Books read in 2001
"The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen. (Fall, 2001). A tough book which took weeks and weeks to read. The writer has great talent and offers significant insights but the family he showcases is so dysfunctional that his purposes are undercut by his cleverness. A powerful but confused blessing; lose no sleep if you skip it.
"Nothing Like it in the World:The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad 1863-1869" by Stephen E. Ambrose. (Fall, 2001). This book proves that an interesting story can overcome thoroughly pedestrian writing. Barely readable but educational.
"John Adams" by David McCullough. (Summer, 2001). The personal journal and voluminous correspondence of John Adams allow McCullough to craft a richly detailed, highly personal biography encompassing and explaining some of the most interesting times imaginable. A whole lot of wisdom about human nature is dispensed as well. Very highly recommended.
"Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary" by Linus Torvalds and David Diamond. (Summer, 2001). For computer geeks, this light spirited quasi-autobiography contains interesting details of how Linus came to create the Linux OS and, of more interest, how it caught on worldwide. The beginning and ending chapters are silly and best skipped; the rest is interesting and has a good spirit. Recommended to computer fans.
"The Columnist" by Jeffrey Frank. (Summer, 2001). It took me six hours to read this novel; it was mostly time wasted. Yes, it is laugh out loud funny in several places but apparently one must be a Washington insider to get more of the humor and the hapless main character becomes a lame joke early on. The author is a senior editor at the New Yorker; perhaps his circle of friends in Washington and New York "got" more of the humor but to the average reader it is boring. Not recommended.
"Washington" by Meg Greenfield. (Summer, 2001). This slim volume is a down-home guide to the essentials of life as a journalist in Washington, D.C. Its analysis of the core personality types of national politicians is, to an outsider, convincing and persuasive. Incomplete at the time of the author's death in May, 1999, the book is not a well-rounded whole; what is present is always interesting, if somewhat dry. Recommended if your powers of concentration remain intact. Read the lengthy foreword last so as not to raise expectations too high.
"Glass Mountain" by R.M. Koster. (Summer, 2001). This hard-bitten war and mercenary action novel starts very slowly but builds pleasingly. Far too grisly for mainstream readers, it established an admirable momentum. Not sure if I will read any more by this Panama based author but I enjoyed it.
"The Odds: One Season, Three Gamblers, and the Death of their Las Vegas" by Chad Millman. (Summer, 2001). In scattershot fashion, this book describes what its title promises. The three gamblers are a middle-aged pro (Penn graduate), a 20 year old college dropout (he was a campus bookie) and the manager of the sports book at the Stardust in Las Vegas. None has a life outside betting. If an interest in sports betting is presupposed, this is a good read. Otherwise not. A side benefit? The book gives a clear explanation of the rise of Internet betting (Caribbean based) and its huge impact on Las Vegas.
"Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich. (Spring, 2001). This short, compelling book recounts the author's three separate one month stints in various low wage jobs (waitress, nursing home attendant, maid, retail clerk) in geographically diverse areas of the U.S. (Key West, Maine, Minneapolis). Her conclusions from each experience are the same-affordable housing is non-existent, the working poor often go hungry, and the entire problem is invisible to mainstream America. Shades of "Fast Food Nation" but on a broader scale. Very readable and highly recommended.
"Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina" by David Hajdu. (Spring, 2001). Without adieu, this book dives into Joan Baez and her little sister, Mimi, learning the guitar. Richard Farina and Bob Dylan are added as the story unfolds and traces their interrelationships and rise during the folk, folk rock, and rock 'n roll heydays of each. Invaluable as background. Deceptively good. Recommended.
"Ultimate Journey: Retracing the Path of an Ancient Buddhist Monk Who Crossed Asia in Search of Enlightenment" by Richard Bernstein. (Spring, 2001). The author traveled from northern China (not western) by land to Pakistan and India to retrace the route of Hsuan Tsang, 603-664 A.D. Oddly, he found that the route had fewer political impediments in the seventh century than now. His material on China is the weakest part of the book; his insights do not approach those of Hessler in "River Town" (see below). The author does a passable job of describing the substantial religious and philosophical content inherent in the monk's journey and the author's observations. He injects enough of himself to make the travel personal. The book succeeds as a travel book, which was the author's goal. Recommended.
"Back When We Were Grownups" by Anne Tyler (Spring, 2001). The narrator of this novel is a 53 year old widow who is stepmother to three daughters, natural mother of another, and grandmother to seven. The story revolves around her family and her business (a party hosting hall). Not much happens--a wedding, a birth, a potential rekindling of her teenage romance, a birthday party for a 100 year old Uncle--but her everyday activities in her busy life teach much about the whys and whatifs of life. Recommended. (By the author of The Accidental Tourist)
"Robert Mitchum: 'Baby I Don't Care'" by Lee Server (Spring, 2001). I don't regret that I read this book, only that it took so long. This material could have been covered in half the space. Mitchum didn't grow as a person and therein lies the problem. As he appeared in over 100 movies, this account of Mitchum's career necessarily teaches much about movies and Hollywood. Perhaps some of it could only be learned through repetition. Not recommended.
"Long Distance: A Year of Living Strenuously" by Bill McKibben (Spring, 2001). The author underwent a year long training program to become a first-time jock at age 37. He accurately reports upon the sport of cross-country skiing from an American perspective and his observations have merit. No solution to the problem of poor American performance in endurance events is proposed or visible. The untimely death of his father during the year adds depth and sorrow. As I am familiar with many of the people (and books) he mentions, perhaps I enjoyed the story more than the average reader. I read it in a day. Recommended.
"Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN" by Reese Schonfeld (Spring, 2001). True account of CNN's creation from scratch by the author plus its first two years of operation until Ted Turner fired him. Chatty, informal, somewhat repetitive writing style gets old but the information and concepts are interesting and of historical interest. I enjoyed the book because of its content. Not recommended for general readers.
"River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze" by Peter Hessler (Spring, 2001). The Gopnik book (below) was a tough act to follow but this book surpassed it. In some ways it is reminiscent of "Iron & Silk" (below) but better. (The author is a runner, not a martial arts student). The writing is excellent, the observations genuine, and the insights into human nature more profound than can be gathered from, for example, Paris. Very highly recommended.
"Pride Before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era" by John Heilemann (Spring, 2001). This is a very fast and pleasant read. The author does not write especially well but he brings to the table a wealth of new information about the software industry and the Microsoft trial. Having read Ken Auletta's writings in The New Yorker, I chose this book over "World War 3.0: Microsoft and Its Enemies" by Auletta. I made the right choice.
"Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik (Spring, 2001). The author was the Paris correspondent for The New Yorker for five years (95-00). I found this a wonderful read although I am not especially fond of France and Paris is my least favorite place in France. Perhaps slightly less amusing than Mayle's "A Year in Provence" but far more insightful. Recommended highly for its insights into life, not just France.
"Crypto" by Steven Levy (Winter, Spring 2001). This slim 330 page volume almost killed my book reading habit. The subject matter is very interesting (development of public key cryptology, the backbone of modern e-commerce) and the descriptions of the pioneers who did the original thinking and implementation are more than adequate. Yet this book is the best sleep inducer one could hope for. Recommended only if you are passionate about the subject area.
"Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser (Spring, 2001). This is a refreshing surprise--a modern muckraking book. Schlosser takes the fast food industry apart, piece by piece, layer by layer. By the time one has digested the impact of fast food on agricultural business, urban sprawl, meatpacking, exploitation of teenage and migrant workers, the impact on the American diet and physique (doubling of the percentage of obese Americans) seems the least significant ramification.This is an important, entirely persuasive book. 90% of all American children visit McDonald's once a month or more. What to do? The author suggests the remedy is to boycott almost all fast food restaurants (In-N-Out being the significant exception because of its use of high quality meat and fresh potatoes, real ice cream, and the high wages paid to its workers; Subway may also qualify because it emphasizes healthy food). I'm convinced. It's not often a book can change your eating habits.
"A Life in the 20th Century" by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (Winter, 2001). A mixed blessing as the reader is torn between things likeable about the author and things disagreeable. The namedropping has no end; "good friends" are too numerous to count and his version of WWII service was almost unimaginably soft. Notwithstanding this, he has led an interesting life and often writes with insight. I look forward to the next volume. A mixed recommendation.
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