BOOKS THREAD

Sometimes you get a book as a gift, put it aside, and then years later, when you finally get back to it, are stunned by what a great read it is.

Case in point: "Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life" by Richard Ben Cramer

Great detail about both Joe D and the journalism of the 1930s and 1940s. An excellent read on both levels.

Among the funny details: the "DiMaggio sheets" and the retelling of Joe's trip to hang out with the inlaws in Duluth, Minn.

Anyway, this exhaustive (and not always flattering) profile of the Yankee Clipper reminds me of the Neil Young biography I read a few years back, "Shakey," by Jimmy McDonough. Both authors become obsessive about tracking down anyone who once had contact with their subject; of course, in the case of DiMaggio, it's a bit tougher because many of those primary sources are dead.

Both books are great.

 

I thought the first few hundred pages were fun, middle few hundred dragged, last few hundred fun. You just have to get past all those damn parenthesis.

 

Just finished the original War of the Worlds by HG Wells that I was able to get for free on the Kindle. Absolutely loved it. The description of the destruction the Martians wrought was really well narrated - it did a good job of putting you in the shoes of a wide-eyed person in the 20's or 30's (can't remember which) observing the aliens first hand and running the emotional gauntlet of confidence/arrogance that the artillery will just blow these things up to becoming a completely defeated soul.

It was also interesting to look at what the different movies took from the book. Both used the book's method of killing the Martians, but I actually think the Tom Cruise remake had more similarities than the older one that's based on a scientist's POV that I've seen on AMC.

I've just started the Count of Monte Cristo and would appreciate some other good suggestions on classics since I can probably get them for free .

 

Remarque's "All Quiet On The Western Front" is a must, J&E.

Well-written, powerful, a great -- yet easy -- read and sobering to the nth degree.

 

Cool, thanks. Will get that after I get done with Count of Monte Cristo.

 

Just started Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

Bought a bunch of easy mysteries for an upcoming trip to Cape Town and still have a big gift card to the Strand to use before leaving. Will grab some nonfiction then. Is there a general consensus on the best single-volume histories of the Civil War and the Revolutionary War?

 

For the Civil War, I heartily recommend "Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McPherson. Big-ass volume, but pretty damn comprehensive and something that should not only inform you, but give you a hobby for quite some time -- especially on that long flight awaiting you.

McPherson is one of the foremost Civil War historians around, yet he writes with a nice touch that keeps you from nodding off.

 

Thanks, Scribe. Looking it up now.

 

Read two books over the holidays. Pops, a new Louis Armstrong bio, was a very well-written look at his life and times. There was a great deal about his music from every stage of his career, but it never tilted into one of those scholarly books that dissects every note the guy played (those go way over the head of this non-musician). Recommended to fans of music bios.

Pearlman's Clemens book was a pretty entertaining read too.

 

I did the same with an RBC's book -- What It Takes- the story of 1992 Presidential Election. Read a few pages in 1993 when first published and finally got back to it last summer. A great read . Love his Williams book also.

 

if it hasn't been said here before, civil war-wise: "killer angels" by michael shaara. best novel i've read in the last decade - and i'm no civil war nut. really beautiful.

 

I loved "What It Takes" but was disappointed in the DiMaggio book. Had my hopes too high, I guess.

As for the Revolutionary War, it covers only the battles of Trenton (Washington crossing the Delaware) and Princeton, but Richard Ketchum's "Winter Soldiers" is good and is about 10 years old, so there should be copies at the Strand.