Web-Exclusive Reviews: Week of 4/16/2007

-- Publishers Weekly, 4/16/2007

NONFICTION

AMERICA: The Last Best Hope Volume II: From a World at War to the Triumph of Freedom
William J. Bennett. Thomas Nelson, $29.99 (592p) ISBN 9781595550576

The second volume of Bennett’s overview of U.S. history begins with the events leading up to WWI, tracing the progress of the U.S. through the end of Reagan’s presidency. Bennett (The Book of Virtues) has a long history of government service—he was Secretary of Education under Ronald Reagan and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George H.W. Bush—and the overall tone of the book reflects the deep respect he holds for America’s leaders, history and institutions. Bennett is a leading figure in the neoconservative movement, so his interpretation of America’s last 90 years is informed by that perspective. But while he wears both his patriotism and politics on his sleeve, Bennett avoids flag-waving or talk-radio-style generalizations. This is a breezy, heartfelt survey, written with the average reader in mind, that will appeal broadly to those looking for an America-friendly introduction to 20th century U.S. history. (Apr.)

BLUE GRIT: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians
Laura Flanders. Penguin, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 9781594201134

Who are the members of today’s Democratic party, and how does the party serve them? What are the differences in funding between Democratic- and Republican-led efforts? How do the parties react to movements within their base—and how does this affect the outcome of elections? Disgruntled Democrat Flanders—author, journalist and Air America radio host—explores the answers to these and other questions on a cross-country tour of the Democratic party and its (nominal) members. Highlighting progressive victories taking place outside the party establishment, Flanders presents the lessons Democrats in power could learn from their constituents “if they were inclined to learn.” In-depth analysis of movements from Utah’s liberals to South Dakota’s recent, successful anti-abortion campaign provides insight not only into campaign leaders, but into the role of funding, media and old fashioned grassroots-style activism. Flanders (Bushwomen) brings to this work enough data, recent history and progressive ideas—as well as wit, style and acerbic charm—to make this required reading for anyone looking to make sure “the Democratic party is finally serious” about a victory for progressives in 2008. (Apr.)

FAST WOMEN: The Legendary Ladies of Racing
Todd McCarthy. Hyperion/Miramax, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 9781401352028

Since autos ran on bicycle tires, women have been racing; McCarthy, chief film critic for Variety, covers the rich history of women’s racing in a narrative running from the turn of the 20th century until just after 1958, when marketing and sponsorship concerns squeezed out the ladies. Although McCarthy attempts to “strip away every shred of nostalgia” in homage to his unsentimental subjects, he writes with clear, infectious admiration for these unique pioneers. Suzy Dietrich, for example, was an “enormously cute” librarian who broke record after record in her Porsche 550 Spyder. Denise McCluggage, “a plainspoken Kansan,” fell in love with an MG and sent regular dispatches from behind the wheel to the International Herald Tribune. Though the impetus for the sport (and the book) came from the wealthy, McCarthy builds his narrative around its only-in-America transformation from aristocratic hobby to populist pastime by way of “an excitedly fluid meritocracy.” McCarthy claims early on that “it was a single photograph that seduced me,” of aristocrat speed demon Evelyn Mull, smartly arranged in an early sports car with white shirt cuffs, leather gloves and a neat bun; fortunately, 16 pages of such photos are included, making this well-researched text a comprehensive survey of auto racing’s first females. (May)

INVASION OF THE PARTY SNATCHERS: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP
Victor Gold. Sourcebooks, $26.95 (256 pages) ISBN 1402208413

Make no mistake: author Gold, a former speechwriter for George H.W. Bush and aide to Barry Goldwater, is one disgusted Republican. The GOP of the 2006 midterm election, he writes, is “a party of pork-barrel ear-markers like Dennis Hastert, of political hatchet men like Karl Rove, and of Bible-thumping hypocrites like Tom Delay.” Gold looks to Goldwater, “a straight-talking, freethinking maverick,” as the yardstick by which to measure just how far the party of Lincoln has fallen. He traces the beginning of the end to the 1980 Republican National Convention and the presence of “a militant new element…personified by Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.” The other half of the equation, the neoconservatives, are embodied by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, “two cuts from the same Machiavellian cloth.” In efficient prose, Gold scrutinizes a significant swath of recent GOP history, in particular Newt Gingrich’s 104th Congress and the Bush II White House, without losing momentum. He also has choice words for “the Coulterization of Republican rhetoric,” the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street, and “sideshow” legislation like the Flag Protection Amendment. Gold sees a promising future for the Republican Party, but not until they lose some major elections and are able to keep down a slice of humble pie; for those disillusioned with the state of the GOP, this quick, uncompromising polemic provides substantial support, along with a large dose of cold comfort. (Apr.)

LET’S FACE IT: 90 Years of Living, Loving and Learning
Kirk Douglas. Wiley, $22.95 (256p) ISBN 9780470084694

At 90 years old, recovered from a stroke and a near-fatal helicopter crash, acting legend Douglas is in a reflective mood: “now is the time to have an audit of my life,” he writes, and he does not disappoint. Douglas recalls his childhood and his own children, 50-plus years of marriage to wife Anne and the deaths of his son and many of his famous friends. He tackles a wide range of topics, with chapter names like, “Three Thoughts About Two Races,” “I Love Dogs” and “Does God Laugh?” He’s also unafraid to take a few swings at the young ‘uns, most notably at Mel Gibson, Michael Moore and even the whippersnappers at NASA. Douglas’s assessment of his life is honest, wise and not always flattering; when he heard, in a recent documentary, what some family members had to say about him, he notes, “It’s difficult to see ourselves as others see us.” Nevertheless, Douglas is upbeat, engaging and full of sharp observations, such as his simple epitaph, “I tried, dammit, I tried.” (Apr.)

THE MINDFUL BRAIN: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being
Daniel J. Siegel. Norton, $26.95 (388p) ISBN 9780393704709

Siegel, co-director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Center, blends personal experience with scientific research, attempting to capture the spiritual as well as the physiological phenomenon of “mindfulness”—or, in Siegel’s acronym-speak, COAL: the state of simultaneous Curiosity, Openness, Acceptance and Love. Siegel’s endeavor is timely and well-intentioned, but his is an elusive subject, and his text is peppered with confusing, semi-technical descriptions of mind-states (like meditation) and processes (like egocentric and allocentric circuitry) that frequently frustrate. Despite this, Siegel does introduce persuasive scientific evidence that meditation and the mindful state not only produce improvement in well-being, but also detectable physical changes in the brain, such as a thickening of the middle prefrontal lobes. He also introduces exotic new vocabulary, such as “ipseity,” “the core sense of self beneath the usual personal identity.” If the result of Siegel’s marriage of medicine and mysticism is something of a muddle, he is to be commended for the effort, and his attitude toward science is unique in a medical doctor (tellingly, Siegal took a sabbatical from med school after being reprimanded for empathizing with his patients, rather than objectifying them, and used the time to pursue drawing and dancing). Though uneven and weighed down with too many acronyms, this is a notable science title that smartly combines the personal, the clinical and the spiritual. (Apr.)

SEE JANE LEAD: 99 Ways for Women to Take Charge at Work
Lois P. Frankel. Warner Business, $22.99 (280p) ISBN 9780446579681

The latest from the bestselling author of Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich delineates the attitudes and obstacles that keep women from reaching the top, and provides effective strategies for using and overcoming them. Though many of the book’s premises polarize the sexes, they do so in the service of sound advice and strategy, including how to articulate a vision, when to take risks and never to underestimate the power of the “likability quotient.” As for the promised list of 99 tips, they’re spread throughout the book, springing up in the midst of Frankel’s occasionally long-winded text (e.g., six page of former employees’ praise for deceased makeup entrepreneur Mary Kay Ash) and are grouped according to utility (“Creating High-Performing Teams,” “The Leader as Coach,” etc.). Tips are bolstered by familiar-seeming anecdotes and exercises (team effectiveness surveys, self-assessment tests, a communication-style classification quiz), but Frankel effectively teaches women—without turning soft or saccharine—they needn’t give up charm, compassion or a nurturing nature in order to kick ass. Though much of Frankel’s hard-earned wisdom could benefit the Dicks of the business world just as well as the Janes, this businessgirl-power manifesto is passionate, well-researched and authoritative. (Apr.)

SISTER SALTY SISTER SWEET: A Memoir of Sibling Rivalry
Shannon Kring Biró and Natalie Kring. Running Press, $19.95 (240p) ISBN: 9780762429226

In this sibling memoir, sisters Biró and Kring rehash all of the petty arguments, self-absorbed behavior and turf wars that marked their time growing up together in rural Wisconsin. Unfortunately, these stories never rise to the challenge of satisfactorily filling out an entire book. Their very common story—parents bring home the intruding bundle of joy, domestic life is rocked forever—isn’t bolstered by any but the most familiar revelations, and in a voice largely devoid of wit. Their stories will resonate with sisters, who already understand the complex bond between them and thus won’t be affected by the authors’ lack of insight, but then again they may also find the material a been-there-done-that time-waster. Reliving the familial scrapes and emotional pot shots of their past, Biró and Kring fail to distinguish themselves or their struggle, leaving readers to wonder why they bothered. (Apr.)

SEVEN MILLION YEARS: The Story of Human Evolution
Douglas Palmer. Phoenix/Orion, $12.95 paper (304p) ISBN 9780753820841

Comprehensive, up-to-date and exceedingly well-written, the newest from science writer Palmer (The Neanderthal) is a fascinating overview of research into human evolution, covering the entire history of the field and including contemporary studies of primatology, paleoecology and human genetics. With an exemplary knowledge of the rapidly changing field of human evolution and physical anthropology, Palmer details every aspect of the history of primate paleontology and present-day, highly-specialized work in climatology, taphonomy and genomics in language suitable for just about anyone. Palmer compares “mapping out the course of human evolution” to “putting together a very difficult jigsaw puzzle,” and his informed guidance takes readers piece-by-piece through the complexities of the research itself, as well as the politics and personalities behind it. Each chapter includes thorough bibliographic citations as well as a well-chosen list of recommended reading. Clear writing, seamless transitions from topic to topic, even-handed presentation of even the most controversial material and clever illustrations all combine to produce a book worthy of recommendation to anyone wishing to understand the broad and continuously changing field of human evolution. (Apr.)

SPINNING DISNEY’S WORLD: Memories of a Magic Kingdom Press Agent
Charles Ridgway. Intrepid Traveler, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 9781887140676

Author Ridgway spent four decades pushing Disney on millions of consumers worldwide, and this collection of “war stories” from the front lines of perhaps the biggest marketing success in history brims with insider info, but without once betraying the Disney name. It’s to Ridgway’s credit that his fondness for his subject—he writes kindly of almost everyone he met and worked with—doesn’t detract from the integrity or appeal of the material. Occasionally, Ridgway’s admiration for Walt Disney dips into adoration, but it’s a sentiment that feels genuine—even if it is echoed throughout the company as detailed here, despite its size, its power and (largely unmentioned) accounts to the contrary. Fascinating asides delve into the personalities that fueled Disney’s dream, as well as the newspeople and celebrities involved in Ridgway’s PR efforts. Among numerous charmers, Ridgway’s best story chronicles the intense, hilarious effort to train 50 newborn ducklings to “follow” the Donald Duck character in a 50th Birthday Parade. Other tales include the orchestration of parades and VIP galas; the impetus, construction and opening of attractions at both parks (including Ridgway’s accidental early outing of the “Florida project”); and the arrival of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells. Entertaining throughout, Ridgway’s prose is fluid and gentle, reflecting that sense of wholesome delight common to Disney creations, making this a rare behind-the-Mouse-ears exposé that’s a real crowd-pleaser. (Apr.)

THINGS I’VE SAID, BUT PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE: An Unrepentant Memoir
Bruce Dern with Christopher Fryer and Robert Crane. Wiley, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 9780470106372

Dern, who got his acting break in Roger Corman films, is best known for roles in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and the Oscar-nominated Coming Home. While he’s been an actor for decades, his rambling career account suffers from inaccuracy; for example, when Dern wrongly identifies Elia Kazan as Jewish (he was brought up Catholic). Born a Midwest child of privilege, Dern learned the Method with Lee Strasberg, who suggested he go to Hollywood. And from the moment he gets there, he trumpets his own abilities. His memoir details his fellow actors, directors and pictures, and reveals that he turned down an audition for The Godfather and rebuffed Woody Allen. While briefly touching on his marriages and his obsession with running, Dern saves his eloquence for the magic that can occur on a set. He reserves high praise for directors like Hitchcock, because “we might do something nobody had ever done before.” Despite his wild run, his memoir is so dominated by ego, it fails to hold our interest. (May)

TRAMPS LIKE US: A New Jersey Tale
Kristen Buckley. Cyan, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 9781905736232

From the screenwriter of How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days comes an irreverent memoir of growing up in the Garden State¾a choppy, whirlwind tour of her dysfunctional childhood in the New Jersey suburbs, from the divorce of her parents when she was six to her victorious exeunt at age 17, bound for the Manhattan School of Music. Without any semblance of structure, Buckley flits from memory to memory, capturing a haphazard array of family arguments, personal embarrassments and lopsided adventures. Using excessive profanity, she describes her adopted Korean sister’s bout with smallpox, her childhood home’s rat infestation and septic tank problem (earning her family the unending disdain of the entire neighborhood) and the late arrival of her adopted sibling’s long-lost brother, Nak. She waxes nostalgic about her crush on Sting, her obsession with the mafia and her early experiments with underage drinking, driving and dating. With a caustic, ironic tone, she picks out New Jersey’s least appealing qualities (mall rats, big hair and bad jeans) and unapologetically exploits them for laughs. Though the average reader may find this flippant, often ribald narrative hard to get through, similarly-affected Jerseyites will find much to like in Buckley’s slice-of-life pileup. (Apr.)

unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation
Brooks Jackson and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. Random, $12.95 paper (208p) ISBN 9781400065660

According to Jamieson and Jackson, both of the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, “spin is a polite word for deception,” and deception is everywhere. As a remedy, they offer this media literacy crash course. The authors explore spin’s warning signs (“If it’s scary, be wary”) and the tricks used to bring people around to a certain point of view (“The implied falsehood,” “Frame it and claim it”), as well as the lessons to call on when confronted with conflicting or suspect stories (“Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence”). Although they tackle the checkered history of product pitches (from snake oil to Cold-Eeze), what stands out is their keen insight into Washington politics, where “deception is a bipartisan enterprise,” as illustrated by Bush and Kerry in the 2004 presidential election (in which both fudged the facts of unemployment and taxation). September 11 and the run-up to Gulf War II give the authors their most convincing talking points, debunking myths and chronicling Washington’s use of “fear, uncertainty, and doubt”—cited so often it gets the acronym “FUD”—to generate public support for the 2003 invasion. However, the rules to avoid these and other carefully enumerated tricks range from commonsensical (“You can’t be completely certain”) to labor intensive (“Check primary sources”), leaving one to wonder whether the spin doctors have already won out over energy- and time-deficient Americans. (Apr.)

LIFESTYLE

IN THE KENNEDY KITCHEN: Recipes and Recollections of a Great American Family
Neil Connolly with Elizabeth Benedict. DK, $35 (256p) ISBN 9780756626426

As the private chef to Rose Kennedy from 1983 to 1995, Connolly prepared food for everything from cozy dinners to wedding receptions and other lavish events. He shares recipes for many of the Kennedy family favorites as well as personal anecdotes in this coffee table book, packed with candid snapshots of the American royals at their New England compound. His recipes are simple and straightforward preparations of classic fare such as Crème Brulee, Poached Salmon, Crab Cakes and Apple Pie, with an occasional twist like Coconut-Crusted Chicken with Mango Cream. Though solid, most of the dishes feel cribbed from the culinary public domain; Chocolate Chip Cookies, French Toast and Chicken Salad are all unremarkable rehashes. Moreover, the book’s large size makes propping it up on the kitchen counter a dubious prospect. The books’ real appeal is Connelly’s warm and candid stories about working for the Kennedys. He recounts a visit by the Bolshoi Ballet in the late 1980s, Oprah Winfrey’s sampling of a luscious Chocolate Eagle at Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s wedding luncheon, as well as clambakes and holiday gatherings. Those looking for a compilation of rudimentary recipes could do worse, but it’s the Kennedy archivists who will get the most out of this book. (Apr.)

MAKING THE CUT: The 30-Day Diet and Fitness Plan for the Strongest, Sexiest You
Jillian Michaels. Crown, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 9780307382504

Michaels, who gained recognition as a trainer on NBC’s The Biggest Loser, pushes to get you in “the best shape of your life.” Assuming you are already in fairly decent shape, if you have 20 or less pounds to shed and are willing to make the commitment, Michaels promises to have readers “feeling comfortable running in a bikini.” Determining body fat percentage and taking a “fit test” is par for the course in this sort of book. What separates Michaels’ program is that she bases the diet on whether a person is a “slow oxidizer, balanced oxidizer, or fast oxidizer.” The idea is that slow oxidizers require more carbs, while fast oxidizers need higher percentages of protein. Michaels provides three different sets of menus and recipes (she claims that there is sound science behind this, but don’t expect to see helpful footnotes quoting clinical studies). The majority of the book is list-like and not invigorating to read. A glut of trainer-driven fitness books seem to be hitting stands lately; this one only stands out if you accept her notion of oxidizing. (May)

MAKING YOURSELF AT HOME: Finding Your Style and Putting it All Together
Jane Seymour. DK, $40 (192p) ISBN 9780756628925

Actress and designer Jane Seymour uses her home as a canvas to bring her designs to life in this richly photographed tour. She literally takes the reader through her house, beginning with the entryway and working her way through each of the rooms. Using a palette of five colors each for themes such as denim, asian and family, Seymour shows how easy it is to incorporate a handful of colors throughout a room to create a warm and unique feel. Those with a shaky design hand will take comfort in Seymour’s knack for arrangements, as she packs the book with tips for everything from artfully displaying antique china tocreating beaded napkin rings. Virtually all her projects are quick and easy and will add a touch of color to most rooms. The beauty shots of her family and surroundings are a bit gratuitous, but her budget-minded tips and eye for composition are sure to give novice designers the techniques and the confidence to express their own style. (Apr.)

SECRETS OF A JEWISH BAKER: Recipes for 140 Breads from Around the World
George Greenstein. Ten Speed, $29.95 (320p) ISBN 9781580088442

Amateur bread bakers of every skill level will love Greenstein’s collection of recipes that demonstrate his natural skill at teaching as well as baking (he operated a Jewish bakery in Long Island for more than 20 years). Excellent opening chapters on ingredients, tools and techniques, from kneading basics to microwave tricks and tips on identifying how a bread failed, are followed by well-chosen beginner loaves; the remaining recipes are divided into potato and corn breads, a catch-all “international” category ranging from Bavarian Farmer Bread to Indian naan, and chapters on sourdoughs, small breads and quick breads. Recipes like focaccia and Irish soda bread may be overly familiar, but Greenstein also offers such a delightful array of unusual breads, like sesame-flavored Greek Psomi or the scone-like Singing Hinny, that even expert bakers will find something new. Twelve menus for “mornings of baking” each yield enough breads to last throughout the week, aiming at time-pressed bakers, though even the experienced may have difficulty fitting the work into one morning. Despite the title, stereotypically Jewish breads are a minority, but Greenstein takes care to tell how to make most recipes kosher; bakers of all religions will appreciate the inclusion of guidelines for mixing dough in the food processor or stand mixer alongside the traditional method, as well as numerous v ariation ideas. Greenstein’s expert guidance puts homemade bread within reach of anyone intimidated by the process, and makes baking a treat again for those who thought they had tried every loaf. This publication is an updated version of (May)

FICTION

FAMOUS FATHERS AND OTHER STORIES
Pia Z. Ehrhardt. MacAdam/Cage, $19.50 (170p) ISBN 9781596922129; $12.50 paper -358

The lives of the women who populate the stories of this debut collection, set in and around New Orleans, deal to one degree or another with adultery, some with eroticized children. In “Running the Room,” the narrator ferries her mother on regular trips to the city so her mother can carry on an affair under of the guise of cooking school classes, and in doing so, gets tempted herself. In “Tell Me in Italian,” the narrator helps her mother catch her father in his love nest. The narrator of “Abita Springs” orchestrates an odd relationship between her husband and sister, while “Stop” and the title story careen uneasily into tales of Daddy’s little girl gone incestuous. The women seem passive, grasping at something or someone to take them out of themselves and filled with guilt or self-disgust that becomes inertia. Ehrhardt codes in an oblique affection for her characters that works from story to story in a collection with a bleak take on relationships, marriage and family. (June)

LOST BETWEEN THE EDGES
Eldon Garnet. MIT, $14.95 paper (302p) ISBN 9781584350422

Garnet’s blend of fiction and recent Canadian history follows X, an unnamed radical graduate student, as he firebombs the Toronto headquarters of Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel. X must also evade capture by neo-Nazis and federal investigators. Following this act of terrorism, there are a series of clashes between X’s Anti-Racist Action organization and Zundel’s network of skinheads, culminating in a violent 200-person riot. Garnet, a photographer, theorist and author most recently of Reading Brooke Shields, draws his plot from May 1995 events in Toronto, and includes blurry photographs that may or may not depict Holocaust victims. Thirty-two “footnotes” also appear throughout, excerpted from various texts denying the Holocaust. While these excerpts demonstrate that X has become what he sought to destroy, their abundance has a muddling effect. Yet despite fragmentary sentences and a plot overflowing with acts of brutality, rage and racism, Garnet’s novel rings true as a traumatic and conflicted portrait of modern bigotry and extremism. (May)

TELL ME ANOTHER MORNING
Zdena Berger. Paris Press (Consortium, dist.), $15.95 paper (288p) ISBN 9781930464100

First published in 1961, this haunting autobiographical novel retraces Berger’s experiences in Terezin, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Teenage narrator Tania’s shame at having to wear the yellow star turns into a sense of solidarity with her fellow Jews in Prague. In Terezin, she contemplates losing her virginity and watches helplessly as the Nazis clean up the camp to fool Red Cross inspectors. At Auschwitz, Tania sees the crematorium where her brother’s body was burned, her friend Ilse trades sex for survival, and her aging father sells his sweater to make his daughter a present of sugar cubes. When Tania and her mother are selected for slave labor at Bergen-Belsen, which could prolong their lives, her mother chooses to stay and die with her husband and Tania bids them an agonizing farewell. Berger’s heart-wrenching novel is an early eyewitness account of the holocaust, and this welcome reissue deserves a wide audience, particularly in high school and college curriculums. (Apr.)