Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 7/14/2008
-- Publishers Weekly, 7/14/2008
nonfiction
| Web Pick of the Week |
|
|
Markos Kounalakis and Peter Laufer.PoliPoint, $29.95 (248p) ISBN 9780979482250; $16.95 paper 9780979482243NONFICTION
American Dreamers: What Dreams Tell Us About the Political Psychology of Conservatives, Liberals, and Everyone Else
Kelly Bulkeley. Beacon, $23.95 (256p) 9780807077344
Author and former president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, Bulkeley (Dreaming Beyond Death) takes a step beyond the metaphor of “The American Dream” by asking, “How does the metaphorical American Dream relate to the literal dreams of Americans when they sleep each night?” His method is to examine ten Americans who, for a year, are subjected to surveys, interviews and dream journaling. Admitting that his research is no “perfect mirror of a nation of 300 million” (lacking, as also admitted, any Hispanics, African-Americans, Midwesterners, Deep Southerners, Evangelicals, Jews or Muslims) Bulkeley mines dream journal excerpts for their significance in each subject’s political and everyday lives. The extent to which “people’s political views are reflected in the form and content of their dreams” turns out, unsurprisingly, to be variable (“only the dreamer can ever know for sure what his or her dreams mean”), and Bulkeley’s broader generalizations fall flat; still, it’s an insightful look at the role dreams play in political thought for a group of (white) middle-of-the-road Americans. (July)
Barbarians to Angels: The Dark Ages ReconsideredPeter S. Wells. Norton, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 9780393060751
As archeology professor and author Wells (The Battle That Stopped Rome) points out, the only texts available on the cultures of “Dark Age” Europe (roughly A.D. 400-600) were written by those educated in the Roman tradition. The only unbiased evidence, therefore, is the material evidence. Covering five decades of excavation in western Europe (including London, Copenhagen, the outskirts of Stockholm, Cologne and Trier), Wells chronicles a revolution in the understanding of Europe after the Western Roman Empire’s collapse, ostensibly at the hands of “barbarian hordes.” Evidence accounts for vast trade networks that ranged from Byzantium and the Black Sea through the Baltic to Ireland, and across the Alps and Pyrenees; artifacts from as far away as India have been uncovered in Scandinavia. Buildings, metalworking and gem-cutting sites, and evidence for continuous occupation of many modern European cities, also provide rich proof that, contrary to the Roman-centric collapse-of-civilization narrative, the post-Roman world pulsed with robust, vital activity. Wells’s aim is obviously a wide audience of armchair historians and archeologists; they won’t be disappointed, and they’ll have a fine reading list in Wells’s sources and suggestions. (July)
High Wire: The Precarious Financial Lives of American FamiliesPeter Gosselin. Basic Books, $26 (384p) ISBN 9780465002252
L.A. Times economics correspondent Gosselin outlines the current economic situation of American families in light of specific policies initiated since the stalled economy of the 1970s. Today, Gosselin finds, fewer households are likely to fall into financial ruin, but those who do experience layoffs, expensive medical problems, foreclosure or other financial strain have a much harder time bouncing back, as old social safety nets have been systematically unraveled. Gosselin argues that in today’s economy, families and individuals are assuming an unprecedented amount of financial risk; another aspect of the new economy is that upper-middle class families are at just as much risk as the less well-off. Each chapter takes an in-depth look at a different facet of the economy, healthcare, retirement, education and rebuilding New Orleans among them. Gosselin also discusses “unjobs,” short-term and freelance gigs secured by an increasingly desperate labor force, and the new indispensability of two-income households. Though scholarly, Gosselin’s writing is effortlessly readable, bolstered by anecdotes from real people facing financial adversity. Packed with insight and understanding, this no-nonsense look at the present and future of the American Dream should be of interest to any wage-earner or salary-man. (June)
The Man Who Forgot how to Read: A Memoir
Howard Engel, afterword by Oliver Sacks. Thomas Dunne, $19.95 (160p) ISBN 9780312382094
In Engel's memoir, he relates the difficult journey from bookworm word-jockey to near-illiterate and back again; a successful mystery novelist in his native Canada, Engel awoke one morning to discover he’d lost the ability to read. Soon, he’s informed that he suffered a stroke while asleep, and is afflicted with alexia sine agraphia, a condition in which he can still write, but can’t read—even what he himself has written. While battling alexia in rehab, Engel juggles a young son and a girlfriend, and tries to figure out how to support himself and his family. After accepting that he will never again write adventures for his long-time lead, detective Benny Cooperman, he eventually finds himself forging a therapeutic novel in which Benny suffers from a brain injury similar to Engel’s own. This intriguing account of personal tragedy, overcome with grace and humility, is an inspirational and instructive tale. (July)
Poverty and Promise: One Volunteer’s Experience of Kenya
Cindi Brown. Just One Voice (Baker & Taylor, dist.), $18.95 paper (304p) ISBN 9780980062007
Though Brown decided to return to America before finishing her two-year contract in Kenya with U.K.-based international relief organization VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas), she relishes her recent experiences there in this compassionate, affecting memoir. She describes her work for the TICH (Tropical Institute of Community Health and Development), the programs they try hard to implement, and the hours she and her colleagues spend in training. Impressed with her natural surroundings, Brown endures overbearing heat and celebrates the country’s intrinsic grace (“I see more than dustiness, more than landscapes made hazy by the sun’s glare”) while witnessing the harsh living conditions, constant hunger, disease, crime and corruption plaguing its citizens; young men repeatedly try to befriend her, hoping to marry and emigrate to the United States. Though ultimately unnerved and overwhelmed, Brown conveys her story honestly and effectively, upfront about her fear and frustration, as well as the rare occasion for hope. Book proceeds go to support programs in western Kenya. (July)
Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry
Matthew Randazzo V. Phoenix, $25.95 (278p) ISBN 9781597775793
In June of 2007, the professional wrestling community was rocked by the suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit, after murdering his wife and seven-year-old son. In this wide-ranging expose, crime reporter Randazzo demonstrates that, among professionals driven to incredible levels of steroid, drug and alcohol abuse, Benoit was not unique. Benoit spent years in Canada and Japan enduring training that bordered on the medieval, eagerly employing steroids to achieve the industry’s standard physique. As his star rose, so did the injuries and the chemicals; Benoit’s signature move, a flying headbutt, was responsible for countless concussions. Culminating in a 2001 spinal injury that left him at risk of permanent paralysis, Benoit, like many other wrestlers, treated himself with copious doses of painkillers before returning to work for more punishment. Combined with a crumbling marriage, Benoit’s life became a perfect storm of mental and physical anguish; unfortunately, Randazzo’s broad biographical strokes (he saves details for pivotal matches) and wide focus on the industry’s evolution make Benoit little more than a minor character in his own story. Wrestling fans will savor the industry gossip, but those interested in the how and why of Benoit’s tragic murder-suicide will be disappointed. (July)
We’re Going to See the Beatles! An Oral History of Beatlemania as Told by the Fans Who Were There
Garry Berman, foreword by Sid Bernstein, preface by Mark Lapidos. Santa Monica, $16.95 paper (288p) ISBN 9781595800329
Almost 45 years after Beatlemania swept the U.S., memories of the Beatles’ legendary U.S. invasion during the mid-1960s remain fresh in the minds of those who were there. In this remarkably personal oral history of the Beatles in America, author and fan Berman (Best of the Britcoms: From Fawlty Towers to Absolutely Fabulous) tracked down 42 individuals from all over the country who cheered the Beatles at New York’s JFK airport when they first landed in America, sat in The Ed Sullivan Show audience for the Beatles’ live television debut, waited in line for hours (repeatedly) to see A Hard Day’s Night, and attended concerts during the group’s three chaotic U.S. tours. Bridging their tales with breezy narration, Berman succinctly recounts the Beatles’ entire history, from 1963 through the solo years and the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison. Though some of them have lapsed in their Beatle fanaticism, all of Berman’s subjects realize the significance of their experiences and relate them with gusto. As put by Dale Ford, who saw the Beatles three times in San Francisco, including their final gig, “I was thinking to myself, ‘Dale, savor this moment. This is gonna go down in history.’ And it did.” (June)
Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink
Tyler Colman. Univ. of Calif., $27.50 (208p) ISBN 9780520255210
In this economic history of vino, writer, teacher and blogger Colman explains how the wines we drink—that is to say, the bottles that wind up on the shelves and on our tables—are shaped by politics: “not only which grapes grow where, what can be written on the label, which wines are exported or imported, which wines are available in local stores, and how much a wine costs, but, perhaps most importantly… affects the quality of the wine in the bottle.” Colman focuses on two of the biggest producer nations in the world, France and the United States, comparing the hold each has had on the industry. In France, vines grew abundantly and consumption became a national tradition, but Americans have been trying to grow wine grapes for at least 400 years—and have really been successful only in the past 40. The author also examines the significance of terroir, wine critics and distribution networks, the alcohol laws of different states (some dating back to Prohibition) and other factors complicating the relationship between those who make wine and those who want to drink it. By exploring these and other crucial concerns, Colman provides an enlightening volume on a complex topic. (July)
You Are What You Remember: A Pathbreaking Guide to Understanding and Interpreting Your Childhood Memories
Patrick Estrade, translated from the French by Leah Brumer.Da Capo Lifelong, $16.95 (254p) ISBN 9781600940422
In his first title available in English, French author and veteran psychotherapist Estrade approaches memories in a way he considers unique, except for “certain aspects” of Alfred Adler’s 1928 book The Practice and Theory of Individual Psychology. Estrade begins by asking readers to jot down three childhood memories, a task he regularly assigns patients on their first visit; from there, he treats memories similarly to Freud’s treatment of dreams. The bulk of the book is a collection of anecdotes that illustrate Estrade’s method of parsing “latent” from “manifest” content in patient’s memories, helping them to reinterpret their memories and gain new insight into their lives: as with dreams, “what may be insignificant for the conscious may have great significance for the unconscious.” He make several interesting contentions, among them that memories need not be true to be psychologically important; what matters is “the feeling” that a memory creates, for example when a child feels guilty over events outside of his or her control. Estrade discourages lay readers from attempting self-analysis, so this title should appeal primarily to mental health practitioners, though it could make an effective reference for therapy-goers. (July)
LIFESTYLE
Cooking Beyond Measure: Farm to Table Recipes for Busy People
Jean Johnson. Seventy-Sixth Avenue (PGW, dist.), $16.95 (200p) ISBN 9780981527109
This odd recipe collection from culinary historian Johnson feels more like a conversation with a quirky cooking enthusiast than a full-fledged cookbook. Instead of using the traditional recipe format—lists of ingredients followed by detailed instructions on what to do with them—Johnson relies on “recipe notes,” wherein she lays out the basic gist, and follows up with “details,” in which she riffs on the recipe, its invention, or anything else that strikes her fancy. Most of the dishes she includes are vegetarian, healthy, and so basic they could be constructed by a third-grader: Dog Days Supper, for instance, involves piling a plate with tomatoes, cucumbers, quinoa and basil, and dumping some hummus in the middle. Other recipes require a slightly more comprehensive skill set, such as a tempting Minestrone with Millet and summery Snap Beans with Pesto. Unfortunately, too many dishes are either profoundly unappealing (a vegetable-thickened Peanut Butter and Jelly Soup) or frustratingly vague: cooking instructions for Double Treatment Salmon, for instance, are to “run under the broiler until gorgeous.” Nevertheless, the author’s chatty warmth and clear enthusiasm for whipping up unconventional treats makes this cookbook fun to flip through, if not necessarily tempting to cook from. (Aug.)
Feel it Real!: A Guided Approach to Bringing the Law of Attraction into Your Life
Denise Coates. Atria, $16 (224p) ISBN 9781416567424
Coates, an actress, personal coach and author (Our Burden is Light) trained in reading and healing auras and chakras, has created a fun, intelligent guide to the Law of Attraction, an old idea revived by Rhonda Byrne’s bestseller The Secret. Coates forgoes case histories and impractical theory in favor of learning by doing; more than half the text is devoted to 56 “games to attract your desires” (“Pick ten things to do for sheer pleasure”; perform anonymous good deeds; write out “commands or ‘orders’ that you want the Universe to fulfill”). The Law of Attraction’s premise is that people are constantly emitting vibrational signals through thoughts and feelings; by feeling and giving love, we can increase our positive vibrations and attract like frequencies, i.e. similarly-upbeat people and events. Simple questionnaires and visualization exercises provide a wide range of activities, so it’s easy to find some homework that resonates. Even if the Universe doesn’t respond with that sought-after job, lover or money, readers will still find many ways to learn about and empower themselves. (June)
ILLUSTRATED
No Wave: Post-Punk. Underground. New York. 1976-1980.
Thurston Moore and Byron Coley. Abrams, $24.95 (144p) ISBN 9780810995437
Art and music come together in this oral account of Manhattan’s mid-1970s No Wave music scene. Moore, a founding member of the band Sonic Youth, and Coley, a music writer and editor, identify the likes of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA, Contortions and Mars as the “core bands” that built No Wave. Shedding light on the personal relationships of these close-knit bands, the surprisingly reserved volume—graced with exquisite black-and-white photos with occasional splashes of poster-art color—also looks at how the devastated state of the city influenced their sound and performances: “As everything’s collapsing… the music became the rebellion,” says Teenage Jesus’s Lydia Lunch in her scowling, astute foreword. Music sometimes described as “a car crash” gets heartfelt and intelligent commentary from the likes of DNA’s Ikue Mori: “it wasn’t about technique; it was more about new ideas and inspiration.” The authors’ personal interviews with the movement’s other pioneers elicit raw, honest hindsight; along with revealing photographs, this volume takes readers straight into the heart of this zeitgeist. (June)
Treasures of China
John Chinnery. Duncan Baird, $35(224p) ISBN 9781844836215
China, “the only ancient civilization to have survived up to the present day,” represents a massive undertaking for historians; fortunately, this consideration and celebration of Chinese art from Scottish historian Chinnery, beginning in the Neolithic era and ending just before the 20th Century, is a wholly worthwhile effort. Some of the oldest pieces are the most fascinating, including a detailed hair ornament carved out of jade with a turquoise inlay, believed to date from 2000 BCE. Another highlight is the Terracotta Army, 6,000 life-sized clay soldiers built to protect China’s first emporer, Shihuangdi, in the afterlife. Though concerned primarily with art, captured in more than 170 striking color images, this volume also provides a remarkably concise but thorough account of general Chinese history; also noted are important moments in fashion and literature (the Chinese translation of the Buddhist text Diamond Sutra, from 868 CE, is the world’s oldest printed book). Also discussed at length is the Chinese language, an art form in itself and “the world’s oldest writing system still in use.” This beautiful volume should fascinate anyone with an interest in Far East history and art. (June)
AUDIO
Girls in Trucks
Katie Crouch, read by the author. Hachette Audio, unabridged, six CDs, 7.5 hrs., $29.98 ISBN 9781600242724
Katie Crouch reads her own book with expression, but she often doesn’t do enough to differentiate character voices and doesn’t even attempt a Southern accent for these Southern debutantes. More importantly, she lacks the narrator skill to surmount the challenges presented by her writing: unexpected leaps forward in time, skipping over important events, and inexplicably changing from first to third person in some chapters. A more experienced reader might have been able to bridge the transitions and make the audio feel seamless, but as it is, the audio comes across as choppy and often jarring, like a poorly-done abridgement (even though it is unabridged). In addition, when reading the last moment of the book, in which protagonist Sarah reflects on her life and future and what she’s learned, Crouch sounds flat, as though she’s simply reading aloud, rather than truly being Sarah thinking. Stick with the print version. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 28). (May)
Careless in Red
Elizabeth George, read by Charles Keating. HarperAudio, abridged, 10 CDs, 11.5 hrs., $39.95 ISBN 9780061161209
George’s novels about Scotland Yard’s Thomas Lynley invariably have a long wind up before the action begins, so a narrator with the right tempo is absolutely necessary. Unfortunately, Charles Keating lets the first few disks develop as quietly as the Cornwall countryside in which it is set. Keating reads the novel instead of performing it as he did with the previous Lynley mystery, What Came Before He Shot Her. While he reads carefully and clearly, he sounds a bit bored. It’s a shame that the unabridged version narrated by John Lee from Books on Tape is not available through brick and mortar retailers (BOT, a branch of Random House, supplies libraries, schools and download sites with product); it is the superior version. A Harper hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 10). (May)
Blood Trail
C.J. Box, read by David Chandler. Recorded Books, unabridged, eight CDs, 9.5 hrs., $34.99 ISBN 9781436105095
Box’s disappointing eighth installment of the celebrated Joe Pickett series is a suspenseful journey which casts our hero in a brutal murder investigation that may lead to his own demise. David Chandler reads with great dedication and clarity to the tale, but he is simply not Joe Pickett. Chandler’s voice is that of a Broadway star, not a Wyoming game warden, and the story suffers because of it. There is no attempt at even the slightest mid-western dialect here; Chandler drones on and on in a monotone voice that is more likely to put listeners to bed than at the edge of their seats. When the narrator seems less than enthused with a story, the audience stands no chance. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 17). (May)
| Our Reviewers | ||
| Barbara Axelson Daniel Bial Antonia Blair Patrick Brown Alexis Burling Rachell Carlisle Katrina Edenfeld Jonathan Ellowitz Christina Eng Kate Foster Shelley Gabert |
Isabelle Gason Allison Gaudet Adam Geiger Gabrielle Gurley Christy Henry Andrea Hoag Sarah Hoffman Joe Jeffreys Diane Langhorst Crystal Lassen Alex Masulis Tracey Middlekauff |
Stephen Milioti Nora Ostrofe Michael Popke Mythili Rao Shannon Reed Harry Sawyers Angelina Sciolla Andrew Seidler Joseph Shepley Diane Snyder Kyle Tonniges Carol White |
