AltWeeklies Wire
Pulp Mag Reprints Find an Audience ... Againnew
A publisher quaintly called Nostalgia Ventures offers us a peek into the national fantasies of the last time America was broke, whipped, and paranoid all at once.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Ron Garmon |
09-26-2008 |
Books
'Obscene in the Extreme' Recalls the Fight to Ban 'Grapes of Wrath'new
Seventy years later, with The Grapes of Wrath canonized in American literature and still a must-read for students across the country, it is almost forgotten how strongly -- and even violently -- publication of Steinbeck's novel was opposed in the heartland of California.
Metro Silicon Valley |
Geoffrey Dunn |
09-26-2008 |
Nonfiction
Joseph Stiglitz on the Economic Crisis, War and the Electionnew
"I think that you could argue it may in fact be the war that broke the camel's back," Stiglitz says.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Ron Garmon |
09-26-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Searching for National Identity in 'State By State'new
An American anthology offers proof that despite the intractable antipathy between red and blue, despite the creeping sameness imposed by chains and big boxes, despite the fact that 81 percent of its citizens feel the U.S. has gone off the rails, this is still a wondrously diverse country, with great cause for self-confidence.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
09-25-2008 |
Nonfiction
Personally Speaking: 'Abortion and Life' Tells Whole Truthsnew
Part of the lingering stigma attached to abortion is based on anti-choice rhetoric and scare tactics. But just as insidious is the pro-choice movement's reluctance to delve into the emotional nuance that comes with terminating an unplanned pregnancy. Baumgardner's book is one step toward shifting that paradigm.
Portland Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
09-25-2008 |
Nonfiction
Guy Delisle's New Graphic Memoir Recalls Heat and Oppression in Rangoonnew
The Burma Chronicles, Guy Delisle's latest work of graphic memoir/reportage, doesn't necessarily paint a rosier picture of Burma, but it does offer punctuated moments of hope and a neat delineation of life in the third-world country.
Charleston City Paper |
Eric Liebetrau |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
Gary Bass Makes a Convincing Case for Forceful Humanitarianismnew
Unlike most books interested in promoting human rights by force of arms, Bass focuses on the actions of Western nations and not the philosophies of phony intellectuals from beltway think tanks.
Charleston City Paper |
Dylan Hales |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
Poet Elizabeth Spires Answers Big Questions with Small Answersnew
When I found out my 401(k) lost more than a quarter of its value -- about four month's worth of salary dissipating into the ether -- I wasn't in the mood to review Elizabeth Spires' new book of poems, The Wave-Maker.
Charleston City Paper |
John Stoehr |
09-24-2008 |
Poetry
Philip Roth Goes Back to Collegenew
One of Portnoy's favorite words takes on new resonance in Roth's 29th novel.
Boston Phoenix |
Richard Beck |
09-24-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Philip Roth, Indignation
'American Earth' Offers Vivid View of the Evolution of Environmental Thinkingnew
American Earth comprises some 100 writings sure-handedly selected and introduced by editor Bill McKibben. Individual entries take a variety of forms, from book excerpts, essays, and speeches to straightforward reportage, memoir, and even poetry.
The Texas Observer |
John Suval |
09-24-2008 |
Nonfiction
'What Rhymes With Bastard?': Best. Book. Title. Ever.new
Linda Robertson's memoir recounts the crash-and-burn of her relationship with a tall, thin, slope-shouldered, coke-snorting, ecstasy-swallowing, vodka-swilling chainsmoker who loved anal sex. (She hated it.)
East Bay Express |
Anneli Rufus |
09-24-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
A Brief and Wondrous Interview with Junot Diaznew
Diaz is the "It Kid" in literature today. The author of the 1996 short story collection Drown, he was awarded this year's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Weekly Alibi |
Erin Adair-Hodges |
09-23-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Tags: Pulitzer Prize, Junot Diaz
Timothy Egan Digs into Small-town Americanew
As Egan researched the Dust Bowl, it turned into a story of what happens when people — pushed by their government — abuse the land and destroy an entire ecosystem; in this case, the grasslands of the Great Plains.
Colorado Springs Independent |
Kirsten Aikens |
09-23-2008 |
Nonfiction
Tags: The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan
Joe Meno Wallows in 'Demons in the Spring'new
But when Meno feels sad, he revels in it: He's made a career out of doing just that with Hairstyles of the Damned, a conversational punk-rock update of J.D. Salinger's most famous, and The Boy Detective Fails, a book that knows it's a book, but doesn't let that get in the way of breaking some hearts.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Jakob Dorof |
09-23-2008 |
Fiction
Tags: Demons in the Spring, Joe Meno
Putin Power Playnew
Today Russia has returned a stronger, richer and more confident nation, having barely survived the plundering of its wealth and the impoverishment of its people during the drunken reign of Boris Yeltsin. But Russia's resurrection has come at a high price.
NOW Magazine |
Howard Goldenthal |
09-22-2008 |
Nonfiction
