Nonfiction Reviews: 7/6/2009

Veteran war correspondent Lewis (Bloody Heroes) chronicles the dramatic story of two Apache attack helicopters in Afghanistan in this intense and sobering narrative. Lewis focuses on the four pilots of a single flight—identified by its radio call sign, Flight Ugly—of the British Army Air Corps's 622 Squadron as they deployed to Afghanistan's remote and rugged Helmand Province for a 100-day tour in the summer of 2007. The British had recently acquired the state-of-the-art Apaches in order to move away from a “static platoon house strategy” and aggressively “take the fight to the enemy.” Battling extreme heat, sandstorms, altitude and exhaustion, the crews of Ugly Five Zero and Ugly Five One flew scores of missions that pushed Taliban forces out of the Helmand River valley. Drawing upon extensive interviews with the pilots and combat diaries, Lewis vividly recreates the deft skills and steady nerves demanded of helicopter pilots in combat in the tradition of Robert Mason's Vietnam War classic, Chickenhawk, and Ed Macy's Apache. Military and aviation enthusiasts will appreciate this fast-paced, eloquent account of modern war. (Dec.)

Eisenberg (The Number) reveals the mechanisms of manufacturing needs and wants in this book that explores every facet of retail consumption, from advertising to behavioral marketing, from malls to Internet communities. The author presents his own family's consumption habits as a litmus test, which, while providing context, effectively sidelines the experiences of those who do not embrace consumerism with the same fervor. Dividing the retail landscape into “Buy” and “Sell,” Eisenberg provides a cornucopia of consumption trends, brain scans indicating beer preferences, zip-code–based lifestyle data, psychographic information, blogs and “buzz” measurement. Searching for a “Unified Theory of Buying,” the author dismisses analysts such as Marx for misunderstanding needs and Schor for scolding consumers. Entertaining the possibilities of “Brand Communities,” the author superficially considers Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital, settling finally on a typology of “Romantic” and “Classic” buyers. Although a thorough compendium of today's marketplace, the author's friendly “come along with me” tone sometimes devolves into glibness, and in accepting conditions as is, his observations might prove as fleeting as buyer's remorse. (Nov.)

Did you know that Heidegger's notion of living in the shadow of death has its most profound articulation in a country and western song by Tim McGraw? Or what Law and Order has in common with theologian Paul Tillich's view of eternity? Such are the nuggets of wisdom found in this smart and lighthearted consideration of the philosophical dimensions of death. Cathcart and Klein (coauthors of Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar) take readers on a whirlwind tour of anthropological, philosophical and theological theories of why and how we avoid accepting our own mortality. The authors demonstrate how humor allows us to express our fears about death “while defusing anxiety.” Succinct accounts of Kierkegaard's notion of embracing angst, Schopenhauer's notion of undying will and Descartes on mind-body dualism are thus all peppered by comic asides (Leibnitz “maintained that Mind and Matter don't actually get into each others knickers”). This little book is an entertaining and surprisingly informative survey of the “Big D” and its centrality in human life. (Oct).

Sull (Why Good Companies Go Bad), professor at the London Business School, inveighs against the business world's terror of change and habitual response of accelerating activities that have worked in the past, a dynamic he terms “active inertia.” Sull demonstrates how turbulence—his term for rapid and unpredictable changes that influence a firm's ability to create value—provides opportunity for growth (his odd analogy describes how Italians originally thought tomatoes were poisonous; only when they were willing to experiment did they discover the root of their distinctive cuisine). Noting the “exceptionally turbulent” times we live in, Sull offers practical suggestions (and work sheets) to enhance a company's agility and ability to improvise. “Our theories about the future,” he reminds us, “remain subject to revision or rejection in light of new knowledge that might arise in the future. All our theories will let us down; we just don't yet know how or when.” With success stories from such companies as Microsoft and Carnival Cruise Lines, much of the information within is sound, but the lofty tone might make this a tough sell in an already shell-shocked marketplace. (Oct.)

Former Random House editor Epstein (Book Business: Publishing Past, Present and Future) combines his literary lunches with a personal, tried-and-true collection of meals and recipes. The breezy memoir touches on mayonnaise-rich dishes he's eaten with famous friends and neighbors—Olaf Olafsen, Norman Mailer and Jane Jacobs—in between recollection of childhood visits to Maine and recent trips to Sag Harbor, Long Island. Accompanying the stories are recipes meant to resemble conversations, mixed in with peculiar advice on sourcing ingredients and detailed tips on technique. Epstein—who readily admits he still doesn't think of Manhattan as home because of its lack of Ipswich clams—is most comfortable on the New England shore, if his recipes for salmon roe, lobster rolls and fried clams are any indication. While Epstein blends the down-home simplicity of chicken pot pie with the kind of dowdy French classics once served in lower Manhattan, his trips with chef Alice Waters to Craig Claiborne's lunch parties and suggestions for hard-to-find ingredients and out-of-print books cultivate a stuffy air of exclusivity, a tone tempered by the softer, improvisational voice from his kitchen. Be warned, the book's mouthwatering narrative recipes—from steak tartare enclosed in burnt hamburger crust to a simple braised duck with olives—might spur more than a couple of trips to the kitchen. (Oct.)

Blind Willie McTell may be “the most important Georgia bluesman to be recorded” in the first half of the 20th century, but so little information about him has survived that, for Gray, who's previously written about Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa, “getting the story is itself part of that story,” making this less a biography of the blind musician than a memoir of the effort to uncover his past. At its best, the results are colorful anecdotes about Gray and his status as a British tourist in rural Georgia, where being neither a Yankee nor a white Southerner usually makes it easy for him to get along (save for one disturbing encounter with a state prison security detail). At other times, however, Gray pads his account with arguably superfluous details, including descriptions of the public libraries he visited during his research. He is quick to acknowledge where the facts leave off and his speculations begin, and unafraid to offer critical judgment, especially when it comes to evaluating the racist culture in which McTell lived. Those who were hoping for a definitive biography of McTell may be disappointed, but enough of his story pokes through for even nonblues fans to grasp his enduring appeal. (Sept.)

Second chances rarely come in professional sports, especially for athletes out of the game for some time. But former NFL player Brian Kinchen defied those odds, as Marx shows. Having played pro football for 12 years (including with the Dolphins and Panthers), Kinchen hung up his cleats and turned to teaching. Yet more than two years after his final play in football, Kinchen received a call from the New England Patriots to become the team's long-snapper—a player who excels at snapping the ball for field goals and punts. What followed was a seven-week journey that would challenge him both physically and spiritually. From a miscue at his first tryout to his subsequent flubs at Patriots practice, Kinchen became increasingly uneasy about playing on football's biggest stage. And as New England's hopes of winning the sport's greatest prize became more realistic, “the mere thought of messing up in the Super Bowl, of maybe even becoming the unforgettable goat of the game, simply horrified him.” But just as the pressure of failure becomes too crushing, Kinchen uses his Christian faith and the confidence others had in him to capture a missing piece from his football career. Marx is a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative journalist, and it shows in his vivid recreation of events long after the fact. That, in tandem with his ability to connect with Kinchen on a very human level, allows him to show a side of professional athletes rarely seen on Sunday broadcasts. It's an inspiring read for anyone who has ever wanted one last shot at their utmost dreams. (Sept.)

Having already read the Encyclopedia Britannica from cover-to-cover (The Know-It-All) and spent a year living by every rule in the Bible (The Year of Living Biblically), Jacobs, a kind of latter-day George Plimpton, tests our patience and our funny bones once again with his smart-aleck, off-the-wall and uproarious experiments in living. No cross-dresser he, Jacobs lives a vicarious life as a beautiful woman, the experiment growing out of his role in persuading his son's nanny, Michelle—a stunning beauty—to participate in an online dating service. He signs her up for the site, creates a profile for her, sifts through her suitors and co-writes her e-mails. Pretending to be Michelle, he learns not only the regret of rejection (having to let some guys down), but he also predictably discovers that there's a lot of deceit, boasting and creepiness in Internet dating. In another experiment, Jacobs outsources everything in his life to a company in India, from his research for articles to a complaint letter to American Airlines. This experiment worked so well that he continues to use this company every few weeks to make car rental reservations or to do research for him. Although a “coda” of reflection follows the tale of each experiment, they provide no clarity or wisdom about his experiences. Everybody plays the fool sometimes, and with this book, Jacobs seems to have made a career out of it. (Sept.)

In a memoir rendered eerily dry and scattered by emotional distance, the four Welch children, orphaned in their youth in the mid-1980s, recount by turns their memories and impressions of that painful time. Growing up in an affluent community of Bedford, N.Y., to a glamorous mother and a handsome father who was the head of an oil company, the children—Amanda (born in 1965), Liz (1969), Dan (1971) and Diana (1977)—were devastated first by the sudden death of their father in a car accident in 1983, followed by their mother three and a half years later after a long, wrenching bout with cancer. The two eldest girls, teenagers at the time and initiated into the drug and rock and roll scene, remember most vividly the details of that era when their mother, already diagnosed with uterine cancer, discovered that their father left a large debt; the family had to consolidate by selling their big house and their horses. After their mother died, the children were put in the care of others, mostly with disastrous consequences, especially for Diana, farmed out to a controlling neighbor family who initially hoped to adopt her, but decide otherwise after she hit her awkward teens. Each struggled to forge an identity within harrowing circumstances, with numbing results. Dan became a troublemaker and bounced out of boarding school, while Amanda, heavily into drugs, dropped out of NYU, and Liz traveled to get out of the house. (Sept.)

Harvard Business School professor Kanter (Confidence) offers cutting-edge insights on corporate competitiveness in this timely and captivating assessment of what it takes to succeed in the face of rapid technological, cultural and economic change. Asserting that “globalization increases the likelihood for shorter organizational life cycles,” Kanter argues that companies must be more nimble than ever to survive. Drawing on stories of such businesses as Proctor and Gamble, Digitas and Cemex, she describes how “vanguard” companies exploit their strong cultures to adapt and innovate, often harnessing the momentum of change to capture market share or squash competition. Those companies that will thrive in the future, maintains Kanter, have “stamina, energy, long lists of contacts, an appetite for communication, comfort with ambiguity, and a belief that the company's values and principles mean that they are part of something bigger than just a job.” This dense work may be demanding for many, but the opportune lessons within are worth the effort for readers seeking to compete in a global marketplace that is changing more rapidly than ever before. (Sept.)

Guilt-free consumption has always been a cherished American value, but this book explores its flip side: a historical engagement with thriftiness, starting in the pre-revolutionary days with Benjamin Franklin, championed by reformers Booker T. Washington and Lydia Marie Child, taken to absurd lengths by the 19th-century miserly millionaire Hetty Green, espoused by economist John Maynard Keynes and married to environmental concerns by contemporary conservationists. Journalist Weber's treatise begins with recollecting her father's conservative habits and ramifies into a far-ranging examination of social programs, alternative movements and mainstream institutions including savings banks, home economics, industrial efficiency experts, “freegans,” economists and war departments, all of which promote some form of frugality. While failing to provide a satisfying distinction between cheapness and thrift, the author provides a rich canvas from which to consider American ambivalence about saving; she examines how thriftiness became a racist pejorative hurled at Jewish and Asian immigrants. While the rise of consumer culture and advertising undercut individual and social efforts to save, the author also finds structural reasons for our profligacy in growing financial illiteracy, wage stagnation and deregulated financial markets. (Sept.)

The arguments are more surprising than the conclusions in this slender book that simultaneously celebrates and mourns the end of the harshly ideological strain of conservatism that reached full flower during the presidency of George W. Bush. Tracing the movement's intellectual history from Edmund Burke to Rush Limbaugh, Tanenhaus (Whitaker Chambers), editor of the New York Times Book Review, argues that the “contemporary Right define[s] itself less by what it yearns to conserve than by what it longs to destroy”—and that pragmatic Democrats like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have usurped the Republicans' once winning focus on social stability. Tanenhaus argues that Republicans must moderate their focus on ideological purity if they are to return from the political wilderness and offers trenchant criticism of the liberal excesses that previously led to a long Democratic exile from the White House. Tanenhaus's positions are not entirely consistent, however; he aligns Nixon with George W. Bush and his destructively “revanchist course” before praising Nixon's “prodigious gifts” and “sheer intellectual ability.” But the author recognizes the need for two strong parties to compete in American politics, and his impeccably well-written book insightfully summarizes the highs and lows of American conservatism over the decades. (Sept.)

Hubbard and Duggan, respectively dean and lecturer at Columbia Business School, make the case that current foreign aid and Third World projects—particularly in Africa—aren't working and that the developed world must rethink how it allots aid money. The authors dissect (and disagree) with the U.N.'s Millennium Goals strategy for attacking poverty, pet project of Jeffrey Sachs and a host of celebrities. They condemn the strategy as a “charity trap,” that perverts local economies and “keeps corrupt leaders rich.” The authors contend that poor countries can attain prosperity and self-sufficiency only if aid money goes to cultivating a functioning business sector. Microfinance, they say, is working but stops short; they propose something much more ambitious: a new Marshall Plan, an almost prohibitively daunting task given the vast differences among developing countries, the controls each puts on business and the input required from other developed nations. But the plainly stated thesis and the authors' willingness to confront conventional wisdom and examine and energetically attack the problem are refreshing and necessary. (Sept.)

Hansen, cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and Allen, a personal finance author, share strategies for generating more income within 90 days (reprising the two-books-in-one format used in The One Minute Millionaire), which offers step-by-step instructions as well as a fictional narrative to illustrate key points. The authors list three key elements of their plan for success: create a clear vision of one's ultimate objectives, silence the “inner whiner” and release the “inner winner,” and gather a team of like-minded individuals for support and guidance. Such advice as “Ask yourself empowering, uplifting, emboldening questions” helps retrain the mind to help the reader to focus, identify clear aims and unleash ambition. The book also addresses the next steps: converting ideas into cash, turning problems into profits and numerous ways to profit from intellectual property. Inspiring and practical, Hansen and Allen's legion of fans will find much of value. (Sept.)

Greenfield's memoir recounts the summer between her junior and senior years at college when she traveled to Kenya and Uganda to pursue her study of chimpanzees. Infused with a sort of magical realism that readers will find charming or annoying, according to their tastes, Greenfield's fascination with chimpanzees has its root in a mysterious condition: her impaired vision that works at full capacity only when she views animals. She writes floridly of her encounters with the locals, dangerous poachers and her beloved chimps and is at her best when allowing the action to unfold rather than burdening it with long descriptive passages. Her commitment and tenacity in tracking and studying her subjects is impressive, but her compelling story frequently takes a backseat to her desperation to convey atmosphere when, even stripped of embellishment, the setting and narrative themselves are sufficiently evocative. (Sept.)

War photographer and author Kogan (Shutterbabe) has survived the dangers of covering the Afghan war, but in this collection of essays she turns her attention toward a different kind of struggle—raising three children in the trenches of Manhattan. Her opening essay, “The Bleeping Bleep Next Door,” arguably the funniest in the book, details the birth of her third baby and the experience of sharing a hospital room with a 16-year-old unwed mother who blasts the TV and is visited by a gaggle of noisy teen friends toting McDonald's bags and “soda” that smells of booze. In other essays the author delves into life as mother of a child star (her aspiring actor son nabs a part in the new Star Trek film), the ups and downs of children's friendships, the rules and bylaws of marriage and the hassles of juggling the needs of a toddler and a teen. Kogan also explores the judgmental reactions of other parents who raise their eyebrows when she picks up her daughter at school on a Vespa. While most of Kogan's essays are witty and smart, a few (about old college roommates, and former boyfriends, etc.) seem both gratuitous and out of place. Still, readers will find plenty to ponder and laugh about as they follow this self-described “laissez-faire” parent on the challenging assignment of raising three kids. (Aug.)

The college application process is a time of major anxiety for high school seniors and their parents. Fortunately for all concerned (including administrators, teachers, and private coaches), Marcus, the Pulitzer Prize–winning education writer for U.S. News and World Report, has documented the year he spent at suburban Long Island's Oyster Bay High School closely observing the rather unorthodox college counselor Gwyeth Smith and seven college-bound seniors. In this insider's look at the college application process, Marcus reveals the personal realities the kids and their parents face, the way college decisions are made and how and why Smith manages to ease the powder keg of worry and emotions with good advice, eventually helping make the “right match” for each student. Readers meet all kinds—the kid who doesn't test well; the one who is depressed after an early admission rejection; the high-achieving Asian-American at odds with his parents; the good girl looking for something “different”; the athlete with mediocre grades. In sometimes the most counterintuitive ways, Smith helps them by demonstrating how each has the ability to write good application essays, find their true “passion” and represent themselves as people colleges will want to accept. A wonderfully enjoyable antidote to the spate of books focused on the college admissions “game” of “getting in.” (Aug.)

Millhone, an NYU professor and columnist for Men's Health, writes about family crises, stress, anxieties and what he calls “our year from hell” when his son nearly died shortly after birth, his father was diagnosed with cancer, his mother died, his dog bit his oldest son in the face and his marriage was crumbling. Millhone felt he had “a subscription to a tragedy-of-the-month club,” so his solution was to buy a car and travel with his dad. On the road, there are flashbacks to old songs, childhood toys, his marriage and his mother: “Mom had a black belt in backhanded compliments.” As for the trip itself, chapter headings are misleading: the “Vicksburg” visit takes place inside an Applebee's and “Katrinaville” offers only a two-paragraph glimpse of New Orleans from the freeway. Millhone occasionally delivers a funny line amid many strained and strange attempts at humor, such as calling the scattering of his mother's ashes “The Sprinkling.” More often, in a curious contradiction, the tragedy cancels out the comedy, and vice versa, while the road trip reads like a postcard scribble. (Aug.)

Yu, author of Cracking the Coconut and chef/owner of the San Diego restaurant Saffron, explores the Thai approach to food and wellness in this unique and illuminating collection. Based on the belief that fresh, locally grown vegetables are natural remedies essential to maintaining good health), the book details the four elements of life: earth, wind, water and fire. To be healthy, all of our bodies' elements must be in harmony, which occurs through a diet that combines the most beneficial tastes, flavors and aromas of our element and allows for varying factors such as time of day and weather. Recipes help achieve this balance and are grouped together by element. Yu provides a wide array of options for each meal, including stir-fried shrimp with asparagus; cool rice vermicelli with grilled vegetables; noodles with Chinese broccoli and pork or chicken; and mango sorbet with young coconut ribbons. Headnotes list the ailments each dish will improve. Yu also includes recipes for facial masks, massage oils and sachets that calm the mind and the senses. An informative and appetizing look at Thai tradition and its relation to food, this book offers a new perspective on healthy eating. (Oct.)

Beranbaum, specialist of baked goods that make people's eyes light up, tops her renowned The Cake Bible with an updated, modern collection of delicious confections. Bakers who have already dog-eared every page of that earlier book need not worry: this is far from a duplicate, with only the occasional repeat or adaptation. The recipes range from towering creations for weddings and other special events to baby cakes for bite-size indulgence, and from the simplest apple upside-down cake and yellow butter cupcakes to the elegant rose-shaped genoise and the stunning holiday pinecone cake. Beranbaum goes into great detail in her recipe instructions, yet still manages to keep the lengthy guidelines friendly, accessible and unintimidating, whether she is describing how to make a whipped ganache topping or beurre noisette, an integral part of her delicate array of financiers. Chocolate, fruit, cream, spun sugar: Beranbaum enlists the best ingredients (which she reviews in a helpful glossary) to create knockout cakes, and with her patient, meticulous description of the measurements and process, anyone with a good mixer and spatula, some time and determination will be able to turn out impressive sweet sensations. (Sept.)

With its title and a kitschy illustrated bright cover with hand-drawn lettering, along with all vegetarian recipes, it's hard not to think the blandly healthy vibe of the 1970s, but Thomas (of the Vegetarian Epicure cookbooks) presents 160 new and enticing recipes that may just charm even a die-hard carnivore. Soups are organized by season and range from hearty selections like rustic leek and potato, and minestrone for a crowd, to lighter summer options including tomato and fennel soup with blood orange and sweet corn. A deconstructed hummus soup, along with pickle soup, make the collection anything but tired. Inspired by a temporary housing move that included a kitchen less than seven feet wide, the author knows what it takes to make a recipe manageable and doesn't skimp on advice when it comes to time- and space-saving tips like freezing, doubling and garnishing. Recipes for breads, dips and spreads, salads and a collection of desserts, as well as sample menus at the start of each chapter, make it easy to plan a full meal. (Sept.)

This friendly cookbook makes (mostly) vegan cooking approachable with simple recipes and straightforward descriptions of more exotic ingredients, and makes it of-the-moment by focusing on using local, seasonal ingredients. More than 230 recipes—each fits on a single page—are organized into spring, summer, fall and winter chapters and showcase the produce that should be available at a given time of year. While there's some typical vegan fare, like seitan bourguignon or scrambled tofu, many recipes play with expected ingredients in interesting ways: marinated tofu with ginger cashew dipping sauce; quinoa and black bean salad with apricot lime dressing; and spicy coconut pumpkin soup. The desserts are especially appealing, with options such as fresh fruit tart with almond crust; chocolate pecan pie; and banana coconut chocolate chip cookies. Although it's surprising that a book so focused on avoiding processed foods would feature processed ingredients in some recipes—the lemon berry cream pie calls for purchased lemon snaps; a savory deep-dish pie uses frozen pie crust—occasional shortcuts like this make the collection even more approachable. (Sept.)

Kushi, author, lecturer and popular voice of the international macrobiotic community, has joined once again with co-writer Jack to update and revise this comprehensive, cancer-prevention guidebook, first published 25 years ago. The new volume contains current statistics and research while presenting the core traditions of the macrobiotic way of life. Chapters on emotions and cancer and 100 new dishes and drinks are also incorporated, including a number of lighter recipes necessitated by a “yangizing trend” (heavier, busier and more stressful) in society. Macrobiotics, as Kushi explains, is based upon the concept of balancing yin and yang energy in all things. The authors note that when the first edition was published, a cold war existed between holistic and mainstream therapies; today, they assert, mainstream medicine has recognized the beneficial effects of the macrobiotic diet as it relates to cancer, while admitting its own failings in keeping the disease in check. (Kushi's criticism of modern medicine and practices, notably scans and radiation, may still raise controversy.) Kushi writes that cancer prevention and treatment should begin in the kitchen, encompassing diet (with an emphasis on whole grains and vegetables) as well as environment, outlook and lifestyle. This remarkable resource also includes 17 up-to-date individual chapters on specific cancers, such as thyroid cancer, spiraling since the last edition. (Aug.)

The history of two influential record labels.

Fox first made his case for Cincinnati-based King Records as “the most important record company in the United States between the years of 1945 and 1960” in a series of public radio documentaries in 1986; those original interviews are an important foundation of this history, with much supplementary research added. There's much to be said for the label's legacy: in addition to introducing James Brown to listeners, King had stars in several popular genres, pioneered the introduction of R&B songs to the country music repertoire before Sam Phillips at Sun and may even have released the first rock and roll record (Wynonie Harris's “Good Rockin' Tonight”) in 1948. Unfortunately, though loaded with great stories, Fox has some difficulty getting into gear. Instead of telling a straight chronological account, he organizes the King story around personalities, beginning with the company's founder, Syd Nathan; each subject's history is then tracked forward past their King years, forcing Fox to continually circle back and pick things up again. Some repetition creeps in—a story about how much Nathan hated Brown's first single is told on three separate occasions. Still, his account gives us a much needed glimpse of an underappreciated pop culture institution. 23 photos. (Oct.)

Freelance reporter Cook and Merge cofounders McCaughan and Ballance trace the history of the North Carolina–based record label that started in a bedroom and now releases some of indie rock's biggest names. The story is composed as a book-long conversation between McCaughan and Ballance (also founding members of Superchunk, hailed as the next Nirvana in the 1990s and one of Merge's first major hits) and myriad other voices from the music industry. Started in 1989 in Chapel Hill, Merge always put music and musicians first, with McCaughan and Ballance hand-stuffing the label's first seven-inch releases and eschewing contracts in an effort to keep things friendly. In a prime example of its dedication to artistic vision over pure profit, Merge took a gamble on Stephin Merritt and Magnetic Fields's ambitious three-disc opus, 69 Love Songs, when any major label would have balked. That record made numerous top 10 lists in 1999 and has sold more than 150,000 copies. While some of the label's artists may be beyond the scope of the casual music fan, bands like Magnetic Fields, Spoon and Arcade Fire demonstrate how vital Merge is to the indie rock landscape. (Sept. 15)