BOOKS THREAD

The great Passos has been further Communized since St. Ronald Reagan's presidency and his subsequent Ascension to Heaven, replete only with Flocks of Doves and Chrerub Angels.

Passos, like so many others, was so far advanced for the enormities of his time.

 

Whatever.
USA's still a masterpiece, though.

 

I was good and lathered drunk when I wrote that post.

I should have said that Passos is a genius and his work been demonized, much like Zinn's, since Reagan. Or at least since the advent of Barry Goldwater conservatism.

 

I meant using Goldwater and/or Reagan as flashpoints.

More on the Russian/Communist connection:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0010-4124(195323)5%3A4%3C332%3ADPISC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-F

 

That's interesting, LJB. I thought Dos Passos became rabidly conservative as he got older.

 

He did. I'm a bit thrown by LJB's post myself.
Maybe he's saying that USA, which was written long before Dos Passos made the ideological journey to the point where he was writing for the National Review, fell out of favor. Which would make sense.

 

That's what I'm getting at.

Although you can make the case that some Soviet philosophes did not necessarily agree that he was rabidly conservative atall.

 

i have to travel a lot this month (mostly cross country flights)--i'm about to read No Country for Old Men and Rant.....can anyone suggest a couple more quick, but complelling reads for the plane? thanks!

 

I'm finally getting to Word Freak. I have an urge to play the game. But I don't think I have the concentration to learn the tricks.

 

I'm nearly done with The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, and it's excellent. Helps if you know a tiny bit of Spanish, but it's not necessary.

If you like McCarthy, The Road is an easy read that's really good.

I'm a big fan of a book called The Lost Legends of New Jersey by Frederick Reiken. It's a coming-of-age novel that's beautiful and poetic.

Also a big fan of both Tobias Wolff's memoir/novels, This Boy's Life and In Pharoah's Army. Both are easy reads that are outstanding.

Sports-wise, It Never Rains In Tiger Stadium by John Ed Bradley was a good, quick read I zipped through earlier this year.

 

I heard Diaz on Fresh Air (I think) last week or the week before. He seems like an interesting fellow.