Web Exclusive Reviews: 6/29/2009

-- Publishers Weekly, 6/29/2009

NONFICTION

Brothers: 26 Stories of Love and Rivalry
Edited by Andrew Blauner. Jossy-Bass, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 9780470391297
This fine collection of essays and short fiction play numerous variations on the bonds between brothers, employing a number of popular writers aging from 24 to 84. Among the most gripping is "Missing Parts," David Kaczynski's account of growing up with the Unabomber, seeking understanding without condemnation or pardon. The nonjudgmental tone runs throughout, from Phillip Lopate's "My Brother, Life," a story of envy, to "Doing Time" by John Edgar Wideman, about his brother in prison. Richard Ford extends the scope to include his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, and David Sedaris injects some much-needed lightness with a charming tribute to his little brother, "the Rooster," who early on developed an amazing capacity for dropping f-bombs. Daniel Menaker and Gregory Orr, whose brothers both met a premature end, explore their survivor's guilt. Jim Shepard writes about writing about his brother. Other contributors include Ethan Canin, Dominick Dunne, Mikal Gilmore, David Maraniss, and Geoffrey and Tobias Wolff. Among a number of similar titles aimed at sisters, this collection is as nostalgic and intimate as any. At least a handful of these tales will connect with anyone who's a brother, or who has one. (May)

Hos, Hookers, Call Girls, and Rent Boys: Professionals Writing on Life, Love, Money, and Sex
Edited by David Henry Sterry and R.J. Martin, Jr. Soft Skull, $15.95 (344p) ISBN9781593762410
Sterry, author of sex-worker memoir Chicken (a fact he mentions often) compiles an exhaustive (and exhausting) collection of writing from sex workers of all stripes. The sprawling project, grouped loosely by topic (Life, Love, Money, Sex, etc.), offers insight into seemingly all aspects of the sex trade: high-profile celebrities like Xaviera “Happy Hooker” Hollander and Nina Hartley make notable contributors, but it’s the unknown writers who will stick. The selections from the book’s closing section alone, written by members of Sterry’s San Francisco writer’s workshop for sex workers, range from triumphant to harrowing, making up for a lack of style or form with passion. Aside from exposing the complex web of relationships among phone sex operators, dancers, massage parlor workers, prostitutes and their customers, the book is heavy with raw emotions ranging from celebratory to shameful, giving armchair sociologists plenty to ponder. It’s not all dark and heavy: Sterry’s own account of his experience as a birthday present for an 82-year-old grandmother is touching and sentimental; veteran performer Annie Sprinkle is characteristically blunt, funny and honest. Best consumed in small doses, this volume houses some real gems amongst a number of redundant space-fillers. (July)

In The Land of Long Fingernails: A Gravedigger in the Age of Aquarius
Charles Wilkins. Skyhorse, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 9781602397095
In the summer of 1969, author and journalist Wilkins (High on the Big Stone Heart) got a summer job as a gravedigger in a Toronto cemetery. His strange-but-true memoir of that summer will fascinate, disturb and most certainly entertain. From a gravedigger’s strike to the exhumation of (most of) a corpse, the rogues and oddballs that Wilkins works alongside will both compel and repulse; a perfect example is Wilkins's abrasive, alcoholic, Scottish foreman, whose hostility belies (though sometimes reveals) a touching sense of humanity. Set against a turbulent era, the cemetery seems to exist outside of time, in a realm of intractable taboo, a curious combination of irreverence and sanctity that Wilkins captures effortlessly. With a deft command of both character and language, Wilkins's story could easily double as an out-there novel, but of course it's all the more engaging for its authenticity. Wilkins distills his bizarre day-to-day into a cohesive narrative and a compelling commentary on the times, a perfect trip for those who weren't able to take off work for the Summer of Love . (July)

Lance: The Making of the World’s Greatest Champion
John Wilcockson. Da Capo, $26 (320p) ISBN 9780306815874
By winning the Tour de France seven straight times (after surviving testicular cancer, no less), Lance Armstrong reached the hallowed status of athletes like Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. With Armstrong’s cooperation, Wilcockson (23 Days in July) profiles the cyclist’s rise from a hell-raising Texas kid to a determined, disciplined champion who celebrates the highs of sports immortality while enduring lows like repeated doping allegations and shattered relationships. Wilcockson has tracked down an array of impressive sources—numerous cycling associates, family members, even Armstrong’s ex-wife, Kristin. However, the resulting interviews provide little more than inspirational platitudes or fuzzy reminiscences, which are accompanied by ponderous accounts of training regimens and cycling events. With Wilcockson’s fawning prose the book consistently reads like a press release (e.g., “Once Lance makes a promise…he always keeps it”) a heavy contributor. Armstrong has led an extraordinary life so far, becoming synonymous with a sport and a disease while befriending movie stars and dating celebrities like Sheryl Crow. (July)

Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon
Buzz Aldrin with Ken Abraham. Harmony, $26 (288p) ISBN 9780307463456
Picking up the threads of his acclaimed 1973 autobiography, Return to Earth, Aldrin presents as no-holds-barred account of how his celebrity, career and human weaknesses nearly destroyed his life. On July 19, 1968, millions witnessed Neil Armstrong and Aldrin become the first two people on the moon; an instant American hero, Aldrin was “greeted with ticker-tape parades” and spent the next two years, along with his fellow astronauts, as public relations assets for NASA and the Nixon administration. With a PhD from MIT, Aldrin had not only spent eight years training for the mission, but also helped developed technology needed for the mission; upon returning home from his world tour as an “unofficial space ambassador,” however, he found the doors at NASA “pretty much closed”; the moon-landing program had given way to the shuttle project. That homecoming would catapult Aldrin into a decades-long struggle with alcoholism and clinical depression (both his grandfather and mother committed suicide) that broke up two marriages before psychiatric treatment and rehab put him on the road to recovery. This inspiring story exhibits Aldrin as a different, perfectly human kind of hero, giving readers a sympathetic look at a man eclipsed by his own legend. (June)

The Neuro Revolution: How Brain Science is Changing Our World
Zack Lynch with Byron Laursen. St. Martin’s, $25.95 (256p) ISBN 9780312378622
Neuroscience entrepreneur Lynch, founder of a global trade association and a market research firm, is a futurologist with his feet on the ground. After an eight-year struggle to diagnose a painful back injury, Lynch's condition was pinpointed by a full-body MRI scan; the experience convinced him that emerging tools will improve our “control over the mental environment” in the same way we've managed the physical environment. Examining emerging tech, Lynch reports on lie detectors like a portable system for rapidly scanning and detecting involuntary facial tics, and a developing method called “brain fingerprinting.” Emerging marketing techniques include functional MRI scanners for focus groups, allowing researchers to look directly at the brain of the subject, rather than depend on verbal responses. Lynch predicts that brain scan information will improve performance, and may become vital to professionals like stock brokers and specialized military forces; he also sees mental face-lifts attaining the popularity of cosmetic surgery. The exciting news is tampered by warnings that such devices could also be used for “cultural or economic bondage.” Lynch is passionate, knowledgeable and fully engaged with the world of neurotechnology, and his overview makes absorbing material. (July)

Notebooks from New Guinea: Field Notes of a Tropical Biologist
Vojtech Novotny, trans. from the Czech by David Short. Oxford Univ., $34.95 (256p) ISBN 9780199561650
Czech ecologist Novotny (Arthropods of Tropical Forests) recounts his decade living in New Guinea, “a most diverse and extraordinary land,” home to six million people and 1,043 different languages. Focusing on the people and their way of living, little escapes Novotny's attention; he examines the base-13 number system, myths about dwarfs, the price of brides (£5,000), and other idiosyncrasies; their extended-family, communal living structure meant that New Guinea tourists in Australia were astounded to see homeless people sleeping on the streets. Occasional shockers can be in questionable taste—i.e., a flip description of cannibalism, practiced in many of New Guinea’s cultures until 50 years ago: “one might argue... against ideologies that view neighbors as canned meat on two legs, [but] eating the deceased was actually a highly civilized custom.” Fortunately, his excesses are balanced by genuine sympathy for people making the journey into a radically foreign, modern world, which in many ways (as Novotny illustrates) is equally improbable. 28 b&w illustrations. (July)

Notes from the Underwire: Adventures from my Awkward and Lovely Life
Quinn Cummings. Hyperion, $14.99 paper (272p) ISBN 9781401322861
Cummings, a former child actor from movies and TV shows of the late 1970s, has spent much of her life defined by those three words: “former child actor.” Despite this, she’s led a rewarding L.A. life in a variety of occupations and, as explored in this quirky memoir, as a mother. In a series of exceedingly funny and honest vignettes, Cummings explores topics ranging from home repair to childhood orthodontics to film industry “success” with deft, sharp prose that begs to be read aloud to friends. What is perhaps most impressive is the way Cummings owns her child stardom, with a level of grace and perspective that defies expectations. Fleshing out the acerbic, particular observations of a rather strange but loving mother, Cummings shares her experience in a way that will remind readers of their own adventures in child- and parenthood. (July)

Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase
Jen Lancaster. New American Library, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 9780451226808
Funny girl Lancaster has crafted a successful career by honing the breezy, bloggy style she first exhibited in Bitter is the New Black; her latest, in part a backhand to the resurgent 80s fashion trends, is sure hit resonant, hysterical notes for anyone who came of age in the era of the Preppy Handbook. Authorial voice is at the heart of Lancaster’s charm, and she chronicles her early 20s—blunders from fashion and finances to academics and retail jobs—with a candor that few will be able to resist. Lancaster confesses to a fascination with plastic (the material, not the credit card), gloating over her impressive new Liz Claiborne bags, and difficulty finding faithful friends, even (especially) in her Greek affiliations (“Even though I read Seventeen and Glamour every month, I’m already thought of as the Jean Jacket Jackass in my rush group”). Falling somewhere between David Sedaris and Laurie Notaro, Lancaster’s goofy charm will no doubt continue to win fans, as well as influence the next generation of sardonic, winning, self-effacing memoirists. (May)

The Ramen King and I
Andy Raskin. Gotham, $26 (320p) ISBN 9781592404445
Told as both a narrative and series of letters to the inventor of instant ramen, Momofuku Ando, American writer and NPR regular Raskin haltingly plots his efforts to meet the billionaire food entrepreneur in the years before his 2007 death. Unfortunately, the fascinating story of the Ramen king is forced to compete with Raskin’s women problems, which he thinks Ando can somehow solve. Raskin also takes time out to explain Japanese emphemera like the quirks of language, samurai movies, sushi etiquette and manga. Though he never mails his confessional letters, Raskin does fly to Japan to meet the aging legend, and winds up attending his funeral with thousands of others. Raskin’s intentions are noble, but his careening trip through Japanese food culture will likely frustrate readers; on the other hand, it may strike Japanophiles just right, reproducing plenty of the eclectic and affectionate details that stick with travelers. (May)

The Sure Thing: The Making and Unmaking of Golf Phenom Michelle Wie
Eric Adelson. Ballantine, $25 (256p) ISBN 9780345511751
In 2000, ten-year-old Michelle Wie rocked the professional golf world with her 300-yard drives; at 12, she was the youngest to qualify for an LPGA tournament; at 14, the youngest to enter a PGA tournament. From there, she continued to push relentlessly against the rigidly gender-segregated traditions of pro golf. Along the way, she managed to alienate a number of fellow women golfers and disenchant the golf community with her disregard for rules and etiquette; most damning, however, she was unable to live up to her own hype. Adelson, the first to write a national article about Wie, takes readers step by step through her career, methodically recounting each critical match and analyzing her professional development, including the role played by her father. Oddly, this where-is-she-now story stops short of the present, with very little information about Wie’s current situation or her future. After charting the arc of every ball so dramatically, it’s frustrating to see the larger narrative roll into the rough. (June)

FICTION

Just Desserts
Carl Reiner. Phoenix (www.phoenixbooksandaudio.com), $14.95 paper (112p) ISBN 9781597776271
In Reiner’s dreadful newest, novelist Nat Noland embarks on an unfunny midlife misadventure that begins with his attempt to write a novel (working title: Blurbs) and ends with him addressing the United Nations. Seeking input on some ideas, Nat emails his friend Paul a few promising tidbits and impulsively—and oddly, considering he’s a lifelong atheist—cc’s GodGodGodGodGod.Heaven@yahoo.com on the email. He’s shocked to receive a reply from God, who is interested in Nat’s “theory of Just Desserts,” which suggests that bad deeds should be swiftly and visibly punished. This proves unfortunate for Paul, who is soon only able to move only by hopping “like a friggin’ pogo stick.” Before long, God is implementing more of Nat’s suggestions, and things get weirder. How Nat gets to the UN (with digressions for farting and wisecracking) is baffling, and the book’s final “twist” may make readers want to fling it across the room. It’s not just bad—it’s wretched. (July)

Ransome’s Honor
Kaye Dacus. Harvest House, $13.99 paper (350p) ISBN 9780736927536
This first volume in Dacus’s Ransome Trilogy combines an engaging period story with charming characters, and likely will leave Christian romance fans wanting more. In 1802, William Ransome, a young lieutenant in the Royal Navy, is presumably on the verge of marrying his captain’s daughter, Julia Witherington, when, concerned he would be doing so for financial security, he dashes her hopes by deciding not to propose. Dacus picks up the story 12 years later when Julia is 29 and still single and Ransome is a captain returned from the war with France. Circumstances throw them together again in Portsmouth, England, and what follows is a predictably Austenesque romance between two people obviously meant for each other, but fighting the inevitable. Adding to the tension are conspiring relatives who want Julia to marry a fortune-hunting cousin in need of her money. Dacus’s descriptions of navy life and her character sketches are most appealing, but her references to prayer and the Bible that provide Christian elements in the novel sometimes seem forced and more like frosting than essential leaven. (July)

Shadow on the Land
Wayne D. Overholser. Five Star, $25.99 (218p) ISBN 9781594148071
Western bad boy Lee Dawes is a railroad fixer who uses his gun, fists, guile and charm to obtain hard-to-get rights-of-way, settle labor disputes, outfox his competitors and seduce women. In Overholser’s action-packed latest, Dawes is up to his gunbelt in trouble. Dawes is the perfect man for railroad tycoon James J. Hill’s plan to beat rival tycoon Edward H. Harriman’s effort to build a railroad in Oregon. However, Dawes must contend with opposition from an old pal, the refusal of a rancher who won’t sell to Dawes, his lust for a bad news woman and the murderous work of an interloper bent on destroying both Hill and Harriman. As Dawes and Quinn try to outmaneuver and sabotage each other—in work and in love—Dawes and his sidekick, Highpockets Magoon, get sucked deeper into a railroad war where bullets, beatings and explosives nearly settle everyone’s hash. Though Overholser reveals too early the mysterious villain and his motive, the railroad lore and fast-paced plot keep the reader involved. (July)

The Wildest Heart
Rosemary Rogers. Sourcebooks, $14.99 paper (736p) ISBN 9781402222740
In Rogers’s unpolished latest, Rowena Dangerfield, raised in India by her grandfather, goes on a globe-trotting quest for a staggering fortune. The plot takes Rowena from India to London and New Mexico, where she must claim an unlikely inheritance. As she reads the diaries of the father she never knew, Rowena discovers that she is supposed to make peace between two embittered families, and as independent as she thinks she is, she’s still not prepared for the web of love, intrigue and violence that fills the frontier. Unfortunately, Rowena comes across as clinically detached instead of headstrong, and nearly every encounter she has with a man (even the “good” ones) reads like an assault. The plot, meanwhile, moves in fits and starts, and many pages are eaten up with atrocious dialogue (“Listen, you stubborn, bad-natured female! When are you going to realize I want you?”). If you read only one doorstop romance this summer, don’t make it this one. (July)