Tag: books
-
Brandes’ The Orchard
The Orchard Yochi Brandes A fictionalize portrayal of the life of Rabbi Akiva, told from the perspective of his loving, but long suffering wife. Akiva is a luminary of early rabbinic Judaism and one of the central figures in the Talmud. He was, allegedly, a simple Shepard, who won the heart of the daughter of…
-
Joseph’s Evolution of a Cro-Magnon
Evolution of a Cro-Magnon John Joseph The completely insane, at times totally unbelievable, utterly compelling, tragic, hilarious, memoir of the street kid turned hardcore legend, John Joseph aka Bloodclot. Born into an abusive home, Joseph would soon end up separated from his mother and placed with his brothers in a horrific foster home. From there,…
-
Nguyen’s The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer Viet Thanh Nguyen There are novels that when you’re reading them you can tell that the autor agonized over every word, thought deeply about every plot point, knew intimately every character. You can tell that the book is more than a work of fiction, its an attempt to tell something true and real…
-
Skolnick’s One Breath: Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits
One Breath: Freediving, Death, and the Quest to Shatter Human Limits Adam Skolnick A book about a lost young man who finds himself through the extreme sport of free diving. A tale of ambition, physical brilliance, and ultimately death. A book about how far you can really push the human body, and a book about…
-
Bonne’s New Rules for Wine
New Rules for Wine: A Genuinely Helpful Guide to Everything You Need to Know John Bonne Widely thought of as one of the best books on wine in the last decade, this one does not disappoint. A clear, concise, and approachable guide to drinking wine today. Filled with insights and tips that will be helpful…
-
Boyrain’s Borderlands: The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity
Borderlands: The Partition of Judeo-Christinaty Daniel Boyarin Daniel Boyarin is a genius and a personally fascinating scholar. A Talmudic scholar and an expert on rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity, he’s also versed in what is generally called “theory” and rhetoric. He’s an observant Jew, and an anti-Zionist. He’s also, I’m afraid to say, a complex…
-
Carreyrou’s Bad Blood
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies In a Silicon Valley Start Up John Carreyrou I have a real soft spot for the genre I call “Business Tell-Alls”. Books on rouge billionaires, hostel take overs, accounting scandals, I’m here for it all. And having read many, many of these books I can say with some authority that…
-
Harris’s Dictator
Dictator: A Novel Robert Harris The final volume in Harris’s novelization of the life of Cicero, this one covering his actions during the time of the assassination of Caesar up to his death on the orders of Marc Anthony. Cicero is one of Rome’s most memorable senators. A brilliant lawyer and rhetorician who was also…
-
Wrights Why Buddhism is True
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Robert Wright This book is about much, much more than the truth of Buddhism. Yes, it convincingly makes the argument that the central tenet of Buddhism (i.e. there is no “you”) is true but it does so by marshalling the best that cognitive…
-
Review: Knecht’s Who Is Vera Kelly
Who Is Vera Kelly Rosalie Knecht A clever spy novel that doubles as a coming out story, while also being an disection of gender and sexuality in 1950-60s American and is an subtle exposition of the catastrophic effects of U.S. involvement in Latin America. Many spy novelists are ostensibly liberals (LeCarre, Steinhauer come to mind)…
Milo and the Calf 