BOOKS THREAD

I haven't read either book, but Cormac McCarthy is an amazing, amazing writer. I'm guessing you will enjoy yourself.

I read "In the Name of Salome" by Julia Alvarez. It was a fantastic read. She is one of my favorite authors, though she hasn't written much. I didn't realize until I finished the book that it was a work of historical fiction.

I'm reading "Beyond Band of Brothers" by Richard Winters now. It is pretty interesting. I figured it would be boring since I read Ambrose's book on Easy Company and have watched the miniseries about 100 times, but so far it has been very good and has had a lot of stuff that wasn't in either Ambrose's work or the miniseries.

 

Chernow is dealing with Washington in his next project, though his wife died last year and it could be in hiatus.

Ellis is a fine writer with a wealth of enthusiasm, but he can be awfully smug for a guy who was so publicly disgraced. He's the Tim Johnson of the bunch, only a better hitter.

I don't care for his politics, but I actually think Brookhiser is the most graceful writer of them all. And when he speaks, he has that talent for really commanding one's attention.

If you're tired of the Big Mac (Cullough), pick up anything by Joanne Freeman, especially her seminal work on the honor culture.

 

I know I did. Those are the only two of his I've read so far and was crazy for both of them.

 

I was hoping for Pauline Maier, myself, if only because she once called Jefferson the "most overrated man in American history." I'm not sure I agree, but I like it when historians argue about the Founders the way sj's argue about outfielders. (Or the Founders, actually.)
Got this for Christmas.
http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Navy-Against-Axis-1941-1945/dp/159114650X

Because my father was involved in a number of these actions, I really like it so far.

 

Hey, he had a hot 19th century wife. The guy must have been doing something right.

 

Separate my powers, big boy.

 

Hit it? I'd get positively revolutionary on that rack.

 

One NY resolution for '07 that I did fulfill was re-reading Dos Passos' "USA" again.
What a great piece of work that is.

 

Fenian, can you give me a primer on what that's about?

 

It's a trilogy fictionalizing the events from 1900 until the crash of '29. Kind of like some of Doctorow's stuff, except containing more social realism, and segments called The Public Eye and some mini-bios of the actual figures and events. His account of the Sacco and Vanzetti case contains the line, "All right, we are two countries," which is where John Edwards copped the notion, I think.

 

I feel this is the place to note the passing of George MacDonald Fraser, author of the "Flashman" books. They are wonderful comic historical novels. I urge anyone on this board to purchase one. You will laugh your ass off and learn a lot of 19th century history simultaneously.

 

Little late here Doc, but I'd say yes, you'll absolutely enjoy yourself. I read The Road in about a day, and it's just an incredible book. The last paragraph is one I keep turning over and over in my head, both in awe and in sadness. I think it's CM most accessable work, and it's both haunting and beautiful. It's also a tribute to his young son, and that might be the most touching apocolypse book ever written when you view it in that context.

NCFOM is a good, very quick read; a meditation on the nature of evil the world. The sheriff in the book does a little bit of dime-store, self-taught philosophizing that, while not exactly phony, doesn't always ring true. But Anton Chigurh is one of the badest bad guys in all of fiction and you'll find it well worth your time.

Blood Meridian is McCarthy's masterpiece, but I'd start with those two books, then pick up The Border Trilogy if you want to read more of him.