RSSBooks
J.D. Salinger: Artist Who Never Wanted to Be an 'Idol'
Mitch Albom
When someone told me J.D. Salinger had died, I jokingly asked, 'How do they know?' It was dark humor and a tad disrespectful. But I was trying to be complimentary. Salinger, who was even more passionate about his privacy than his writing, had managed, at age 91, to die a legend in both areas.
The Future of the U.S. Economy: 2050
Matthew Bandyk
Think back to 1967. The job you have today may not even have existed. The Internet, and all the jobs that have come with it, were decades away. The Detroit automakers were dominant. Quality of life was different, too. The lifestyle of the average American may change just as much from 2010 to 2050 as it did from 1967 to 2006. The economy will especially undergo change.
The Power of the Unconscious on Terrorism, Race and Politics
Jessica Rettig
From suicide bombers to the average American voter, most humans believe their decisions are based on sound judgment and core values. Yet, according to Washington Post columnist Shankar Vedantam, much of everyday decision making is rooted in assumptions that lie outside the realm of awareness.
Book of the Year -- 'Game Change!'
Liz Smith
If you want to refresh yourself on Barack Obama's talents at organizing and leading and inspiring, you must sit down right now and read the book of the moment -- 'Game Change' by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. There, laid out for all to follow, is the story of Obama's incredible rise to the top and how he overcame the forces of intolerance and old-fashioned thinking.
Thomas Fleming discusses Intimate Lives of Founding Fathers
Jessica Rettig
Tired of hearing about Tiger Woods and Mark Sanford? Historian Thomas Fleming has a few new names to add to the list of America's most famous playboys, including Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington. Fleming exposes the little-known tales of the country's early figures in his latest book, The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers.
Understanding Why America Loves Animals, But Eats Them
Bonnie Erbe
A new book asks the question in the title, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, and then attempts to supply answers from a psychological perspective. Author and psychologist Melanie Joy has some pretty surprising answers to that question
Ronald Reagan and the Ascendency of Conservatism
Robert Schlesinger
Until the votes were cast, the 1980 election was too close to call, with polls showing President Jimmy Carter leading Republican challenger Ronald Reagan. The former actor won comfortably, marking the conservative political ascendancy. Craig Shirley recently chatted with Robert Schlesinger about pivotal elections, today's GOP, and how close Reagan came to losing.
New View of Ronald Reagan and End of the Cold War
Jules Witcover
Ever since Ronald Reagan left the White House in 1989, it has been debated whether he was indeed responsible for the collapse of the Soviet Union, or whether it just happened after his watch. In 'The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War,' author James Mann makes a persuasive case that Ronald Reagan actually played a part, intentionally or otherwise, in the Soviet Union's disintegration.
Avatar and the Faith Instinct
Jonah Goldberg
Avatar has been subjected to a sustained assault from many on the right as an apologia for pantheism. These criticisms hit the mark, but Avatar is not meant to be controversial and aimed at pleasing a wide audience. After all, we live in an age in which it's the norm to speak glowingly of spirituality but derisively of traditional religion.
Helping Women Help the World
Isobel Coleman
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn argue that "the brutality inflicted routinely on women and girls in much of the world" is "one of the paramount human rights problems of this century." Their statistics are numbing: every year, at least two million girls worldwide "disappear" due to gender discrimination. But Kristof and WuDunn go beyond moral outrage.
An Elegy for Journalism? The Future of the News and Journalism
Peter Osnos
The twenty-first century has been a traumatic one for journalism. Changes in how people consume news combined with the Great Recession have produced a dark era in journalism. In Losing the News, Alex Jones, addresses how the rise of the Internet and the precipitous decline in advertising have left print journalism in desperate straits.
Join a Book Club - Best New Year's Resolution You'll Ever Make
Robyn Blumner
I have a humble suggestion for a New Year's resolution: Join a book club. With this one step, your annual book-reading tally could shoot up. It helps make room for pleasure-reading in busy lives. Here's why plus tips for joining a book club or starting your own book club
Animal Books for Your Pet-Loving Friends and Relatives
Steve Dale
Searching for last-minute gifts? How about books for your pet-loving friends and relatives, or maybe as presents to yourself? Here are some suggestions:
William Eggers discusses his book If We Can Put a Man on the Moon
Jessica Rettig
The majority of Americans do not believe that the federal government is capable of major policy initiatives. After studying 75 major U.S. policy initiatives since World War II, William D. Eggers and John O'Leary wrote "If We Can Put a Man on the Moon...Getting Big Things Done in Government." Eggers discusses th book with Jessica Rettig
A Woman's Review of Going Rogue by Sarah Palin
Mary Kate Cary
I want to like Sarah Palin. She's got a houseful of kids, she was one of the nation's few female governors, and she's not my father's GOP. The Republican Party is in dire need of new leadership, and I think a conservative woman would be great. So I want to root for her.
Palin's 'Going Rogue' Review
Reader Comments
Going Rogue is a pretty quick read -- interesting when it comes to Sarah's personal life, but snotty the way she comments about the journalists and the campaign people
The Bible: A Word for the Elizabethans
Paul Greenberg
There is no end to the writing of books, said the author of Ecclesiastes, and today he could have said it of translations of the Bible. Now there are translations not just for every denomination and generation but for every class, sex and age -- men, women, young people, conservative, liberal or neither . . . .
The War on the Book
Paul Greenberg
In Ashburnham, Massachusetts, a prep school has just given up on books. The headmaster of Cushing Academy, one James Tracy, doesn't see any need for them. Not any more. Anybody who's anybody or wants to be now has an iPhone with apps, a Kindle or whatever the Next Big Thing turns out to transiently be. Who needs books?
Why Americans Should Not Fear Scientific Progress
Jessica Rettig
Science is advancing at a rate so fast that it is difficult to forecast where it will take us. According to Michael Specter, this uncertainty has developed into a widespread fear or denial of scientific progress across the nation. Specter identifies why Americans have grown to mistrust science. He recently chatted with Jessica Rettig about the dangers of resisting vaccines and the value of preventative healthcare
The Good Soldiers: U.S. Troops and the Wounds of War in Baghdad
Anna Mulrine
The 2nd Battalion of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division -- the 2-16, as it's called -- spent 15 months in 2007 and 2008 in one of the toughest areas of Baghdad at the height of the surge. David Finkel chronicles their story in The Good Soldiers
Barbara Ehrenreich on the Negative Power of Positive Thinking
Jessica Rettig
Author and commentator Barbara Ehrenreich sympathizes in her book Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America
Holiday Cookbook Review: Warm Bread and Honey Cake
Nick Malgieri
Among the latest crop of new baking books, the hands-down winner is undoubtedly 'Warm Bread and Honey Cake, Home Baking from Around the World,' by Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra
Reagan, Obama and Legacy of the Berlin Wall
Kenneth T. Walsh
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a conclusive sign that the United States and the other Western democracies had finally won the Cold War. In the end, two presidents deserve much of the credit: George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Twenty years later there are plenty of lessons for President Obama's approach to foreign policy.
Political Book of the Year
Jules Witcover
Sarah Palin's cathartic tome may be flying off the shelves, but the best political book in years by far is 'The Audacity to Win,' the inside account of how Barack Obama won the presidency, written by one of the two chief architects of that historic achievement, campaign manager David Plouffe.
Free Markets, Free Muslims
Jon B. Alterman
Vali Nasr's new book, Forces of Fortune, was written largely in the exuberant phase of Dubai's story, but it is being published in a more sober time. It reflects some of the old enthusiasm for the notion that 'the Dubai model' -- a multiethnic, capitalist society insulated from violence and ideology -- could save the Middle East from a downward spiral of intolerance and political extremism.
Sarah Palin Book: Feminists Jealous of Sarah's Rise
Paul Bedard
Talk about timing. With former GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin readying the release of her own 432-page campaign tell-all, Going Rogue: An American Life, now would be the perfect time to pop out another Palin book, and that's exactly what Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti has done with The Persecution of Sarah Palin
Dear Sarah: Keep Up the Great Writing
Carl Hiaasen
Thank you for turning in the manuscript so quickly. I thought only Stephen King could crank out 400 pages in four months! Seriously, there's some terrific material here, and all of us are thrilled to be publishing your life story. Before we move ahead, the fact-checking department has asked me to pass along a few notes and comments that may require some revisions on your part.
The Movie Star Deluxe - Elizabeth Taylor
Liz Smith
YOU SEE, she didn't care about being a star. She cared about living a certain way. It was what she was used to. And she lived that grand life with Burton and thought they'd have it forever. That's what was most important to her: to have a great companion in her great life ... it was all about being with him. That's all that really mattered.
Military Contractors and the Perils of Outsourcing War
Alex Kingsbury
Half the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq is made up not of soldiers, marines, and airmen but of private contractors. And although contractors are not combat troops, almost 1,800 of them have been killed since 9/11. Allison Stanger says this is a dangerous and unprecedented outsourcing of foreign policy that bodes ill for the future of the nation. Her latest book, One Nation Under Contract
Bush's Bad Speeches and Karl Rove's Disappointing Genius: Matt Latimer discusses Speech-less
Robert Schlesinger
The growing frequency of presidential speeches has necessitated staffs of White House writers to help presidents craft their messages. For Matt Latimer, writing speeches for President George W. Bush during the last two years of his administration was an exercise in disillusionment, as he recounts in his book Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor
Obama One Year Later: The Audacity of Winning vs. The Timidity of Governing
Arianna Huffington
Plouffe's book arrives at a crossroads moment for the administration -- exactly one year after the election, and one year before the 2010 midterms. A lot has happened in that year, as the audacity of winning has given way to the timidity of governing.
A Simple Plan for Killing al Qaeda
Alex Kingsbury Interviews Howard Clark
Howard Clark's answer is to both amplify the nihilism of its message and promote moderate Islamic voices. Clark, a former marine who served two tours in Iraq, now works as a consultant on counter-terrorism problems for the Department of Defense. He is also president and founder of Seventh Pillar, a nonprofit that seeks to combat al Qaeda's ideology. He recently spoke about his three-part plan for strengthening moderates and defeating extremists
The Mutilated Book: The Cartoons That Shook the World
Paul Greenberg
The same forces that have held much of the Muslim East in thrall now are reaching out to dictate to the West, too. And they've found a willing accomplice in Yale University, which has decided to publish 'The Cartoons That Shook the World' by Prof. Jytte Klausen without including the principal reason for it -- the controversial cartoons that Danish newspapers published in 2005 and early 2006 that so enraged mobs throughout the Muslim world. Here, you would think, ...
New Career Books to Grow On
Joyce Lain Kennedy
Consider catching up on reading aimed to solve problems in your career. Here some 2009 titles that fill that bill
Need To Lose Weight? 10 Ways to Conquer Emotional Eating
January W. Payne
Do you blindly turn to food as a source of comfort when you're feeling upset? Since emotional overeating doesn't provide any lasting satisfaction and can lead to health problems, it's far better to find other ways to deal with the stresses of daily life. That's the premise of a book out this month ...
Dealing With Irrational, Possibly Nuclear, Enemies
Louis R. Beres, Thomas G. McInerney and Paul E. Vallely
To back up credible U.S. deterrence against a still-growing number of adversaries, Barack Obama will need to rebuild a declining military infrastructure and doctrine. Otherwise, it is likely that this country's state and sub-state enemies may increasingly dismiss American retaliatory and other threats as empty bluster and false bravado.
How the CIA Became Dangerously Dependent on Outside Contractors
Allison Stanger
Recent revelations of contractor involvement in CIA covert operations have been shocking. The CIA deploys contractors because it no longer has the in-house capacity to pursue new mission-critical tasks without an assist from the private sector. At first glance, this looks like free-market fundamentalism taken to its logical extreme ...
Finding a Better Way to Prosecute Terrorists
Queenie Wong
At the center of the controversy surrounding the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention center is what to do with the suspected terrorists once the prison camp shuts in January. Trying detainees before military commissions or in federal courts isn't the solution, argues Capt. Glenn Sulmasy ...
Book Review: Charles Higham's 'In and Out of Hollywood'
Liz Smith
Mr. Higham is a well-known chronicler of the famous and infamous. Although he is a noted poet and has written a number of reasonably received plays, his biographies are the meat of his career. His new book -- 'In and Out of Hollywood' -- tells many dishy tales.
Review-a-Day for Fri, Mar 12: Cheever: A Life (Vintage)
Cheever: A Life (Vintage) by Blake Bailey, a review from Harper's Magazine by Jonathan Dee.
Daily Dose for Fri, Mar 12: His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass)
His Dark Materials Omnibus (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman
Reviewed by Michelle from Buffalo, New York.
Review-a-Day for Thu, Mar 11: Reality Hunger: A Manifesto
Reality Hunger: A Manifesto by David Shields, a review from The Oregonian by Debra Gwartney.
Daily Dose for Thu, Mar 11: The Magician's Elephant
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Reviewed by Avonlea from Corvallis , Oregon.
Review-a-Day for Wed, Mar 10: Changeling
Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe, a review from Los Angeles Times by Scott Esposito.
Daily Dose for Wed, Mar 10: Shadow Tag
Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich
Reviewed by Jenny from Lake Oswego, OR.
Review-a-Day for Tue, Mar 9: Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America
Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America by Rich Benjamin, a review from The Wilson Quarterly by Darryl Lorenzo Wellington.
Daily Dose for Tue, Mar 9: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History by Lewis Buzbee
Reviewed by Barbara from Gahanna, Ohio.
Review-a-Day for Mon, Mar 8: Missing Her
Missing Her by Claudia Keelan, a review from Rain Taxi by Rebecca Morales.
Daily Dose for Mon, Mar 8: Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life
Bringing the Devil to His Knees: The Craft of Fiction and the Writing Life by Charles Baxter and Peter Turchi
Reviewed by L. from Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Review-a-Day for Sun, Mar 7: A Mercy (Vintage International)
A Mercy (Vintage International) by Toni Morrison, a review from The Morning News by Tournament of Books.
Daily Dose for Sun, Mar 7: The Wood Wife
The Wood Wife
Reviewed by Michelle from Gaston, Oregon.
Review-a-Day for Sat, Mar 6: Smile
Smile by Raina Telgemeier, a review from Powells.com by Chris Bolton.
Daily Dose for Sat, Mar 6: A Far Country
A Far Country
Reviewed by Gregory from Lakeland, Florida.
Review-a-Day for Fri, Mar 5: The Third Reich at War: 1939-1945
The Third Reich at War: 1939-1945 by Richard J. Evans, a review from Harper's Magazine by William H. Gass.
Powell's Books: Overview
The latest book-related content from Powells.com
Scandinavian crime fiction: Inspector Norse
Why are Nordic detective novels so successful? THE neat streets of Oslo are not a natural setting for crime fiction. Nor, with its cows and country smells, is the flat farming land of Sweden’s southern tip. And Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, is now associated more with financial misjudgment than gruesome murder. Yet in the past decade Nordic crime writers have unleashed a wave of detective fiction that is right up there with the work of Dashiell Hammett, Patricia Highsmith, Elmore Leonard and the other crime greats. Nordic crime today is a publishing phenomenon. Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy alone has sold 27m copies, its publishers’ latest figures show, in over 40 countries. The release this month in Britain and America of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, the film of the first Larsson book, will only boost sales. The transfer to the screen of his sprawling epic (the author died suddenly in 2004 just as the trilogy was being edited and translated) will cement the Nordics’ renown. The more unruly subplots have been eliminated, leaving the hero, a middle-aged financial journalist named Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), and an emotionally damaged computer hacker, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace, pictured above), at the centre of every scene. The small screen too has had a recent visit from the Swedish police. Starting in 2008, British television viewers have been treated to expensive adaptations of the books of Henning Mankell, featuring Kenneth Branagh as Kurt Wallander. The BBC series has reawakened interest in Mr Mankell’s nine Wallander books, which make up a large slice of his worldwide sales of 30m in 40 languages. ...
Artists in 19th-century Britain: Outsider
A new biography highlights the life and work of a British artist and the women he loved Into the Frame: The Four Loves of Ford Madox Brown. By Angela Thirlwell. Chatto & Windus; 328 pages; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.co.uk THE Pre-Raphaelites and their “stunners”, as Dante Gabriel Rossetti called his models, have long been the object of fascination. Perhaps that is why so little has been written about Ford Madox Brown (1821-93), a painter who, though closely associated with them, never joined their fraternity. With his upbringing and early training in France and Belgium, Brown was always the outsider. Angela Thirlwell’s “Into the Frame”, a carefully researched and sympathetic biography of Brown and the four women he loved, helps fill that gap, while making a valuable contribution to the growing literature about women who have figured in the lives of prominent men. ...
The proliferation business: Unstoppable?
The illicit nuclear trade flourishes because governments let it Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America’s Enemies. By David Albright. Free press; 304 pages; $27. Buy from Amazon.com EVER since the atom was split, governments have struggled to control a force with potential for good that can also wreak awful destruction. Some argue it is impossible to stop technologies that can keep the lights on from being used to make bombs. That is a sobering thought in a world ready to re-embrace relatively carbon-free nuclear power. But David Albright, a respected chronicler of undercover nuclear shenanigans, tells a more alarming story: just how little most governments have done to halt the bomb’s spread. ...
American power: Empire state
Encircling the globe Dominion from Sea to Sea: Pacific Ascendancy and American Power. By Bruce Cumings. Yale University Press; 641 pages; $38 and GBP30. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ...
New fiction: Ian McEwan: Mr Sunshine
How not to write “state-of-the-nation” fiction Solar. By Ian McEwan. Nan A. Talese; 304 pages; $26.95. Jonathan Cape; GBP18.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ...
Henri Matisse: Ascent of a master
A new exhibition expands what we know about how Matisse worked ON A trip to Chicago to give a lecture, John Elderfield, then chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, dropped in to see how conservation of Henri Matisse’s monumental painting, “Bathers by a River”, was coming along. He was hooked. The result, five years later, is an exhibition that dramatically changes established ideas about the artist’s work and working methods. A scholar, Mr Elderfield has always been attracted to questions that are hard to answer. He is from the tough former mining county of Yorkshire, which may have shaped his conviction that if an undertaking is easy, it isn’t worth doing. During his more than 30 years at MoMA (he retired in 2008), there were many thorny problems to engage him. Quite a few concerned Matisse. His 1992 exhibition, “Henri Matisse: A Retrospective”, was a tremendous popular and critical success. He imagined he had probably given the subject everything he could. But not at all, it turned out. His “Matisse Picasso”, the first major exhibition devoted to these two giants, opened in 2003. Only a couple of years later, in Chicago, he was enmeshed again. ...
A journalist in the Middle East: Golden notebook
Trying to tell it how it is Dining with al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East. By Hugh Pope. Thomas Dunne; 352 pages; $26.99 and GBP18.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk PALESTINE is yesterday’s news, sighed a bored editor as he rejected Hugh Pope’s offering. It was a familiar reaction. Mr Pope, a principled and thoughtful reporter, tramped the Middle East for 30 years in a forlorn bid to decipher its subtleties to a Western readership encased in its own prejudices: moderates versus radicals; an Arab-Israeli peace process that would work were it not sabotaged by Palestinian violence; Islamic Iran as the mortal enemy of Western civilisation. After his long time on the road, Mr Pope’s sad conclusion is that all the words he wrote, and all the risks he took, had made no perceptible difference to the crude way a largely insensitive and meddling West views a dysfunctional region. ...
White Africans on the screen: A tribe in trouble
The short sad life of whites in Africa Correction to this article TWO compelling documentaries illuminate the dilemmas facing Africa’s dwindling white tribes. One is set in Zimbabwe, the other in Kenya. The Zimbabwean film, “Mugabe and the White African”, is the more straightforward and should be shown as widely as possible to help end one of Africa’s great tragedies: the ruin of one of the continent’s most successful countries and the moral bankruptcy of the governments of the nearby states (bar plucky Botswana) for failing to isolate and oust a vile dictator. ...
Mothers in China: Sobs on the night breeze
The centre of global gendercide Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love. By Xinran. Chatto & Windus; 224 pages; GBP16.99. Buy from Amazon.co.uk DURING the past 30 years of economic reform, China has made what is probably history’s largest single improvement to human welfare, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. Yet millions have also been crushed by the vast engine of Chinese growth—and it is among these that Xinran Xue (who uses only her first name) finds her stories. In previous works of oral history, she has rescued from the chaos that is modern Chinese record-keeping personal narratives of her grandparents’ generation (“China Witness”, 2008) and of women caught in China’s endless political turmoil (“The Good Women of China”, 2002). In her latest book, “Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother”, she turns to the relationship between women and their daughters in tales of loss and often unthinkable heartache. ...
British politics: Ties that bind
Andrew Rawnsley's political vivisection The End of the Party: the Rise and Fall of New Labour. By Andrew Rawnsley. Viking; 802 pages; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.co.uk LABOUR under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown has ruled Britain for longer than any non-Conservative government in the past 100 years. With an election due in the next three months, there is a real chance that the last days of Pompeii are upon us. How will history judge New Labour—as an idealistic attempt to improve lives through a blend of free-market economics and social justice, or a cynical sucking of power from longstanding and broadly functioning institutions to a small group of media-hungry, manipulative politicians? ...
The bloody age of Vyacheslav Molotov: Bullying bibliophile
Stalin’s violent henchman and his library may have inspired a modern classic Molotov’s Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History. By Rachel Polonsky. Faber and Faber; 388 pages; GBP20. Buy from Amazon.co.uk EXPATRIATE spouses living pampered lives in Moscow often think it would be nice to write a book about their time there. The material is irresistible: vastness, extremes, depths and delights. But the trite, coy and overly personal jottings that result often prove quite resistible. Rachel Polonsky moved to Moscow with her lawyer husband and stayed for a decade. Her perceptive and erudite book is the exception and sets a standard to freeze the ink in others’ pens. ...
John Browne's memoirs: Oil painting
Business and the bedroom Beyond Business. By John Browne. Weidenfeld & Nicolson; 310 pages; GBP20. Buy from Amazon.co.uk DURING his 12 years as boss of BP, John Browne was the master of many complicated briefs. He launched three big takeovers, sparking a wave of consolidation that reshaped the industry; to the horror of his peers, he admitted that oil firms had a part to play in the fight against global warming; he invested in Russia’s lucrative but lawless oil business with much greater success than other Western oil firms—and he made pots of money for BP’s shareholders, year after year. ...
Old men of the theatre: The two Peters
A couple of productions that make a compelling case against ageism SIR PETER HALL, a renowned director of Shakespeare’s plays, has observed that the older you get, the more like yourself you become. At 79, Sir Peter is demonstrating the artfulness of his own adage with a production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” which is a concentrated version of his best work: loyal to the text, the verse, the romance and the humour of the play. To bolster Sir Peter’s case, his fellow director Peter Brook, whom Sir Peter refers to as the stage’s greatest innovator, is exhibiting his revolutionary credentials at 84 with “11 and 12”, a moral tale set in Africa. Sir Peter’s star is Dame Judi Dench, the leading lady of the English theatre. It is 47 years since they first worked together on the “Dream”, and the shared experience illuminates her performance as Titania, the Queen of the Fairies. The verse is spoken with clarity and meaning and her lust is tempered by a mature woman’s experience and affection. Dame Judi’s Titania, richly dressed with a wig of flame-red hair, looks like the Virgin Queen herself, as if Elizabeth is appearing as Titania in a court production of the play, a harmless little conceit. ...
A biography of Arthur Koestler: Intellectual fireworks
A serial fornicator with a powerful, paradoxical intellect Koestler: The Literary and Political Odyssey of a Twentieth-Century Skeptic. By Michael Scammell. Random House; 689 pages; $35. Published in Britain as “Koestler: The Indispensable Intellectual”; Faber and Faber; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk LONG before today’s fashion for counter-intuitive polemics, there was Arthur Koestler. An early Zionist who later tried to debunk the very notion of a Jewish people; a communist whose novel “Darkness at Noon” is one of the most powerful demolitions of communism ever written; a lover of science who later championed the paranormal; Koestler was one of the 20th century’s most powerful and controversial intellectuals, whose works still shape our thinking. This is the first authorised biography of the Hungarian-Jewish writer and it is a majestic achievement. ...
A Japanese silversmith: Making waves
Pounding flat pieces of silver into beautiful vessels HIROSHI SUZUKI’S work in silver is sensuous, beautiful and coveted. His pieces, hammered up and out from a single flat sheet of silver, have been praised for their “sublimely flowing” quality. No one else is doing anything like it. His retrospective, “Silver Waves”, is at London’s Goldsmiths’ Hall (though only until March 6th). Nearly all the 71 pieces on show are loans. They come from museums across the world: the (anonymous) private lenders include collectors from Hollywood, Wall Street and England’s stately homes. The Goldsmiths’ Company, which put on the exhibition, owns four pieces. ...
China's roads: A voyage of discovery
A reporter who explored China’s bigger and lesser roads and found treasure Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory. By Peter Hessler. Harper Collins; 432 pages; $27.99. Canongate; GBP14.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ROADS, and with them cars, are changing China faster than any dictat from the Politburo. Within a few years a motorway network has been built that is fast catching up with the length of America’s interstate highways; China has already overtaken America as the world’s biggest car market. Yet most foreigners, even long-term residents, have glimpsed this only partially. They curse the gridlock of Chinese cities caused by a new middle class hitting the roads in ballooning numbers, and at the mayhem these reckless novices create. They bemoan the transformation of rural peripheries by businesses catering to day-tripping car-owners: guesthouses, restaurants and theme parks. They fret about the fumes. ...
University education in America: Professionalising the professor
The difficulties of an American doctoral student The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance in the American University. By Louis Menand. Norton; 174 pages; $24.95 and GBP17.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ...
New York low life: Bottoms up
Essays on New York by St Clair McKelway, taken from the New Yorker Reporting At Wit’s End: Tales from The New Yorker. By St. Clair McKelway. Bloomsbury; 619 pages; $18 and GBP10.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk WHEN she learned that the bank was about to foreclose on her mortgage, Katherina Schnible, a slightly lame 72-year-old, remained in her third floor apartment in a little frame house in Brooklyn, refusing to open the door to anybody but her son. Then came the day when she heard a heavy footfall on the first landing, heard somebody running frantically up the first flight of stairs, heard a man’s voice shouting something. The footsteps came closer and then, right outside her door, the voice yelled “Fire!” Mrs Schnible opened her door and hobbled into the hall. “Hello, Mrs Schnible,” said the man standing there. “Here’s a summons for you.” ...
How East Timor became Timor-Leste: A country's agonising birth
An authoritative account of Timor-Leste's birth “If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die”: How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor. By Geoffrey Robinson. Princeton University Press; 317 pages; $35 and GBP24.95. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk ...
The Economist: Books and arts
Books and arts
Marching Toward War, Through The 'Valley Of Death'
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ted Morgan's Valley of Death is the story of the brutal conflict — a fight led by the French to re-establish colonial rule in Vietnam — that led to the Vietnam War. The battle of Dien Bien Phu lasted months, but the fallout lasted decades.
Jesus And The Hidden Contradictions Of The Gospels
The New Testament contains multiple versions of the life and teachings of Jesus. Bart Ehrman, the author of Jesus, Interrupted,, says they are at odds with each other on important points regarding the life, death and divinity of Jesus.
No Ink, No Paper: What's The Value Of An E-Book?
The electronic publishing revolution is under way, and for consumers, it could mean paying less than ever for books. But some publishers fear lower prices could spell the end of the industry.
Father G Sees Past Gang Tattoos, To The Heart
Los Angeles is home to nearly 86,000 gang members. When they want to quit "gang banging," many call Fr. Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest. Father G, founder of Homeboy Industries, talks about his book, Tattoos On The Heart.
Paperback Nonfiction Bestsellers For March 11
Author Jeannette Walls shares the story of her unusual upbringing, living like a nomad with her bohemian family as they moved among Southwest desert towns and camped in the mountains, in The Glass Castle.
Paperback Fiction Bestsellers For March 11
In Brooklyn, which traces a woman's journey from Ireland to New York in the 1950s, Colm Toibin weaves a classic tale of immigration and the loneliness that follows.
Hardcover Nonfiction Bestsellers For March 11
In Making Rounds With Oscar, Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician, tells the story of a cat ordinary in every way except for its uncanny ability to predict when people in the Steere House nursing home are about to die.
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers For March 11
While the Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving the Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, sheds light on the "true" story.
Desmond Tutu, Insisting We Are 'Made For Goodness'
The South African cleric and human-rights activist Desmond Tutu joins Renee Montagne to reflect on his long life and his lasting message about forgiveness and reconciliation. His new book, Made for Goodness, is an explanation of his personal sense of spirituality and an invitation to share in his beliefs about the basic goodness of humanity.
'Angelology': A Cross-Bred Monster Of A Mystery
The first novel by Danielle Trussoni follows the struggle between nefarious human-angel hybrids and the band of mortals trying to keep them in check. Trussoni, author of the acclaimed memoir Falling Through the Earth, maintains a balance between literary artistry and complex adventure.
A Grim 'Eclipse': Deb Amos On Iraq's Sunni Exiles
Since the U.S. invasion, 4 million Iraqis have had to leave their homes. An additional 2 million have left the country entirely, and many are still outside its borders. NPR's Deborah Amos tells the story of these displaced Iraqi citizens in her new book, Eclipse of the Sunnis.
Rove's Memoir: 'The Empire Strikes Back'?
Karl Rove released a memoir Tuesday that many reviewers criticized as being more defense of George W. Bush-era policies than revealing look at the legendary operative once dubbed "Bush's Brain." But most political memoirs share a similar aim: to get a jump on shaping history as it's written.
Puchner's Debut Novel Forthright, Detailed
In Eric Puchner's novel Model Home, a father relocates his family from the Midwest to Southern California, but his dreams for success, and theirs, falls flat. It's the first novel by the award-winning short-story writer.
Publisher Pulls 'Last Train From Hiroshima'
In February, Henry Holt & Company stopped the presses on The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino, amid questions of fraud. Motoko Rich, publishing reporter for the New York Times, shares what Pellegrino said to her about the allegations.
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An Egg Is Quiet
Do your children enjoy picture books about nature? Share some of your favorites by clicking on "
(Cover art courtesy of Chronicle Books) An Egg Is Quiet originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 00:01:02.
At this time of year, when children think of eggs, they tend to think of Easter eggs. For a fascinating look at different kinds of eggs found in nature, I recommend An Egg Is Quiet. This strikingly lovely children's picture book was written by Diana Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long. In addition to being a children's picture book, the book is also a children's science book. An Egg Is Quiet provides an introduction to eggs of all kinds, from a variety of birds' eggs to a fossilized dinosaur egg, from a hummingbird's tiny egg to an eight-pound ostrich egg. The illustrations by award-winning illustrator Sylvia Long reflect her understanding of both the science and the beauty of eggs. An Egg Is Quiet will interest the whole family.
cComments" below and posting your recommendations. Thank you.
Spotlight on Ezra Jack Keats
(Cover art courtesy of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers)
Spotlight on Ezra Jack Keats originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 00:01:29.
Ezra Jack Keats was born on March 11, 1916. He died on May 6, 1983, at the age of sixty-seven. The talented artist and author is remembered as something of a pioneer in his use of African American children as main characters and in his use of mixed media collages to illustrate his stories. Ezra Jack Keats was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1963 for his picture book The Snowy Day, which is still popular today. The Snowy Day is also included in
Keats's Neighborhood, a collection of popular stories by Keats. Do you and your kids have a favorite picture book by Ezra Jack Keats? If so, click on "Comments" below and post information about it. Thanks.
The Amelia Bloomer Project: Feminist Books
If you're looking for children's books that feature strong female characters, you'll be interested in the Amelia Bloomer Project reading list.
According to the Amelia Bloomer Project Web site, "...the 2010 Amelia Bloomer Project members selected 54 books notable for feminist content, quality of writing, and appeal to young readers....This bibliography is intended to highlight feminist books examining women's history, those that celebrate women who have blazed trails, and those that describe problems and identify solutions for situations we face today."
The annotated list of fiction and nonfiction includes books in three categories: Beginning Readers, Middle Grades and Young Adult. For more resources, see Strong and Resourceful Female Characters in Children's Books. What are some of the books featuring strong female characters that you and/or your children like? Click on "Comments" below and share your recommendations.
(Cover art courtesy of Henry Holt)
The Amelia Bloomer Project: Feminist Books originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 00:01:13.
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A Story for Bear
Other Good Picture Book Read-Alouds
A Story for Bear, a fantasy that seems real, will appeal to 4- to 8-year-olds. This picture book is the story of an unusual friendship between a woman staying in a cabin near the woods and one of the most appealing bears I have ever seen. Jim LaMarche's illustrations in acrylic paint and colored pencil fill the pages with hazy scenes of summer in the woods and the amazing friendship that grows between the woman who sits outside each day reading a book and the bear who was eager "to understand what she was doing as she held the book."
(Cover art courtesy of Harcourt, Inc.)
A Story for Bear originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 00:01:13.
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Poems for Two or More Voices
If your kids love to perform for family and friends, they'll have fun with these children's books of poems for two or more voices. Performing the poems is a great way for children to learn to enjoy the spoken word and to gain fluency in reading aloud. The children's poetry books I recommend are You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices, and Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices.
(Cover art courtesy of Little, Brown and Company)
Poems for Two or More Voices originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 00:01:03.
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Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
The talented Tomie dePaola is one of my favorite children's book illustrators and authors. He has written and/or illustrated more than 200 books for children. If you have children wanting to know more about St. Patrick because of St. Patrick's Day on March 17, I recommend Tomie dePaola's Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, which is the story of St. Patrick and the legends about him. While the book is geared toward four to eight year olds, older children will find it intriguing also. See my annotated list of Children's Books of Irish Folktales and Fairy Tales to learn about some of my favorite Irish stories.
(Cover art courtesy of Holiday House)
Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 00:01:38.
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Ramona and Beezus Movie Coming in July!
For more than fifty years, Beverly Cleary has delighted readers ages 8 to 12 with her humorous, yet realistic, stories about the ordinary lives of the children who live on Klickitat Street, which is based on Cleary's childhood neighborhood. The books are also popular with younger children as read alouds. Ramona Quimby and her older sister, Beatrice, who is known as "Beezus," are two of Cleary's most popular characters. I was delighted to learn that Walden Media is involved in Ramona and Beezus, the first movie based on Cleary's books, because I enjoyed their movie versions of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Because of Winn-Dixie.
The movie stars Joey King as Ramona Quimby and Selena Gomez, whom your kids may recognize from the Disney Channel, as Beezus Quimby. Originally scheduled for a March 2010 release, the movie is now scheduled for release on July 23, 2010. The World of Ramona Teacher's Guide and related materials are already available on Walden Media's Web site (scroll down to see them all). Do you and your children plan to see the movie? I do.
(Cover art courtesy of HarperCollins)
Ramona and Beezus Movie Coming in July! originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 00:01:01.
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Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Commas Rock!
(Cover art courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons, A Division of Penguin Young Readers Group) Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Commas Rock! originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 00:01:26.
Until I read the adult bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, by British writer Lynne Truss, I had no idea how much fun it could be to learn about proper punctuation. I was delighted when I found out that Lynne Truss had created a children's version of her bestseller. The kids' version, Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really Do Make A Difference!, is full of amusing illustrated examples of the impact a comma can have on the meaning of a sentence. The book is illustrated with very funny, full-page pen and watercolor sketches by Bonnie Timmons. It's a book I recommend for children 8-12, as well as teachers and homeschooling parents. Have you read either version of Eats, Shoots & Leaves? If so, click on "Comments" below and share your opinions. For more about the perils of poor punctuation, see Punctuation Matters: A "Dear John" Letter and a Two Million Dollar Comma from Richard Nordquist, the About.com: Grammar & Composition Guide. By the way, happy National Grammar Day!
Can You Identify These Children's Books?
Can You Identify These Children's Books? originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 00:01:24.
The book query section of the About Children's Books Forum is crowded with requests for help in identifying children's books. Many of those asking for help are looking for books they enjoyed as children in the 1970s or 1980s and now what to share with their children. Go to the main Children's Books Forum page to see all of the discussion categories. To post a message about a book you are looking for or to read the queries to see if you can answer any of them, go directly to the Need Help Finding a Book section of the Forum. If you are able to help anyone by posting a reply to their query on the Forum, let me know by clicking on "Comments" below and sharing a message about it.
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) on March 2, 1904, and children across the United States are celebrating Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss' birthday. What makes Dr. Seuss so popular? Is it because generations of children of all ages have enjoyed the messages, witty rhymes, clever plots, and zany characters in his books? That's certainly part of it, but Dr. Seuss also deserves acclaim for pioneering the development of entertaining books for beginning readers, books with controlled vocabularies plus engaging text and illustrations.
More Dr. Seuss Resources
All About Dr. Seuss
Book Review: Your Favorite Seuss: A Baker's Dozen by the One and Only Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss Activities for Kids of All Ages (About.com: Stay-at-Home-Moms)
Celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday (About.com: Family Crafts)
Getting Silly With a Dr Seuss Party (About.com: Entertaining)
(Cover art courtesy of Random House)
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! originally appeared on About.com Children's Books on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 00:01:11.
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About Children's Books
Children's Books
2009 OSCAR NOMINEES 81st Academy Awards
2009 Academy Award Oscar Winners
2009 Best Picture Oscar Nominations
2009 Best Animated Feature Oscar Nominations
2009 Best Lead Actress Oscar Nominations
- Kate Winslet in "The Reader"
- Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married"
- Angelina Jolie in "Changeling"
- Melissa Leo in "Frozen River"
- Meryl Streep in "Doubt"
2009 Best Lead Actor Oscar Nominations
- Sean Penn in "Milk"
- Richard Jenkins in "The Visitor"
- Frank Langella in "Frost/Nixon"
- Brad Pitt in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
- Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler"
2009 Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominations
- Penélope Cruz in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
- Amy Adams in "Doubt"
- Viola Davis in "Doubt"
- Taraji P. Henson in "Benjamin Button"
- Marisa Tomei in "The Wrestler"