AltWeeklies Wire
Malcolm Gladwell Examines the Secret of Success in 'Outliers'new
Gladwell uses birthdays, tight-knit communities and circumstance to show why some make it and others don't.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
12-05-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Guilty' Examines Arab Bashing on the Big Screennew
Six years into a costly war fought on Arab soil, one might expect American media to demonize the enemy, rationalizing the necessity of killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. But perhaps because of popular revulsion at the war, Shaheen finds cause for hope.
The Texas Observer |
Steven G. Kellman |
12-03-2008 |
Nonfiction
'In Search of Bill Clinton' Revisits the Monica Affairnew
Was Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky merely the weakness of an inveterate horndog -- or something else? Psychologist John D. Gartner explains.
Baltimore City Paper |
Violet Glaze |
12-02-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Two Boston Poets Use Their Art for the Good of the Tribenew
What if a poem were a social force? Boston poets Rafael Campo and Franz Wright have laid bare a live wire between poetry and isolation.
Boston Phoenix |
James Parker |
11-26-2008 |
Books
Tim Reid is Still Making Race Relations Funnynew
Partnered with Tom Dreesen, now a veteran standup comic and humanitarian, Reid was half of what had to be America's first interracial comedy team, Tim & Tom. And now, somewhat reluctantly, he's having the last laugh with Dreesen, compiling the memories of that era into a fascinating new book, Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White.
Metro Times |
Jim McFarlin |
11-25-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Lennard Davis Argues that Obsession is Largely in the Eye of the Beholdernew
Obsession: A History is the UIC professor's study of the rise and bifurcated path of obsessive behavior as both an illness and an ideal in the modern world.
Chicago Reader |
Deanna Isaacs |
11-24-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Laurell K. Hamilton, the Mistress of Horrornew
Nobody writes vampire novels the way the St. Louis author does -- and yes, there's lots of sex.
Riverfront Times |
Aimee Levitt |
11-21-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Small-Press Books: Reading for Real Peoplenew
As the unemployment rate rises and your friends find themselves out of work, why not comfort them with some small-press books this holiday season?
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
11-20-2008 |
Books
Remembering Jim Crumley, the Last Good Detective Writernew
When the Texas-born novelist James Crumley died at age 68 on September 17, newspaper obituaries in Los Angeles, Washington, New York, and London all mentioned one of his sentences. The sentence was not the only notable string of words this fine writer composed, but devotees of his work often point to it as a landmark in modern detective fiction.
The Texas Observer |
Dick Holland |
11-19-2008 |
Books
National Security Agency Expert James Bamford Talks Secrets and Liesnew
The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America presents an account of the drastic and ominous shift in the agency's mission and tactics over the past seven years.
Baltimore City Paper |
Lee Gardner |
11-14-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Howard Zinn Ponders Obama's Positions on Peace and Imperialismnew
The noted historian and activist talks about the war, the end of the Bush era and the future of the American empire.
Montreal Mirror |
Matt Jones |
11-14-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
'The Oxford Project' Uses Photography as a Kind of Time Machinenew
Ultimately, The Oxford Project is an homage to Americana, a photographic record of small-town America and the story of intertwined lives. It is about history, personal and collective, and that ubiquitous force: change. This book, like the facets of human features, is so intriguing, it is nearly impossible to put down.
San Antonio Current |
Lyle Rosdahl |
11-13-2008 |
Nonfiction
'The Scramble for Africa' Argues that Western Activists Have Darfur All Wrongnew
Steven Fake and Kevin Funk agree: When it comes to Darfur, even people who share their leftist politics mostly don't get it.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
11-11-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Chunklet's Henry Owings Lays Down the Rules in 'The Rock Bible'new
Mere mortals tremble at Owing's caustic humored sensibilities toward pop and culture. So when he came up with a "rock bible" idea for issue 20 and it exploded into a 250-page Word file in two weeks with more than 300 ideas from his contributors and friends, a book was in order.
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
11-11-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Natalie McLennan Discusses Her Life as a High-Priced Hookernew
The former escort to the stars tells all about doing johns, doing drugs and doing time in her book The Price: My Rise and Fall as Natalia.
Montreal Mirror |
Chris Barry |
11-07-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
