AltWeeklies Wire
The Onion Gets Stale With 'Our Dumb World'new
Our Dumb World more closely resembles a reference book of tired stereotypes than a fresh atlas-platform for inventive lampoons.
Dig Boston |
Mark Polanzak |
11-07-2007 |
Nonfiction
Why John Leland Doesn't Matternew
Leland's Why Kerouac Matters doesn't attempt to defend On the Road so much as outline what Kerouac actually meant. And Leland tells most everyone that their readings are, more or less, wrong.
Shepherd Express |
Todd Lazarski |
11-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
Studs on Studsnew
This is a book about the working life of a man who has defined his long life by his success at getting other people to tell their stories.
The Texas Observer |
Steven G. Kellman |
11-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
'See You in Court' Makes the Case for More Democracynew
What starts as an argument that Republicans are responsible for out-of-control litigation ends up as a sharp critique of the entire American system.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
11-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
'The Oprah Phenomenon': Winfrey or Losersnew
The academic critics in this collection accuse Oprah of not only being a self-help snake oil peddler, but also chief salesman for an unrelentingly conservative view of the American dream.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Staff |
10-29-2007 |
Nonfiction
Broadsides from Left Fieldnew
Zirin has managed to stake out formidable territory at the intersection of "SportsWorld" and "RealWorld": a dimly-lit place where our purest ideals are laced with fear, violence and exploitation in the manufacturing of the American dream.
Jackson Free Press |
Matt Smith |
10-22-2007 |
Nonfiction
Examining Hugo Chavez & the Conundrum in Caracasnew
Two veteran Venezuelan journalists take on the complex personality of a man who emerged from relative obscurity to become one of Latin America's most influential and controversial leaders.
The Texas Observer |
Susana Hayward |
10-22-2007 |
Nonfiction
Sam Quinones Looks at Both Sides of the Bordernew
This new collection of stories shows that Mexican immigration isn't just transforming the U.S. -- it's also transforming Mexico.
Chicago Reader |
Linda Lutton |
10-22-2007 |
Nonfiction
'Living Biblically': A Skeptically Holy Experimentnew

It could have been shaved down by a quarter without losing its effect, but Jacobs' dedication to his project, combined with his own ambivalence to the Bible, make this book one of the surprise hits of the fall.
The Portland Mercury |
Chas Bowie |
10-18-2007 |
Nonfiction
Judgment Daysnew

Two new books -- The Preacher and the Presidents and The Prince of War -- find good and evil in the Rev. Billy Graham's presidential politics.
Mountain Xpress |
Seth Dowland |
10-16-2007 |
Nonfiction
Finally, a Reason for America to Learn to Readnew
Just as The Colbert Report is an offshoot of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Colbert's book is best read as a companion volume to Stewart&Co.'s 2004 bestseller America (The Book): A Guide to Democracy Inaction.
Willamette Week |
Ian Gillingham |
10-10-2007 |
Nonfiction
Journalism in the Twilight Zonenew
In Off the Record, Norman Pearlstine tells his version of the leak-and-smear campaign to out CIA covert agent Valerie Plame, while looking at the current problems with Washington journalism.
The Texas Observer |
Myra Macpherson |
10-05-2007 |
Nonfiction
'The Big Con' Examines the GOP's Crackpot E-Con 101new
Alan Greenspan's The Age of Turbulence may have been getting all the publishing headlines lately, but Jonathan Chait's book is actually more noteworthy in its analysis of the Republican economic revolution of the last three decades.
Port Folio Weekly |
Jim Newsom |
10-04-2007 |
Nonfiction
Lomborg Tells Climate-Change Worrywarts to Chillaxnew
Cool It is more of a distraction than a contribution at a time when environmentalists should be busy promoting solutions, not debunking the carefully crafted fables of Lomborg's dollar-driven theses.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Amanda Witherell |
09-26-2007 |
Nonfiction
'Babylon by Bus': Fear and Doping in Iraqnew
Contradictory, honest, and compelling, LeMoine and Neumann offer a decidedly new vantage point on the war in Iraq.
The Texas Observer |
Stayton Bonner |
09-24-2007 |
Nonfiction