Tag: recommended for the enthusiast
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Review: Delany’s The Mad Man
The Mad Man The first Delany book I read, and what an introduction. There’s no point in starting this review off with anything other than the obvious – this book is full of detailed sexual adventures of men with other men. It is graphic, and there are portions (including accounts of corporphila and more) that…
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Review: Wellington’s A Life Without Limits
A Life Without Limits: A World Champion’s Journey Chrissie Wellington Chrissie Wellington is one of the most successful triathletes of all time. But she’s more than that. She’s an activist for environmental issues, a legit player in the world of international development, and a survivor of a serious eating disorder and more. She covers all…
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Review: Fox’s The Riddle in the Labyrinth
The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code Margalit Fox I’ve been fascinated by the story of decipherment of Linear B, the language originally found by Authur Evans on Crete and eventually deciphered by the troubled amateur Michael Ventris, for years. It was a great puzzle — a sort of black…
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Review: Scott’s The Magicians
The Magicians: An Investigation of a Group Practicing BLACK MAGIC Gini Graham Scott, Ph.D. A strange little book about practitioners of so-called “Black” and “White” magic. The book is divided into two sections: one in which the author joins a “black magic” group and the other in which the author joins a sort of wiccan…
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Review: Beard and Henderson’s Classics
Classics: A Very Short Introduction Mary Beard and John Henderson A short, but clever little book co-written by one of my favorite writers, Mary Beard. This is not really an overview of the substance of “Classics” (i.e. the works of the ancient world). Rather, it is an overview of the way we think about the…
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Review: Ayer’s The Long Race
The Longest Race: A Lifelong Runner, An Iconic Ultramarathon, and the Case for Human Endurance Ed Ayers A lifelong runner uses his training, and running, of the JFK 50 miler as a way to ruminate on the nature of running, both as an activity and as a metaphor for political action. Ayers has been running…
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Review: Fitzgerald’s Iron War
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and the Greatest Race Ever Run Matt Fitzgerald In 1989 Mark Allen and Dave Scott, two of the greatest triathletes of all time, competed in what is still the closest, and my all measures, greatest Ironman world championship. This book is the story of those men, that race, and…
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Review: Goodwin’s the Jannisary Tree
The Janissary Tree Jason GoodwinFrom all the wonderful reviews this got, I have to admit I was expecting more from this mystery set during the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. Goodwin is a skillful writer, and he has an obvious love for Turkey and its culture, but the plot seemed hackneyed and the execution…
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Review: Nabokov’s The Defense
The Defense Vladimir Nabokov This early Nabokov novel is not of the mindbending genius of later works like Pale Fire and Lolita, but it is still better than even the best work by many other writers. Nabokov is a brilliant stylist and imagines the world of his protagonist brillantly. The phrasing is sparse and compelling,…
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Review: Goldberg’s the Goddess Pose
The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West Michelle Goldberg A biography of the fascinating Indra Devi (born Eugenia Peterson), who began life as a displaced Russian and ended it as one of the most important Western Yoga teachers. Devi’s life is incredible. Her ability…
Milo and the Calf 