AltWeeklies Wire
Try As He Might, Glenn Beck Can't Turn a Paperback Book into a Flat-Screen TVnew

Glenn Beck is great on TV; he shouts, he scoffs, and he cries. But when he writes, one thing becomes clear: The man has absolutely nothing of consequence to say. In Common Sense, Beck uses every trick in the book to cover this up.
Las Vegas Weekly |
Rick Lax |
08-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
The Founder of Bitch Magazine Brings Her Feminist Sensibility to a New Cookbooknew

For Lisa Jervis' first single-author book -- recently released on PM Press -- she took a surprising turn: She published a cooking manual. Or, to put it more accurately, Jervis published a "manualfesto."
East Bay Express |
Rachel Swan |
08-12-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
The New Art Book 'The Art of Touring' Moves Past the Mythology of the Roadnew
A multimedia tribute to the road life, the book includes photographs, essays, journal entries, comics, paintings, collages -- and, on the accompanying DVD, plenty of footage by and of touring bands, onstage and off.
Chicago Reader |
Miles Raymer |
08-10-2009 |
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
Ole Joe Kennedy's Dirty Hollywoodnew
In Beauchamp's semi-biographic novel of his life, Joe Kennedy is portrayed as having an almost superhuman ability to charm the pants off the ladies and strip the assets from the fellas, greedily seeking and sucking up more money and power under the pretense of "helping" others.
Metro Times |
Christa Buchanan |
08-04-2009 |
Nonfiction
'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
Carleen Brice Challenges Readers to Stretch Their 'Must-Read' Listsnew

From her blog, "White Readers Meet Black Authors," to her genre-bending novels, Brice's writing is gaining momentum.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Jill Thomas |
07-30-2009 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'Breadline USA' Examines the Reality of Hunger in Americanew

America's No. 1 health problem, the media relentlessly tell us, is obesity. Americans eat too much and we're the fattest people in the world. Except that, according to Sasha Abramsky, many Americans go hungry on a regular basis. And even many of those who aren’t hungry today suffer from what experts have taken to calling "food insecurity."
Sacramento News & Review |
Kel Munger |
07-23-2009 |
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
New Romance Novel Subgenre: Gay Love & Lust, Written by Women for Womennew
A new subgenre has emerged in the escapist realm of romance novels: stories where you have two strapping, broad chests instead of one. We take a gander at two recent offerings: False Colors by Alex Beecroft and Transgressions by Erastes.
Charleston City Paper |
Greg Hambrick |
07-22-2009 |
Books
Why Beach Books Suck ... and How to Avoid Themnew
Forget playing in the surf or baking in the sun. The best thing to do at the beach is to kick back and spend the afternoon lost in a book. But don't make the mistake of buying a novel that has a picture of an actual beach on the cover. Those books are not for you.
Charleston City Paper |
Stephanie Barna |
07-22-2009 |
Books
Tags: beach books, summer reading
New Book Looks at How Billy Graham Shook Up the Solid Southnew
Billy Graham played a key role in shaping the American political landscape of the second half of the 20th century, as confidante to presidents and adviser on domestic issues (particularly civil rights) and foreign policy (Communism and the Cold War).
INDY Week |
John Sinclair |
07-17-2009 |
Nonfiction
Three Recents Books Tackle Iran From the Inside Outnew
Books about Iran have been recently proliferating. The last year in particular has delivered three notable titles: Hooman Majd's The Ayatollah Begs to Differ, Azar Nafisi's Things I've Been Silent About: Memories and Azadeh Moaveni's Honeymoon in Tehran.
The Texas Observer |
Azita Osanloo |
07-15-2009 |
Books
'Catching Fire' Can Be Boldly Essentialist ... Perhaps Too Boldly Essentialistnew
Since the 1950s, scientists have hypothesized that the key factor bringing our ancestors down from the trees was the decision to eat meat. In this persuasively argued book, Richard Wrangham disagrees. Instead, he writes, it was the decision to cook with fire that literally made us human.
The Texas Observer |
James E. McWilliams |
07-15-2009 |
Nonfiction
The 'Outlier' Elephant in the Room is Gender Imbalancenew

Malcolm Gladwell either ignores, dismisses or is utterly blind to the massive gender elephant in the room -- a shocking disregard for the success and failure rates of half the human race.
Pasadena Weekly |
Ellen Snortland |
07-13-2009 |
Nonfiction