The Moviegoer -- Walker Percy --------- 3 Stars

Rare is it that one can get through a novel, save the last twenty pages, really not enjoy it, finish the last twenty pages, and then have a totally different view; somehow that's what happened as I finished Walker Percy's The Moviegoer. Bizarrely, I really disliked this book for much of my reading of it, but a final flurry of fascinating writing and a great final chapter elevated this book from a persumptive 1 or 2 stars to a solid 3 star novel.

The Moviegoer, written in the 1960s, was not on my book radar at all, but it was recently recommended as a favorite of someone so I thought I'd give it a whirl. As I began reading it, it reminded me so much of another recent book I read, American Pastoral. There were some distinct similarities: both books are incredibly well written with great prose, both books revolve around a central male character who is a bit 'lost', and in both books nothing really happens. As I explained in my Pastoral review, I like things to happen. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a novel about philosophy of life and metaphysics but those things need to be overt. Those concepts were not in the Moviegoer until the end; but alas that saved the novel.

The book is really about a guy who is living in New Orleans after World War II. He is about 30, successful, wealthy, no real problems yet there is a 'malaise' as he would like to say about his life and his world. Think Holden Caulfield without the craziness. Then he just talks about his daily life. The key to all of his seemingly innocuous stories doesn't dawn on me until the end of the novel; each story is a look into his existence and outlook upon the world. It's one of those few books where I really would enjoy, and would probably get a lot more out, of with a second reading.

Basically, I found most of the main character's stories incredibly boring until the last twenty pages. Really, the book went from 'poor' to 'good' in a matter of two pages. I won't spoil it for you but there is a tirade from his aunt that is truly one of the best speeches I have ever read in a book... where was this passion and writing the whole book (I guess that lack of passion was the point!)?

Overall, it's an interesting book. It's very odd but as I was reading it, I really didn't enjoy it. I didn't look forward to the next chapter or picking it up later during the day. As some may recall, my rating system is based purely on the 'entertainment' value the book provides to me; and this book struggled to entertain me through 95% of it. However, now that it's finished, and I reflect upon the story and major themes, it's gotten better and better. So, if you want to read a book that will keep you interested but not blow you away but THEN, when you are done, really start making you think about what the book was really about (and of course what life is really about), than this is the novel for you.

Switch -- Chip and Dan Heath --------------------- 4 Stars

I have a fixed mindset. That was one of the things I learned in Chip and Dan Heath's fantastic book Switch. That is not a good thing. It means that I think people are static and can not change; which I really do believe. Apparently, this is bad and wrong.

I was recommended this book by a colleague and would have to say it's about half, fun "Outliers" type of book and half, academic type of text. Basically, its a book about how you make changes. Changes in your daily life, changes in the work place, changes in a family, getting other people to change...pretty much any change that is hard to do.

Normally, I am not big into organizational change/self-help type of books but this book was excellent. First, it was well written. Short and easy to read chapters and sentences. Second, it had great stories and anecdotes; they were very well told and applicable. Third, it was easy to understand and broken down into three specific things to do. Fourth, it included great suggestions and links to other books that are related including Nudge and Outliers.

And now, for the million dollar question, I will tell you how you can easily create change and save you from reading the whole book. You ready for it? Here it is:
1. Direct the Rider
2. Motivate the Elephant
3. Shape the Path
Uh, You're Welcome! I just took the whole book and explained it to you. Well, maybe not, but if you would like to read a very interesting and worthwhile book about change (and really understand what those three things are) , do check out Switch.

Amerian Pastoral -- Philip Roth ------------- 2.5 Stars

If you are not familiar with Philip Roth, he is a fairly prolific, modern day novelist who has a huge following and has written dozens of books. Many argue that the best of these books is the Pulitzer Prize winning American Pastoral (it's listed as one of the best novels in the past 25 years). Because of those reasons, and the very positive reviews of this book (not to mention the Roth name), I thought I should check it out. Lo and behold, I was pretty disappointed.

Let's get a few things straight. Roth is an incredible writer. I mean his actual prose. It's perhaps the most spectacular aspect of the book. There are points where I don't think he even changes paragraphs yet I have found myself having turned page after page as it's so engaging. His writing is so eloquent that I often find myself re-reading sentences to fully understand the meaning of the text. Here's the thing about really amazing writing... to me, it's super overrated. I have the same view with song lyrics. Who cares? If you are listening to music for deep meaning in songs, you need to look elsewhere. I mean, about 1 song out of 100 has cool/great lyrics. The rest are about dancing in clubs and straight cash. Listen to music for the sound. The rhythm, the beat; that's what matters. I have the same view of books. I can certainly appreciate great prose but I read books for a great story that includes a cool plot and recognizable characters. This is the crux of the reason why this book won the Pulitzer Prize and I gave it 2.5 stars.

But here's the weirdest thing about this novel: It gets worst the more you read it. It's weird. I don't know if I have ever read a book quite like this. I mean it started out really interesting. It pulled me in, I got excited about the story and characters. Then it just sort of started to drag. It left the interesting characters on the wayside and spent pretty much the rest of the novel focusing on the minutiae. Now, I know that's what makes novels like this great 'literature' but it bored me. It was also super frustrating to get so excited about a book and to keep reading, assuming it will get better, and it just keeps getting worst and worst. I mean, after 25% read it was like 4.5 stars, 3.5 by 50%, 3 stars by 75% and it finished with a 2.5. Err.

Overall, you have to decide what you are looking for in a book if deciding to read this. I read purely for my own entertainment value and this book did not entertain me like others. If you love great writing and a fairly decent story about the unpredictability of life, this books may be for you....just make sure you are prepared to grind it out to finish it.

In the Pit with Piper - "Rowdy" Roddy Piper -- 1 Star

I need to make a confession to explain how I could have possibly finished and reviewed a book that only received (a generous) 1 star... I used to be obsessed with wrestling (or wrastlin' as some might say). Really, I used to love it. As a kid between about ages 7 and 11, I was super into it. I watched it all the time, had my own championship belt, used the figure four leg lock on my sister and even had the Hulk Hogan/Iron the Shiek sheets.. I was nuts about it.

So, when I was recently at a soon to be defunct Books-A-Million and saw Rowdy Piper's In the Pit with Piper, a book on my "Books to Read Eventually" on the right, for only $2.17, I felt obligated to buy it and check it out. I figured, Piper was a pretty awesome wrestler when I was a kid so why shouldn't those skills translate to being a great writer as well? How wrong I was.

So, the book is pretty much awful. I mean, it's really quite bad. Perhaps what was so bad about it was that it was actually kind of long. I mean, it's only 230 pages but it took me weeks to go through as it's kind of a lot of text and so INCREDIBLY boring. I really though it might be interesting. Perhaps talking about some of the famous matches, some insight into the tricks of the trade, maybe some secrets about the famous wrestlers. Nah, none of that. What I did get was the incredible amount of arrogance and ego Piper has. I also got, about 230 pages of the most unbelievably, poorly written sentences and paragraphs ever to grace the pages of an actual book. Seriously, there are grammar mistakes, a complete lack of a theme, and stories that are so disparate and unrelated you wonder how an editor or publishing house sent this out. One thing you know for sure after reading this, there was NO ghost writer. I really was hoping the stories would be better, but so many of them were the same: I wrestled hard one night, I got drunk, me and some buddy's thought it would be funny to _________, I woke up the next morning in a parking lot. Ridiculous.

The only slightly redeeming part that came out of these random thoughts we'll call a 'book' is Piper's chapter on what he dubs "The Sickness". Basically, "The Sickness" is his word to describe the addiction and passion that these wrestler's have to this sport that they love. Now, don't get me wrong, I know, as do you, that wrestling is not real; BUT, it's not totally fake either (another quick annoyance of the book, Piper would never actually say wresting is fake and tells more than few stories about beating guys up who questions wrestling's authenticity...ah, classy). What I mean by not totally fake is that these guys do take a beating. They are still hitting a mat or the ground and getting bounced around night after night (see The Wrestler if you don't know what I'm talking about). Anyway, Piper's point is that wrestlers will do anything to themselves to make sure they can wrestle. They are addicted and literal 'sick' to the point that they HAVE TO WRESTLE. This includes an incredible amount of self-medication. Specifically, alcohol and drugs. It's actually incredibly sad. There are an unbelievable number of wrestlers who have died well before they should have (Google search it) because of heart attacks, drug overdoses and suicides. Piper would argue that's all because of "The Sickness".

Overall, I can't possible recommend you read this book. However, I would recommend you watch or re-watch Wrestlemania I through V... that's some good stuff. And, if you are like me, you might even get to watch a little bit of your childhood with it (tear).

Unbroken -- Laura Hillenbrand ------------- 4 Stars

When picking out a gift for another person, it's always an added bonus when that gift can also be a gift to yourself (i.e. giving someone two tickets to a game they will take you to or an household appliance that everyone gets to use). So it is with Unbroken, a Christmas gift to my wife, who after finishing the book, passed it on to me. (Side note: my wife enjoyed it far more than me and quickly told me that it must be 'at least' 4 stars after I contemplated out loud giving it a 3.5 star rating...which it probably should be). Unbroken has been the #1 non-fiction book on the New York Times for the last few weeks so one must assume it is good, and I suppose it is good, just not great.

I was drawn to the book because: a) my wife raved about it and kept telling me how incredible it was and b) Hillendbrand's last book (a while ago) Seabiscuit, was awesome...Seabiscuit this is not. The book is the true story of a WWII POW Louie Zamperini. It basically is the story of his life from birth, to world class runner, to fighter in the Pacific, to eventual Japanese POW.

The story is without a doubt unbelievable. No, literally, I sometimes wonder if all of what is described actually happened. Much of the story can only be substantiated by 2 people, but if it is true, it's one of the most incredible stories of survival and perseverance ever told.

Other good things: Hillenbrand crafts a very nice story and does a superb job of only including the most pertinent and useful information. Using crisp, easy to follow language, the tale is remarkable and she pointedly creates a 'good' vs. 'bad' mentality. Also included are some nice pictures in the book. Normally, not something that is included or important in adult level books, these photographs make the story come to life even more and vividly show the characters told in the book at different parts of their life thus making the story even more full and real.

The story didn't receive a higher rating simply because the entertainment value was not there. Although it was a good read, I never felt like I couldn't put it down and I didn't think that the reader's interest was held at the end of each chapter. I also didn't like how the actual story worked out. Obviously, as it was non-fiction, there was not much that could be done about that, but it still took away from the overall book for me. Also bothersome, and again there is nothing that can be changed about it, the story is quite sad and depressing. If you didn't already know, living in a POW camp is pretty much awful and good chunk of the book is describing and retelling that experience. Obviously critical to the plot and story, I nonetheless found this difficult reading.

In the end, even though I didn't love the book, I would highly recommend it. I believe the story would interest most readers, and it must have some sort of mass appeal if it's number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list as many weeks as it has been. There is no doubt that Louie is an American hero, and there may be no better time to read and remember this greatest generation as right now as this generation of heroes will be all but gone by the end of the decade. Unbroken will assure that Louie and others never fade away.

Live from New York -- Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller -------------------------- 3 Stars

I don't feel like I have a ton to say about Live from New York. It started out as a really great book and finished as an okay book (hence, 3 stars). I'm a pretty big Saturday Night Live fan and I thought that it would be an incredible read but, in the end, it ended up just being okay.

The book basically tells the history of SNL from its inception to about 2001. Interestingly (though only at times), it's told only through interviews. No, really. The whole book is just people talking about the show. Very, very occasionally the author's will add a short note mid chapter to signal a change of subject but other than that, it's all just the actors, writers, producers and hosts talking about the show.

Positives -- The interview format works on some occasions. When they talk about 'inside stuff' or 'gossip' about people and aspects of the show it's very good. (see: parts of the book about Norm McDonald being fired). Interview format also is great when you want to hear what the famous people think of one another and Lorne Michaels (the genius behind the show). This was great, for example, to hear Chevy Chase, Akyrod and Bill Murray talk about one another and others. It's fun to just hear what random hosts have thought about working at SNL. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin sort of stand out.

Negatives -- Too often the interviews were simply not interesting and, since it's just people talking, not as concise and well thoughtful as the written word. A lot of people interviewed were writers or producers that I've never heard of. Although they were interesting it wasn't as cool as hearing from Tin Fey or Will Ferrell.

Things I learned that I didn't know before:

• The show has had very distinct 'stages'. Basically every 5 years they have totally retooled the cast (less so know)
• After the first 5 years, around 1980, Lorne Michael left for 5 years, a whole new cast came in, and the show was quite different
• Garrett Morris is crazy ... most people working there were a bit crazy
• Chris Farley was obsessed with Belushi (like a lot)... I guess I did know this from my past book I reviewed about Chris Farley but I forgot.
• Eddie Murphy was the biggest mainstream movie star to come from the show
• I would still love to be on SNL (probably would have to learn to be an actor/funny at some point). No, seriously. The one common theme is that this is basically the greatest show to work on in entertainment.
  

There's other stuff that I can't remember but that's the type of things you pick up in the book.

Overall, the book is highly recommended to any serious SNL fan. To an avid watcher, it is still probably interesting and to the rare viewer, this book probably is not worth your time.

Lonesome Dove -- Larry McMurtry ------------------------ 4 Stars

Well, as the winter storm, nice, snow (and thundersnow!) dissipate outside, my mind is in the West after recently finishing Larry McMurtry's classic Lonesome Dove. Like many books I have read, it's been a classic for decades but was new to me. Perhaps more famous for the fantastic miniseries of the same name that was done in the mid-80's, the book is quite good and won the Pulitzer. (On a side note, the mini-series is absolutely fantastic and is probably the best movie adaptation of a book I have ever seen. The characters end up being much as I imagined, and because of the miniseries time allotted, nothing critical from the novel is missed).
Anyway, I am quite proud of myself for finishing as quickly as I did since this book came in at nearly 1,000 pages, I don't like the cowboy genre, and my little 3 month old boy takes up some of the time.

Overall, Lonesome Dove is a very good book. Telling the story of a group of men and a few women (most interesting: the two main characters, who are Texas Rangers), it tells the story of a cattle drive from the city of Lonesome Dove in Texas to Montana. The story is a classic cowboy novel in every sense of the word. It has Indians, gunfights, whores, drinking, etc... all the stuff that you think of when you think of a Western.

Great parts about the book: it's a good story (not great) and it is told nicely, if not straightforward by the author. Perhaps the part I enjoyed the most was the dialogue between people. I thought McMurtry did an incredible job nailing the language of an 19th century cowboy and how they spoke. In fact, whenever there were major chapters without dialogue, I found myself getting restless for the next conversation.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of the novel, and what pushed it to 4 stars, are the themes of story. The novel has so many wonderful questions about life, love and living that the reader can't help but picture himself as a cowboy on the ride and wonder about the choices that came up and what one would do. If nothing else, I have a full and comprehensive appreciation for the difficulty and vacuousness of life at this time. One second your on a cattle drive, and the next a bullet from an Indian hits you in the leg and your dead. The story really makes its mark by making the reader question the purpose of life at that time and really what love is and how does one define it (is love people or could it be nature? could the love of a friend be more than a woman's? etc). Almost nothing profound is ever specifically said by the characters but their actions and amazingly limited words give you a wonderful glimpse into each of the lives, mind and hearts.

What kept it from getting 5 stars: First, if I am going to invest 1,000 pages you better knock the novel out of the park; this was closer to a double. Second, the ending was not great. The book puts so much emphasis on one event, and because you are only glimpsing at one small part in the life of these characters, it made it impossible to have an ending that answered my biggest question: what happened to all these characters (alas, that will be for me to decide I guess)? Third, and this is really my own issue and won't take away from the novel for the rest of you, but I really don't like nor find interesting the cowboy/Western genre. I have stayed away from this book and all others because I just find that lifestyle boring (to me, in the present; probably not the same view if I lived back then). However, so many people recommend this book and 'loved it' (plus it won the Pulitzer), I felt it was worth the time.

Overall, like I said, it is a very good novel; I am not sure it's great though (hence 4 stars). I do recommend it to any readers with sometime and strongly recommend it to anyone who likes cowboy stuff. Additionally, I would highly recommend watching the miniseries AFTER (I think with most book/movie combos it's better to start with the book because it just makes the experience better usually and it's fun to sound smart and say "oh that movie, it was nothing like the book. The characters were so much more developed and interesting in the book. No way did that move live up to how good the book is"). Anyway, check it out if you like. The characters, dialogue, and story are all very good and you may even learn something about yourself and they way you live from the novel.

Childhood's End -- Arthur C. Clarke ------------------------ 5 Stars

Every so often one stumbles upon a book that is absolutely fantastic you can't help but wonder why you never read it before. Usually, you hear about the book through a small article or website, in a random conversation, or when speaking to a friend or family member. Well, I was recommended Childhood's End through the latter source. My father, who enjoys different books than I (science vs. politics, fiction vs. non) recommended this in a recent conversation. Like most folks who recommend a book, he absolutely 'loved' it and thought it was 'one of the best books he's read'. I was immediately apprehensive. He told me Arthur C. Clarke might be the best science fiction writer ever; I didn't know him from Adam. But, as they say, father (or is it mother?....well, whatever) knows best.

Childhood's End is a perfect novel. I don't even know where to start in describing it. A quick synopsis: quasi-aliens come to Earth and sort of take over but not completely. Life gets better for humans. It moves forward about 50 years, they do some other things then it gets crazier, and then there is a really cool ending.

That's about all I can reveal without giving it away. See, it's in the genre of science fiction, but it's not hardcore science fiction. I hate science fiction, this is good stuff. In fact, the novel is much more about the human civilization and how individuals struggle within a society. It also questions the importance of humans in the grand scheme of the world/universe/galaxy thing. It reminds me more of a 1984 and Brave New World then a science fiction book.

Anyway, back to may raving. The novel is superb. It is quite short, but Clarke does such an unbelievable job with the story that every page, every sentence, every word is critical. I found myself rereading passages and paragraphs again, not because they were confusing or cumbersome (like some writers) but because he said so much with so few words. In fact, that was what I found most surprising and enjoyable about this novel: how much I enjoyed his writing style. Simple, yet deep and so crisp and easy to follow.

The novel also had so many overarching existentialist thoughts and musings. The great part, unlike many authors, Clarke never takes a real view; he just presents both sides and the reader can interpret as he sees fit. Clarke will present the one side, of the smallness and how inconsequential the human race is and then quickly show another side, which values people's work in the arts, literature, music, etc. Really, it was quite well done.

Now, one might wonder how it's possible that this short book could garner a 5 star rating. Does it have any weaknesses one might ask? Well, the one thing that Clarke does not do well, is character development. There is no real depth to the characters, and they are introduced and removed fairly quickly. But, as I said earlier, it's a perfect novel. I believe that is all quite on purpose. This book is NOT about people and individuals, its about society and humanity as a whole. It's written with the focus on the BIG picture, not simple, minuscule human individuals.

All in all, it truly is a great novel and wonderful book. Easily up there with the likes of the other 5 star novels I have reviewed: East of Eden, The Godfather, and Pillars of the Earth. It's a book that says something. It's a book that is incredibly fun to read (I finished it in 3 days). It's really well written. The ending is honest to the novel and unexpected. I don't know what else to say about it, but you should go get it. Like I said originally, every once in a while a book comes along that you don't know why you haven't read it before but after you do you are so happy you did. This is that book!

Nudge – Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein ------ 2.5 STARS

So, it's been exactly one month since my last post and things have changed. I erroneously and sillllyy (that's right, I just added an 'ly"to silly) thought that I would have more time to read with a newborn around. Oi! I know see the error of my ways. He seems to keep us pretty busy as witnessed by it taking a month to read this fairly short book. However, in my defense, part of the tardiness in completing Nudge was it's lack of umph. See, the book really wasn't that good. In fact, it was one of those books I had on my 'must read' list for a while, and I was really quite disappointed.

The book, as the title implies, is about little things that can be done to nudge people to make better decisions. The authors focus specifically on health, wealth and happiness (important stuff), and the idea behind the book is great. It is of the Gladwell and Airely ilk of quasi behavioral economics (kind of psychology + economics) and quasi political scienciey (I like this making words up thing). The big problem though is that is written by two economists. No, I don't like to put down economists just to put them down (they already have so much going against them with their calculators and geeky pocket protectors...jk), but they aren't the most exciting writers. In fact, there were times were I thought I was reading a textbook. That wouldn't be a problem if that was what I was getting into, but I thought this was a book for pleasure and would have a bit more creativity and excitement to it (to wit - the genius of Gladwell).

So, the writing was dry, boring and long at many points, and that was the biggest turnoff. In fact, it was almost painful to finish the book as the best stuff, in my opinion, was at the start. Let's talk about the good stuff.
Well, there were some good stats. Like, when going out to eat with others you eat 35% more than usual with 1 other person, 75% more with groups of 4 or more and 96% more if with more than 7 people. If trying to help people quit smoking the best way to do so is with money. People who pledged a certain amount of money to stop smoking, and would lose it if they did smoke, quit 53% more of the time than average. And, of course the best, by putting a fake fly in the bottom of a urinal, 80% less spillage occurs.

Overall, the book left me with some good summarizing ideas that might be applicable to one's own life. Specifically, when trying to nudge people remember the importance of social factors. People will often make decisions based little on economic viability and more with what others are doing. Another lesson, the default choice is incredibly important. If people are deciding something, whatever is the default is what most will go with...so make sure it's the right choice.

In general, the authors support something called libertarian paternalism which basically means liberty preserving. However, I found most of their suggestions to have a lot of "choice" already made in them. Almost always they support allowing people to choose what they would like in a situation BUT they nearly always have an option that people will automatically choose for people or has something set for them. So, although they do always have an option of free choice they nearly always want policies to be set up to help people as if they don't know what they are doing. Well, I think this is .............. great! People are stupid; those in the know should help them.

So, overall, it's not a bad book. Had I never heard of it and just picked it off the shelf to read it would have been given a higher rating. It is fairly interesting and the authors ideas I agree with and support more than most other books I read. I was just so UP for reading it and it was just written in such a boring way it was tough to give it a great rating.

The Rector of Justin -- Louis Auchincloss -------------- 4 Stars

One of the surprising benefits (so far anyway...maybe because I'm not working) of having a newborn is that I have actually been able to read more than I thought. There's a lot of time to read... staying up waiting for him to go to sleep, rocking him, watching him in a swing, waiting during a feeding...it adds up. Anyway, this is good for me as a book blogger and interested reader. During the past few weeks I was able to finish the enjoyable The Rector of Justin.

As an educator, this book hit close to home as it tells the story, via diary entries, of an incredible Head of School at an extremely prestigious New England boys parochial school during the first half of the 20th century. The novel and author are apparently very famous, unbeknownst to me prior to reading the book, and it is said that it is one of the great 'school' novels ever written. I would have to say I would agree with that sentiment.

A truly rhythmical, though at time slightly challenging prose, the author writes almost poetically and with great clarity throughout the novel. At times, I would find myself rereading sentences to both assure I understood but to also appreciate a master of words. Certainly Auchincloss is a pro the craft of writing.

Besides the wonderful verse, what I enjoyed most about the novel is simply the story. Written from the perspective of six different individuals, each entry directly or indirectly tells about some part of the life of Dr. Prescott, head of Justin Martyr (the school). Through a beautiful weaving together of various entries from different time periods, by the end of the novel the reader enjoys an intimate and slightly paradoxical view of this great man. From some perspectives he represents a caring, genius who cares for all while others show him as an nonsensical monster who is driven by his ego. Nonetheless, as a reader, you can't help but respect him and feel for his incredibly driven belief in the importance of morality, religion and structures.

In the end, I could not help but question my own views regarding the overall purpose of education. Is it simply about imparting content and material? Is it predominantly about creating responsible and moral individuals? Is it more than both of those? Because this book hit so close to him coupled with the fact that it was written so eloquently and included such a great biographical story, I could not help but truly love it. I would have liked to give it 4.5 or 5 stars but it still lacked some of the 'pop' of those other books that garnered that high a grade. Alas, there are entries and chapters that are sluggish and some characters are not fully enough developed for me, but it's tough to complain with a book such as this. Overall, it really was quite good; do check it out.

The Company -- Robert Littell -------------------------------- 4 Stars

Well, it's been almost two months since my last blog and I'm a bit
embarrassed for the long delay. In my defense, I have been getting ready for the first child (coming on Monday) and trying to get through 900 page novels. However, the last two months of reading Robert Littell's The Company has turned out to be well worth it.

The book is a pretty classic spy novel spanning over the past half century. As the title states, it is a book the spies in the CIA. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was cool, moved quickly enough and created full and deep characters. In fact, the charecters that Littell wrote of were perhaps the most interesting part of the novel. See, the the story spans from 1945-1990ish and he tells about the characters through various time periods in history beginning with World War II. What's enjoyable is that every 200 pages or so, the author jumps forward about 10 years and moves the characters along as well. So, by the end, you've been able to follow the arc of 4-5 main character's lives... it's good stuff.

What's also great, is that the characters, though fake, are all taking part in events and activities that actually occurred in history. From the Bay of Pigs Invasion to the Hungarian Revolution to the Afghan Russian War. And, from my limited understanding of history, most of these events were treated with the realism and accuracy of a non-fiction book. He also put in real historical figures (RFK, Reagan, Khrushchev anyone?) which made the novel seem even more real.

The other part of the book I really liked was that the spying parts seemed within the realm of real life as opposed to a bunch of fake stuff you always see in spy movies. Nearly all the spies were either Russian or American and the novel is almost all about the Cold War and it's related skirmishes or events.

If I did have any complaints, it was that the novel does have some slow parts and drags out scenes. The other major knock on the book is that it IS 900 pages. I love a good story as much as the next guy, but if you are going to write for nearly 1,000 page you better have some really, really worthwhile stuff (see: Pillars of the Earth).

Overall, it is definitely worthy reading for any spy or history buffs out there as it is really written and told like a non-fiction book (and one really can't help but wonder how much really was non-fiction). The story is pretty excellent from start to end and Littell had a pretty good knack for switching to a new time period or event right when the reader is starting to get a little tired with the current period. 4 enthusiastic stars.



P.S. I am not sure when I will be able to 'drop' (that's the parlance of our times, you know?) my next blog as the child is coming on Monday. They say taking care of a baby takes some time so we'll have to see how much reading I can actually get done. Either way, I know have a somewhat legit excuse for not blogging more often. Maybe it would be easier to change this to a baby blog?????

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman – Jon Krakauer ------ 3.5 STARS

I am a huge Jon Krakauer fan (although I don't care for spelling his last name). I have enjoyed a number of his books, beginning with the incredible Into Thin Air to Into the Wild (just ok) to the highly underrated Under the Banner of Heaven. For a while now I have been looking forward to reading his newest book: Where Men Win Glory.

Well, I just finished it and it was...okay. Like Krakauer's other books, it was incredibly well written and included no wasted word. It was exceptionally researched and told in a very concise and matter of fact way. The biggest problem though was the story was not as interesting as his other novels. I know, I know, it seems hard to believe: million dollar athlete giving it all up to go fight terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan. Great idea for a story, but the actual way it played out left a lot to be desired.

In his other novels, the greatness with the book was the actual story he decided to tell. Going up Everest when a storm comes in: amazing. Rich kid giving up all possessions to go live in Alaska: fascinating. A murder and it's connection to Mormon fundamentalism: taboo and thrilling. On the surface, the story of Pat Tillman seems as interesting as well; unfortunately, after learning about his life and eventual death, it lacks the excitement and interest of the other stories.

In what was nearly a biography for Tillman's life, this book tell his story from his childhood growing up in northern California to his eventual death by friendly fire in the mountains of Afghanistan and everything in between (you know, like becoming one of the best defensive backs in the NFL and then walking away from million dollar contracts). His life truly was fascinating. A bright, always questioning and challenging himself sort of guy, he certainly wasn't your average NFL athlete or Army soldier. His story about leaving the NFL after 9/11 to do more for his country is both courageous and patriotic and you can't help but really root for him as you learn more about him.

The reason the story isn't great though is because the best parts of it (and really the most intriguing) occur before he leaves for Iraq. His early life and amazing jump to the NFL showed an incredible, hard working side and a classical "you're too small" to make it type of story. Going to Afghanistan, being their for an incredibly short time, never seeing any real combat against the enemy and dying by friendly fire when no one else dies is beyond sad. It's tragic.

The other major part of the novel a reader should be aware of is the massive cover up of how Tillman died. Through some incredible research, the author discovers a large lie that permeated throughout the federal government and into the media after Tillman's death that stated he died fighting the Taliban makes you lament the loss of his life even greater. Perhaps because I am a seasoned veteran and well weathered conspiracy analyst I wasn't surprised by the cover up but Krakauer spends a fair part of the book going after the government and military who knowingly lied to Tillman's family and the public.

Although I lob a number of negative comments about the book, it really is a fairly well told story and great book to read. Like I said, I didn't enjoy it as much as his other books but, to me, a mediocre Krakauer is better than a lot of what's out there. Just be prepared to feel bad. Bad about the lack of story but much more so about a great guy dying far too young.

Falling From Grace -- Terry Pluto --------- 2.5 Stars

It's a bit bizarre to read a book 15 years after it was meant to be read but that's what happened to me after recently finishing Terry Pluto's Falling From Grace. At some point a couple of weeks ago, I was out of books, didn't want to head to the library and needed something to read. I checked my bookshelf assuming I had read all the books and found Falling From Grace. I've had this book for probably 15 years and assumed I read it but realized after the first few pages I had not... thus began a pretty weird experience.

A little background: the book was written in 1995 and was timely, in that most of the ideas, statistics and points made were based on very recent events. This is quite weird to read about 15 years later. Unlike some history books about events (sports, people, countries), this book was not for future digestion; rather, it was composed to be read and discussed in a very small time frame after it was completed. Thus leading to the oddity that was reading the book in 2010.

The basic premise is that the NBA circa 1995 is falling apart and all the wonderful things about it (created by Magic, Larry, MJ, etc.) are going down hill. Pluto, the definition of a curmudgeon I believe, interviews a bunch of 'old school' NBA guys and delves into the litany of problems in the NBA today (remember, 'today' is 1995).

In general, it was actually a fairly interesting book though I don't love his writing style as it's far too casual for me. What was most cool was seeing how his predictions and theories about the future were actually mostly correct. He warns about a league that will be too player centric, scoring focused and less about good fundamental basketball. For the most part, I would argue that Pluto was right on the money for nearly everything he writes. The downfall of the NBA from a 'team sports' perspective is pretty obvious.

In many ways it was kind of an interesting experience reading a book so specific in scope and time so many years later. I don't think it was the most well written book and he drags on very often and in some cases whole chapters are just straight quotes from interviews. Some of his anecdotes and stories about player behavior are pretty interesting and made the book more enjoyable.

I can't say I would recommend this book for most readers, but if you happen to have a supreme interest in the NBA and would like to read a manifesto outlining the major current problems in professional basketball 15 years prior to their occurrence, this book is for you.

Home Game -- Michael Lewis ---------------- 1.5 Stars

As some of you may know, I am pregnant. Well, I guess if you want to get technical about it, my wife is pregnant. I am going to be a father in a few months, and in the continuing effort to learn as much possible about the new addition, I have been educating myself about being a dad/having a child. Most of the books tend to be the very information yet incredibly boring baby books about pregnancy, giving birth, the first year, etc. Nothing I read in full nor want to review. So, I was quite excited when my wife recently gave me Michael Lewis' new book Home Game.

As you can tell from my 1.5 rating, I did not enjoy this book. This means one of three things: either I am going to hate being a father, this book sucks or Lewis is a fairly terrible dad (or perhaps a combination of the second two).

Let me explain. The book is basically this guys diary of clever and interesting (or so he thinks) anecdotes about the birth/early years of his three children. Now, I can't judge since I have never experience fatherhood before, but he makes being a dad sound awful. I mean, really not fun at all. Now, perhaps I'm all doe eyed and excited because my child is not here yet but this guy makes it sound like you are in a perpetual state of no sleep and no enjoyment, constantly worried and always looking to get away. At one point, he felt that the idea of killing a child really isn't that bad (I think he was joking).

Anyway, that's the major reason I didn't like this book. Second, the stories really aren't that entertaining or funny. In fact, his humor style I find most similar to Dave Barry (that's not a good thing). I love Lewis' other books -- Moneyball and Liar's Poker. He really should stick with stuff like that.

I guess the book wasn't all awful. It was short and easy to read. Occasionally it would be humorous, though nearly always it was when one of his young girls curses. That's about it.

In the end, it mostly left me confused. I was assuming there would be some great message or idea at the end, but I think it was literally his last diary entry. After listening to him rip on the idea of being a father for 200 pages, I was expecting a bit more of a happy ending. So, my confusion exists not knowing if this is what real fatherhood is and everyone else is sort of lying or if this guy is just painting a picture of being a fairly pathetic and unhappy father. I guess in time I will find out. Until then, I will err on the optimistic side and assume being father will be awesome and this guy should stick to writing about baseball and Wall Street.

The Power of One – Bryce Courtenay ------ 4 STARS

I usually like to start each blog with some interesting anecdote, piece of information or exciting idea that captures the readers attention... I have nothing like that for this post. Bryce Courtenay's The Power of One was a very, very well written book with a great plot, amazing characters and a very nice overall moral and story. Unfortunately, there was nothing mind blowing or unbelievably exciting to report so I'll keep this review fairly short.

The book is a relatively recently written novel and has to be a standout in the last 20 years of literature. The novel, a story in three parts about a young boy's life in Africa and his eventual growing into a young man, is one of the two greatest novels of South African literature (the other, the older and also enjoyable Cry, The Beloved Country). The story told from a first person perspective of a young child (5-6ish), an older high school age student, and finally from a young man, paints a beautiful picture of this character's life.

The novel also is quite good for it's historical timeliness. The backdrop for most of the novel is World War II and the inevitable nationalistic views of people from Germany and England is constantly fueling fire to the drama. Add in a racist culture and a large number of local Africans you have an interesting perspective for the story. Perhaps the best part of the whole novel is the author's ability to clearly and beautifully display and layer characters and tell a truly fascinating story about the star Peekay. Besides finishing the book and loving Peekay as a person, you can't help but feel positively about the many well polished and unique individuals that affected Peekay's historic life. Very, very well done.

Unfortunately, the book does have some drawbacks. The biggest being that it starts off quite slow and there are many occasions where one becomes bored easily and the lack of action is distinct. I found myself in more than a few chapters hoping that it would end quickly so another, perhaps more exciting chapter could begin. It's also a pretty long book and it takes a while to get through when reading the non-boxing parts. (Sidenote I should have mentioned above, the boxing scenes/writing are the most enjoyable and quick to go by reading in the book...absolutely great).

Overall, The Power of One is a fairly enjoyable novel that is exhilarating to read when it's moving well and a bit slow to get through at certain times. I wouldn't call it historical fiction, but the backdrop of South Africa during the 1940s and 1950s adds some good depth to the novel. In general, I would suggest any reader pick this up that likes a nicely told, well crafted STORY. I capitalize story as the book's major motivation is to simply tell you the story of Peekay's life and all the wonderful people he meets and great events that happen to him. You can't help but caring for him by the end and you know the author succeeded when that's the end result.

The Book of Basketball – Bill Simmons --------- 4.5 Stars

Well, only four days after LeBron James’ soon to be infamous Decision, I find it fitting that I review the aptly named The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Before we get into the book, however, I must provide a quick opinion about the Decision for posterity and for future readers. I would use a footnote here (you will understand why later in the blog) but don’t think it’s possible with this blog so I will instead use my go to parenthesis:

(For those of you who are unfamiliar, the summer of 2010 will go down as the biggest free agency openings in the history of basketball. The biggest free agent (and arguably best player in the league) LeBron James waited until a couple weeks into free agency to announce his decision. Unlike another talented player Kevin Durant, who announced his decision via Twitter, James held a prime-time, hour long press conference to announce he was leaving his hometown team and going to play with two other All-stars in Miami. Without getting too preachy, the Decision was the most narcissistic, self-indulgent, ‘I am bigger than everyone else’ move in recent memory. James, a so called ‘competitor’, will be 2nd banana in Miami to Dwayne Wade and join a great team… would MJ have ever joined up with Magic to play… not unless it was against Germany. The whole thing is doomed. If they win a championship or many rings, James along with everyone else, will wonder if he could have done it himself and that ‘they were supposed to win anyway’. If they lose, which is what I must believe most of America is rooting for, than it’s a colossal waste. Either way, it will be difficult for me to root for James again).

Wow, sorry about that; needed to get that out. I recently finished a serene week on the beaches of North Carolina and finished this colossal, but highly enjoyable book all about the NBA (sorry college and ladies). The book was incredibly well done and remarkably enjoyable. Simmons, a popular writer on Espn.com, is truly an aficionado about the NBA and demonstrates a remarkable sense of humor and ease of prose throughout the book. One of the absolute best parts of the book are Simmons’ footnotes. Malcolm Galdwell, who wrote the foreword (famous for Blink, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw), writes that “Simmons is the master of the footnote”; so very true, Simmons must use hundreds of footnotes throughout the books 700 pages, but each is either very funny or a useful piece of information.

The book starts with an explanation of the origin for his passion for the game, goes into the Secret of basketball, the Wilt vs. Russell debate, a bit of history, some fun “what-ifs”, an explanation of his new “Pyramid” system to be used rather than the Hall of Fame, the list of HIS best 96 players ever, best teams ever, and the best team ever put together from the best player’s ever. He packs an unbelievable amount of NBA stuff into the book, and it was great reading all through the way. The majority of the book are his summaries of the various 96 top players careers, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about guys who I never saw play but have been mentioned throughout history often (Big O, Petit, Rick Barry, Frazier, etc.).

What I also loved about the book was Simmons’ complete understanding of the importance of playing basketball as a team game rather than an individual sport (you can probably guess how he treats Wilt in the Russell vs. Chamberlain chapter). On p.49 he includes some wonderful quotes form Bill Bradley and Bill Russell that provide fuel to any off-season basketball coach. Adding to this, perhaps my favorite quotation in the book comes from the epilogue and Simmons’ interview with the very well respected Bill Walton who states that the key to basketball is how you answer this question: “Can you make the choice that happiness can come from someone else’s success? BEAUTIFUL. What a great way to understand the sport.

The only drawback of the book, and what kept it from the coveted 5/5 rating, was that, although incredibly entertaining and a joy to read, it didn’t have the necessary depth and long lasting power of some of the other books I have reviewed (Godfather, Pillars, etc.). At the end of the day (or review), most of the book is about Simmons’ own views about fictional ideas and things he has created. The “Pantheon” of players, the blowing up of the Hall of Fame, and the highly anticipated basketball game against the aliens are funny to read about and great intellectual exercises but don’t have a lot of realism behind them. Likewise, I believe he has already changed his Top 96 Pyramid list a few times and the book is still in hardcover so I don’t think it will really last the test of time (or test of a year).

Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed reading every word of his book, and if you have any interest in basketball, I would highly recommend it to you. Being a person who loves the NBA and its history this book was a real swish (Holy God! Worst basketball joke ever).

Stoner -- John Williams -------- 3 Stars

Before beginning my review of the novel Stoner by John Williams, for the sake of full disclosure, I must make you aware of how this very unknown book got on my radar. I was skimming through a Time magazine and came to an interview with Tom Hanks. I like Tom Hanks and though it might be interesting to check out what he was saying. It was mostly about his producing of The Pacific miniseries on HBO but they asked him one of his favorite novels and lo and behold he mentioned Stoner. He said he loved it and a few other nice things and that was enough for me… I mean, he’s Tom Hanks. We’ll there’s a reason that Tom Hanks is a great actor and not a great writer or literary critic.

Now, don’t get me be wrong, I enjoyed the book and thought it was good, almost very good; but to say it’s one of your favorite book ever written is a bit much. Since very few of you have probably read this book a little background: it was written in 1965 and follows the life of a man named John Stoner from his late teens through his death during the first half of the 20^th century. The setting is Missouri and the book revolves around his academic life, as he served as a college Literature professor for all of his life. That’s about all you need to know about the plot.

There are many positive aspects of this novel. I love the theme and subject of the book and Stoner’s passion and love for academics. Stoner is a true romantic in many ways, though he says and does otherwise, and Williams shows this quixotic view of the main character in various ways. I loved the depth of the character developed. I mean, the author does an amazing job sculpting and layering Stoner that, by the end, you can’t help but feel you know him and care about him. The last real positive aspect of the text was the writing style. You could definitely say that Williams is a writer who never has a wasted word yet at the same times makes you aware of every necessary detail but nothing extraneous.

This is also one of the negatives of this novel. Having a shortened, concise writing style does not bother me (though it’s great to read florid, fanciful writing), but it seemed too often the author did not provide the necessary depth for other characters and settings. Perhaps this was purposeful. Dave Masters, for example, is a character introduced, described briefly and then removed from the novel in a matter of pages. He then remains one of the more referenced characters and a “friend” of Stoner to the end. I wish I would have learned of him more fully. This shortened and less than developed emphasis on other characters was an issue throughout the novel. The overall plot and rising action in the novel is a bit limited and dry as well. Nothing exceptionally exciting ever happens and Stoner’s life is grounded in reality (like every day boring life reality) for much of the novel.

Overall, the book was a bit of a disappointment. I was really expecting a beautifully crafted, fluidly written, exciting drama and it was lacking in a few of those areas. I also believe it didn’t help that I had my expectations raised to a high level (thanks a lot Tom Hanks – stick to making more Da Vinci Codes). Nonetheless, the novel does provide a beautiful and well defined character study of a man. And, in the end, who Stoner is and what he stands for is what the reader comes to enjoy about the novel. Stoner’s love for school, academics, learning, and true love is the leading themes of the book, and you can’t read the novel without appreciating those ideals.

It’s worth a read if you have some time this summer. It’s not long and you may appreciate it more than I do. Perhaps if you do, you or Tom Hanks can drop me a line and let me know what I missed.

Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? -- Michael Sandel ------------ 3 Stars

Usually when I finish a book, I look forward to putting my thoughts down and writing a review. For some reason, I have sort of dreaded finishing and writing about Michael Sandel's Justice. This is a very new book and since most readers have not read it, I will give a quick synopsis.

Sandel teaches a class at Harvard with the same name that discusses and evaluates how laws and rules are created. His book is similar. It traces some early political theories, relates them and then looks at their affect on a few modern political issues.

Overall, the book was disappointing. I was expecting this very exciting debate on major political issues but rather got a book that had 95% political philosophy and theory and 5% application. To enjoy this book you really, really have to like philosophy. I enjoy philosophy in small amounts, and I do believe the author did a great job explaining fairly difficulty political thoughts in a way even a laymen can understand. He starts with the idea of utilitarianism which basically argues for providing the greatest good to the biggest number of people. Then, he changes to libertarianism which allows for people to have as much freedom and liberty as possible; i.e. NO government influence. He then moves on to Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. The former basically supports the idea of 'moral reasoning' and allowing people to make decisions based on true, practical reason. Rawls believes people should make decisions assuming a 'veil of ignorance' which basically means to ask yourself prior to making your decision, would you make the same decision if you were not who you were (i.e. you could be poor and not rich; would you still want no redistribution of tax income?) He then goes on to Aristotle who basically argues that there is a 'correct' moral stand that people need to figure out and take.

These chapters were actually pretty good. Although a bit 'heady' (he likes to do the classic philosopher thing of 'so here is the thought but if you change this thing than it changes, but if you change this then the thought is this. That makes sense, well let's now actually look at it this way'.) his explanation of the philosophies was actually very illuminating and I enjoyed most of it. He then spent nearly a quarter of the book talking about what we owe each in a society. I really disliked this. I found it boring, with little relation to all the philosophies I spent so much time trying to understand from earlier and not applicable to anything modern.

He finished with an okay chapter about some modern issues like abortion, stem cell research and homosexuality. He made me rethink about some of those issues as he argued (correctly I would say, though you need to read the book to find out why) that if you are pro-choice or support same sex marriage you can't do it on the argument of "let people choose what they want"/liberty view.

I am not sure what else to offer to inspire or excite the reader about checking this book out. If, as I had hoped, this had been a book that clearly and eloquently explained some of the major viewpoints and political arguments of our time, that would have been awesome. Early in the book Sandel raises some simple questions like "is it okay for Michael Jordan to make millions each year and a teacher a few thousand" or "is it okay for people to gouge others on the price of gas ($11/gallon) in New Orleans after Katrina". Of course, he never provides any answers but rather (I guess) assumes you will come to your conclusion after understanding and deciding upon your own philosophy that resonates with yourself.

I do like the ending of the book. Unlike many political books, this author actually tells you his own view on things. I won't ruin it but I will give you a hint, the guy is obsessed about and wrote a whole book about philosophy, justice and morals -- he probably sort of supports that stuff.

Do check this out if any of this sounds interesting to you. It's not a long book but is a slow read because you really have to think (damn!) about what you are reading as you go through.

Stay tuned for my next review. I am pumped for reading John Williams' Stoner. Although not a hugely well known book, it's supposed to be excellent. Check it out if you like even before my review (sorry if it sucks).