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Popular Threads
The Manhunt by Swanson about the search for John Wilkes Booth.....great also
Kruschev by Taubman very good.
The book is based on a 25-year longitudinal study done on the elders of Okinawa, Japan, who are among some of the world's longest lived people with very low rates of disease and disability (something from the East that we Westerners could learn from).
Pluses: Chock full of references to actual studies and journals (tons of references in the back if you want to do more independent research on this topic).
It is good for getting some basic information, but I would want to do more research on the topic, so if you're into health and longevity, do yourself a favor and pursue more reading than just this book. It'll get you started, though, as there is ample evidence that lifestyle and diet matters a lot, as it is mentioned that when Easterners come to the West and take on our habits, they see their health problems rise along with everyone else.
If you know someone who is kicking the smoking habit, or something (highly recommended, did it myself here), this might make a good gift in terms of showing people how much hope there is. Yes, your environment DOES matter. It isn't all just bad genetics, although people may or may not be predisposed to some illnesses.
1. The Fig Eater, Jody Shields, an interesting, but sometimes ponderous, story of mysterious murder in Vienna, 1910.
2. Ordinary Heroes, Scott Turow, a quite compelling story of a man's search for his father's World War II past. only a hundred pages in, but it is so far the better book.
Using a faux prosecution as a framework for considering polotical activites is interesting. I think the overall concept has a number of flaws to it but overall it is a good read and I would recomend it.
The Magnificent Ambersons - Booth Tarkington's novel about how a rich gilded age family lost their money 100 years ago, and this forced their rich spoiled children to face 20th Century reality. ***stars
Guy de Maupassant Short Stories - A collection of one of the best short story writers, ever. *****stars
Buch der Liede - Heinrich Heide. A beautiful memoir of traveling within Germany during the early 1800s by Heide. Spectacular german prose. *****stars.
So, if someone would like to know what classics to read - I might be able to assist.
The new Lost Chicago book by Rich Kahan about the photos taken by Richard Nickel of buildings that have been demolished in the city. The destruction of the Garrick Theatre with the photos of the stage being torn down will stop you in your tracks.
"A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking
"Next" by Michael Crichton
All brilliant!
Faud Ajami's The Foreigner's Gift
Third time through. Older book. It is an excellent fictionalized history (including the real people of codebreaking, the development of mechanical computing (Does anyone remember what Statistical Tabulating Company became?), countering the German development of the A-Bomb, buried treasure in the Philippines. A real gripper.
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch - fiction
Growing up at the south end of Puget Sound and its maritime environment. It is so good that I am sending out three copies to relatives.
BTW, The Public Library System has been God's greatest gift to us. Long may it thrive and percolate ideas in young and not so young brains.
Chicago Tribune's Best Books of the Year
Slate's Year in Books
Also, this isn't a very original recommendation, but I really loved "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," by Michael Chabon. I would especially recommend it to current and former comic book-readers (and the people who love them), but it should have broad appeal to anyone who loves language and a good story. It spans from before the Nazi takeover of Czechoslovakia to well after the HUAC hearings; it involves Houdini-style escapes, rags-to-riches plotlines, WWII, and the Golden Age of comic books. You get the picture: This book covers serious ground. Still, it's accessible, funny, beautiful, and fantastic (in multiple senses of the word).
Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille; very good.
Thanks Snark for pointing us to the Trib's best book list. I think I found something to spend my birthday money on (The House: The History of the House of Representatives).
Most recent new(er) book was Berlin: The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beever, better known for Stalingrad.
I'm reading Democracy and Slavery in Frontier Illinois by Wesleyan professor James Simeone. It's a fascinating book and is helping me more clearly understand the Illinois economic, social and political conditions that led to Lincoln-Douglas and why Douglas prevailed, until that final contest.
It's pretty textbooky, but Simeone has packed his effort with useful and engaging information and vital historical context.
I'm punishing myself by finally getting around to Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." I wimped out, and chose the Modern Library abridgment, as there are only so many hours in the day. But the payoff, so far, is wonderful writing drenched with Enlightenment-era irony, and a long lesson in how power is earned, stolen, given and abused.
For anyone who enjoyed "The Devil and the White City", buy "Thunderstruck".
For anyone who grew up Catholic in Chicago, buy "Archdiocese of Chicago: A Journey of Faith" at www.ltp.org or your local parish
I am also reading a book called the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It's an autobiography that is as gripping and compelling as Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. When you finish it, you'll want to hug your parents for not being like hers!
I can think of a few reasons that book might find an audience with this crowd!
The Great Nation, by Colin Jones - a history of 18th Century France.
A biography of Jefferson Davis by Clement Eaton.
A history of the Sacrament of Confession
Caribbean by James Michener
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, a very nice history of Lincoln and his cabinet.
And I've also gotten hooked on the Alex Cross mysteries by James Patterson and am swallowing them at great gulps.
For something lighter, I am reading Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in America, Gonzo Letters Volume II. It provides some interesting insights into Dr. Thompson.
I just finished "A Meal Observed" which is a fascinating book about Taillevent in Paris.
It is a fictional book designed around factual events. It is a pretty good book (so far). If you have any interest in China, foreign policy, or the Nixon administration it is the book for you. But good luck finding it! I got it at Goodwill for a buck because the Kewanee Public Library discarded it.... So if you are ever at Goodwill and happen to see it, it is well worth the dollar....
Happy Holidays, Rich.
I'm reading James Baker's autobiography. Seems he never planned to get into politics. So far, so good.
For fun, I'm reading "How to be a Super-Hero" ($6 at Barnes & Noble.) You never know when you will have to know how to repel down the side of a building or suck venom out of a snakebite. (Which reminds me of a joke...ok, I'll save it for the party..)
I just gave up on Kim Stanley Robinson's Years of Rice and Salt. I couldn't get into it. I'm eagerly awaiting the third book in his global warming/DC trilogy.
I just started The Stolen Child, by Keith Donohue, which is a fable for grown-ups, about changelings who steal childhood. It is way cool.
The Places In Between is in my on-deck circle -- along with The Looming Tower -- I'm looking forward to both of them.
Kind of slow in the beginning, but it is starting to get to the point where I don't want to put it down.
The Innocent Man - John Grisham Highly recommended.
David Pellow's Garbage Wars: Searching for Environmental Justice in Chicago (links Operation Silver Shovel to larger issues of waste management problems in the city).
Before that, Pillars of the Earth (am a sucker for anything about the construction of the great cathedrals - awestruck by what can be done by man with a hammer, chisle and the mind). Would recommend anything by E.M. Forster, Austen or Michener.
This is a must read for any Chicago history buff.
Bloody Williamson-Paul Angle. Torrid and violent history about S. IL.