AltWeeklies Wire
James Woods Shows Less is More in 'How Fiction Works'new
While disclosing sublime writing tools, long-celebrated book critic Wood digresses into lucid meditations on the nature of language, character, and consciousness.
Baltimore City Paper |
Eli Perlow |
10-07-2008 |
Nonfiction
Tags: How Fiction Works, James Wood
Al Silverman Talks to The Post-War Editors Who Helped Forge Contemporary American Lettersnew
The book is a celebration of the "golden age of the publishing industry," from the end of World War II to the beginning of the 1980s, focusing on the publishing houses themselves.
Baltimore City Paper |
Michaelangelo Matos |
10-07-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Four Kings' KO's the Last Golden Era of Boxingnew
With boxing in one of its periodic public downturns, George Kimball cooks up some compelling nostalgia by recounting an era when great American fighters bestrode the planet.
Boston Phoenix |
Mark Jurkowitz |
10-02-2008 |
Nonfiction
Author Nancy Nichols' New Book Looks For the Man-made Causes of Cancernew
Her insights about survivorship are among the more provocative aspects of her new book, Lake Effect: Two Sisters and a Town's Toxic Legacy, in which she argues that instead of fixating on miracle cures, we should look harder at potential man-made causes of cancer.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
09-29-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Take Me Home' Takes a Clear Look at America's Foster Care Crisisnew
Jill Duerr Berrick, a faculty member at UC Berkeley's School of Social Welfare, assesses the shortcomings of child welfare and systematically sets an agenda for bettering the lives of the half-million children who live as wards of the state in Take Me Home: Protecting America's Vulnerable Children and Families.
Pasadena Weekly |
Daniel Heimpel |
09-29-2008 |
Nonfiction
'The Other Side of the Coin' May (or May Not) Help You Understand the Meltdownnew
People need to educate themselves in economics. Still, I'm not sure anybody this week needs to read a whole book to figure out that the rules of the game have changed, and that the time has come to have some serious talks about profit caps.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
09-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Obscene in the Extreme' Recalls the Fight to Ban 'Grapes of Wrath'new
Seventy years later, with The Grapes of Wrath canonized in American literature and still a must-read for students across the country, it is almost forgotten how strongly -- and even violently -- publication of Steinbeck's novel was opposed in the heartland of California.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Geoffrey Dunn |
09-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
Searching for National Identity in 'State By State'new
An American anthology offers proof that despite the intractable antipathy between red and blue, despite the creeping sameness imposed by chains and big boxes, despite the fact that 81 percent of its citizens feel the U.S. has gone off the rails, this is still a wondrously diverse country, with great cause for self-confidence.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
09-25-2008 |
Nonfiction
Personally Speaking: 'Abortion and Life' Tells Whole Truthsnew
Part of the lingering stigma attached to abortion is based on anti-choice rhetoric and scare tactics. But just as insidious is the pro-choice movement's reluctance to delve into the emotional nuance that comes with terminating an unplanned pregnancy. Baumgardner's book is one step toward shifting that paradigm.
Portland Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
09-25-2008 |
Nonfiction
Guy Delisle's New Graphic Memoir Recalls Heat and Oppression in Rangoonnew
The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle's latest work of graphic memoir/reportage, doesn't necessarily paint a rosier picture of Burma, but it does offer punctuated moments of hope and a neat delineation of life in the third-world country.
Charleston City Paper |
Eric Liebetrau |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
Gary Bass Makes a Convincing Case for Forceful Humanitarianismnew
Unlike most books interested in promoting human rights by force of arms, Bass focuses on the actions of Western nations and not the philosophies of phony intellectuals from beltway think tanks.
Charleston City Paper |
Dylan Hales |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
'American Earth' Offers Vivid View of the Evolution of Environmental Thinkingnew
American Earth comprises some 100 writings sure-handedly selected and introduced by editor Bill McKibben. Individual entries take a variety of forms, from book excerpts, essays, and speeches to straightforward reportage, memoir, and even poetry.
The Texas Observer |
John Suval |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
Timothy Egan Digs into Small-town Americanew
As Egan researched the Dust Bowl, it turned into a story of what happens when people — pushed by their government — abuse the land and destroy an entire ecosystem; in this case, the grasslands of the Great Plains.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Kirsten Aikens |
09-23-2008 |
Nonfiction
Tags: The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan
Putin Power Playnew
Today Russia has returned a stronger, richer and more confident nation, having barely survived the plundering of its wealth and the impoverishment of its people during the drunken reign of Boris Yeltsin. But Russia's resurrection has come at a high price.
NOW Magazine |
Howard Goldenthal |
09-22-2008 |
Nonfiction
Erik Darling: A Life in Folk Musicnew
A virtuoso banjo and guitar player, Darling also founded and performed with two other leading folk groups, the Tarriers (with Alan Arkin, then just a little-known singer) and the Rooftop Singers.
Shepherd Express |
Martin Jack Rosenblum |
09-19-2008 |
Nonfiction
