Category: Books
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Review: Harrison’s The Raw and the Cooked
The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand Jim Harrison I read an article by Harrison in the New Yorker about some crazy huge meal full of rare delicacies that he was invited to eat in which the chef, before serving told the diners, told them to “eat with courage”. I thought that…
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Review: Sebold’s The Lovely Bones
The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold The plot of this one (young girl narrates her life and murder from heaven) put me off when I first heard it but, when many smart friends read, and loved it, I decided to give it a go. I am really glad I did. Seabold walks a fine line between…
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Review: Stephenson’s The System of the World
The System of the World (The Baroque Cycle, Vol. 3) Neal Stephenson The third volume in Stephenson’s ambitious and fun recounting of the world events circa the late 18th century. This has got the birth of the royal society, the growing pains of international trade and the intrigues at Versailles for starters. As I remember,…
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Review: Skidelsky’s John Maynard Keynes: Hopes Betrayed
John Maynard Keynes: Volume 1: Hopes Betrayed 1883-1920 Robert Skidelsky The first volume of Skidelsky’s three volume telling of the life of the man who is arguably the 20th century’s most famous economist.* This covers birth and all that crap, and then the very juicy years of JMK at Cambridge. Besides his economic work (talked…
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Review: Eichenwald’s Conspiracy of Fools
Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story Kurt Eichenwald Eichenwald is one of the best business writers around. Here, he gives the definitive account of what happened at Enron. The accounting explanations here can get a little hairy (because what was going inside Enron’s accounting was pretty bizarre) but it is still a fascinating read. I don’t…
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Review: Mann’s Rise of the Vulcans
Rise Of The Vulcans: The History of Bush’s War Cabinet James Mann The best book on the personalities that made up the first Bush term, and believe me, I have read a bunch of them. All the Woodward books and other beltway books of the season come and go, but Mann’s book I think will…
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Review: Russell’s The Problems of Philosophy
The Problems of Philosophy Bertrand Russell It can feel ridiculous sometimes to review a foundational text such a Russell’s the Problem of Philosophy. Who am I to critique the work of one of the world’s greatest philosophers? I’m just a kid from a small town with a public education. Still, here’s my two cents. This…
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Review: Skidelsky’s John Maynard Keynes: The Economist as Savior
John Maynard Keynes: Volume 2: The Economist as Savior, 1920-1937 Robert Skidelsky It is hard to believe there was a time in my life when I thought reading a three volume biography of JMK was a good idea*. But there is it. On a personal note, I read most of this, and the first volume…
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Review: Robinson’s Gilead
Gilead: A Novel Marilynne Robinson On the surface, this book should not have appealed to me at all. The story of the domestic life of a small town minister in the mid-west, it has nothing of interest to me (besides some references to John Brown). But Gilead is one of the most highly realized and…
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Review: Eribon’s Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault Didier Eribon There are, as far as I know, three Foucault biographies available in English. I have read all of them. Eribon’s was the first to appear (I believe) but the least interesting. The Passions of Michel Foucault is the most gossipy (and it still doesn’t really give up that much dirt) and…
Milo and the Calf 