Web Exclusive Reviews: Week of 12/10

-- Publishers Weekly, 12/10/2007

NONFICTION

The Death of the Critic
Rónán McDonald. Continuum, $21.95 (224p) ISBN 9780826492791
McDonald argues that crowing blog-based citizen opinionistas, triumphant over shrinking print media coverage of books are simply kicking a dead horse; the lit critic, it seems, was killed already by the an out-of-control sense of cultural relativism, which has over the 20th century wormed its way into literature programs, engendering artistic and aesthetic relativism. McDonald contends that the idea of artistic expression’s equanimity, and the subsequent equanimity of opinion regarding that expression, has marginalized the important and difficult work of honestly evaluating artistic worth. Emphasizing literature, his specialty, McDonald illustrates how trendy efforts to make art more scientific, more academic or more cultural ultimately undermine its role as art, making it more difficult (if not impossible) to consider with the language of art. McDonald illustrates how specific movements—including romanticism, fin-de-siecle and radical aesthetic individualism—have obscured and in some cases removed entirely those traditional standards of value. A daring, but fitting, comparison between aesthetics and ethics shows how standards may be relative but are never irrelevant; McDonald’s cogent, largely convincing attempt to pin the critic’s murder on relativism is sure to raise eyebrows among academics, though it doesn’t do much to instill hope of the critic’s resurrection. (Dec.)

Ex Mex: From Migrants to Immigrants
Jorge G. Castañeda. New Press, $25.95 (240p) ISBN 9781595581631
Mexico’s foreign minister from 2000 to 2003, now a political science professor at New York University, delivers a timely consideration of the complex contemporary relationship between Mexico and the United States. Going beyond the importance of undocumented workers to the American economy, Castañeda (Compañero: The Life and Death of Che Guevara) tackles the effects of migration on Mexico, as well as root causes such as multiple, destabilizing financial crises and the exacerbating influence of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A member of President Vincente Fox’s administration, Castaneda goes inside the bold reformer’s attempts to improve the lot of his people, including the ups and downs of negotiations with an enthusiastic, freshly elected Bush administration. Honest about both progress and setbacks—occasionally belying official reports—Castañeda considers the larger issues ignored by the White House’s more recent anti-immigration rhetoric and 2006’s “hateful Secure Fence Act,” which calls for 700 miles of fencing along the border. The structure may make Castañeda’s argument difficult to reference (though an index helps, chapters lack titles or headed sections), but his authoritative primer contends convincingly that all the “barriers, checkpoints, and lighting” in the world will solve nothing. (Dec.)

A Force of Nature: The Frontier Genius of Ernest Rutherford
Richard Reeves. Atlas/Norton, $23.95 (160p) ISBN 9780393057508
In the latest installment of Norton’s Great Discoveries science-history series, historian Reeves re-introduces Ernest Rutherford, one of the founding geniuses of nuclear physics. Although less well known today, Rutherford was as famous in his lifetime as Einstein became, and his work is equally important to atomic and particle physics. He and his students performed the experiments which resulted in the discovery of the nucleus and structure of the atom, and he counted Niels Bohr as one of his students. Born on the remote New Zealand frontier, Ernest’s brilliance showed early, and scholarships led him to study with J. J. Thomson at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University. He changed his focus from electromagnetism to the more mysterious field of radioactivity and, through a combination of brilliant insight and indefatigable effort, made fundamental discoveries that earned him a Nobel Prize in 1908 and a powerful influence over nuclear physics until his death in 1937. While short, this biography does an outstanding job of capturing the excitement and almost breathless pace of physics research in the 20th century’s first four decades; for those who want to read more, Reeves provides ample endnotes for each chapter. (Dec.)

Invitation to Terror: The Expanding Empire of the Unknown
Frank Furedi. Continuum, $24.95 (240p) ISBN 9780826499578
Author and University of Kent sociologist Furedi (Culture of Fear Revisited) stakes out a bold position in this exploration of the War on Terror—in particular, its “self-fulfilling prophecy” effect, inspiring fear and passivity regardless of the actual danger. The only thing new about the “new terrorism,” Furedi claims, is the perception that it’s any more sophisticated or effective than it used to be. Citing the resilience of populations who coped with attacks far beyond the capabilities of today’s terrorists—such as the Nazi blitz and the Allied bombings of Hamburg and Hiroshima—Furedi argues convincingly that “terrorism cannot seriously threaten the integrity of society nor undermine the way of life of a nation.” Though the British and American governments do have that power, Furedi contends that the War on Terror is less a deliberate effort to cow or manipulate than it is a sincere but wrong-headed attempt to mobilize popular support—rooted in fact and genuine concern—by leaders who don’t understand that “society can absorb occasional acts of terror,” but becomes disoriented and demoralized living in a protracted state of fear. Referencing hundreds of independent studies, government reports and media commentary, Furedi contributes an insightful argument for a realistic, level-headed and self-aware approach to the problem of terrorism. (Dec.)

The Jinn from Hyperspace: And Other Scribblings—Both Serious and Whimsical
Martin Gardner. Prometheus, $25.95 (270p) ISBN 9781591025658
Best known for writing Scientific American’s “Mathematical Games” column for more than 25 years, Gardner is less well known for his books and essays in other publications. This collection, brimming with charm and wit, includes a fascinating range of articles originally published in such journals as Math Horizons, The Skeptical Inquirer and The New Criterion, as well as in Gardner’s past books. The title story is a confabulation of satire, homage and mathematical puzzle that encapsulates the many themes and variations of this far-reaching book. Part one, “Science, Math and Baloney,” is devoted to the uses and abuses of science and mathematics, including critiques of false memory syndrome, artificial intelligence research and zero point energy. Part two consists of five chapters on G. K. Chesterton and “The Night Before Christmas,” while parts three and four are devoted to L. Frank Baum and Lewis Carroll, respectively. Though readers might be put off by the breadth of subject matter, or wonder why a “serious” mathematical writer might trouble himself with The Wizard of Oz, Gardner fully validates all his interests with lively prose, appropriate humor and umbrage where needed. (Nov.)

Mazel Tov: Celebrities’ Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories
Jill Rappaport. Simon & Schuster, $25 (176p) ISBN 9780743287876
“I didn’t earn a living. I lived with other people. I shared a room. So how does this make me a man, I ask you?” So queries comedian Howie Mandel in a typically wry moment from this collection of Bar Mitzvah stories. Whether it’s Henry Winkler, Jeremy Piven or Marlee Matlin looking back on their Jewish coming-of-age rituals, the tone is of fond irreverence and gentle skepticism, a note with which many contemporary American Hebrews should relate. Rappaport, a correspondent on NBC’s Today show, stretches the definition of “celebrity” to include her boss Jeffrey Zucker (NBC Universal Television Group president) and Ruth Bell, inventor of the “Bark Mitzvah” for dogs, but all the interviews are full of personality and heart. The introductions attached to each interview, however, are uniformly lazy: “2007 marks [Larry] King’s fiftieth year in broadcasting. His broadcasting career began in 1957.” Rappaport also fails to explain some particulars, like the difference between a Confirmation and Bar Mitzvah (some, like Richard Dreyfus, chose to have the former and not the latter). Still, this amusing volume offers some knowing laughs for American Jews, along with delicious insights into some of America’s most loved members of the tribe. Photos. (Dec.)

Murdered by Mumia: A Life Sentence of Loss, Pain, and Injustice
Maureen Faulkner and Michael A. Smerconish. Lyons, $24.95 (368p) ISBN 9781599213767
In this moving if ultimately unsuccessful memoir, Faulkner continues her fight for the execution of Mumia Abu-Jamal, the man convicted for the 1981 killing of her husband, police officer Danny Faulkner. On the strength of eyewitness testimony, ballistics tests and his own confession at the hospital following the shooting, former Black Panther Abu-Jamal was convicted in 1982 of first-degree murder and has spent 25 years on death row in Pennsylvania. Faulkner details not only her struggle to come to terms with losing her husband at age 25 but also her attempts to counteract the support Abu-Jamal’s claim of racial injustice has generated in left-wing circles across the United States and abroad. Faulkner is a staunch defender of the death penalty, especially in cases involving police casualties. She traces Abu-Jamal’s numerous appeals, including the latest, currently in the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, over whether or not a Pennsylvania judge’s overturning of the death sentence is grounds for a retrial. Though Faulkner’s determined struggle is compelling, her memoir (co-authored by Smerconish, a lawyer and Philadelphia columnist and radio host, and an advisor to Faulkner) awkwardly attempts to combine personal reflections with an examination of the case’s legal and political details. This muddled account unfortunately doesn’t do justice to an issue that deserves a close look. (Dec.)

The Next Rodeo: New and Selected Essays
William Kittredge. Graywolf, $15 paper (256p) ISBN 9781555974794
The American West writing of author Kittredge (The Willow Field), who grew up on a cattle ranch in Oregon and has lived and worked for three decades in Montana, is known for its honesty and reverence. In this collection of essays, many of which appeared in 2002’s Owning It All, Kittredge examines the region’s character and contradictions. Describing his personal history with the land, Kittredge considers the area’s draw for himself and those who arrived before him, 19th century travelers lured by promises of “[f]ree land, crystalline water, great herds of game… [and] gold, all in unfettered abundance.” A former creative writing professor, Kittredge has a knack for the poetic, and isn’t above putting a mythical sheen on an otherwise skillful and sincere assessment of the alternately challenging and comforting place he calls home. In pieces such as “How to Love This World,” “Lost Cowboys” and “The Next Rodeo,” for example, he speaks of the joys of wandering slow and easy; elsewhere, he worries over a present in which the “devastation of the interwoven system of life” is already under way. The reclamation of hope, responsibility and wisdom—the ongoing process of “redefining what we take to be sacred”—is the driving force behind these effective, at times profound reflections. (Nov.)

Notes from a Classroom: Reflections on Teaching
Kay McSpadden. Stampley, $22.95 (336p) ISBN 9781580871310
The latest in a recent spat of from-the-trenches teacher memoirs, this one is notable for McSpadden’s clear-eyed understanding of teenagers, and her compassion for the underprivileged students she works with everyday. A collection of McSpadden’s biweekly columns in The Charlotte Observer, these 70-some pieces share a knack for the well-observed detail, be it the “sadness” of a young man reciting a Sara Teasdale poem that quiets a “class of wriggly sophomores,” or the startling significance of a student’s note, placed among a student exhibit of photos they took of their homes, reading “We don’t got a camera. Sorry.” Though it suffers when McSpadden’s attention turns away from her classroom to other, more sentimental topics, and the brevity of unexpanded newspaper columns can wear thin when reading straight through, most of these snappy lessons feature plenty of hard-earned wisdom, gentle humor and memorable student portraits. (Nov.)

Secret Ingredients: The New Yorker Book of Food and Drink
Edited by David Remnick. Random House, $29.95 (608p) ISBN 9781400065479
This volume of food writing from the New Yorker proves again that famous weekly’s reputation for literary and journalistic excellence. An anthology of reporting both recent and vintage, this book takes readers from the oyster beds of Long Island to the bistros of Paris, from artisanal tofu joints in Japan to a Miami restaurant serving Basque food to homesick Cubans. Along the way, lucky readers get to travel to fun food towns like San Francisco and New York, drink martinis with Roger Angell, make fun of menus with Steve Martin and reminisce about Julia Child’s winsome public television series. A particularly wonderful profile introduces a wild-foods forager capable of making a ten course meal from ingredients in the field near his house; he and the author dine on cattails and watercress while canoeing through an icy November river. Another winning profile explores the life and times of a cheese-making nun with a Ph.D. in microbiology. But perhaps the greatest pleasure here is the gorgeous prose of masters like M.F.K. Fisher and A.J. Liebling. Liebling, in particular, knows how to turn meals into stories; though he wrote of Paris before the war, his descriptions are so immediate and enticing a reader wants to run out and buy the first plane ticket to France. (Nov.)

Sex and Isolation: And Other Essays
Bruce Benderson. Univ. of Wis., $55 (208p) ISBN 9780299223144; $24.95 paper 9780299223144
In this slim volume of 10 essays, author, journalist and translator Benderson (The Romanian: Story of an Obsession) addresses a range of issues including passion and devotion, death and disease, art and the internet. Pieces such as “The Spider Woman’s Mother” and “The Not-So-Secret Life of Consuela Cosmetic” profile unique individuals: the former introduces Argentine novelist Manuel Puig, author of The Kiss of the Spider Woman; the latter centers on a “moment of reckoning” for a transsexual dying of AIDS. Focusing on the universal qualities of the obscure and overlooked, Benderson highlights the essential humanity of his subjects, an approach that’s just shy of challenging, and should jar readers into relating to and reconsidering “the other.” The author, who divides his time between New York City and Paris, also includes more personal work, such as his fascination with Times Square before it became “a theme park for tourists”; delving into his experiences there in the mid-1980s, Benderson hangs out with male prostitutes, courts ex-cons, “financially support[s] a throwaway child” and experiments with drugs. These and other details help make Benderson’s essays as vital as they are stubbornly honest. (Dec.)

A Stubbornly Persistent Illusion: The Essential Scientific Works of Albert Einstein
Edited and with commentary by Stephen Hawking. Running, $29.95 (468p) ISBN 9780762430031
It’s hard to imagine a better guide to the work of Albert Einstein than Hawking, one of the world’s most renowned physicists and popular science writers, whose own A Brief History of Time has sold over nine million copies. Though there are plenty of popular books about Einstein’s theories, Hawking is right when he insists that the “most lucid, not to mention entertaining proponent of Einstein’s ideas has always been Einstein himself.” Even those with a minimal background in math and science will come away with a keen understanding of the towering genius and his transformative work on the nature of space, time and light. Included are Einstein’s seminal papers on special and general relativity, and his 1916 Relativity, the Special and General Theory, which explains the theory in simple, straightforward terms accessible to any high-school graduate with a knowledge of basic algebra. Einstein’s pioneering work in modern quantum theory, from his 1905 discovery of photons to his later, critical opinions of the generally accepted quantum theory (in excerpts from his 1950 book Out of My Later Years), is also considered. Hawking adds a brief but effective introduction to each section, making this gem of a collection really shine. (Dec.)

Virtue, Valor, & Vanity: The Founding Fathers and the Pursuit of Fame
Eric Burns. Arcade, $26.99 (256p) ISBN 9781559708586
Historian and Fox News TV host Burns (Infamous Scribblers) opens his second study of Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton and Henry with a study of ancient Rome and perhaps the founding fathers’ greatest influence, the orator, essayist, “public official and public nuisance” Cicero, who “worked at renown” and got it. While each man had his reasons and motivations, all of the founding fathers sought fame for themselves as much as they sought “a nation that would provide the greatest good and the most opportunity for as many of its citizens as possible.” Burns provides personal profiles of each in the service of this thesis: Hamilton, beginning from humble roots, had a sharp temper that led to his early demise; Adams was insecure; Franklin was the problem solver and the “first true American celebrity”; Washington was even-handed and well-respected; and Jefferson was “the most famous of the group not to know what to make of his fame.” Discussion of each personality with respect to ambition, vanity, modesty, jealousy, image and myth will capture the imagination of most any history buff, but will leave the casual reader with scatter-shot impressions. (Nov.)

LIFESTYLE

The Cornbread Gospels
Crescent Dragonwagon. Workman, $14.95 paper (392p) ISBN 9780761119166
This surprising, eccentric volume is full of curious anecdotes, history and cornbread lore, from tales of the Native Americans teaching Pilgrims to make cornbread, to stories of slaves living on little but “ash cakes,” corn patties baked in the ashes of a fire. Most intriguing (and delicious) are the recipes themselves, which span the globe to find the happy taste of cornmeal in dozens of novel incarnations. Vermont Maple-Sweetened Cornbread is a classic, a medium-sweet skilletful of steaming yellow bread that makes a wonderful companion to baked beans or a mellow soup. Savory Onion-Scallion Corn Cakes are a spicy variation on the theme, livened up with a fresh green chile. Many recipes are for cornbread accompaniments, like a Golden Gazpacho that turns garden vegetables and lots of corn into an all-American version of the Spanish soup, and Patsy’s Cornbread Salad, which mixes chunks of tomato, bacon and onion with cornbread for a Southern take on the Italian bread salad called panzanella. The most exciting corn-themed dishes come from less expected places: the labor-intensive but phenomenally flavorful Sancocho is a South American stew, and African Vegetable Mafe is dense with peanut butter and sauteed vegetables, perfect for sopping up. (Nov.)

How’s Your Drink?: Cocktails, Culture, and the Art of Drinking Well
Eric Felten. Surrey, $20 (200p) ISBN 9781572840898
With authority and just a hint of snobbery, Wall Street Journal columnist Felten indulges the dedicated drinker with this unwavering, well-informed appreciation of the “secular communion” of a good drink. Chock-full of obscure and fascinating anecdotes, Felten’s guide covers cocktail history, culture and craft, featuring appearances by the likes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ernest Hemingway (who “ranked ‘dry’ martini drinking somewhere between bullfighting and big-game hunting in his hierarchy of the manly arts”), Queen Elizabeth II and James Bond, along with a long list of notable bartenders and drink experts. Felten seamlessly interweaves drink recipes with their respective histories, detailing for instance the “culture wars” over the Bronx’s paternity before divulging instructions for this near-forgotten gem, “robust enough to have spawned a slew of other solid cocktails” like the Income Tax Cocktail, the Maurice and the Smiler. Felden’s wry, almost lyrical writing style is quickly absorbing, like bellying up next to a funny, friendly, knowledgeable career drinker. Quoting the New York Times, Felten asserts that “we should know mixed drinks if we care to be thought cultured”; if that’s so, this fun read should turn any unrefined boozehound into a class act. (Dec.)

ILLUSTRATED

Lucian Freud
William Feaver. Rizzoli, $135 (488p) ISBN 9780847829521
This testament to the massive oeuvre of one of Europe’s most celebrated painters begins with an illuminating biographical sketch by Feaver (former art critic for the Observer) that depicts Freud’s journey from favorite son to mediocre student, reveling womanizer to husband and father. Readers looking for a window into Freud’s remarkable method and vision will benefit from the extensive quotes in this section, as well as the four interviews provided. The paintings themselves, richly reproduced, are intense portraits featuring a dark conflict between stark realism and profound emotional pull; his figures, usually nude, capture the vacancy and impact of death in their alarmingly static expressions. Freud’s self-taught skill and precision are evident on every page in his careful, heavy brushstrokes (he often cleaned the brush after each stroke) and representational precision. Coming into fruition in the era of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism, Freud emerged, amazingly, as a figurative painter in the most traditional sense: “Expressionism is a translation from what is in life,” Freud said, “Expressionism is exaggerated.” In light of the stunning work displayed here, his negative opinion of the genre is earned. A necessity for art scholars and an absolute pleasure for the novice, this gorgeous collection of Freud’s discomforting work is perfectly fitting in scope and heft. (Nov.)

The Tao of Seduction: Erotic Secrets from Ancient China
Lin Liao Yi. Abrams, $40 (200p) ISBN 9780810994430
Yi’s translation of the oldest existing treatises on human sexuality—some of the texts date as far back as 453 B.C.—receives a fittingly lush treatment in this impressive Taoist guide to sexual health and well-being. Though the passages are brief, much of the ancient advice is as relevant today as it was centuries ago. Readers may be pleasantly surprised by how much attention is paid to pleasing both partners, as well as the book’s sophisticated guide to positions and techniques. Emphasizing a holistic approach and the acquisition of proper balance, much focus is put on breathing, sleep and a proper diet. Yi does a fine job of letting the material speak for itself, choosing to comment only when it’s necessary to clarify or expand upon a given passage. Supplemented with elegant color illustrations of courtship and lovemaking from the 16th to 19th centuries and a selection of recipes to alleviate symptoms as varied as fatigue, digestion and (of course) impotence, this thoughtful, elegant treatment should delight those interested in Chinese art, medicine and philosophy. (Nov.)

FICTION

The Dragons of the Storm
George Robert Minkoff. McPherson, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 9780929701813
In the second volume of Minkoff’s trilogy, he continues detailing the tumultuous founding of the Virginia colony. Using the same metaphor-laden Elizabethan language of the first volume, he begins awkwardly with an old mariner recounting his years serving under two masters, Sir Francis Drake and Captain John Smith. Drake’s story of Pacific exploration (seeking shorter trade routes for Queen Elizabeth) dominates the narrative with tales of even-handed interaction with natives, numerous enemy Spanish ships and traitorous ship hands. His successes contrast with Smith’s tale, in which he faces off against his own men, the wily Chief Powhatan and other natives, as well as with fresh boatloads of British immigrants with high expectations for their new lives and low opinions of Smith. Antiquarian book dealer Minkoff saddles his characters with ornate speech (“I will hold the story to its wrist, while other flap words”) that more often obfuscates than elucidates, making this rambling tale all the more laborious. (Nov.)

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