythe’s book is a rant about basketball, specifically Duke vs. North Carolina. At the book’s opening he...

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June 17, 2010

Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth W. Farnea ** (of 4)

In the late 1950’s Elizabeth Farnea’s new husband traveled to a small rural village in southern Iraq to do graduate research on an irrigation project....

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