Stealing MySpace tells the tale of spam, spyware, porn and dubious identities in the spawning of one of the great Internet phenomena of this decade. Then it turns to Rupert Murdoch.
Journalist Julia Angwin writes about the rise of MySpace and the story behind Murdoch’s eventual acquisition of the site.
TechCrunch notes that MySpace wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea: “MySpace is quick to point out that they had no involvement in the book at all. All they’re officially saying is ‘This book received zero participation, zero access, and zero fact-checking from MySpace.’ It’s clear from the tone of the book that Angwin’s sources are primarily or solely people who’ve left the company, many of whom have a bone to pick with MySpace or parent company News Corp.”
No claims (that we’ve heard) yet that the stories have been fabricated.
On publisher Random House’s Web site:
“Stealing MySpace introduces us to the site’s founders, Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, who dabbled in computer hacking, online pornography, spam, and spyware before starting MySpace. Although their street savvy, doggedness, and clubbing skills far eclipsed their tech prowess, they stumbled their way to success and soon found themselves at ground zero of a high-stakes war that pitted Rupert Murdoch against his frequent nemesis, the combative Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone.”
As usual, colleges and universities are at the forefront of adapting digital technologies. Music downloads, texting and other media uses are a ubiquitous part of campus life.
And now Northwest Missouri State is looking to go totally digital with textbooks.
Junior Kevin Green tells NPR, “I find it easy to just go through it as [the instructor] discusses it in class and highlight things as he brings them up,” using his school-issued laptop to access the textbook. He is one of 500 students in a test group going all-digital.
Digital textbooks haven’t exactly swept the country yet, finding pockets of acceptance and pockets of resistance.
The digital textbook of the future will go way beyond simply reformatting text for e-reader — it’s likely to include video and all form of interactivity, adapting available Web technology. Modern students expect no less.
Cost is a big factor in the move: One book can cost upward of $200. E-book versions cost about half that, says NPR – which still seems ridiculously high.
Seems an enterprising professor and a few media-savvy undergrads (is that redundant?) could put together a nice e-book with a few bells and whistles for one-quarter the going rate and still make a killing. Viva la revolucion!
By Diane Evans
You won’t believe who has a new book coming out in May. It’s J.R.R. Tolkien – even though the creator of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series died in 1973.
The Tolkien Library Web site, at www.tolkienlibrary.com, reports that the new book is an extensive retelling of a story derived from the Volsunga Saga from Norse mythology. According to publisher U.S. Houghton Mifflin, the book will include an introduction by Tolkien and notes by his son, Christopher Tolkien.
J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novels have sold millions of copies. Tolkien began The Hobbit on blank pages at the end of students’ exams, and he then read those stories to his children at bedtime. That was the start of the epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings, published in Great Britain 1954-55.
The Web site www.tolkiensociety.org notes that The Lord of the Rings went into a pirated paperback version in 1965. A copyright dispute resulted in millions of Americans discovering Tolkien’s work. According the the Web site: “By 1968 The Lord of the Rings had almost become the Bible of the ‘Alternative Society.’ This development produced mixed feelings in the author. On the one hand, he was extremely flattered. . . On the other, he could only deplore those whose idea of a great trip was to ingest The Lord of the Rings and LSD simultaneously.”
At that other end of the spectrum, you can find scholarly commentary on Catholic thought within Tolkien works. The National Catholic Register published an essay in 2003 on “Why Tolkien Says Lord of the Rings is Catholic.” The Register quoted Tolkien as saying the fact that he was a Roman Catholic Christian was “really significant” to his work.
Dozens of books and academic papers have been published on Tolkien’s life and the layers of meanings in his stories. You’ll also find blogs devoted solely to news and information about Tolkien. An example is Tolkien News at http://tolkiennews.net/ and Tolkien-Online.com at http://www.tolkien-online.com/Tolkien-blog.html.
In our sound-bite culture, we find depth in nooks and crannies. As such, the fraternity of Tolkien can claim diversity going from Jesuits to junkies. That one author can speak to so many is a measure of greatness. It’s also why a new Tolkien title is significant.
I’m not a die-hard Tolkien fan. But The Lord of the Rings caused me to search out commentary on what Tolkien meant to say. One message sticks in my mind: It’s that in life, we know who our obvious enemies are. But in addition to those who clearly mean us harm, there are some who are near to us who will lead us astray if we let them. And if that’s not enough, we also have to resist our own urges to sabotage ourselves. Remember the temptation to put the ring on? Tolkien’s genius was his ability to tell such epic truth under the cover of fantasy.
Some books would be better left unwritten. This is one such book.
Gary Condit disappeared from headlines after his brush with infamy in 2001, but a recent breakthrough in finding a suspect in Chandra Levy’s death has returned the former congressman to the spotlight.
Condit, who had a “relationship” with the 23-year-old Levy and was questioned about her disappearance but not ever charged with a crime, nonetheless saw his political career come to an end. After years of silence, he is reportedly shopping for a publisher to tell his story.
Publishers Marketplace reported that Condit’s agent says the book will address his long silence and also “the media and the public’s power to destroy a public figure and keep on punishing them without end, regardless of guilt or innocence.”
Condit told an Arizona television station, “I had always hoped to have the opportunity to tell my side of this story, but too many were not prepared to listen. Now I plan to do so, but I will have no further comments on this story at this time.”
Levy’s family cannot be overjoyed to have to relive the slow torture of her disappearance months before her body was found in a park, or the lurid circumstances surrounding the whole thing.
The suspect, a Salvadoran immigrant in prison for attacks on two other women in the same park, was a known entity for some time. Apparently sloppy police work hasn’t helped matters there.
Now, Condit’s plans to write a book seem to be just adding insult to injury.
Gary, let it go already.
Our Daily Red is not quite daily and seldom red, but it is written by DelMio Editorial Director Dave Wilson.
Steven Gaines, author of Philistines at the Hedgerow, has turned his gaze southward to Miami in his new book, Fool’s Paradise.
Pastel glory on “Miami Vice”
In it, Gaines turns the garish South Beach glare on an assortment of colorful characters who have populated Miami over the years, ranging from Madonna and and Frank Sinatra to Al Capone to nightclub owners who helped spawn the town so artfully portrayed on Miami Vice.
Writes Carl Hiaasen, himself no stranger to Miami:
“One successful poser was a gym rat from Brooklyn who called himself Chris Paciello. Twenty-three years old and unemployed, Paciello arrived in South Beach and within days somehow purchased a nightclub, which he refurbished as a local dive. After that burned down, under predictably disputed circumstances, Paciello opened a club called Liquid, which soon became the hottest draw for models, actors and pro athletes.
“Paciello’s real name was Christian Ludwigsen, and he was a violent felon who federal investigators believed was tied to organized crime families. When his mottled résumé was illuminated by The Village Voice, it only enhanced Paciello’s studly stature. The club crowd thought it was way cool to hang with a genuine goon.”
On Sinatra, who played at the famous (or infamous) Fontainebleau Hotel free of charge apparently in exchange for a free penthouse flop: “Gaines asserts, ‘The only thing Sinatra paid for was his hookers.’ Well, at least he didn’t forget the little people.”
Amid all the hubbub about who’s getting what in the economic stimulus package, a voice of reason can be hard to find. Enter the man who declared The World is Flat.
Thomas Friedman on economic stimulus plans: “When it comes to helping companies, precious public money should focus on start-ups, not bailouts.”
Instead of pouring billions and billions of dollars into GM and Chrysler, take just some of that money and put it toward startups that have bright ideas and no megamillion-dollar CEOs to subsidize. Amen, and verily.
True, the creator of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series died in 1973, but thanks to the magic of time travel …actually, it’s an old manuscript that’s been around.
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun predates the Hobbit and Rings, but publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt found sufficient interest to dust off the old manuscript and put it to print.
From the Tolkien Library Press:
“The previously unpublished work was written while Tolkien was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University during the 1920s and ’30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The publication will make available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and the Fall of the Niflungs.”
By Diane Evans Several communities around the country are reporting increased use of public libraries during this tough economy. It makes sense, because you can get a lot for free, and not just books to read. Here are a few examples of things you can do:
*Entertain your kids. Check your local library for listings; programs typically range from story times to educational game playing on library computers. A library in Sandpoint, Idaho, reported that participation in programs for preschoolers doubled over the course of just a few months. Sessions that previously drew 15 children now attract about 30.
*Sharpen your skills or learn new ones: Many librarians have become multimedia specialists who can help you advance your skills in our age of digital information. Some of these librarians can teach you how to develop PowerPoint presentations or create videos online.
*Get connected. If you don’t have Internet access at home, you’re likely to have it available at a local library. At the main library at Roanoke County in Virginia, the staff estimates a 12 percent to 15 percent increase in patrons just this year. In many cases, people who have given up Internet service at home are going to the library to check e-mail and search for jobs.
*Join a book discussion group. You can socialize and meet new friends around interesting discussions, often led by librarians. It’s common to find discussion groups around genres, such as mystery and romance.
*Borrow instead of buy. In addition to books, you can check out movies and music CDs.
Xxxxxx
On the topic of hard times: Wonder if the stimulus package could hand out laptops and send writers fanning out across the nation to document the American experience? The Works Progress Administration’s Writers’ Project did just that during the Great Depression.
David A. Taylor’s new book, Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America, examines the program and its impact.
Over a five-year span, novelists such as the late Richard Wright and the late Jim Thompson traveled the country in search of America’s stories. They documented people in hardship and in transition.
The late novelist and short story writer Nelson Algren said of the effort:
“Had it not been for the Project, the suicide rate would have
been much higher. It gave new life to people who had thought
their lives were over.”
An excerpt from Taylor’s book:
“When Nelson Algren said that the Project gave hope to people who
had lost it, he was not being melodramatic. The Writers’ Project set a
trampoline under many thousands, writers and nonwriters, who would
otherwise have hit the pavement. The poet W. H. Auden called the
Project ‘one of the noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted
by any state.’ It put people in contact with one another, restored voices
to many who had fallen silent, and gave us the closest thing to Twain’s
vision that America has ever seen.”
“Had it not been for the Project, the suicide rate would have
been much higher. It gave new life to people who had thought
their lives were over.”
— NELSON ALGREN
Maybe the stimulus package could hand out laptops and send writers fanning out across the nation to document the American experience. It’s been done before. The Work Progress Administration did it back in the Great Depression.
From NPR:
“During a span of five years, novelists like Richard Wright and noir writer Jim Thompson went in search of America’s stories. They were part of the Works Progress Administration’s Writers’ Project. With pencil in hand, the writers traveled from Lenox Avenue in Harlem to the slums of Oklahoma City documenting a people in transition.
“Author David A. Taylor’s new book, Soul of a People: The WPA Writers’ Project Uncovers Depression America, takes a look at the authors behind the WPA guides. Taylor tells the stories of noted writers like Zora Neale Hurston, and more anonymous chroniclers like Ruby Wilson, an unemployed nurse in North Platte, Neb. They worked tirelessly, collecting stories of everyone, everywhere.”
An excerpt from Taylor:
“When Nelson Algren said that the Project gave hope to people who
had lost it, he was not being melodramatic. The Writers ’ Project set a
trampoline under many thousands, writers and nonwriters, who would
otherwise have hit the pavement. The poet W. H. Auden called the
Project ‘one of the noblest and most absurd undertakings ever attempted
by any state.’ It put people in contact with one another, restored voices
to many who had fallen silent, and gave us the closest thing to Twain ’ s
vision that America has ever seen.”
A good deal of buzz surrounds Cutting for Stone, the debut novel by Abraham Verghese. It’s the tale of twin brothers, Marion and Shiva Stone, orphaned sons of an Indian nun and a British surgeon born in Ethiopia.
Writing for BookBrowse, reviewer Lucia Silva says:
“As a bookseller, I live for novels like Cutting for Stone – big, fat, beautiful novels as beguiling and enchanting as babies, as wise and as generous as old sages. They are the bread-and-butter novels I can’t wait to sell, the books people talk about all year long, the books they buy for their sisters and fathers, the book they press into the hands of friends with insistent, almost violent exhortations. Read this. You will love it. You HAVE to read this book. I talk about these books in the plural, as if there are scores of them, but while their iconic status is great, their numbers are few. They don’t come along every season, or even every year, but I wait for them, hoping every third book I read will be the one, that one single book that makes my heart leap every time I know someone else is going to get to read it, too. And so, let me be the first, but certainly not the last to tell you: Read this book. You will love it.”
The title is a play on the family name and a portion of the Hippocratic Oath, which the author quotes: “I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest.”
An excerpt:
The Coming
“After eight months spent in the obscurity of our mother’s womb, my brother, Shiva, and I came into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of grace 1954. We took our first breaths at an elevation of eight thousand feet in the thin air of Addis Ababa, capital city of Ethiopia. The miracle of our birth took place in Missing Hospital’s Operating Theater 3, the very room where our mother, Sister Mary Joseph Praise, spent most of her working hours, and in which she had been most fulfilled.
“When our mother, a nun of the Diocesan Carmelite Order of Madras, unexpectedly went into labor that September morning, the big rain in Ethiopia had ended, its rattle on the corrugated tin roofs of Missing ceasing abruptly like a chatterbox cut off in midsentence. Over night, in that hushed silence, the meskel flowers bloomed, turning the hillsides of Addis Ababa into gold. In the meadows around Missing the sedge won its battle over mud, and a brilliant carpet now swept right up to the paved threshold of the hospital, holding forth the promise of something more substantial than cricket, croquet, or shuttlecock.”
Matt McCarthy, now a medical intern in New York City, was a left-handed pitching prospect in 2002 in the Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels minor league organization. He was a bit of an anomaly: a Yale-educated graduate who was eventually headed to medical school, trying to make it to the Major Leagues. It became the material for his book, Odd Man Out.
Review
“Twenty years after the release of Bull Durham, the ultimate movie about the minor leagues, we now have Matt McCarthy’s Odd Man Out, the ultimate minor league memoir. If you want insight, irreverence, honesty and even a healthy dose of political incorrectness—not to mention an invaluable look at the state of the national pastime—McCarthy delivers. As a pitcher, he might have been a minor leaguer; as a memoirist, McCarthy’s an all-star. Odd Man Out is the best baseball book since Moneyball.”
—Jeremy Schaap, author of Cinderella Man: James J. Braddock, Max Baer and the Greatest Upset in Boxing History
McCarthy recalled flying home after being cut from the Anaheim Angels organization. He shared the flight with Kevin McClain, 25 at the time, who also had been cut that day:
” ‘I can’t believe it,’ he said to his tray table. ‘I put in five good years and then this happens. Comes outta nowhere.
‘I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna do,’ he murmured.
‘Try to get back in the game?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I’m 25.’
For the life of me, I couldn’t think of the right words to say.
‘I suppose I better,’ he added, ‘because I got a wife and kid at home, and we need the paychecks. I got no work experience … no education to speak of … I guess I could get a job at Target.’
‘This is a crazy time,’ I said.
He lifted his head and looked me in the eye.
‘What about you?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. ”
Thomas Ricks says the United States is going to be stuck in Iraq for a long time, and his book, The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq. 2006-2008, tells us why. This is a follow-up to Fiasco, the self-explanatory critique of how the war was conducted in the first few years.
On The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he relates how Gen. David Petraeus quoted Aretha Franklin (actually, Otis Redding wrote the song, but let’s not quibble) in how to most effectively deal with quarrelsome Iraqis: r-e-s-p-e-c-t. In this case respect came in the form of U.S. dollars.
One American asked an Iraqi if he still wanted to kill him. The answer: Yes, but not today.
Publisher Penguin Group summarizes: “For Petraeus, prevailing in Iraq means extending the war. Thomas E. Ricks concludes that the war is likely to last another five to ten years—and that that outcome is a best case scenario. His stunning conclusion, stated in the last line of the book, is that ‘the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered by us and by the world have not yet happened.’ ”
The new Kindle 2 reader hits the market this month with a few tweaks in speed and navigation features and the same price tag as its predecessor. As you might expect, the next generation of electronic book reader is a bit slicker and a bit thinnner.
Says USATODAY’s Edward Baig: “With or without a cover, Kindle 2 is more attractive than its homely predecessor, though that’s not saying much. At a svelte 0.36 inches, Kindle 2 is about half as thick as before and thinner than most smartphones.”
For more, CLICK HERE.
Andrew Smith takes the Kindle 2 for a test drive on behalf of Dallas Morning News readers HERE.
Meanwhile, in this corner lurks a competitor from Fujitsu: HERE.
A few notes on new books gaining attention in a month that celebrates black
history, Presidents Day and cupid through the life of a saint: The Negro Speaks of Rivers: Award-winning illustrator E. B. Lewis offers a
visual interpretation of the Langston Hughes poem by the same title. The
poem, first published in 1921, became signature Hughes, with lines such as,
“I’ve known rivers: Ancient, dusky rivers. My soul has grown deep like the
rivers.”
The Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children recommends Lewis’
illustrated rendering of the poem as a way to teach children about both
natural resources and human resources, with the latter relating to the labor
of African Americans. In the book, Lewis describes how water has had
special meaning in his own life. Both the poem and the illustrations can
segue into lessons on black history, and also the role of natural resources
in history.
Lewis’ art depicts children at play at the seashore, fishermen at work, and
the flow of water past bridges, huts and various landmarks through time.
You’ll find dozens of new titles on Abraham Lincoln, with this being the
200th anniversary of his birth. That’s not to mention the renewed interest
in Lincoln as a result of Barack Obama – a student of Lincoln sworn in on
the Great Emancipator’s Bible. If you’re looking for a quick read, James M.
McPherson has a new biography out, titled Abraham Lincoln, and it’s only 79
pages.
McPherson won a Pulitzer Prize for his Battle Cry of Freedom, a history of
the Civil War published in 1988.
For in-depth analysis among the new works, McPherson recommends A. Lincoln:
A Biography, by Ronald C. White Jr., as the best since David Donald’s Lincoln in 1995.
Now for romance: Legend is that St. Valentine died on Feb. 14, and that he
had signed “From your Valentine” on letters sent to his jail keeper ‘s
daughter. Valentine, a Catholic priest during the reign of Claudius II, got
in trouble for marrying couples in defiance of Claudius’ decree against
marriage. Claudius, who thought unmarried men made better soldiers, ordered
Valentine beheaded.
That’s the backdrop.
Today, if popular books reflect love in our culture, the holy St. Valentine
might be wholly surprised.
A few new titles: Love in the Time of Colic: The New Parents’ Guide to Getting It on Again, by
Ian Kerner and Heidi Raykeil.
Why Him? Why Her? Finding Real Love by Understanding Your Personality Type,
by Helen Fisher. It looks at four personality types and why some work
together better than others.
The Joy of Sex, by Dr. Alex Comfort and Susan Quilliam, including color
photographs and what you might need to know about text sex.
Dr. Ruth’s Top 10 Secrets for Great Sex, by the sex doctor Ruth Westheimer.
Some romance.
Legend has it that St. Valentine sent letters to the daughter of his jailkeeper signed “From your Valentine,” and that he died on Feb. 14.
Valentine, a Catholic priest during the reign of Claudius II, aka Claudius the Cruel, married couples in defiance of Claudius’ decree against marriage (Claudius apparently believed that unattached men made for better solders). Claudius, upon learning of this heinous plot, ordered Valentine beheaded.
But you don’t have to lose your head over love – just a few of your hard-earned dollars. HarperCollins is here to help on that end.
The publisher offers a few books for the valentines in your life: Bad Dog Marley, a personalized book from the author of Marley and Me, John Grogan; How to Talk to Girls by the wise-beyond-his-years Alec Greven; and How to Love Like a Hot Chick, which sounds pretty much like it reads.
If you get tongue-tied by love, perhaps you’d rather have Shakespeare’s sonnets read to your true love by thespian Sir John Gielgud.
Flowers are nice and all, but books require no water (actually, they prefer no water) and have much longer shelf lives.
The name of Abraham Lincoln has been invoked quite a bit these days, with President Barack Obama citing Lincoln as one of his favorite subjects. Being hailed as the savior of the nation and abolisher of slavery might tend to give a fairly monochromatic view of Lincoln and, by extension, the Civil War.
But as with most historical and political watershed moments, appearances can be deceiving. Distilling Lincoln into a few short phrases really don’t do him or his moment in history justice.
William Safire writes:
For someone who wants to brush up on Lincoln, or who feels an urge to introduce a young family member to the practical world of democratic idealism, where best to start? How do potential Civil War buffs get a handle on what can become an enriching, lifelong enterprise?
A lot of people thought Joe Torre had a job for life with the New York Yankees, including Torre. That started to change as longtime owner George Steinbrenner relinquished the reins of the business, and by 2007 Torre was gone, in spite of a successful run as manager with the Yankees. Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Torre is still widely identified with the Yankees – perhaps baseball’s most storied, beloved and hated team.
Sports Illustrated, NPR others have excerpted Torre’s new book with SI writer Tom Verducci,The Yankee Years. In it Torre addresses his relationships with Steinbrenner and stars Derek Jeter, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez.
Torres says Rodriguez had an especially difficult time dealing with the huge expectations that came with being the highest-paid player in baseball. His teammates openly referred to A-Rod as “A-Fraud” in the locker room, which can’t contribute much to team chemistry except toxicity. There was plenty of that, and the fallout continues with new reports of A-Rod testing positive for steroid use and lingering suspicion surrounding Clemens.
In SI, Torre describes the last few meetings with the Yankees, when it became apparent that he was no longer welcome there.
An excerpt:
So that was it. The 12-year Torre era had come to a nonnegotiable end. Torre’s run ended with a meeting that took little more than 10 minutes. As Torre got up from his seat in Steinbrenner’s office, Hal Steinbrenner said to him, “The door’s always open. You can always work for the YES Network.”
Torre was too stunned to speak, caught between bemusement and anger. Did the Boss’s son really just dangle the consolation of working for the Yankees-run regional television network after the Yankees refused to negotiate with the second-winningest manager in franchise history?
Torre shook the hands of everybody in the room, starting with George. The old man took his dark glasses off and said, “Good luck, Joe.”
By Diane Evans For all the book-review lovers mourning the loss of Book World in The Washington Post, have a good cry and get on with it. The day of standalone book sections in daily newspapers is all but gone, and it’s not coming back. The Washington Post cited a protracted downturn in advertising, as felt by newspapers across the country.
For readers, getting on with it means finding good reviews and commentary on books in other places. Plenty exists – often on blogs – and some of it is more meaningful to average readers than the often heady, elitist reviews that daily newspapers served up over the years.
Here are a few examples of literary blogs that are gaining attention from the print media, as they little by little replace book reviews in print publications.
Bookslut at http://www.bookslut.com/blog/
Here’s an excerpt from a recent post: John Updike’s forthcoming collection of poems, Endpoint, features a poem about his “overdue demise”: It came to me the other day: / Were I to die, no one would say, / ‘Oh, what a shame! So young, so full / Of promise – depths unplumbable!
So Many Books at http://somanybooksblog.com/
One new post on this blog deals with Seamus Heaney’s translation of Sophocles’ Antigone for the Abbey Theatre in Ireland. It includes an easy-to-understand summary, along with opinion.
The Elegant Variation at http://marksarvas.blogs.com/elegvar/
This blog focuses on literary life in Los Angeles, but includes other things, too. After Updike’s death, the blog pointed readers to a tribute by Irish-born author Joseph O’Neill – published, as you might guess, on another literary blog. A line from O’Neill’s essay: “The example of Updike is intimidating to the writer in the matter of sentences, in the matter of output, in the matter of aptitude – until, that is, one remembers that Updike himself was a stranger to intimidation, and that the Updike precedent ultimately authorizes, indeed obligates, the writer to give the task at hand his or her best shot.”
Paper Cuts on the site of the New York Times at http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com
Written by editors of The Book Review, it includes book news, commentary and interviews with authors.
Critical Mass at http://bookcritics.org/blog
This is blog written by members of the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC), representing more than 900 professional book reviewers. It includes commentary on literary criticism, publishing and writing. Many NBCC members were among the 122 contributors to Book World who petitioned the Washington Post to keep the section alive. Marcus Brauchli, editor of the Washington Post, amplified the paper’s decision in a response published on the NBCC’s blog.
“Some bloggers have pointed out that book reviews inevitably will migrate to the Web,’’ Brauchli said. “Reviews online are no doubt easier to find. Putting them online also shortens the distance between reading a review and buying a book, which surely is a good thing for authors and the book trade.”
While continuing to publish book reviews in other sections of the print edition, he told the critics the Washington Post would also develop a well-indexed Book World site online.
About a year and a half ago, DelMio featured The Black Swan, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, which explained Taleb’s theory on the influence of unexpected events and how we can learn to better anticipate such things. If we ever wise up.
He might describe the economic meltdown of 2007-2008 (and still counting) as a Black Swan of sorts. Most “experts” didn’t expect it (although you could see signs of trouble back in ‘07 as real estate started to crater at the same time fuel prices were soaring), which is a hallmark trait of a “black swan.”
At the Davos, Switzerland, World Economic Forum last week, there was Taleb, and he could have just as well handed out little placards that said, “I told you so.” He was a trader in 1987 when the stock market crashed. He said the crash made him feel vindicated. Last year he was more of an amused observer.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius described Taleb as being regarded as a “rock star” at Davos, and Taleb said, “It’s easier to say ‘God knows’ than to say ‘I don’t know.”
Fifty years after his death, the iconic architect Frank Lloyd Wright continues to inspire novelists as much as fans of death-defying building design everywhere.
The Women by T. Coraghessan Boyle is a new fictionalized re-creation of the famously philandering Wright’s life. It gets the New York Times Sunday Book Review treatment. The Women follows Nancy Horan’s Loving Frank, the fictionalized account of his long and tragic affair with Martha “Mamah” Borthwick Cheney, a featured book at DelMio.
Reviewer Joanna Scott writes, “In the words of Brendan Gill, Wright’s biographer, ‘Even the most sympathetic feats of restoration carry the taint of an embalmment.” Though Gill is referring to the dangers of restoring buildings, his warning elucidates the challenges inherent in The Women.”
Wright’s charismatic personality and architectural styling have given rise to a cottage industry unto itself, with countless coffee table books, calendars and open tours of houses he designed, many of them in the Midwest. And now another novelized account of his life.
By Diane Evans
“During a span of five years, novelists like Richard Wright and noir writer Jim Thompson went in search of America’s stories. They were part of the Works Progress Administration’s Writers’ Project. With pencil in hand, the writers traveled from Lenox Avenue in Harlem to the slums of Oklahoma City documenting a people in transition.
Matt McCarthy, now a medical intern in New York City, was a left-handed pitching prospect in 2002 in the Anaheim (Los Angeles) Angels minor league organization. He was a bit of an anomaly: a Yale-educated graduate who was eventually headed to medical school, trying to make it to the Major Leagues. It became the material for his book, Odd Man Out.
A lot of people thought Joe Torre had a job for life with the New York Yankees, including Torre. That started to change as longtime owner George Steinbrenner relinquished the reins of the business, and by 2007 Torre was gone, in spite of a successful run as manager with the Yankees. Now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Torre is still widely identified with the Yankees – perhaps baseball’s most storied, beloved and hated team.
