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Audition: A Memoir92 reviews
Barbara Walters

Knopf, 2008

Audition
I found this autobiography to be a detailed personal history as well as a historical overview of current events that were happening throughout her lifetime. Her thoughts and memories about her parents and sister are very poignant. Excellent book, for anyone who remembers some or all the events that she covered, as well as for students of broadcast journalism. Shows the trials that a woman ... 		  
  







  
  
Unaccustomed Earth64 reviews
Jhumpa Lahiri

Knopf, 2008

Outstanding
Jhumpa Lahiri just keeps getting better and better. "Unaccustomed Earth" is her third book and her second collection of short stories. I'm amazed that she was able to top "Interpreter of Maladies" with such rich, emotional portraits of love and loss. This book contains eight stories, three of which are linked together, and like all of Lahiri's previous works, each story focuses on individuals ... 		  
  







  
  
The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport19 reviews
Carl Hiaasen

Knopf, 2008

Golf Cart Full of Laughs
Thirty-two years after giving up the game of golf, Carl Hiaasen finds himself playing golf during his free time from writing an article for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue. He plays well enough that when he returns home to Florida, he buys a set of second hand clubs. Thus begins a hilarious odyssey over 577 days. The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport, by Carl Hiaasen is an ... 		  
  







  
  
The Boat2 reviews
Nam Le

Knopf, 2008

An amazing literary work written in elegant and clear prose
Perhaps this is the year of short stories. In April Jhumpa Lahiri's "Unaccustomed Earth" was published to the delight of lovers of short stories. And now this dazzling debut, a collection of seven short stories titled "The Boat", by Nam Le. Even though he is only 29 years old, he writes with the wisdom of a very old and experienced writer. The title story is very long, and reads like a novella. ... 		  
  







  
  
The Return of History and the End of Dreams10 reviews
Robert Kagan

Knopf, 2008

A snapshot of global politics, 2008
Although the title clearly references Fukuyama's book, it's important to point out that Kagan isn't attacking Fukuyama here. Just in the same way that The End of History was a product of the end of the Cold War, The Return of History is the product of the world in 2008. Kagan's book is much less ambitious in the sense that Fukuyama really went out on a limb with his book and made a lot of ... 		  
  







  
  
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-4538 reviews
Max Hastings

Knopf, 2008

Comprehensive picture of the Pacific war
This excellent book provides an education on the war in the Pacific. The British in Burma, miseries of jungle warfare; Japan's Chinese conquests; warships in the Pacific, battleships, aircraft carriers, submarines; the battle of Leyte Gulf; the national image of MacArthur through efforts of his public relations operations (for a more splendid account of this read David Halberstam's "The Coldest ... 		  
  







  
  
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain65 reviews
Oliver Sacks

Knopf, 2007

another excellent book by Sacks
I have always liked Oliver Sacks' writing. His mix of clinical observation, erudite philosphical musings, combined with the deep empathy for the patients he describes is unique. However, this book is quite different from his previous offerings since he chooses a single underlying theme. It would appear that the cases discussed and conclusions drawn would be more limited than the far ... 		  
  







  
  
The Hakawati4 reviews
Rabih Alameddine

Knopf, 2008

Magus Alameddine
Rabih Alameddine's new novel, "The Hakawati," is a sprawling, delicious panoply of over-the-top tales of love, sex, murder, heroism, magic, loss, triumph, skulduggery, noblesse, repentance, lies, redemption, loyalty, curses, and just about everything else, all plaited into a set of parallel narratives which augment and illuminate each other. It is a masterful and startling accomplishment, a sort ... 		  
  







  
  
Good Calories, Bad Calories162 reviews
Gary Taubes

Knopf, 2007

Question the Underlying Assumptions
We all believe that we are adept at thinking critically, but how often do we really question our underlying assumptions? I heard Gary Taubes interviewed on NPR and thought that although he made several good points, he was basically an "Atkins Diet wacko." I started this book believing that I would quickly spot the obvious holes in his logic. After reading about 50 pages I realized that I agreed ... 		  
  







  
  
Terror and Consent : The Wars for the Twenty-First Century14 reviews
Philip Bobbitt

Knopf, 2008

Great book
Great book by a great mind. He may not have all the answers, but his analysis deserves to be viewed thoughtfully, not like these people giving it one star because he does not conform to their views. Thanks to an interview with Dennis Prager, I was turned on to this work. 		  
  







  
  
Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana (Christ the Lord)45 reviews
Anne Rice

Knopf, 2008

Why do we need THIS Jesus?
It's almost a high-school literature teacher's joke: Divine 1st person point of view. Any literary person worth their salt knows the only kind of omniscient point of view is 3rd person (or 2nd, in the extremely rare case of Augustine's Confessions). But Anne Rice blithely jumps those literary tracks (as she jumped another, from vampire lit to theography) in order to give us the 1st person ... 		  
  







  
  
McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld (Borzoi Books)12 reviews
Misha Glenny

Knopf, 2008

An engrossing and comprehensive portrait of trans-national crime
The title of Glenny's book, McMafia, encapsulates the reality of the modern phenomena of organized crime: in our globalized world, organized crime has attained a size, sophistication, wealth, and reach that is comparable to the most successful multi-national corporations. In a series of engrossing vignettes that detail the inner workings of the most prominent trans-national criminal syndicates, ... 		  
  







  
  
The Pixar Touch: The Making of a Company
David A. Price

Knopf, 2008

The roller-coaster rags-to-riches story behind the phenomenal success of Pixar Animation Studios: the first in-depth look at the company that forever changed the film industry and the “fraternity of geeks” who shaped it. The Pixar Touch is a story of technical innovation that revolutionized animation, transforming hand-drawn cel animation to computer-generated 3-D graphics. It’s a triumphant business story of a company that ... 		  
  







  
  
The Prince of Frogtown13 reviews
Rick Bragg

Knopf, 2008

A REAL Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius....
Rick Bragg never fails to mesmerize and entertain...and oh, what a way with words! 'Prince' is my favorite in this trilogy, but I'd heartily recommend any of them. A truly remarkable memoir, touching, engaging, laugh-out-loud funny, and tender in its portrayal of Alabama. I live in Florida now, and travel back and forth to a mountain place we have near my birthplace in Anniston. Rick Bragg never ... 		  
  







  
  
Right Is Wrong: How the Lunatic Fringe Hijacked America, Shredded the Constitution, and Made Us All Less Safe15 reviews
Arianna Huffington

Knopf, 2008

Nice try, wrong wing propaganda
Gauging by the one and two star ratings from the radical right, it's obvious that Arrianna has struck a cord of truth. Of course, truth is something foreign to the neo-cons, as we have evidenced during the past eight years. Read the book for yourself, and don't judge according to the right (er, wrong ) wing book review campaigns. 		  
  







  




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