One might view tinkering with the Homeric epics a foolish endeavor or a brave effort—in any case, it is not a project lacking in ambition. Young Zachary Mason’s debut novel (if that is what this book is), The Lost Books of the Odyssey (FSG), envisions Odysseus’s tale
Two (excellent) reasons to read Francis Wheen’s at times hilarious, other times scary Strange Days Indeed: The 1970’s: The Golden Age of Paranoia (Public Affairs) are Wheen’s mordant humor and high intelligence, and that he is dead on in his assessment of that historical sinkhole known as
In case anyone is wondering (as they should) how it is that baseball came to be a significant element in a number of Caribbean national cultures—Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela, etc.—University of San Francisco mentor Robert Elias (Baseball and the American Dream, The Deadly Tools
Chicago-born writer John McNally (America’s Report Card, The Book of Ralph, The Ghosts of Chicago), who teaches at Wake Forest University and thankfully has not gone native by embellishing his name, southern-style—as in John Bob or Jack Ed or some such—has published his fourth novel, After the
Don Lattin (Jesus Freaks), who for years covered religion for San Francisco newspapers, has a new book: The Harvard Psychedelic Club: How Timothy Leary, Ram Dass, Huston Smith, and Andrew Weil Killed the Fifties and Ushered in a New Age for America (Harper Collins). The title pretty much tells you
There are, to be sure, still people for whom the textures, subtleties, and nuances of language are of significant if not vital concern. Regular declarations of the decline of all things civilized (occasionally even I have indulged in flagrant sophomoric declinism) may just be generational ululations in the face of,
This is a confusing time of year, especially in the northern climes where a number of seasonal disorders obtain. How else to explain the odd behavior where people spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need (that they can buy for half the price late in
Allow me to speculate that if you found your way to this space and stayed on, that you are in no danger of wasting your time reading the latest product of failed vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's ambition--her number-one bestselling whatchamacallit, Going Rogue. Though I think Palin is
Saying someone needs no introduction used to have some validity--before life in the post-industrial world went all 365/24/7 on us. Now the exponential explosion of sense-wracking gossip, trivia, ED adverts, and religious poppycock renders that gesture anachronistic. Nonetheless I would love to think that Kurt Vonnegut (Cat'
To begin with, Peter Dexter (Train), author of the award-winning and memorable novel Paris Trout (and a fistful of other excellent novels), has penned the funniest dust-jacket biography that I can remember (a creative opportunity most authors eschew): Pete Dexter began his working life with a U.S. Post Office
