AltWeeklies Wire
Why Did the Liberals Cross the Road? Bill Bishop Crunches the Numbersnew
Although conventional wisdom affirms the accuracy of the analysis in The Big Sort and the social costs that flow from it -- a decrease in across-the-aisle contact, elevated levels of rhetorical excess, diminished civility -- it does not follow that our political life has reached new levels of intemperance, or that this has had any enduring impact on our capacity to govern.
The Texas Observer |
Char Miller |
07-23-2008 |
Nonfiction
Salman Rushdie Creates an Engrossing East-Meets-West Novelnew
The bridge between these two worlds is the enchantress of the book's title, an Indian princess so beautiful and beguiling, Rushdie keeps her from the reader for more than half of the book--as if we, too, could not bear the full power of her charms.
Weekly Alibi |
John Freeman |
07-22-2008 |
Fiction
'The Drunkard's Walk' Admirably Intros Statistics and Probabilitynew
It helps that as a science writer, Leonard Mlodinow has a PhD in physics and did a stint writing for Star Trek: The Next Generation.
NOW Magazine |
David Jager |
07-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
Rick Rhodes Wrote the Book on Boating the Ohio River and Its Tributariesnew
The Ohio River is a practical guide for contemporary boaters, with detailed sketches of all eight rivers, dozens of black-and-white photos, and rosters of boat clubs, marinas and other dock sites -- even riverside restaurants.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Bill O'Driscoll |
07-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
Flipping Through Mass-market Titles for Summer Readsnew
Teen novels ... celebrity biographies ... murder mysteries sold by the pound ... what goes on inside those lurid covers? We were by turns bemused, appalled, and sometimes even touched, by what we found. Includes reviews of Elton: The Biography, Beautiful Boy, Bratfest at Tiffany's, The Dark Tide, and more.
Pittsburgh City Paper |
Staff |
07-21-2008 |
Books
Andrew Ferguson Takes a Fresh Look at Abe Lincolnnew
Yes, parts of Land of Lincoln may seem flip, shallow, not fully informed -- but there is considerably more here to admire than to denigrate.
Illinois Times |
Jacqueline Jackson |
07-21-2008 |
Nonfiction
David Sirota is Leading a Populist Revolution ... Why Haven't You Heard About It?new
Sirota is for unions and against NAFTA -- so how did he get a nationally syndicated column?
Boulder Weekly |
Dylan Otto Krider |
07-19-2008 |
Author Profiles & Interviews
Milwaukee Zine Fest Gets Suport From Local Bandsnew
The fest runs from Friday, July 18, to Sunday, July 20. It will feature zine vendors, workshops, readings, films, demonstrations and group discussions.
Shepherd Express |
Tea Krulos |
07-18-2008 |
Books
Bill Ivey Agruse that Copyright Holders are Hoarding Our Cultural Legacy in 'Arts, Inc.'new
Ivey, the former head of the National Endowment for the Arts from 1998 to 2001, passionately believes that the public's right to know--to experience--its cultural heritage is severely threatened by monopolistic corporations, overzealous copyright laws and the erosion of the concept of "fair use."
Metro Silicon Valley |
Michael S. Gant |
07-17-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Comic Book Tattoo': The Most Prominent Comics/Music Mashup Yetnew
Measuring 12-by-12 inches (just like the sleeves of your LPs), it features 50 stories inspired by the songs of well-known comics fan Tori Amos. It also marks the return to comics of Mike Dringenberg, one of the creators of seminal '90s comic series Sandman.
Willamette Week |
Brandon Seifert |
07-16-2008 |
Original Work
Faye Flam Flubs the Sexy in 'The Score'new
Her sex column, Carnal Knowledge, was probably some of the least interesting writing Flam did in her career, yet here she takes actual content from the column, then squeezes it into a haphazard trajectory.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Liz Spikol |
07-14-2008 |
Nonfiction
'Stuff White People Like' Goes from Blog to Booknew
Something about SWPL already feels stale, as though the big thing missing on this list of 150 things, is #151, Stuff White People Like.
Montreal Mirror |
Juliet Waters |
07-11-2008 |
Fiction
Bookman: Larry McMurtry's Life in the Tradenew
The Lonesome Dove and Brokeback Mountain author's latest autobiographical effort focuses on his years as an antiquarian book-seller.
Boston Phoenix |
George Kimball |
07-10-2008 |
Nonfiction
Lewis Shiner's Novel of the Destruction of Haytinew
There are secrets upon secrets in Black & White, sins upon sins, but they all revolve around a single, penetrating absence: Hayti, the African-American community gutted by the construction of the Durham Freeway 40 years ago.
'Winning Our Energy Independence' Takes on 'The Three Poisons'new
S. David Freeman lays out a plan to phase out Big Coal, Big Oil, and nuclear over 30 years while meeting the needs of our high-energy society by implementing renewable technologies that already exist: sun, wind, and renewably generated hydrogen, supplemented by small hydroelectric, geothermal, and certain biofuels.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Diana Scott |
07-10-2008 |
Nonfiction
