Tag: American history

  • Off the Top of My Head by Barbara Lazio

    Well this was frickin’ delightful. Dr. Barbara Lazio provides a look into our heads (literally) with her hilarious and poignant Off the top of My Head. Yes, the title is an indicator of the overall tone. Lazio puts together a collection of essays about life, parenting, and, of course, brain surgery. I find that with…

  • This Cursed Beautiful Land by Evan Gershkovich

    Turns out, Russian prison isn’t so bad. That is, if you are an American journalist jailed on trumped-up charges so you can be used for a prisoner swap. Sure, it still sucks, and you will end up with PTSD. However, your experience may vary greatly if you are not in the very specific position author…

  • Keeper of My Kin by Ada Ferrer

    At the heart of Keeper of My Kin by Ada Ferrer is an impossible choice. Do you leave a child behind to save the other? In this case, the author’s mother took her out of Cuba to live in America, but had to leave behind her son, Poly, whose father would not let the boy…

  • Love Johnny Carson by Mark Malkoff

    Johnny Carson is one of those legends whose legacy has taken a bit of a hit the last few years. Was he the classy, funny entertainer the older folks remembered? Or was he a control freak who could hold decades-long grudges and went through marriages like tissues during flu season. As per usual to anyone…

  • Gouged by Lindsay Owens

    We’re all getting screwed. And Lindsay Owens is here to tell us exactly how in Gouged! Good news, she also tells us how we can overcome these bloodsucking companies. Bad news, we have to rely on Congress for some of it. Will the horrors never end?! Owens walks us through some of the main culprits…

  • The Rush by Nathaniel Philbrick

    Fear not, dear readers. Nathaniel Philbrick is still at the top of his game with The Rush. And as per usual, this book is way more than it looks like from the title and the cover. Gold is one thing. What people do with it becomes the real story. Philbrick starts with the famed discovery…

  • Basic Pistol by Harel Shapira

    I always enjoy a book which seeks to humanize everyone on both sides of a contentious issue. In the case of Harel Shapira’s Basic Pistol, he is the liberal walking into the conservative world of guns. Shapira approaches this alien world from the perspective of a sociologist trying to understand the passion of the other…

  • Lucky Devils by Kit Chellel

    Lucky Devils by Kit Chellel has a lot going for it. Chellel’s writing is quite vibrant, and the fact we keep getting Ocean’s Eleven movies proves we love a good caper. This isn’t a heist book but more of a long-term strategy to make a bunch of money through both legal and maybe not legal…

  • The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker

    I am not going to lie to you. The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker is going to crush your soul. It’s about a specific type of dementia which destroys an entire family. You’re going to cry. Your heart will break. However, there is hope. More importantly, there are people who stare this tragedy in the…