Summer Reading 2010
Happy Summer Reading from your friends at Village Books!! Once again we offer this guide to all the books you'll want to be reading this summer - from the beach to the mountains, or even in your own backyard. Whether its fiction, non-fiction, or mystery you love, we have the latest from your favorite authors, plus a few new ones you won't want to miss. All the reviews are by Katie, unless otherwise noted, so read on and enjoy. You can visit our website, www.palivillagebooks.com, before you leave town, or from wherever you travel this summer, and click on “order a book” when you want to make an online purchase! And don't forget to check out our Summer Reading table and binder to find all of your child’s summer reading books. Have a safe, happy and healthy summer and THANK YOU for supporting Village Books, your neighborhood bookstore, for thirteen (on July 4!) amazing and wonderful years!!
Hardcover Fiction
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, by Stieg Larrson (Knopf, May 2010, $27.95). The long-awaited conclusion to the trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire). When we last saw Lisbeth Salander, she was teetering between life and death. After being rescued by journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she is in a Swedish hospital, slowly mending and awaiting trial for three murders she didn’t commit. Meanwhile, her father, a former Soviet spy, is down the hall, recovering from the injuries he sustained when Lisbeth stuck an ax in his head. Blomkvist sets out to prove her innocence, but to do so he must expose a decades-old conspiracy within the Swedish secret service. “She (Lisbeth) spends more than half of this novel in a hospital bed, but orchestrating the action from her Palm computer, she dominates the stage like Lear. There are few characters as formidable as Lisbeth Salander in contemporary fiction of any kind. She will be sorely missed.” Booklist (3/15/2010) We couldn’t agree more.
The Imperfectionists, by Tom Rachman (Dial, April 2010, $25). At the Café Greco in Rome, circa 1953, Atlanta financier Cyrus Ott makes an offer that can’t be refused. He will establish an international English-language newspaper to be run in Italy by Betty, the woman he once loved, and her husband, Leo, a hack writer for a Chicago daily. Within the building’s walls, an entire history of the print news business plays out over a 50-year span as writers, editors, and accountants grow in professional stature, squander their reputations, and fade into obsolescence. While the newspaper is its unifying factor, the narrative’s heart beats with the people who work there. Rachman, who is a former editor for the Paris branch of the International Herald Tribune, has a remarkable ability to create a diverse group of fully formed characters. This book has been getting rave reviews, and as the Library Journal review says, “Buy it, read it, talk it up.”
Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende (Harper, May 2010, $26.99). The timing couldn’t be better for this historical novel that follows a slave/concubine from Haiti during the slave uprisings to New Orleans in time for the Louisiana Purchase. Zarit’, called T’t’, is born into slavery in the colony of Saint-Domigue, where enslaved Africans are worked to death by the thousands, and European men prey on women of color. So it is with T’t’ and her master, the deeply conflicted plantation owner Toulouse Valmorain, who relies on her for everything from coerced sex to caring for his demented first wife, his legitimate son, and their off-the-record daughter. When the slave rising erupts, Toulouse, T’t’ and the children flee to Cuba, and then to New Orleans. Spanning four decades, this is the moving story of the intertwined lives of T’t’ and Valmorain, and of one woman’s determination to find love amid loss, and to forge her own identity in the cruelest of circumstances. Allende is the beloved South American author of eight novels including Daughter of Fortune and Portrait in Sepia and three memoirs, including Paula and My Invented Country.
The Long Song, by Andrea Levy (FS&G, April 2010, $26). A British writer of Jamaican descent (author of Orange Prize and Whitbread Book of the Year, Small Island), Levy draws upon history to recall Jamaica’s slave rebellion of 1832 and covers the last years of slavery and its long, miserable aftermath. At the heart of the story is a woman called July, born as the result of a rape of a field slave and taken as a house slave when she is eight years old and trained to be the housemaid, chief aide and ultimately confidante to her English mistress. The narrative encompasses scenes of shocking brutality and mass carnage, but also humor. Levy’s satiric eye registers the venomous racism of the white characters and is equally candid in relating the degrees of social snobbery around skin color among the blacks themselves, July included. “This is a subtly observed, beautifully written, structurally complex novel – an impressive follow-up to Small Island.” Kirkus Review (3/15/2010)
The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall (Norton, May 2010, $26.95). Kirkus Reviews says “Fans of the HBO series 'Big Love' will be pleased to see an alternate take on the multi-household problem, and lovers of good writing will find this a pleasure, period.” Udall (The Secret Life of Edgar Mint) presents existentially perplexed polygamist Golden Richards, age 48, who has four demanding wives, 28 children, a struggling construction business and more than a few secrets. Udall layers on real history with the tragedy of atomic testing in the Southwestern deserts of old, and imagined tragedy with some of the unexpected losses Golden must endure. Polished storytelling and a cast of perfectly realized and flawed characters make this a lively, humorous and sometimes tragic read.
My Hollywood, by Mona Simpson (Knopf, Aug 3, 2010, $26.95). The contemporary Hollywood version of The Help. Simpson’s first novel in ten years (Anywhere But Here, A Regular Guy) tells the story of two women whose lives entwine and unfold behind the glittery surface of Hollywood. Claire, a composer and new mother, comes to LA so her husband can follow his passion for writing television comedy, but suddenly the genuine 50/50 marriage changes, with Paul working long hours and Claire left at home with the baby. Enter Lola, a 52 year old mother of five who is working in America to pay for her own children’s education back in the Philippines and becomes their nanny. Lola stabilizes the rocky household and soon other parents try to lure her away. We also meet Lola’s vast network of caregivers, each with her own story to tell. We see the upstairs competition for the best nanny and the downstairs competition for the best deal, and the strain put on the contemporary marriages (both here and in the Phillipines). Bound to be a bookclub favorite.
Not Untrue and Not Unkind, by Ed O’Loughlin (Overlook, June 10, 2010, $26.95). Irish journalist Owen Simmons is back at his newspaper in Dublin, comfortably doing as little work as possible, when he happens upon a photograph of himself taken when he was a foreign correspondent in Africa in the wake of the Rwandan genocide. The photo inspires an extended flashback that makes up the bulk of this polished first novel, which was long-listed for the Booker Prize. The story also raises the harsh ethical argument about whether war correspondents should help the people they are covering…he shows the horrors of war juxtaposed with the correspondents rushing back to their comfortable hotels to file their stories and get on to dinner, drinks and trading rumors. O’Loughlin covered Africa for The Irish Times, and vividly re-creates the life of a foreign correspondent.
Parrot & Olivier in America, by Peter Carey (Knopf, April 2010, $26.95). Two time Booker Prize winner Carey presents a brilliant and sly variation on the French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville, author of Democracy in America. High-strung, smart and snobbish, Olivier is sent to America by his parents, who barely avoided the guillotine during the French Revolution, to escape the reignited Terror. A long-suffering Englishman called Parrot, the orphaned son of a printer, is charged with protecting Olivier, but he has other concerns, especially a painter name Mathilde. Fastidious yet observant Olivier and shrewd and articulate Parrot take turns telling their astonishing stories in an adventure spiked with both personal and societal revelations.
Private Life, by Jane Smiley (Knopf, May 2010, $ 26.95). The Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Thousand Acres, offers a cold-eyed view of the compromises required by marriage while also providing an intimate portrait of life in the Midwest and West during the years 1883-1942. Margaret Mayfield is rescued from old maid status by Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early, a naval officer and astronomer who is considered to be a genius and a little odd. By the time they make their way by train to their new life in California, the reader understands that Captain Early is actually somewhat crazy in his obsessions, a conclusion that Margaret herself is slow to draw. The novel deals in intimate matters, but also has an epic sweep, moving from Missouri in the 1880s to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, up to the Japanese internment camps of WWII. The scenes from Margaret’s Missouri childhood are reminiscent of Willa Cather, and Smiley’s subtle and thoughtful portrayal of a quiet woman’s inner strength will appeal to fans of Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead and Home.
The Pregnant Widow, by Martin Amis (Knopf, May 2010, $26.95).Warning, I think you have to be at least 50 to really enjoy this book. I laughed out loud numerous times, beginning on page one. The protagonist, Keith Nearing, who is now in his late 50’s, looks back to his 20th summer in Italy with a small group of friends, including his on-again, off-again girlfriend Lily and her gorgeous, voluptuous girlfriend Scheherazade (what a name!). This is a farcical tale of a summer of love in which the women have all of the power but don’t know what to do with it. That summer Keith is reading British fiction, (Clarissa, Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre) as he tries to figure out the new rules of the world around him (he frequently thinks to himself “Where on earth were the police!” - for example, when Scheherazade nonchalantly takes off her bikini top at the pool). Most of the story takes place in the 70’s but it is interspersed with middleaged Keith’s ruminations on life. Booklist summarizes it beautifully “Amid droll banter and hilariously raunchy episodes, immensely gifted and piquantly mercurial Amis ponders, in passages of surpassing eloquence, beauty, time, self, deception, the winepress of death, and the abiding light of literature, deepening the valence of this charmingly provocative and philosophical comedy of desire.”
To the Beach… with Hardcover Thrillers and Romance!
Dead in the Family, by Charlaine Harris (Ace, May 2010, $25.95). The bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series – the basis for HBO’s True Blood series, continues! The tenth installment finds the telepathic barmaid in Bon Temps, Louisiana, recovering slowly from the near-fatal injuries she incurred during the recent Fae War. “…the exploration of family in its many human and undead variations is intriguing, and Harris delivers her usual mix of eccentric characters and engaging subplots.” Publishers Weekly, 3/15/2010.
Heart of the Matter, by Emily Giffin (St. Martins, May 2010, $26.99). Giffen, author of Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof, tackles the subject of infidelity in a novel told in alternating chapters by the wronged wife and the other woman. Nick Russo is a pediatric plastic surgeon; his wife, Tessa (sister of Dex from Something Borrowed), is a professor turned stay-at-home mom living a cushy life in Boston. Nick is called in to care for a six-year old burn victim and finds himself attracted to the boy’s mother, Valerie, a single-mom attorney. The premise is a familiar one, but Giffin makes it fresh by getting into the minds of both women, and making both sympathetic, fleshed-out characters.
Innocent, by Scott Turow (Grand Central, May 2010, $27.99). The sequel to the genre-defining, landmark bestseller Presumed Innocent, which continues the story of Rusty Sabich and Tommy Molto who are, 20 years later, once again pitted against each other in a riveting psychological match. Sabich is now a chief appellate judge and is again suspected of murder. His old nemesis, acting prosecuting attorney Tommy Molto, and his chief deputy quietly start building a case, convinced that Sabich is trying to get away with murder.. again!
Point Dume, by Katie Arnoldi (Overlook Press, May 2010, $24.95). After writing about women bodybuilders (Chemical Pink) and rich Angelenos (The Wentworths), Arnoldi now turns her attention to the aging surfer community, Mexican drug cartels, and more dysfunctional rich people. All of the author’s trademarks are present: kinky sex, drugs, and multiple points of view. As the characters problems deepen and their lives converge, a massive wildfire sweeps through the mountains, altering everything. A totally L.A. page turner!
A Question of Belief, by Donna Leon (Atlantic Monthly Press, May 2010, $24). Leon’s many fans love this series for the Venice, Italy setting, complex family dynamics and Commissario Guido Brunetti’s mix of melancholy and compassion. In this 19th installment, Brunetti must contend with corruption, bureaucratic intransigence, and the stifling heat of a Venetian summer. “As one good man who still believes in the rule of law despite his disgust at Italy’s mounting corruption, Brunetti allows readers to share his belief that decency and honesty can, for a little while, stave off the angst of the modern world.” Publishers Weekly, 3/01/2010.
61 Hours, by Lee Child (Delacorte, May 2010, $28). In Child’s 14th thriller to feature the roving ex-military cop Jack Reacher finds Reacher bumming a ride on a tour bus. When the bus skids off the road and crashes, Reacher finds himself in Bolton, South Dakota, a tiny burg with big problems. A highly sophisticated methamphetamine lab run by a vicious Mexican drug cartel has begun operating outside town at an abandoned military facility. After figuring out how smart and capable Reacher is, the helpless local cops enlist his assistance, and, as always, he displays plenty of derring do, mental acuity, and good old fashioned decency. Fast paced and exciting!
Spies of the Balkans, by Alan Furst (Random, June 15, 2010, $26). Furst, the master of European spy fiction, presents his 11th novel, which covers the six months between October 1940 and April 1941, when German troops occupied Athens, and is set mostly in the port city of Salonika, an embarkation point for neutral Turkey. The protagonist, Senior police official Costa Zannis, is “calm yet passionate in his lusty body and loyal soul”. “…Furst has perfected a historical espionage genre that illuminates an ordinary man whom fate has picked for quiet heroism. Furst fans will argue about their favorite books, but the Balkan twists and turns in this masterly triumph of plotting, history, and character development will be a hit this summer.” Library Journal, 5/15/2010.
The Spy, by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott (Putnam, June 2010, $27.95). Cussler made a name for himself nearly 30 years ago with the Dirk Pitt thrillers, and lately has been working with a variety of co-authors. He wrote the second Isaac Bell thriller, The Wrecker, with Scott, which followed The Chase. Bell, the private investigator who bears more than a passing resemblance to Sherlock Holmes, is called in to consult on a case involving the apparent suicide of a top designer of military weapons. The dead man’s daughter suspects foul play, and soon Bell is convinced she is right, but can he unmask the villains and keep himself alive? This is rich in character, period detail (1908) and suspense.
Star Island, by Carl Hiaasen (Knopf, July 27, 2010, $26.95). Hooray! Hiaasen’s back!! Meet 22 year old Cherry Pye, a pop star since she was fourteen – and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double”, Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed” to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott. The challenge for Cherry’s “handlers” is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public (and from Cherry!). A hilarious spin on life in the celebrity fast lane.
This Body of Death: An Inspector Lynley Novel, by Elizabeth George (Harper, May 2010, $28.99). Who can resist Inspector Lynley? (not me!). On compassionate leave after the murder of this wife, Lynley is called back to Scotland Yard when the body of a woman is found stabbed and abandoned in an isolated London cemetery. His former team (including the wonderful Barbara Havers) doesn’t trust the leadership of their new department chief, Isabelle Ardery, whose management style seems to rub everyone the wrong way. In fact, Lynley may be the sole person who can see beneath his superior officer’s hard-as-nails exterior. While Lynley works in London, Havers and Winston Nkata follow the murder trail south to the New Forest. There they discover a beautiful and strange place where animals roam free, the long-lost art of thatching is very much alive, and outsiders are not entirely welcome. What they don’t know is that more than one dark secret lurks among the trees, and that their investigation will lead them to a tragic and shocking outcome!
Paperback Fiction
The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Anchor, May 2010, $15.95). Zafon’s new book is somewhat of a prequel to Shadow of the Wind. Both books are an ode to the city of Barcelona, Spain (the new paperback edition of Shadow includes a walking tour of the city entitled "A Walk in the Footsteps of the Shadow of the Wind.") I fell crazily in love with Shadow when I first read it – how could I not love a book that opens with the widowed bookseller taking his young son to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books! Shadow opens in 1945, after the Spanish Civil War, and is mysterious, funny and has multiple love stories. I re-read it after reading The Angel’s Game, and it was even better the second time! The Angel’s Game opens in1917 and has many overlapping characters, including the bookseller’s son, who is the widowed bookseller in Shadow! The Cemetery of Forgotten Books appears here too. The reader will again enjoy Zafon’s sense of humor and multiple love stories. This book has a more sinister tone – Andreas Corelli may in fact be the devil – and there are lengthy passages ruminating on the meaning of religion and faith – it is again a wonderful read!
Blame, by Michele Huneven (Picador, May 2010, $15). I am a huge fan of Huneven’s writing. Jamesland and Round Rock are both kind of funky, very L.A. stories with themes of alcoholism, integrity and redemption – I particularly loved Jamesland and the story of the James family (as in William James) and she does not disappoint here. The book opens in the 80’s and spans a 20 year period in the life of Patsy MacLemoore, a smart, functioning-alcoholic college professor whose life is turned upside down when she wakes up in the drunk tank of the Altadena sheriff’s department and can’t remember what she has done. Without giving away too much of the plot, she goes to prison and attempts to rebuild and redeem her life. Huneven again turns complicated moral issues into utterly riveting reading. The book is full of interesting characters, and I was actually wondering if they were ok after the heavy rainstorms that threatened the Pasadena/LaCanada area this winter! This book explores complicated issues and is a two thumbs up read… a great choice for bookclubs.
Genesis, by Bernard Beckett (Mariner, May 2010, $10.95). A curious mix of science fiction, Platonic dialogue and Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, this slim novel of big ideas grips the reader in a thrilling combination of action and ideas (and the ending is a mind-blower!). As Connie said in her review “Read it, and then let’s discuss….."
Heart of Lies, by M.L. Malcolm (Harper, June 2010, $13.99). Leo Hoffman was born with a gift for languages. When his dreams for the future are destroyed by WWI, the dashing young Hungarian attempts to use his rare talent to rebuild his life, only to find himself inadvertently embroiled in an international counterfeiting scheme. Full of suspense, adventure and romance across several continents… what more could you ask for!!
No Less Than Victory: A Novel of World War II, by Jeff Shaara (Ballantine, June 2010, $16). A riveting account of the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler’s suicide and the American troop’s discovery of the worst of Hitler’s crimes, the concentration camps, told through the eyes of Eisenhower, Patton and the soldiers who struggled face-to-face with their enemy, as well as Field Marshal, Gerd von Rundstedt, and Hitler’s golden boy, Albert Speer. Fans of military fiction will gobble this up.
Stone’s Fall, by Iain Pears (Spiegel & Grau, June 2010, $16). The author of An Instance at the Fingerpost and Dream of Scipio takes us into the world of international espionage, arms dealing, financial hanky-panky and other pastimes of those without conscience. The story begins with a simple question: did London financier John Stone fall to his death accidentally, or was he murdered? Moving from London in 1909 to Paris in 1890 and then to Venice in 1867, Pears melds first person narratives from a journalist hired to write Stone’s biography, from a banker turned spy who was involved in Stone’s life at several crucial junctures, and from Stone himself. Pears tells a great story, but also gives us a look at the first great age of espionage; a snapshot of how the 20th century arms race was born; and a portrait of 19th century Venice. One of the best historical mysteries in a long time.
Tinkers, by Paul Harding (Belleview Literary Press, 2009, $14.95). The surprise winner of the Pulitzer Prize, spotted early on by our own Jessica who reviewed it months before the prize was awarded as follows: “This is a small gem, a magnificent novel for anyone who appreciates beautiful, insightful, poetic writing. It’s endorsed on the front cover by Marilynne Robinson (Housekeeping, Gilead, Home) and considering the quality of Harding’s writing- that’s appropriate. This is his first novel, and I’m thinking any student he had who read this now fears that they haven’t got a chance!! This is the sort of book that you stop just to look out into space and take it all in. It starts so compellingly with George Washington Crosby dying in his bed in the home he built. Helpless, out of commission, in bed, he feels that the walls he’d built, the floors he’d laid, are all falling apart and down into a vortex now that he’s not in charge. Part of his process is going through his past with his epileptic father, and that father’s father before him. So there are three generations and their related characters (all wonderful) resonating together throughout the book. You’ll want to have this book on your shelf always, and you’ll be giving it as gifts. “A rare and beautiful novel of spiritual inheritance…” (Booklist).
South of Broad, by Pat Conroy (Dial, May 2010, $16). Not my favorite Conroy (Prince of Tides, Beach Music, Lords of Discipline, The Great Santini, My Losing Season), but still a fast paced, fun read by a master storyteller. I’m thinking this book in paperback on the beach will be perfect! There is a huge cast of characters, non-stop action, and it’s a love letter to the city of Charleston, South Carolina. Grab your sunscreen and enjoy!
Sunnyside, by Glen David Gold (Vintage, May 2010, $16.95). “Oh how much do I love and admire this fine, fine novel! I’m breathless… Every paragraph is painstakingly written – years in the making and it shows. Glen David Gold’s previous book is the very well received Carter Beats the Devil. This novel starts out in early Hollywood 1916 with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks – and then gravitates to two WWII fronts, France and Russia. All the plot lines are interwoven so brilliantly and well researched that you’ll stop periodically to put it all together. The novel is funny too, and there are some heartbreaking moments, as well as eye-opening bits of information like what three blue lights in the sky signify during that war. It’s also filled with fascinating information regarding early Hollywood. Read it, read it, READ IT!!” (Jessica’s review).
That Old Cape Magic, by Richard Russo (Vintage, June 2010, $15). I am a huge fan of Russo and was not disappointed here. Unlike Empire Falls and Bridge of Sighs, which cover generations of families and large casts of characters, Russo focuses on Jack Griffin, a 50ish professor, whose life is coming apart at the seams. Most of the story takes place on Cape Cod at two weddings that take place a year apart. In flashbacks, we examine Jack’s childhood and marriage, and Russo is brilliant in his exploration of the deceptive nature of memory. There is an impressive analysis of family dynamics between not only spouses, but also parents, in-laws and children, and a healthy dose of Russo’s signature humor. Russo’s writing is so smooth and clean that you could make the mistake of breezing through it without appreciating the depth of mid-life introspection found within its pages. Don’t miss it!
Hardcover Nonfiction
Crisis Economics: A Crash Course in the Future of Finance, by Nouriel Roubini and Stephen Mihm (Penguin, May 2010, $27.95). Renowned economist Noriel Roubini electrified his profession and the larger financial community by predicting the current crisis well in advance of anyone else. Unlike most in his profession who treat economic disasters as freakish once-in-a-lifetime events without clear cause, Roubini, after decades of careful research around the world, realized that they were both probable and predictable. Professors Roubini and Mihm manage a smooth translation of the dismal economic science, and their challenging yet accessible narrative will reward general readers, many of whom are stunned by recent developments and suddenly full of questions about how our economy works.. and doesn’t.
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, by Daniel Okrent (Scribner, May 2010, $30). Why did Prohibition ever happen? In this brilliantly researched book, Okrent (the first public editor of The New York Times, editor-at-large of Time, Inc., and managing editor of Life magazine) shows how factors including the suffrage movement and anti-German sentiment helped pass the 18th amendment – and how, thanks to “medicinal alcohol” and speakeasies, banning liquor didn’t stop the good times flowing. What it did was raise crime rates and decrease government revenues, leading to its repeal in 1933. (Interesting food for thought as we consider legalizing marijuana….) “Both a rollicking recap of the Roaring ‘20’s and a cautionary tale about how a government’s attempts to legislate and monitor morality are nearly always doomed.” Kirkus Reviews, 02/15/2010.
The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks, by Nicole Laporte (Houghton Mifflin, May 2010, $28). Daily Beast contributor and former Variety reporter LaPorte penetrates the mysterious inner workings of DreamWorks, the entertainment empire founded by media titans David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg. LaPorte marshals an awesome body of research to vividly depict DreamWorks’ confused identity, the personality conflicts and ego clashes that raged behind the company’s friendly, low-key exterior and the staggering sums of money lost and won and outright wasted as the company repeatedly scaled back its grandiose plans to be all media to all people. “This unauthorized chronicle of DreamWorks will no doubt seal LaPortes status as persona non gratis in Hollywood, but readers will love it. Booklist 5/01/2010.
Moment of Glory: The Year Underdogs Ruled Golf, by John Feinstein (Little, Brown, May 2010, $26.99). After winning six of the twelve Majors from 2000-2002, Tiger Woods struggled in 2003. Four unknown players seized the day, rising to become champions in his wake. Mike Weir – considered to be a good but not great golfer – triumphed in The Masters, becoming the first Canadian to win a Major. Jim Furyk emerged victorious in the U.S. Open. In the British Open, Ben Curtis became the only player since Francis Quimet in 1913 to prevail on his first time out, and Shaun Micheel came from nowhere to prevail at the PGA Championship. Feinstein, who has a real gift for writing about sports, chronicles the champions’ ups and downs, giving readers an insider’s look into how victory (and defeat) can change players’ lives.
No Wonder My Parents Drank: Tales From a Stand-Up Dad, by Jay Mohr (S&S, May 2010, $25). The multi-talented Mohr (comedian, actor, sportscaster to name a few) describes, in painfully funny detail, the bizarre situations that all parents inevitably face but can never prepare for, as well as the moments of the pure joy of parenthood. Funny and honest, and the perfect Father’s Day gift!
Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (Free Press, May 2010, $27). Hirsi Ali follows up her highly acclaimed memoir, Infidel, which described her transition from obedient Muslim woman to international feminist, with a closer look at her nomadic journey from Somalia to Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia to Kenya to Holland, and now, to the U.S. Exploring Muslim attitudes on money, sex, and violence, she identifies the public schools, feminist movements, and Christian church as the institutions that can most effectively help Muslim families transition to Western nations. A thought provoking book that is sure to stir debate.
The Rise and Fall of Bear Stearns, by Alan C. Greenberg and Mark Singer (S&S, June 2010, $26). Greenberg, former CEO and chairman of the board of Bear Stearns and vice chairman emeritus of J.P. Morgan Chase, and Singer, staff writer for The New Yorker, chronicle the rise and monumental fall of financial behemoth Bear Stearns in this highly anticipated insider account. From joining the firm in 1949 through the sharp decline of its stock in 2008 to the potential bankruptcy, Greenberg shares not only a company history but the personal story of his journey up the corporate ladder. A candid, fascinating account of a storied career and its stunning conclusion.
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory, by Ben Macintyre (Harmony, May 2010, $25.99). Macintyre (Agent Zigzag) offers a sold and entertaining updating of WWIIs best-known human intelligence operation. In 1943, British intelligence conceived a spectacular con trick to draw German attention away from the Allies’ obvious next objective, Sicily. The bait was a briefcase full of carefully forged documents attached to the wrist of a body floated ashore in neutral Spain. “The author’s chronicle of how the last two intelligence officers lovingly created an entire personality for ‘Major Martin’ makes for priceless reading. Astoundingly, as Winston Churchill noted exultantly, the Nazis swallowed the bait ‘rod, line and sinker’… Mcintyre spins a terrific yarn, full of details gleaned from painstaking detective work.” Kirkus Reviews, 3/01/2010.
War, by Sebastian Junger (Twelve, May 2010, $26.99). Junger (The Perfect Storm) spent 14 months in 2007-2008 intermittently embedded with a platoon of the 173rd Airborne brigade in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, one of the bloodiest corners of the conflict. Junger experiences everything the soldiers do – nerve racking patrols, terrifying roadside bombings and ambushes, stultifying weeks in camp when they long for a firefight to relieve the tedium. Junger struggles to understand a profound sense of commitment by the soldiers to subordinating their self-interests to the good of the unit. He mixes visceral combat scenes with quieter reportage and insightful discussions of the physiology, social psychology, and even the genetics of soldiering.
Women, Food & God: An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything, by Geneen Roth (Scribner, March 2010, $24). This book has been picking up word-of-mouth steam since its publication in March, and is rapidly becoming “the” book of the summer. After more than three decades of studying, teaching and writing about what drives our compulsions with food, Roth (When Food is Love) adds a profound new dimension to her work. She begins with her most basic concept: the way you eat is inseparable from your core beliefs about being alive. Your relationship with food is an exact mirror of your feelings about love, fear, anger, meaning and transformation and even God. Roth traces food compulsions from subtle beginnings to unexpected ends, and with revelations on every page, the book is really a guide for life.
Paperback Nonfiction
Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable With a New Section “On Robustness and Fragility”, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Random, May 2010, $17). A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: it is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. Among the examples cited are the rapid spread of the internet and the 9/11 attacks. Despite the crucial effects of these events, economists and other experts in prediction often fail to allow for them or even deny their possibility. Taleb is an entertaining writer, with wit, irreverence and unusual stories to tell. Fans of The Tipping Point and Freakonomics will love this!
Boy Alone: A Brother’s Memoir, by Karl Taro Greenfeld (Harper, May 2010, $14.99). In 1971, A Child Called Noah by Josh Greenfeld, Karl’s father, made parenting a severely autistic child a best-selling topic. Karl is Noah’s older brother who here gives a painfully honest, revealing account of what it was like to grow up with a profoundly autistic younger brother. He begins with early memories as a toddler in the mid-60s then jumps ahead to his adolescent years in Pacific Palisades. With his parents preoccupied with Noah, Karl turned to drugs and petty crime. Eventually the family moved to a new house, leaving Noah in their old one with a caretaker, and Greenfeld began his own rocky climb to maturity. He seamlessly weaves together the social history of autism and autism research with the deeply affecting story of two very different boys growing up side by side.
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival, by Norman Ollestad (Ecco, May 2010, $14.99). From the age of three, Norman Ollestad (who grew up here in Pacific Palisades) was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the intense, charismatic father he both idolized and resented. Yet it was these exhilarating tests of skill that ultimately saved his life when their small plane crashed 8,000 feet up in the California mountains, leaving his father and his father’s girlfriend dead. The devastated 11 year old had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone. A heart stopping adventure along the lines of Into Thin Air.
Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter (Penguin, May 2010, $16). Carpenter started a farm in the middle of inner city Oakland! She recounts planting a garden in raised beds and rearing animals in the most humane and wonderful way, with such love, finishing them herself with connection and mercy. Obviously a foodie, she deliciously describes preparing and consuming her yield. Her “gateway” animals were ducks, chickens and turkeys, which led to bees, rabbits and pigs. Gotta love daily dumpster diving behind eco-chic San Francisco restaurants to feed her two growing pigs, Big Guy and Little Girl. Wholly entertaining. I highly recommend! ( Mia’s review)
The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, by T. J. Stiles (Vintage, April 2010, $19.95. Self-made and ruthless, Vanderbilt achieved a near monopoly on steamship travel, then moved into the railroad business (he built Grand Central Terminal). He became the richest man in 19th century America and inspired the term “robber baron”. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography.
I’m Down: A Memoir, Mishna Wolff (St. Martins, June 8, 2010, $13.99). What a writer! Mishna is both hilarious and insightful. “He lived in a split-level ranch house, and it always seemed surprisingly big for him, considering I never saw him anywhere other than the kitchen and La-Z-Boy in the den. It was like the rest of the house was haunted by the ghost-of-marriage past, and he was able to keep the spirits at bay by staying in rooms with TV’s” This started out very funny, and I thought.. no way will she be able to maintain that; but this entire book was entertaining, every phrase, every anecdote. Five out of five stars! (Mia’s review)
Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son, by Michael Chabon (Harper, May 2010, $14.99). The Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay turns his considerable talents to the personal essay. An attentive, honest father and a fairly observant Jew, living in Berkeley, raising four children with his wife Ayelet Waldman (who is also an author), Chabon writes about his life as a husband and father, and revisits his own years of growing up in the 70’s. Essays are arranged around themes of manly affection, styles of manhood, and patterns of early enchantment such as his delight in comic books, sci-fi and stargazing. Warm, humorous and wonderfully written.
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home, by Rhoda Janzen (Holt, April 2010, $14). Once in a while a book comes along that knocks my socks off and this is that book! Janzen is a grammarian with a PhD from UCLA and has one keen sense of humor, so her prose is this exquisite scaffolding for hilarity. Elizabeth Gilbert is quoted on the cover, “it is rare that I laugh out loud while I’m reading.” This is a very funny, poignant and beautifully written memoir. (Mia’s review).
Secret Stairs: A Walking Guide to the Historic Staircases of Los Angeles, by Charles Fleming (Santa Monica Press, April 2010, $16.95). What a wonderful way to see and explore our beautiful city! Containing more than 40 walks and detailed maps, this handbook rates the walks for duration and difficulty, includes historic trivia, highlights spectacular homes and presents a new way for urban explorers to discover a little-known side of the City of Angels. Plus several of the walks are right here in our own Pacific Palisades!!
Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman, by Jon Krakauer (Anchor, July 27, 2010, $15.95). The bestselling author of Into Thin Air, Into the Wild and Under the Banner of Heaven delivers an eloquent account of Pat Tillman’s haunting journey. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the U.S. Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11 and felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Queda and the Taliban. Two years later he died in Afghanistan. Although his death was the result of friendly fire, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman’s wife, other family members, and the American public. Krakauer draws on Tillman’s journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render a profile of this complex person, as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death.