Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 3/23/2009
-- Publishers Weekly, 3/23/2009
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Edited by Gil L.Robertson IV. Agate/Bolden Books, $16 paper (420p) ISBN 9781932841350NONFICTION Happens Every Day
The 100 Sporting Events You Must See to Live: An Insider’s Guide to Creating the Sports Experience of a Lifetime
Robert Tuchman. Benbella (Perseus, dist.), $17.95 paper (338p) ISBN 9781933771458
Featuring entries on everything from the World Series to the Kbit entucky Derby and the Westminster Dog Show, Tuchman has written a detailed encyclopedia cum travel guide for every kind of sporting event. Each entry includes a thorough description of the event with the where and when as well as the history and significance, the names of key athletes and MVPs, how to get there, how to get tickets, where to stay, where to eat, and, most importantly, where the best seats are. (Apr.)
Drink Play F@#k: One Man's Search for Anything Across Ireland, Las Vegas and Thailand
Andrew Gottlieb. Grove/Black Cat. $12.95 paper (208p) ISBN 9780802170521
As an impudent retort to Elizabeth Gilbert's best-selling Eat Pray Love, the book that swept book clubs and bestseller charts throughout 2006, this comic travelogue is nothing if not a conversation starter. Fortunately, it's also a dizzyingly fun parody that apes Gilbert in its premise (Ireland, Las Vegas and Thailand replace Gilbert's post-divorce destinations, Italy, India and Indonesia) and its particulars, mirroring plot developments and platitudes line by line (where Eat Pray Love opens with its protagonist contemplating a kiss with an Italian named Giovanni, Gottlieb starts moments from a liplock between his narrator, divorcee Bob Sullivan, and Giovanna. That kind of parody can wear over pages, but Gottlieb's protagonist is a likable and entertaining enough rascal to carry the story and, with the help of a happy-go-lucky personal trainer named Rick, do some good-humored philosophizing on the gender-trumping predicament of heart-break. Still, anyone who has suspected that boys have a bit more fun than girls will find their theories confirmed, as Gottlieb packs in just as much adventure as Gilbert, with a quarter of the self-seriousness. (Feb.)
Faith Under Fire: An Army Chaplain’s Memoir
Roger Benimoff with Eve Conant. Crown, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 9780307408815
An ordained Baptist chaplain, Benimoff spent two tours of duty in Iraq providing spiritual guidance to American soldiers, many of whom were teenagers just starting their one-year deployment. He helps soldiers, thousands of miles from home in a dangerous country, through crises of faith and morality, religion and responsibility; leads prayer and memorial services; consoles and councils the bereaved. His experience takes an unexpected turn, however, when he begins experiencing symptoms he had been trained to spot in recruits and veterans: difficulty adjusting to home (“Iraq had felt like a giant race I hoped to survive... safely back on U.S. soil, I couldn't stop running”), emotional withdrawal from loved ones (his wife, Rebekah, and their sons, Tyler and Blaine), increasing irritability. Most significantly, Benimoff starts questioning his belief in God. Though this religious ambivalence significantly underscores his narrative of life at war and what comes after, Benimoff balances issues of ethics and faith with a gripping military account that should prove insightful for vets, their loved ones and those for whom the war represents a personal and spiritual conflict. (Mar.)
Isabel Gillies. Scribner, $25 (224p) ISBN 9781439110072
Though readers may get irritated with lines like, “I am not a writer but have been told I write good emails,” and a persistent tendency to roam, stream-of-consciousness style, far from her initial point, they'd be mistaken to put down this memoir of unhappy marriage before actress Gillies (best known for her work on TV's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) hits her stride. About a hundred pages in, when she finds herself feeling “very alive and vulnerable” while teaching an Oberlin College theater class; it's then her occasionally annoying habits begin to coalesce in an endearing narrative. Her storytelling skills come into focus during a desperate 12-hour car ride, in a blizzard, from Ohio to New York with two pre-school kids, one alienated husband and the family dog. In the midst of her story, readers may well forget that this is non-fiction, and start to look for a happy ending despite the predetermined outcome; the upshot is well-maintained dramatic tension (an affair between her husband and her friend features prominently) that will captivate and infuriate readers; those who enjoy a sad love story and heavy-duty personal problems should enjoy this real-world soap opera. (Mar.)
India's Global Powerhouses: How They Are Taking on the World
Nirmalya Kumar with Pradipta K.Mohapatra and Suj Chandrasekhar. Harvard Business, $27.95 (272p) ISBN 9781422147627
Marketing professor Kumar (of the London Business School) asserts that India, along with other economic hotspots like China and Dubai, “will be unrecognizable in a decade,” having “help[ed] remake the global and political economic landscape.” With coauthors Mohapatra (a player in India’s private sector) and Chandrasekhar (of D.C. think-tank Strategic Insights), he assembles in-depth case studies of India’s multinational operators, covering the country’s pre- and post-independence history, and how an overwhelming government bureaucracy became a business-friendly regime. A look at India’s Tata Group, founded 1868, reveals its extraordinary evolution into a powerful modern business through select acquisitions in hotels, steel, tea and automobiles (like its 2008 acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover). Another captivating account tracks Essel Propack’s small laminated tube company, which found global success as a supplier for Proctor & Gamble (illustrating the Hindu proverb, “Help thy brother’s boat across and, Lo! Thine own has reached the shore”). Challenges for Indian multinationals like Infosys and turbine manufacturer Suzlon include skyrocketing executive compensation and rental costs, a lack of globally-minded managers and a cultural difficulty with teamwork. As Kumar and company demonstrate, the future of business in India is worth understanding, and their detailed volume makes an excellent primer. (Apr.)
Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-Religions
Ronald H. Fritze. Reaktion (Univ. of Chicago, dist.), $29.95 (312p) ISBN 9781861894304
In this enlightened diatribe, author and historian Fritze (New Worlds: The Great Voyages of Discovery 1400-1600) takes a hard look at pseudohistory, myths passed off as historical fact by those who “confuse the distinction between possibility and probability,” either through ignorance or design (usually the latter). He begins by showing how the story of Atlantis evolved from reasonable hypothesis (accepted by Newton, among others) to disproved scholarship to Theosophist cosmology to occupy a central spot among “occult and spiritualist groups.” Other claims that come under the microscope: conflicting theories on the settlement of “ancient America”; claims and abuses regarding the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, including the cult of the British Israelites; and the doctrines of the Nation of Islam, dismissed as fraudulent by “most practicing Muslims,” including Malcolm X. He also profiles notable pseudohistorian careers (including Immanuel Velikovsky and Charles H. Hapgood), and concludes with the ongoing controversy surrounding Cornell professor Martin Bernal’s contention (in 1987's Black Athena) that Bronze Age Greek culture “arose as a result of colonization by Egyptians and Phoenicians.” Fritz incorporates a wealth of background information and insider baseball while buttressing his own provocative contentions, making this a hearty treat for history buffs. (Apr.)
Mom, Will this Chicken Give Me Man Boobs?: My Confused, Guilt-Ridden, and Stressful Struggle to Raise a Green Family
Robyn Harding. Greystone, $19.95 paper (208p) ISBN 9781553653905
Novelist and columnist Harding (The Secret Desires of a Soccer Mom) faces chagrin, one-upsmanship and the potential of a nervous breakdown as she strives to save the planet for her children—who, understandably, don’t always appreciate her efforts. Resettling in Canada after an ill-fated move to Australia, Harding and family land in the trendiest, most environmentally correct part of Vancouver, B.C., where keeping up with the Joneses becomes, literally, keeping up with the Greens—Valerie Green, that is, who even shops for furniture with a bike and trailer. Harding recounts her search for sustainable mercury-free seafood, milk from genuinely happy cows, and chicken legs that once roamed free; as green birthday parties for her kids lead to green Christmas for the extended family (and increased household legume consumption gives way to increased methane emissions), Harding finds herself at odds with everyone she loves, including her own mother. Harding’s sense of humor and keenly observed account of social mores in the new ecology will keep modern parents, especially those with opinions on the green movement, tickled throughout. (Mar.)
On the Camera Arts and Consecutive Matters: The Writings of Hollis Frampton
Hollis Frampton, edited by Bruce Jenkins. MIT, $39.95 (360p) ISBN 9780262062763
This expansive collection of Frampton’s critical writing is long overdue, replacing the out-of-print (and less comprehensive) Circles of Confusion from 1983. In addition to in-depth deconstructions of photography and film, this volume includes previously unpublished letters, lecture transcriptions and Frampton’s own notes for the production of his films. Divided into four sections, the book first covers essays about photography, then essays on film, on Video and Digital Arts, and finally on the “Other Arts,” mainly painting and sculpture. Though somewhat dense, the material is rewarding for its eloquence, humor and flair. In “Some Propositions on Photography,” Frampton discusses the ambiguity of the form as an art, a science, and (to the artist's horror) a hobby (“conceived in the belly of the Muse, but later plucked from her ashes and nurtured in the thigh of Commerce”). His “Notes on Composing a Film” reads like a manifesto: “the whole history of art is no more than a massive footnote to the history of film.” Even obscure writings, like a letter to the editor of Artforum, showcase Frampton at his best: an articulate, meticulous and thorough defender of his aesthetic principles. 18 color and 16 b/w illus. (Apr.)
Pharoah's Flowers: The Botanical Treasures of Tutankhamun, Second Edition
F. Nigel Hepper. KWS (Univ. of Chicago, dist.), $35 (150p) ISBN 9780981773636
Ostensibly a botanical study, this insightful book goes behind the iconic gilded coffin masks to demonstrate the day-to-day humanity of young pharaoh Tutankhamun and his wife. Botanist Hepper, formerly of London's Royal Kew Gardens, first published this analysis of plant materials found in King Tut’s tomb in 1990; the explosion of data since then necessitated this new edition, a luxe gift for armchair Egyptologists. Hepper categorizes the recovered plants according to their nature and uses (“Flowers and Leaves,” used mainly for decoration; “Oils, Resins and Perfumes,” used for fragrance, embalming and gluing; “Papyrus, Flax and other Fibrous Plants,” for writing materials and fabrics; etc.), profiling the objects found and providing a detailed botanical description of each plant cited (plants with more than one use are carefully cross-referenced). Drawings, Hepper’s own, are beautifully rendered, but the volume also contains photos of living examples, many in color. Updated references and a glossary of botanical terms round out this informative visually rich and emotionally engaging volume. (Feb.)
The Presidents We Imagine: Two Centuries of White House Fictions on the Page, on the Stage, Onscreen, and Online
Jeff Smith. Univ. of Wisconsin, $26.95 (400p) ISBN 9780299231842
American culture scholar and former political reporter Smith argues that the highest political post in the land “could not exist without first being imagined”; here, he examines how the Presidency has been imagined and re-imagined through fiction and film ever since George Washington took the oath. Smith finds that even the earliest biographers took literary license—today, “Parson” Weems’s profile of Washington is considered historical fiction—but also that fictional presidents have mirrored their future real-world counterparts (like the protagonist of Irving Wallace's 1964 novel The Man, an African-American campaigning for president). Tom Clancy, The West Wing, The Manchurian Candidate, Tanner ’88 and “President Barbie” come under the scope, and a number of plots—from the political adventures of Jack Downing (creation of newspaperman Seba Smith) to the animated Web series Hard-Drinkin’ Lincoln—get summary treatment. Unfortunately, Smith’s scholarly prose limits his work's appeal; readers expecting a colorful examination of cultural politics and political culture will find a thesis-like examination, which often lacks cohesion besides. Still, he presents a fresh angle on a popular topic, suitable for more serious-minded fans of Presidential history. 32 b/w illus. (Mar.)
LIFESTYLE
Naturally Thin: Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting
Bethenny Frankel with Eve Adamson. Fireside, $16 paper ISBN 9781416597988
Best known from reality TV (The Real Housewives of New York City), “natural foods chef” and entrepreneur Frankel wants unhappy dieters to know that everyone is “naturally thin,” they've simply got to change some habits and learn “to think like a naturally thin person.” The bulk of this self-help is devoted to ten rules, each outlined in a friendly but no-nonsense chapter. Rooted in Frankel's own struggles (“twenty years suffering through diet hell”), her rules include some familiar ideas smartly recast (“Your diet is a bank account” is a personal-finance gloss on “you are what you eat”) and each has a couple recipes attached (Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms). Much of her advice, however, boils down to eating less: other chapters look at moderation, mindful eating and portion size, with some helpful guides to measuring and eyeballing (though it's hard to see why “Downsize Now!” and “Cancel Your Membership in the Clean Plate Club” require separate chapters). A detailed 7-day starter plan fills out the volume. Fans of Frankel's televised adventures will likely be charmed by her strong, direct voice, and her brassy self-regard is nicely tempered by a we're-in-this-together camaraderie. (Mar.)
Second Acts that Change Lives: Making a Difference in the World
Mary Beth Sammons. Conari, $14.95 paper (176p) ISBN 9787573243681
This self-help from journalist and columnist Sammons takes its inspiration from people across the country who have risked their livelihoods to find successful and rewarding career shifts. Their wide-ranging stories also add depth to Sammons's take-charge advice: Nadine Condon, for example, spent years helping musicians become rich and famous as a music industry executive; feeling incomplete, she started volunteering at a hospice before taking a paid position running their patient advocacy program. Claudia Kawczynska, a San Francisco economic consultant, co-founded, and currently supports herself as editor-in-chief of, a literary life-with-dogs magazine called “Bark.” Each profile covers the same bases, including “life before the leap,” the epiphany, the “view from the other side” and general inspiration. Sammons can push her point too hard (Chapter One: “Wake up! Life's half over!”), perhaps downplaying the real risks involved; at other times (especially in breakout quotes from the likes of Hemingway and Joan Didion), she strikes a strangely foreboding tone. (Mar.)
CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOKS
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Gennady Spirin. Marshall Cavendish, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 9780761455967
In his adaptation of the Goldilocks story, Spirin’s (The Lord Is My Shepherd) lush colored pencil and watercolor spreads are as elaborate as the text is simple. Against white backdrops, Goldilocks and the bears are drawn in great realistic detail, along with judicious use of ornate setting details and delicate page ornamentation. These bears have fierce claws and teeth, but their apparel is nothing short of royal, dotted with jewels and pearls, and trimmed with feathers and gold. The text, conversely, is completely free of metaphors or complex sentences, the story stripped to its tag-line essence: “Who’s been sitting in my chair?” asks each bear parent as Little Bear laments, “My chair’s broken!” The suspenseful scene as the bears find Goldilocks asleep in Little Bear’s well-appointed bed is followed by an abrupt illustration in which Goldilocks runs away, looking more gleeful than terrified, as each of the bears says, “Bye,” and the narrator informs the reader, “And that’s the end of the story!” Goldilocks’ face doesn’t always transmit her emotions clearly, but overall this is an enchanting—visually, at least—version. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)
One Fine Trade
Bobbi Miller, illus. by Will Hillenbrand. Holiday House, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 9780823418367
Taking her inspiration from an old folk song, Miller’s debut is a jaunty story about “the finest peddler who ever lived,” one Georgy Piney Woods. When Georgy’s daughter, Georgianne, asks him for his expertise to obtain money for her wedding dress, he shows his talents indeed. Georgy aims to trade a “rail-skinny horse” for a “shiny silver dollar,” but, in classic folklore fashion, he ends up trading for a brown cow, a hound dog and a cypress stick along the way, though he eventually comes through for his daughter. Miller leads readers through the adventure with drama (by way of “a giant snake, a-shaking his rattle”), humor and plenty of backwoods vernacular (“Wouldn’t ya know, then Georgianne asked, ‘Dadaw, I surely do need a pretty new veil to go with my pretty new dress for my wedding day’”). Hillenbrand’s (Baby Dragon) energetic mixed media compositions keep pace with Georgy’s enthusiastic salesmanship. His weathered top hat, patchwork britches and polite demeanor make him fun to follow as he travels the evocative landscape, from the bucolic meadow to the “deep deep” woods. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)
The Three Little Gators
Helen Ketteman, illus. by Will Terry. Albert Whitman, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 9780807578247
Readers—particularly from the Lone Star State—who can’t get enough of the original Three Little Pigs may enjoy this Texan transformation from the team behind Armadilly Chili. Ketteman’s story features three gap-toothed young gators who outwit the Big-bottomed Boar, but the tag lines are not quite as memorable as the original wolf’s huffing and puffing. When he’s refused entry to the gators’ houses, the boar threatens, “Then I’ll wiggle my rump with a bump, bump, bump and smash your house!” The neon gators are differentiated only by a straw hat, a baseball cap, and a pair of glasses (which naturally belong to the smartest gator, who builds his house out of rocks). Ketteman adds a subtle—if somewhat didactic—message about sloth by having the gators scorn each others’ building materials (“Bad choice.... Rocks are heavy and too much work”). Still, folksy details in both text (“Third Gator ran faster than a fox after a muskrat”) and art (a bottle of boar sauce sits next to the fireplace, as the boar earns some grill marks) should entertain. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)
CHILDREN’S FICTION
The Gecko & Sticky: Villain’s Lair
Wendelin Van Draanen, illus. by Stephen Gilpin. Knopf, $12.99 (208p) ISBN 9780375843761
Van Draanen (the Shredderman books) sets a madcap new series in motion, introducing 13-year-old Dave and Sticky, a talking gecko he rescues from the clutches of a neighbor’s cat. The lizard drags the boy to the “maniacal mansion” of a “dastardly demented” scoundrel to retrieve ancient ingots which, when placed into slots on an Aztec wristband, give the wearer superhuman abilities. Though Dave is hoping to snatch coins that bestow invisibility or flying powers, he instead grabs an ingot that enables him to scale walls gecko-style (explaining the possibly confusing title of the series), best the villain and become a hero. Peppered with exaggerated alliteration and the excitable lizard’s Spanish-tinged “Stickynese” (“Freaky frijoles!”; “Holy tacarole!”), the wisecracking narrative bounds from one slapstick scenario to another. Gilpen’s halftone illustrations add to the good-natured inanity, and a glossary collects Sticky’s vocabulary. Dave reappears—and, courtesy of another ingot, disappears—in The Gecko & Sticky: The Greatest Power, due in May. Ages 8–12. (Feb.)
The Girl Who Threw Butterflies
Mick Cochrane. Knopf, $15.99 (192p) ISBN 9780375856822
Cochrane (Sport) revisits the baseball diamond in this unhurried novel about a girl with a mean knuckleball (“Molly loved watching one of her knuckleballs in flight, but what she felt was not self-admiration at all, just simple curiosity. What was this one going to do?”). Dealing with her father’s death in a car accident six months prior and her mother’s subsequent zombie-like disinterest in life, Molly hopes that playing on the eighth-grade boys’ baseball team will keep her connected to her dad. Molly is bolstered by her free-spirited friend, Celia (who steals every scene she’s in), and Lonnie, a kindhearted, artistically inclined catcher. Cochrane offers poignant flashbacks of father-daughter bonding, realistic mother-daughter squabbling and some nail-biting moments on the pitcher’s mound, but some readers may find the story’s pace sluggish. Still, Cochrane’s honest, quiet prose should find fans, as Molly finally pitches a winning game, earns the respect of her teammates and symbolically “lets go” of her need to understand her dad’s death. Ages 10–up. (Feb.)
FICTION
And Don't Forget to Rescue the Other Princess
Marc Bilgrey. Five Star, $25.95 (252p) ISBN 9781594147449
Al Breen returns to the Kingdom of Flemp for a thin but boisterous second adventure (after 2005’s Don’t Forget to Rescue the Princess). This time, unemployed actor Al is waiting for his big break in Connecticut when master wizard Merv appears in the form of a Persian cat and whisks Al to the Kingdom of Flemp. Al is tasked with saving the fair Princess Deidre from Sorchaaaaaaaa, a sorceress who threatens the entire world with her cruelty. Along the way, Al and his pal Sir Nigel the Nervous battle all sorts of bad guys, from holographic soldiers to huge slimy worms. Bilgrey keeps the pace moving quickly through this brief romp of a humorous fantasy novel, and stuffs each page with one-liners and danger. Those looking for depth of character and intricate plotting, however, should steer clear. (Mar.)
The Cat, the Quilt, and the Corpse
LeAnn Sweeney. Obsidian, $6.99 (288p) ISBN 9780451225740
Sweeney (Pick Your Poison) launches the Cats in Trouble mystery series with a meandering whodunit. Jillian Hart is content making and selling cat quilts and living quietly in Mercy, S.C., with her three cats, Syrah, Chablis and Merlot. When Syrah is catnapped, Jillian finds not only the thief—thanks to a state-of-the-art alarm system installed by charming PI Tom Stewart—but also a murder mystery to solve. The cats are entertaining four-legged assistants, with traits like Chablis’s human allergy and Merlot’s ninja-style defensive tactics. Jillian’s quirky neighbors also liven up the thin plot, particularly Tom, whose knack with alarms and computers comes in handy, and flamboyant deputy coroner Lydia Monk. Kitty-lovers will enjoy the feline trivia, but readers looking for a complex mystery will chafe at the slow pace and last-minute revelations. (May)
Of Words and Music
Lynda Fitzgerald. Five Star, $25.95 (300p) ISBN 9781594147760
Fitzgerald tells the saccharine tale of a 12-year-old girl and the grandmother she never knew she had. Lilah Kimball is a 60-year-old widow who lived by everyone else’s rules, and when her estranged daughter dies, she’s the only living relative to her now-orphaned granddaughter, Bethany. Thrown together by circumstance, the two, having never met, start out on rocky ground: Lilah is bitter from a life of bad choices and horrified that her son is following the footsteps of her late-husband. Bethany is distraught with grief over her mother’s death and can’t understand the history that drove Lilah and her mother apart. By building a relationship on their mutual love of piano, the two slowly bring each other back to life, even as a small plot wrinkle surfaces that vaguely threatens to undermine their bond. The simplistic storytelling and psychology don’t do the predictable narrative any favors. (Mar.)
The Real Enemy
Kathy Herman. David C. Cook, $14.99 paper (376p) ISBN 9781434767868
Bookstore owner turned novelist Herman delivers a competent suspense novel that will please fans of police procedurals. After 18 years with the Memphis police, Brill Jessup is almost immediately handed a challenge as new chief of the police force of a small town nestled in the Smoky Mountains. People go missing, one by one, and townsfolk are more than ready to believe that an old legend about vengeful displaced Cherokee accounts for the mystery. Meanwhile Brill’s home life is in tatters; she has stayed with her unfaithful husband Kurt for the sake of their daughter but resolutely refuses to forgive despite his remorse. Brill is an intriguing, flawed character and several townspeople supply local color, though the Jessups’ neighbors the Masinos seem improbably saintly. A Bible verse about evil forms an epigraph and credibly motivates some action in this police thriller. Some of the exposition is slightly clunky, but on the whole things move along briskly, and the novelist will have readers waiting for the next installment in this trilogy. (Mar.)
A Seat at the Table: A Novel of Forbidden Choices
Joshua Halberstam. Sourcebooks, $14.99 (304p) ISBN 9781402208393
Halberstam's first novel focuses on the struggle of a young Chassidic man in Brooklyn wrestling with the age-old conflict between modern secularism and family tradition. While occupied by the overt struggle between his Yeshiva studies and his collegiate experience, Elisha, the son of a prominent rabbi, also faces the powerful draw of a beautiful non-Jewish woman, Katrina. Halberstam's focus is on the increasingly tense relationship between Elisha and his father, a Holocaust survivor and an intellectual who respects Elisha's curiosity but won't let him forget his responsibilities to heritage and community. A surprising exploration of culture and family, this familiar-seeming tale of a good Jewish boy and the shiska who challenges his faith treats all its characters with respect, granting import to each relationship and refusing to fall prey to stereotypes. Broken up by several classic Chassidic tales, the novel also emphasizes the power and importance of storytelling. Readers of all backgrounds should find this a compelling, thought-provoking read. (Mar.)
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