AltWeeklies Wire
'Havana Nocturne' Looks at Gambling, Guns and Sex in Pre-Castro Cubanew
The pre-Castro days of the late 1940s and the 1950s were the era when the Mafia ran the most successful string of big-buck casinos, posh hotels and spectacular nightclubs ever seen in this hemisphere -- and paid Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista nearly $10 million (in today's money) per week to ensure that their good thing was "protected."
Creative Loafing (Charlotte) |
John Grooms |
08-27-2008 |
Nonfiction
Danit Brown's Debut Chronicles the Struggle to Find One's Placenew
Osnat Greenberg grew up in Israel, in a high-rise apartment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Her mother is Israeli, her father is American, she has eight cousins and countless second cousins, and her crazy grandmother will only eat yellow food.(The old woman dies of gas poisoning when she forgets to turn off the stove.)
Charleston City Paper |
Erica Jackson |
08-27-2008 |
Fiction
Controversy Becomes Conventional in 'Save the Males'new
Such books undoubtedly have a preconditioned choir to preach to, but offer little new to long time observers of the culture wars.
Charleston City Paper |
Dylan Hales |
08-27-2008 |
Nonfiction
The Beats Go On in 'Texas Music'new
The History of Texas Music is an anthropological study of Texas as examined through its diverse offering of folk music, offering a historical study of social, ethnic and geographical influence and how they have laid the groundwork for a thriving indie music scene.
The Texas Observer |
Michael Hoinski |
08-27-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Kaleidoscope': Public Freaks and Private Dicksnew
Get your SAT vocabulary flash cards ready, 'cause Darryl Wimberley has a mystery for you to solve -- one involving a "caravanserai" and a "pan of loam."
San Antonio Current |
Jeremy Martin |
08-27-2008 |
Fiction
Charles R. Morris on the Madness of Bankersnew
Millions of words have been written about the ongoing financial disaster largely caused by the subprime mortgage mess. But the most concise and easiest to understand handbook on the issue is almost certainly Charles R. Morris' The Trillion Dollar Meltdown.
The Texas Observer |
Robert Bryce |
08-27-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Brian Azzarello's '100 Bullets' Comic Coming to an Endnew
The awe-inspiring creation will end its decade-long run after just seven more issues. Since its inception, the stars have aligned to enable Azzarello's labyrinthine revenge/noir series to evolve into one of the most memorable comics in recent years.
Chicago Newcity |
Michael Moreci |
08-27-2008 |
Books
Shashi Tharoor Examines the Changing Culture of Indianew
The book, a collection of essays Tharoor wrote for the Times of India and other publications, has no clearly defined thesis or narrative, yet is packed full of insightful commentary on India’s rapidly changing cultural landscape.
NOW Magazine |
Joseph Wilson |
08-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
The Duke of Gonzonew
What author would you like to have over to your house? Vonnegut, Hemingway, Angelou? Thanks to the University Press of Mississippi’s Literary Conversations Series, the question is no longer moot, and you don’t even have to make dinner.
Jackson Free Press |
Jesse Yancy |
08-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
Police Vets of the 1968 DNC Get Their Say in 'Battleground Chicago'new
First published in 2004 but reissued in paperback last May, in time for this summer’s round-number anniversary, Frank Kusch's Battleground Chicago tells the story of the infamous "police riot" at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. But here's a first: it's told from the cops' point of view.
Chicago Reader |
Barry Wightman |
08-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
American Comics and the Jews that Love Themnew
The most powerful aspect of Jews and American Comics is not Paul Buhle's writing, but rather his selection of work from some of the medium’s most notable creators, which often paints a more complete cross-section of the subject matter than his sometimes-rushed text.
New York Press |
Brian Heater |
08-25-2008 |
Nonfiction
Stephen Mansfield on What Obama Believes About Godnew
The Nashville evangelical talks about The Faith of Barack Obama, conservatives, and getting death threats.
Nashville Scene |
Jeff Woods |
08-22-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Hightower: 'There's a New Sense of Possibility Among Progressives'new
Jim Hightower talks about the presidential campaign, why Obama is the least important part of the "Obama phenomenon" and the McCain's participation in the Republican "drill team."
Shepherd Express |
Lisa Kaiser |
08-22-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Ehrenreich's Latest Essays on Social and Economic Justice Are Truly Galvanizingnew
Erudite yet accessible and scathingly sardonic, the author of Nickel and Dimed has again written a book that seeks to stir the radical, class-conscious spirit of the American left -- and leave them both outraged and rolling in laughter.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Molly Zapp |
08-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
A New Quarterly Helps Us Understand Who We Think We Arenew
A new quarterly hopes to provide more background about the world and less foreground. It's called Dispatches and this inaugural issue focuses on American culture, looking at it from "the inside out, the outside in," write the editors.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
08-20-2008 |
Books
