AltWeeklies Wire
Arcadia's Latest Book Offers an Illustrated Look at the Start of the Civil Warnew
One of the more colorful and historically specific releases of their Images of America series, Arcadia Publishing's latest Charleston-based book The First Shot is an impressive, military-themed history lesson and collection of images.
Charleston City Paper |
T. Ballard Lesemann |
04-12-2011 |
Nonfiction
'Curveball' Tells the Story of Toni Stone, the First Female Negro League Baseball Playernew
Stone's life and career -- from neighborhood pickup game to cross-country barnstorming to obscurity in retirement -- are aptly recounted in Martha Ackmann's Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone, the First Woman to Play Professional Baseball in the Negro League.
Metro Times |
Sandra Svoboda |
04-11-2011 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'A New Deal for Native Art' Explains How the Gov't Undermined Indigenous Art During the New Dealnew
Jennifer McLerran makes the case that administrators of New Deal Indian policy, particularly John Collier, then-commissioner of Indian Affairs, insisted on romanticizing pre-industrial forms of indigenous art rather than pushing native artists toward self-sufficiency.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
10-29-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Egg on Mao' Praises a Truly Brave Iconoclastnew
With the publication of Egg on Mao: The Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship, Denise Chong has revived interest in the moral heroism of Lu Decheng and his friends Yu Zhijian and Yu Dongyue.
The Georgia Straight |
Alexander Varty |
10-19-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'Massacred For Gold' Rises Above the Usual History Book Formulanew
R. Gregory Nokes' investigation of the 1887 mass murder of more than 30 Chinese gold miners is a chronicle within a chronicle, explaining not only how and why the murders occurred but how the author had to sift through scant and often contradictory evidence to make sense of a crime.
Willamette Week |
Matt Buckingham |
10-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Our Noise' Tells the Story of Merge Records, and Tells it Wellnew
The book is remarkably candid; it thoroughly examines interpersonal and financial problems, not just triumphs. Because of the candor, we believe the portrayal of Merge as a genuinely noble label, with an uncommon blend of ethics, frugality and business savvy.
INDY Week |
Brian Howe |
09-18-2009 |
Nonfiction
Fall Nonfiction: Tomes From The 'Fact' Departmentnew
It's the economy, stupid. Or maybe politics or literature. Fall nonfiction goes wide and deep, so plan for some marathon reading.
Boston Phoenix |
Barbara Hoffert |
09-17-2009 |
Books
The Stories in 'Woman From Shanghai' Survey Mao's Prison Systemnew
Woman From Shanghai: Tales of Survival from a Chinese Labor Camp is Xianhui Yang's first book translated into English and a record of the extremities endured by Mao Zedong's prisoners at Jiabiangou.
The Georgia Straight |
David Chau |
08-31-2009 |
Nonfiction
The Unexpected Angles and Concluding Twists in 'Mirrors' Keep Readers Hookednew
Galeano regales us with tales from our shared history in an inclusive manner, from cultural creation myths to major historical figures and inventions to significant current events. It is a truism that history is written by the victors; what if, Galeano seems to ask, history were told instead by the vanquished, the oppressed and the downtrodden of all cultures and times?
The Texas Observer |
Liliana Valenzuela |
08-26-2009 |
Nonfiction
In 'Hound Dog,' Songwriting Duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Remember Redefining Postwar Pop Musicnew
Hound Dog: The Leiber and Stoller Autobiography is a delightful read. Both men are terrific storytellers, witty and succinct, with a sharp eye for the telling detail.
Baltimore City Paper |
Geoffrey Himes |
08-18-2009 |
Nonfiction
'That Infernal Little Cuban Republic' Dissects the Shared History of Cuba and Americanew
Lar Schoultz focuses on the Castro years, which he reconstructs in impressive detail, fleshing out such well-known events as the doomed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion with eye-opening depth. Better yet, often-glossed questions are aired with the fullness of Schoultz's four decades of wrestling with the Cuba question. Still, there's something missing.
The Texas Observer |
Mike Kanin |
08-12-2009 |
Nonfiction
Ivor Davis Rereleases Definitive Tome on the Manson Family & Remembers the 1969 Murdersnew
Many have credited Davis' 1970 book Five to Die, co-authored with the late Jerry LeBlanc, as the tool that helped Vincent Bugliosi prosecute Manson, long before the legendary attorney produced his own memoirs of the trial.
Ventura County Reporter |
Paul Sisolak |
08-10-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'The East, the West, and Sex': Orientalism Unleashednew
The East, the West, and Sex, which is organized both by time period and by country, examines the idea of masculine Western colonization creating an idealistic portrayal of Asian culture, particularly those aspects dealing with heterosexual eroticism.
Sacramento News & Review |
Kathleen Jercich |
07-30-2009 |
Nonfiction
Eduardo Galeano's 'Mirrors' Rewrites Human Historynew
It's hard to think of another living author who would have the nerve to consider writing a book like Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone. But for Uruguay's Eduardo Galeano, this collection of vignettes, covering the breadth of human history, was a natural fit.
The Georgia Straight |
Derrick O'Keefe |
07-27-2009 |
Nonfiction
Woodstock Co-creator Michael Lang Shares His Memoriesnew
Four decades of nostalgia, hallucinogens, and box sets make us forget that the Woodstock Music & Art Fair didn't descend from a sky of positive vibes and land softly atop a field of dancing hippies. Michael Lang, co-creator of the festival, returns to the scene of the grime in his new book The Road to Woodstock.
Boston Phoenix |
Rob Turbovsky |
07-23-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
