Non-Fiction - Results from #50

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addition
David Sheff, 2008
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780547203881

Summary
What had happened to my beautiful boy? To our family? What did I do wrong? Those are the wrenching questions that haunted every moment of David Sheff ’s journey through his son Nic’s addiction to drugs and tentative steps toward recovery. Before Nic Sheff became addicted to crystal meth, he was a charming boy, joyous and funny, a varsity athlete and honor student adored by his two younger siblings.

After meth, he was a trembling wraith who lied, stole, and lived on the streets. David Sheff traces the first subtle warning signs: the denial, the 3 A.M. phone calls (is it Nic? the police? the hospital?), the rehabs. His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll. But as a journalist, he instinctively researched every avenue of treatment that might save his son and refused to give up on Nic.

Beautiful Boy is a fiercely candid memoir that brings immediacy to the emotional rollercoaster of loving a child who seems beyond help. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Scottsdale, Arizona, USA
• Education—University of California, Berkeley
• Currently—lives in Inverness, California

David Sheff’s books include Game Over, China Dawn, and All We Are Saying. His many articles and interviews have appeared in the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Wired, Fortune, and elsewhere. His piece for the New York Times Magazine, “My Addicted Son,” won an award from the American Psychological Association for “Outstanding Contribution to Advancing the Understanding of Addiction.” Sheff and his family live in Inverness, California (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
On the long, crowded shelf of addiction memoirs Beautiful Boy is more notable for sturdiness and sense than for new insight.... [Still, it] does illustrate how the most clichéd insights into addiction can also be the most accurate. Nothing here is more succinct than what Nic’s little brother says when he tries to explain addiction. “It’s like in cartoons when some character has a devil on one shoulder,” the boy says, “and an angel on the other.”
Janet Maslin - New York Times

David describes his family's ordeal with a lucidity that will undoubtedly help many addicts and their families, providing not only a wealth of factual data but also the steadying assurance that they are not alone in their grief. He eloquently describes the sense of isolation and horror that accompanied his realization of what was happening to Nic, and the help David found in support groups.
Juliet Wittman - Washington Post

Expanding on his New York Times Magazine article, Sheff chronicles his son's downward spiral into addiction and the impact on him and his family. A bright, capable teenager, Nic began trying mind- and mood-altering substances when he was 17. In months, use became abuse, then abuse became addiction. By the time Sheff knew of his son's condition, Nic was strung out on meth, the highly potent stimulant. While his son struggles to get clean, his second wife and two younger children are pulled helplessly into the drama. Sheff, as the parent of an addict, cycles through denial and acceptance and resistance. The author was already a journalist of considerable standing when this painful story began to unfold, and his impulse for detail serves him personally as well as professionally: there are hard, solid facts about meth and the kinds of havoc it wreaks on individuals, families and communities both urban and rural. His journey is long and harrowing, but Sheff does not spare himself or anyone else from keen professional scrutiny any more than he was himself spared the pains—and joys—of watching a loved one struggling with addiction and recovery. Real recovery creates—and can itself be—its own reward; this is an honest, hopeful book, coming at a propitious moment in the meth epidemic.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) The book originated in a much-lauded New York Times Magazine article, which Sheff here expands in scope, sharing his and Nic's wisdom, missteps, and successes, and the lessons they learned. A must-read for, at the least, anyone in similar straits. —Donna Chavez
Booklist

"I'll be fine. I've stopped using." That lie is told again and again in this memoir of a father's heartbreaking struggle with his son's addiction to methamphetamines. The clearly charming and talented Nic first tried marijuana in high school and subsequently went through a decade of using, rehabilitation and relapse. Expanding on a 2005 article in the New York Times Magazine, journalist Sheff takes readers along on the grim roller-coaster ride. While on drugs, Nic leads a life of self-destruction, deception and crime. He breaks into the family home to steal money; he lies about where he is and what he is doing; he asks for help but refuses the terms on which it is offered. The effect on Sheff's family is devastating; trying to save his son and also protect his wife (not Nic's mother) and their two young children, the author suffers a near-fatal brain hemorrhage. He applies his research skills to learn everything possible about methamphetamine, what it does to the brain and what treatments are available. The hard truth is that no one really knows what works best in dealing with meth addiction, or even what doesn't work. He didn't cause Nic's addiction, Sheff comes to understand; he can't control it and he can't cure it. Eventually shifting his focus from Nic's recovery to his own, the author goes into therapy to get past his obsession with his son's problems. Whether Nic will recover remains an open question at the book's end, which offers a glimmer of hope, but no promises and no easy answers. A clear picture of what meth addiction does to a user and those who love him that may help other families better cope with this growing problem.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. In the New York Times Book Review, Janet Maslin wrote, “Addiction is a compulsion to do the same thing over and over, despite knowing that the outcome will almost certainly be the same. Addiction memoirs often illustrate this same definition of insanity…Yet the genre itself remains so addictive that readers keep hoping to discover something new.” Why are addiction memoirs so addictive? Why were you drawn to this one?

2. David Sheff writes that “drug stories are sinister” (p. 87). What does he mean by that? How are drug stories different than addiction memoirs, if at all?

3. In the introduction, Sheff writes, “I have felt and thought and done almost everything an addict’s parent can feel and think and do” (p. 13). Which of his experiences, thoughts, and actions were most affecting to you? Which could you relate to and which were totally foreign?

4. Sheff begins his story with the statement, “We are among the first generation of self-conscious parents. Before us, people had kids. We parent” (p. 20). What does it mean to parent, as opposed to just having kids? At the end, Sheff writes, “I wish I had gotten here quicker, but I couldn’t. If only parenting were easier” (p. 310). What does he learn about “parenting” over the course of the book?

5. Discuss Nic’s upbringing. What privileges did he have? What disadvantages? Did Sheff seem to you a “good parent”?

6. How does the integration of pop culture references—quotes from literature, song lyrics, movie dialogue—contribute to the book? Look particularly at what Sheff used as the epilogues to each section of the book: John Lennon, Kurt Cobain for Part I, Shakespeare for Part II, etc. Why might Sheff have chosen these particular passages? How do they help your understanding of events, and of Sheff’s mindset?

7. What is the extent of David Sheff’s own drug use? What is your philosophy of discussing drugs with kids? Would you be—or have you been—honest about your past with your own kids?

8. Discuss Nic’s descent. At what point do you think you would have noticed Nic had a serious problem and needed help? Were there times you disagreed with David Sheff’s course of action? What might you have done differently?

9. When David smoked pot with Nic, what was your reaction?

10. A friend of David’s expresses surprise at Nic’s addiction and says the Sheffs don’t seem like a dysfunctional family. Sheff responds, “We are dysfunctional.... I’m not sure I know any ‘functional’ families” (p. 14) How would you define a functional family? Which are the Sheffs? How you would describe your own family?

11. On page 195, Sheff explores the idea of what it means to have a “normal life,” concluding, “Now I live with the knowledge that, never mind the most modest definition of a normal or healthy life, my son may not make it to twenty-one.” How would you define a “normal life”? How do these socially-accepted definitions—a normal life, a functional family—contribute to, or hinder, Sheff’s ability to understand and accept his son’s situation? How have these definitions affected some of the decisions you’ve made about your own life?

12. In his suicide note, Kurt Cobain quoted Neil Young and wrote “It’s better to burn out than to fade away.” When Sheff interview John Lennon, Lennon said, “I worship the people who survive. I’ll take the living and the healthy” (p. 118). Who do you agree with, Cobain or Lennon? Why does society glamorize those rock stars and other artists who burn out? Nic Sheff’s glamorization of alcoholics and drug-addicted artists ostensibly contributed to his own downfall. How should we counsel children and young adults on the dangers of idolizing such people?

13. As a journalist and someone with the means to do so, Sheff consults a wide variety of experts on the causes, effects, and treatment of addiction. What did you find most helpful? What else might be behind Sheff’s impulse to do more and more research?

14. Much of chapter 15 is devoted to the exploration of the disease of addiction. What is your understanding of addiction as a disease? Do you think of it as a behavioral or a brain disorder?

15. Many of the counselors and family members of addicts tell David and Karen, “Be allies. Remember, take care of yourselves. You’ll be good for no one—for each other, for your children—if you don’t” (p. 132). Do Karen and David take care of one another? Does David take care of himself?

16. A recovering addict tells Sheff, “You will believe in God before this over” (p. 133). Later, Sheff quotes John Lennon, “God is a concept by which we measure our pain” (p. 256). What does this last statement mean? How do David and Nic each come to believe in a higher power? Discuss their struggle with faith and their ultimate understanding of God.

17. After David Sheff suffers a cerebral hemorrhage, he can’t remember his own name, but he cannot forget Nic and his worry over his son. What is the extent of the damage of the hemorrhage? What good comes out of it?

18. What toll does Nic’s addiction take on Jasper and Daisy? How do David and Karen help them to understand their brother’s behavior?

19. At the end of his memoir, Sheff writes, “Now I am in my own program to recover from my addiction to [Nic’s addiction]” (p. 305). How is Sheff addicted to Nic’s addiction? How does David’s addiction affect his family, his job, and his life? What is his program for recovery?

20, Nic Sheff’s own memoir, Tweak, was published simultaneously with Beautiful Boy. Having only read the latter, would it surprise you to learn that Nic, during the height of his drug abuse, dealt drugs? That he prostituted himself for drug money? As a parent, do you think it would be worse knowing or not knowing such details? Think about what’s missing in David Sheff’s memoir and how that might have colored your interpretation of events.

21. When the book ends, Nic is once again in recovery. Are you left hopeful he will stay that way?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir
Michele Harper, 2020
Penguin Publishing
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525537380

Summary
An emergency room physician explores how a life of service to others taught her how to heal herself.

Michele Harper is a female, African American emergency room physician in a profession that is overwhelmingly male and white.

Brought up in Washington, D.C., in a complicated family, she went to Harvard, where she met her husband. They stayed together through medical school until two months before she was scheduled to join the staff of a hospital in central Philadelphia, when he told her he couldn't move with her.

Her marriage at an end, Harper began her new life in a new city, in a new job, as a newly single woman.

In the ensuing years, as Harper learned to become an effective ER physician, bringing insight and empathy to every patient encounter, she came to understand that each of us is broken—physically, emotionally, psychically.

How we recognize those breaks, how we try to mend them, and where we go from there are all crucial parts of the healing process.

The Beauty in Breaking is the poignant true story of Harper's journey toward self-healing. Each of the patients Harper writes about taught her something important about recuperation and recovery.

• How to let go of fear even when the future is murky.
• How to tell the truth when it's simpler to overlook it.
• How to understand that compassion isn't the same as justice.

As she shines a light on the systemic disenfranchisement of the patients she treats as they struggle to maintain their health and dignity, Harper comes to understand the importance of allowing ourselves to make peace with the past as we draw support from the present.

In this hopeful, moving, and beautiful book, she passes along the precious, necessary lessons that she has learned as a daughter, a woman, and a physician. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Michele Harper has worked as an emergency room physician for more than a decade at various institutions, including as chief resident at Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx and in the emergency department at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.

She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University. The Beauty in Breaking is her first book. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Riveting, heartbreaking, sometimes difficult, always inspiring.
New York Times Book Review

(Starred review) Taking on the painful topics of trauma, domestic abuse, and the "ubiquitous microaggressions faced by people of color," Harper… begins her own process of self-healing…. This powerful story will resonate with readers.
Publishers Weekly

Harper’s words inspire hope and understanding of the importance of peace and acceptance of the past. Poignant, helpful, and encouraging, [her] lessons… from life in… the emergency room ultimately teach readers how to trust the healing process. —Rich McIntyre Jr., UConn Health Sciences Lib., Farmington
Library Journal

An African American emergency room physician reflects on how "the chaos of emergency medicine" helped her… understand the true nature of healing.… [T]his eloquent book… chronicles a woman’s ever evolving spiritual journey. A profoundly humane memoir from a thoughtful doctor.
Kirkus Reviews

In this illuminating memoir, an African American emergency room doctor finds that her patients' stories lead her to make connections between her work and the larger world.
Shelf Awareness

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion of THE BEAUTY IN BREAKING … then take off on your own:

1. "If my brother’s body could be patched up, then certainly, in its own time, his spirit could mend, too." Talk about the ways in which this passage, young Michele Harper's musing about her brother's presence in the ER stands as the thematic concern of this work. How is it possible for physical healing lead to spiritual/emotional healing?

2. How did Harper's observations of her patients and their struggles teach her about human brokenness and resilience. Take her patients, one-by-one, and talk about their personal struggles and what Harper learned from them.

3. Harper is a Black woman in an overwhelmingly white profession. Talk about the roll that racism plays in Harper's own life and for the patients of color who enter the hospital's ER.

4. Harper realizes that "America bears… many layers of racial wounds, both chronic and acute." What specifically does she mean, and in what way does this realization inspire her?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
Naomi Wolf, 1991
HarperCollins
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780060512187

Summary
In today's world, women have more power, legal recognition, and professional success than ever before. Alongside the evident progress of the women's movement, however, writer and journalist Naomi Wolf is troubled by a different kind of social control, which, she argues, may prove just as restrictive as the traditional image of homemaker and wife.

It's the beauty myth, an obsession with physical perfection that traps the modern woman in an endless spiral of hope, self-consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society's impossible definition of "the flawless beauty." (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—November 12, 1962
• Where—San Francisco, California, USA
• Education—B.A., Yale University; Oxford University, England
(Rhode Scholar)
• Currently—lives in New York, NY

At a relatively young age, Naomi Wolf became literary star of what was later described as the "third-wave" of the feminist movement and she is also known for her advocacy of progressive politics.

She became famous because of her first book The Beauty Myth (1991), which became an international bestseller. In the book, she attacked what she characterized as the exploitation of women by the fashion and beauty industries. Wolf argued that women deserve "the choice to do whatever we want with our faces and bodies without being punished by an ideology that is using attitudes, economic pressure, and even legal judgments regarding women's appearance to undermine us psychologically and politically." The book examines five areas in which Wolf believed women were under assault by the beauty myth: work, religion, sex, violence, and hunger.

Wolf's book became an overnight bestseller, garnering not only praise from feminists but from the public and mainstream media. Second-wave feminist Germaine Greer wrote that The Beauty Myth was "the most important feminist publication since The Female Eunuch." British novelist Fay Weldon called the book "a vivid and impassioned polemic, essential reading for the New Woman."

Wolf was involved in Bill Clinton's 1996 re-election bid where she brainstormed with the Clinton-Gore team about ways to reach "soccer moms" and other female voters. During Al Gore's unsuccessful bid for the 2000 US presidency, Wolf was hired as a consultant to target female voters, reprising her role in the Clinton campaign. Wolf's ideas and participation in the Gore campaign generated considerable media coverage and criticism. According to a report by Michael Duffy in Time magazine, "Wolf [was] paid a salary of $15,000 a month…in exchange for advice on everything from how to win the women’s vote to shirt-and-tie combinations." This article was the original source of the widely reported claim that Wolf was responsible for Gore's "three-buttoned, earth-toned look." The Duffy article did not mention "earth tones."

The Time article and others also claimed that Wolf had developed the idea that Gore is "a beta male who needs to take on the alpha male in the Oval Office". In an interview with Melinda Henneberger in the New York Times, Wolf denied ever advising Gore on his wardrobe. Wolf herself claimed she mentioned the term "alpha male" only once in passing and that "it was just a truism, something the pundits had been saying for months, that the vice president is in a supportive role and the President is in an initiatory role...I used those terms as shorthand in talking about the difference in their job descriptions."

Departing from the anti-pornography emphasis of such second-wave feminist writers as Andrea Dworkin, Wolf suggested in 2003 that the ubiquity of Internet pornography tends to make males less libidinous toward typical real females. She later followed up on this theme with the assertion that Saturday-night parties with significant alcohol consumption tended toward an increase in one-night stands, which she refers to as "hooking up." (From Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
Beauty is such a strange thing—it's a fantasy, a pastime and a profession...we bring a daunting range of emotions and associations to it...The Beauty Myth shows us yet again how much we need new ways of seeing.
Margo Jefferson - New York Times (Books of the Century, 5/19/91)

This valuable study, full of infuriating statistics and examples, documents societal pressure on women to conform to a standard form of beauty. Freelance journalist Wolf cites predominant images that negatively influence women—the wrinkle-free, unnaturally skinny fashion model in advertisements and the curvaceous female in pornography—and questions why women risk their health and endure pain through extreme dieting or plastic surgery to mirror these ideals. She points out that the quest for beauty is not unlike religious or cult behavior: every nuance in appearance is scrutinized by the godlike, watchful eyes of peers, temptation takes the form of food and salvation can be found in diet and beauty aids. Women are "trained to see themselves as cheap imitations of fashion photographs" and must learn to recognize and combat these internalized images. Wolf's thoroughly researched and convincing theories encourage rejection of unrealistic goals in favor of a positive self-image.
Publishers Weekly

Journalist and poet Wolf presents a provocative and persuasive account of the pervasiveness of the beauty ideal in all facets of Western culture, including work, sex, and religion. In showing how this myth works against women and how women sabotage themselves by their complicity with this impossible standard, she discusses at length two unfortunate consequences: the growth in the number of bulimic and anorexic women and the increasing popularity of cosmetic surgery. The facts are certainly stacked to prove her thesis but, for the most part, provide convincing evidence. In her final chapter, Wolf instructs women on how to crack the beauty myth. Recommended, especially for women's studies collections. —Anne Twitchell, National Research Council Lib., Washington, D.C.
Library Journal

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

top of page (summary)

Becoming
Michelle Obama, 2018
Crown Publishing
448 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781524763138

Summary
An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era.

As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world.

She dramatically changed the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, while standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare.

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address.

With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms.

Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—January 17, 1964
• Where—Chicago, Illinois, USA
• Education—B.A., Princeton University; J.D., Harvard University
• Currently—lives in Chicago, Illinois

Michelle Robinson Obama served as First Lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, Mrs. Obama started her career as an attorney at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she met her future husband, Barack Obama.

She later worked in the Chicago mayor’s office, at the University of Chicago, and at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Mrs. Obama also founded the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an organization that prepares young people for careers in public service.

The Obamas currently live in Washington, DC, and have two daughters, Malia and Sasha. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Becoming divulges some details that the Obamas haven't discussed publicly before.… But it's the moments when [Michelle] Obama tries to make sense of what she's seeing now, in the country, that are among the most moving—if only because she's so clearly struggling to reconcile the cleareyed realism of her upbringing, brought about by necessity, with the glamorous, previously unthinkable life she has today.… For all the attempts by conservatives a decade ago to paint her as a radical, Obama seems to be a measured, methodical centrist at heart. But hers isn't a wan faith in expanding the pie and crossing the aisle. Her pragmatism is tougher than that, even if it will come across as especially frustrating to those who believe that centrism and civility are no longer enough. As she writes in Becoming, she long ago learned to recognize the "universal challenge of squaring who you are with where you come from and where you want to go."
Jennifer Szalai - New York Times

Becoming serenely balances gravity and grace, uplift and anecdote, though its high-mindedness does permit a few low blows at Barack Obama’s villainous successor. A single sentence catches the blend of conscientious bass and giggly treble that makes Michelle simultaneously admirable and adorable.… Becoming is frequently funny, sometimes indignant or enraged, and when Michelle describes her father’s early death from multiple sclerosis it turns rawly emotional.
Guardian (UK)

More like a novel than a political memoir, the First Lady’s book reveals its author as utterly, viscerally human.… [It is] beautiful and extraordinary.
Vanity Fair

The former first lady looks back on an unlikely rise to the top while navigating issues of race and gender in this warmhearted memoir.… There are no dramatic revelations and not much overt politics here, but fans of the Obamas will find an interesting, inspiring saga of quiet social revolutions.
Publishers Weekly

From the former First Lady, here's a memoir starting with her childhood on Chicago's South Side and leading to her life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, where she raised her children gracefully while representing the United States to the world.
Library Journal

Discussion Questions
1. Mrs. Obama begins her book with a story about making cheese toast on a quiet night at home, a few months after leaving the White House. Why do you think she chose this story to begin her memoir?

2. Mrs. Robinson is the opposite of a helicopter parent. She was tough and had very high expectations for her children, and she also expected them to figure some things out on their own and learn from their missteps and the process of making choices. She gave her children agency at a very young age. How did that shape Mrs. Obama? What is the balance between discipline and trust?

3. In Becoming, we get to know the constellation of Mrs. Obama’s extended family through her eyes. Her grandfather, Southside filled his house with music and makeshift speakers and merriment. Years later, Mrs. Obama would fill the White House with music and culture through live performances and several programs aimed at children. How do those kinds of early memories leave an imprint on us as we grow older? What were the sights and smells that you remember from visiting grandparents or other elders, and how have they left a mark on you?

4. In discussing her neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Mrs. Obama writes, "Failure is a feeling long before it becomes an actual result. It’s vulnerability that breeds with self-doubt and then is escalated, often deliberately, by fear." How did this insight shape Mrs. Obama’s work and mission as First Lady? What can we all do—as individuals, parents, and community members—to help break this cycle?"

5. Mrs. Obama writes about the early influences of her mother, Marion Robinson, and her TV role model Mary Tyler Moore. One was a single, professional living on her own in the big city. One was a wise and supportive stay-at-home mother, who later went to work to help pay for her children’s education. Where do you see the influences of both of these women in Mrs. Obama’s life?

6. Early in her senior year at Whitney Young High School, Mrs. Obama went for an obligatory first appointment with the school college counselor. Mrs. Obama was treasurer of the senior class. She had earned a spot in the National Honor Society. She was on track to graduate in the top 10 percent of her class and she was interested in joining her older brother, Craig, at Princeton University. The guidance counselor said to her, "I’m not sure that you’re Princeton material." How did Mrs. Obama handle hearing that statement? How does one avoid having one’s dreams dislodged by someone else’s lower expectations?

7. In high school Mrs. Obama said she felt like she was representing her neighborhood. At Princeton, faced with questions of whether she was the product of Affirmative Action programs, she felt like she was representing her race. Was that more than a feeling? Was she actually representing her communities in those settings? Have you had moments in life where you feel as though you are representing one of your communities?

8. In her early life Mrs. Obama writes about being a "box checker," but as she gets older she learns how to "swerve" to adjust to life’s circumstances. What does it mean to swerve and how do we develop that skill in life?

9. In Becoming, Mrs. Obama describes a number of women who have served as mentors for her at different times in her life, including Czerny Brasuell, Valerie Jarrett, and Susan Sher. What do these women have in common? What lessons did Mrs. Obama learn from them about finding a fulfilling career as a parent? Who are your mentors and how do you cultivate those relationships?

10. In Chapter 15, Mrs. Obama explains why she chose to support her husband’s run for the presidency despite her misgivings about politics. What made her change her mind? Would you have made the same choice? How do you balance the competing worlds of family life and work in your life?

11. As Mrs. Obama notes, First Lady is a role without a job description. How did Mrs. Obama choose to approach the role? If you were in charge of writing the job description for the First Lady, what would you include and exclude?

12. In Becoming, Mrs. Obama writes candidly about detractors who tried to invalidate her standing or her work. "I was female, black, and strong, which to certain people, maintaining a certain mind-set, translated only to ‘angry.’ It was another damaging cliche, one that’s been forever used to sweep minority women to the perimeter of every room, an unconscious signal not to listen to what we’ve got to say." What is the root of that "angry black woman" cliche? How and why does it do damage?

13. Throughout her life, Michelle Obama has been a meticulous planner. It is evident in her approach to her studies in high school and at Princeton. It is evident in the way she transitioned through jobs as a professional. And it is evident in the way she approached her role as First Lady. Where did that come from? How did Fraser Robinson’s approach to life impact his daughter? Are you a planner or more spontaneous? How does it impact those around you and your life?

14. In the epilogue, Mrs. Obama writes, "I’ve never been a fan of politics, and my experience over the last ten years has done little to change that." Did you find her statement surprising? Do you think politics is an effective way to make social change?

15. Why do you think Michelle Obama chose to name her memoir "Becoming"? What does the idea of "becoming" mean to you?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt
Anonymous, 2020
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
240 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780358216773

Summary
Part memoir and part joyful romp through the fields of imagination, the story behind a beloved pseudonymous Twitter account reveals how a writer deep in grief rebuilt a life worth living.

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt is two stories: that of the reclusive real-life writer who created a fictional character out of loneliness and thin air, and that of the magical Duchess Goldblatt herself, a bright light in the darkness of social media.

Fans around the world are drawn to Her Grace’s voice, her wit, her life-affirming love for all humanity, and the fun and friendship of the community that’s sprung up around her.

@DuchessGoldblat (81 year-old literary icon, author of An Axe to Grind) brought people together in her name: in bookstores, museums, concerts, and coffee shops, and along the way, brought real friends home—foremost among them, Lyle Lovett.

“The only way to be reliably sure that the hero gets the girl at the end of the story is to be both the hero and the girl yourself.” — Duchess Goldblatt (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Duchess Goldblatt, 81, is the inspirational author of An Axe to Grind"; Feasting on the Carcasses of My Enemies: A Love Story; and the heartwarming meditation on mothers and daughters Not If I Kill You First.

A cultural icon, trophy ex-wife, friend to all humanity, and sponsor of the prestigious Goldblatt Prize in Fiction, she lives in Crooked Path, NY. She’s fictional but her love is real.

Anonymous, the real-life person in whose mind Duchess Goldblatt lives and flourishes, has gathered all available truth and beauty for these pages. There’s nothing else to give. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Deeply satisfying, unexpectedly moving.… As lovable as the duchess herself…. Duchess and Anonymous subtly, slowly become one person. She no longer feels alone; neither do her subjects. People find solace in this fictional character—and Anonymous does, too.
Julie Klam - New York Times Book Review

There's no recipe for Duchess Goldblatt tweets, but they often amount to one part conventional wisdom and two parts surrealism, with some grandmotherly tenderness or saltiness sprinkled in for good measure.… Her feed is one of the few places on the internet devoted to spreading unadulterated joy.… Becoming Duchess Goldblatt recontextualizes the Twitter account as a therapeutic exercise.
Kate Dwyer - New York Times

Her proclamations sound like pithy lines from a standup special—that is, if the comedian was God and if God was an 81-year-old woman from the 17th century.… [H]er community.… [finds] her amusing, comforting, assuring.… It's loving the bizarre and cherishing the weird that Goldblatt does best. And it's why so many people trust her to tell them how to live, how to treat themselves with more compassion, how to treat each other better, too.
Boston Globe

Becoming Duchess Goldblatt is many things, all of them splendid…. The best sort of self-help, demonstrating that creativity, generosity and even Twitter… can offer salvation and lift all boats…. The book is enriched by two distinct voices: one frank and vulnerable, the other all-knowing.…This sort of anonymity, in a time of too much oversharing on too many platforms, is a respite. We need magic. The book's timing is inspired. It's a summer cocktail of a book.
Washington Post

A source of wry wisdom and off-kilter commentary...A testament to the powers of redemption, reinvention, and yes, country singer Lyle Lovett.
Christian Science

A life-affirming memoir packed with hilarity and candid observations about life and love.
Marie Claire

Surely you follow Duchess Goldblatt on Twitter? If not, do yourself a favor and hit that button to subscribe to her delightful musings. In Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, the Duchess' real-life anonymous creator writes about crafting one of Twitter's (if not the Internet's) best accounts and healing herself in the process.
Real Simple

The Duchess is a light shining in the darkness, a beacon for troubled souls…. Her presence has uplifted her human avatar, even as it heartens Her Grace's ever-growing audience of "loons" and "rascals." … [A]s the Duchess would say—her love is real.
BookPage

A surprising, joyful story of social media at its best.
Booklist

(Starred review) How does a fictional character write a real memoir? Very, very well.… [The author has] created a long-term fever dream of humor, compassion, wordplay, and dog photos. A fascinating memoir by a 21st-century original.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for BECOMING DUCHESS GOLDBLATT … then take off on your own:

1. ''Do you follow the Duchess's tweets? If so, does her book incorporate the same (or similar) style and pithiness?

2. What passages in Becoming Duchess Goldblatt do you feel carry the most weight in terms humor, compassion, or advice for living life as a person you wish to be? In other words, what most resonates with you? Did you have any "Ah-ha!" moments?

3. Well, just how funny is Duchess Goldblatt? What made you laugh out loud, or at least elicit a deep chuckle (or dainty snort)?

4. What does Anonymous tell us about her own life and her own vulnerability?

5. Who do you think Anonymous is, who's the real person behind the curtain? Well, of course, not WHO she is, but what she's like. Have some fun and create an identity for her. Speculate!—is the Duchess even a woman, is she really an octogenarian? Maybe she's a literary historian …or a 17th-18th century literature professor? Where do you think she lives?

6. The Duchess at one point insists she doesn't have many friends, that if you "get too friendly …they [will] inevitably drop you." But later she admits to a desire to connect with people, that she's "trying to make a new life" for herself. Do you find those revelation genuine ...or a part of her made-up character? Does her wariness of friendship feel familiar to you …or completely foreign?

7. The Duchess says that her followers confide in her about "trying to get or stay sober, or their marriages are unhappy or they have a child who’s terribly sick." Why do you think people are willing to share such deeply personal issues with her?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family
Amy Ellis Nutt, 2015
Random House
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780812995411

Summary
The inspiring true story of a transgender girl, her identical twin brother, and an ordinary American family’s extraordinary journey to understand, nurture, and celebrate the uniqueness in us all.

When Wayne and Kelly Maines adopted identical twin boys, they thought their lives were complete. But it wasn’t long before they noticed a marked difference between Jonas and his brother, Wyatt.

Jonas preferred sports and trucks and many of the things little boys were “supposed” to like; but Wyatt liked princess dolls and dress-up and playing Little Mermaid. By the time the twins were toddlers, confusion over Wyatt’s insistence that he was female began to tear the family apart.

In the years that followed, the Maineses came to question their long-held views on gender and identity, to accept and embrace Wyatt’s transition to Nicole, and to undergo an emotionally wrenching transformation of their own that would change all their lives forever.

Becoming Nicole chronicles a journey that could have destroyed a family but instead brought it closer together. It’s the story of...

a mother whose instincts told her that her child needed love and acceptance, not ostracism and disapproval,
a Republican, Air Force veteran father who overcame his deepest fears to become a vocal advocate for trans rights,
a loving brother who bravely stuck up for his twin sister,
a town forced to confront its prejudices, a school compelled to rewrite its rules, and...
a courageous community of transgender activists determined to make their voices heard.

Ultimately, Becoming Nicole is the story of an extraordinary girl who fought for the right to be herself.

Granted wide-ranging access to personal diaries, home videos, clinical journals, legal documents, medical records, and the Maineses themselves, Amy Ellis Nutt spent almost four years reporting this immersive account of an American family confronting an issue that is at the center of today’s cultural debate.

Becoming Nicole will resonate with anyone who’s ever raised a child, felt at odds with society’s conventions and norms, or had to embrace life when it plays out unexpectedly. It’s a story of standing up for your beliefs and yourself—and it will inspire all of us to do the same. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1956-57
• Where—N/A
• Education—B.A., Smith College; M.A., M.I.T. and Columbia University
• Awards—Pulitzer Prize
• Currently—lives in Washington, DC

Amy Ellis Nutt won the Pulitzer Prize in 2011 for her Newark Star Ledger feature series “The Wreck of the Lady Mary,” about the 2009 sinking of a fishing boat off the New Jersey coast. Currently, she is a health and science writer at the Washington Post.

She is also the author of three books: Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family (2015), Shadows Bright as Glass: The Remarkable Story of One Man's Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph (2011), and the co-author with Frances E. Jensen, M.D. of the New York Times bestseller The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults (2015).

Nutt was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard University, a Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton, and an instructor of journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She lives in Washington, D.C. (Adapted from the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Reading strictly for plot, Becoming Nicole is about a transgender girl who triumphed in a landmark discrimination case in 2014, successfully suing the Orono school district in Maine for barring her from using the girls' bathroom. But the real movement in this book happens internally, in the back caverns of each family member's heart and mind. Four ordinary and imperfect human beings had to reckon with an exceptional situation, and in so doing also became, in their own modest ways, exceptional…Ms. Nutt…skillfully recreates a story that started years before she arrived at the family's doorstep. (They seem to have given her full-saturation access.) She gets the structure and pacing just right…if you aren't moved by Becoming Nicole, I'd suggest there's a lump of dark matter where your heart should be.
Jennifer Senior - New York Times

[The author] generously traces the parameters of parental love…Children are never what one expects, and the trick is not to be disappointed—in fact, to be pleased—with who they are. This process of constantly recalibrating one's expectations is the central job of parenthood: a high-wire act in which one's own memories of childhood and the priorities and habits developed there come into direct conflict with who one's child actually is…Becoming Nicole iterates this idea, delving deep into the case of a single family with a transgender child and discovering in its particulars certain universal truths about the ways children arrive in one's life already themselves.
Lisa Miller - New York Times Book Review

A transgender girl’s coming-of-age saga, an exploration of the budding science of gender identity, a civil rights time capsule, a tear-jerking legal drama and, perhaps most of all, an education about what can happen when a child doesn’t turn out as his or her parents expected—and they’re forced to either shut their eyes and hearts or see everything differently.
Time

Nutt reports on medical opinion that gender is established physiologically within the brain and is a matter of heredity.... What is clear in this gripping account is the strength of the emotional bond within the family.... A timely, significant examination of the distinction between sexual affinity and sexual identity.
Kirkus Reviews

If there is an inner distress...it arises from knowing exactly who they are, but at the same time being locked into the wrong body.... The dysfunction arises not from their own confusion, but from being made to feel like freaks or gender misfits.

What is your reaction to transgendered individuals? Has this book altered the way in which you understand their situation? Are you more, or less, sympathetic? Why?

5. What, if any, legitimate protections and/or rights should transgendered individuals expect from society?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Before the Last All Clear
Ray Evans, 2005
Morgan James Publishing
263 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781600373787

Summary
During World War II around three and a half million British people were evacuated away from possible air raids in the big cities in one of the largest social upheavals Great Britain has ever seen.

The Government called this ‘Operation Pied Piper’ and many of the evacuees were children. Journeys from the cities were long and tiring and the evacuees did not know where they were going. They were often dropped off in groups and gathered in a local village hall or school to be 'chosen' by the prospective foster parents. One of those children was Ray Evans whose family was transported from Liverpool to the Welsh Town of Llanelli.

In Before the Last All Clear, Evans tells a harrowing tale of leaving his mother and being forced to live with families who at best regarded him as a nuisance and, at worst, exploited and brutalised him. Evans account takes a happy turn when he is billeted to a family who make him so welcome that he is reluctant to leave them at the end of the war.

Written in a simple, direct style Before the Last All Clear depicts a world far removed from the glamour and sophistication of the twenty-first century. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 29, 1933
• Where—Liverpool, England, UK
• Education—Secondary School
• Awards—Welsh Book Council Wales Reads
• Currently—lives in Virginia, USA

Born in Liverpool in 1933, Ray Evans was evacuated to the South Wales town of Llanelli at the outbreak of World War Two in 1939. He remained there until the cessation of hostilities in 1945. When he left school he served two years National Service in Egypt as a member of the British Royal Army Medical Corps, before marrying Lilian in 1956. Ray started a wholesale clothing business in 1964 and ran this enterprise very successfully along with Lilian until they retired and moved to the USA to be closer to their daughter. They lived first in New Hampshire, but now reside in the warmer climes of south east Virginia. Ray has been happily married to Lilian for 54 years: they have two children and six grandchildren. Ray now spends his time writing, blogging and golfing unless his lifetime favorite football (soccer) team Liverpool FC are playing, in which case he will be ‘glued’ to the television!

His own words:
During the writing of the book I learned a lot that I had either forgotten or was never aware of because I was so young when the events took place. It was in the course of my researching certain war time events for accuracy and inclusion in the book that I discovered just how much interest there really must be because of the myriad of websites and organizations that exist.

Before the Last All Clear began as a way to ensure the stories that had fascinated my children and now my grandchildren, would continue to be shared within our own family. Although I was reluctant at first [I felt I didn’t had the education to write a book and am well aware, I am no Shakespeare] however it became a labor of love and grew into so much more than I ever expected it to. Many people tell me the stories are funny, sad and some say beautiful and even inspiring. I can only say they have meant much to me and had a very deep and lasting effect on the person I became in later life.

The greatest pleasure I’ve had since the book was published has been meeting people at book clubs, events and schools. I am constantly amazed at how strongly people relate to the stories and experiences that I now realize have shaped my entire life. It is very humbling to realize that through this book, they may now also affect others – hopefully in a positive way. If there is anything I learned from those early experiences, it is that you have to always look for the light at the end of the tunnel and then just put your head down and work towards it! (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Some recall it as the greatest adventure of their lives. For others, being a wartime evacuee was a nightmare. These are the witty yet deeply poignant memories of a man still haunted by the cruelties he endured. During World War II, around three and a half million British children were evacuated away from possible air raids in the big cities in one of the largest social upheavals Great Britain has ever seen. One of those children was Ray Evans. This is the story of a young evacuee from Liverpool sent to live in the Welsh town of Llanelli. Separated from his mother, brothers and sisters, six-year old Ray was dispatched to a series of families who ignored, exploited and brutalised him. Pushed from pillar to post, he finally finds happiness with a family who make him so welcome that he is reluctant to leave when war ends. Set in a world of ration books, air-raid sirens and ever-present danger, this is a candid and direct account of wartime Britain as seen through the eyes of a child..
Daily Mail (UK)

A superb portrait of wartime Britain seen from a child’s perspective, and recalled in astounding and excruciating detail by a man who lived through it and tells all. Before the Last All Clear is a superb memoir, but more importantly, it is a vivid and uniquely personal morsel of history that any reader will find difficult to forget.
Book Review.com (www.bookreview.com)

At the age of six, Evans, along with thousands of other British children, was separated from his family, home and school and sent to the safety of the English countryside during WWII. In his memoir, the author recalls the emotions of a small child who misses his mother and family. While it may be easy for readers to become emotional when it comes to this kind of story, Evan’s touching account is indeed a tearjerker; he aptly recaptures his fear and the feeling of being lost as he made his way to his temporary home. He presents a tale of horror as he relives the memories of two homes where he stayed during the evacuation period. As a castoff evacuee, Evans was often mistreated by the families with whom he stayed, enduring what Western society today would consider child abuse. By the time the author reaches his third and final home, he loves it so much that he almost doesn’t want to leave. Evans’ illustrative writing capably paints each scene, making it easy to imagine the conditions in which he lived. In fact, it would be realistic to picture this cute young boy’s life portrayed on screen. Before the Last All Clear is a well-written account of a lovable protagonist who yearns for a sense of normalcy—all while remaining optimistic that the war will soon end and better days are ahead. A beautiful memoir of WWII as seen through the eyes of a child.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the differences between life in 1939 and how we live today. How are things easier for us today than they were back then?

2. How do you think you would feel or react to being told that your hometown was a major bombing target? Was evacuation voluntary or compulsory?

3. Imagine you are a parent – intellectually you know and understand you must allow your children to be evacuated, yet you have no idea of their destination, who they will be housed with or when they will be allowed to return. What do you think might go through your mind as you watch your children leave?

4. Describe Ray’s reaction to the selection process he goes through at the “evacuee Distribution Center” on arrival in Wales

5. Discuss the relationship between Ray and his various ‘foster parents’ at the different billets.

6. How do you think children in that time differ from children today? They certainly seem more naïve, but then so do the adults. Are we better off now or has society in general lost more than it’s gained?

7. Describe how Ray is made to feel when he has to ask for another billet, food or clothing.

8. What would you have the most trouble or difficulty with in Ray’s situation - living with strangers, going hungry or the separation from family and friends?

9. Was Ray’s a typical evacuation experience or more likely the exception? How many children were evacuated under Operation Pied Piper? Where did they get sent to?

10. How did Mrs. Williams and her family make Ray’s final years of evacuation a positive experience in the end?

11. How do you think Ray’s experiences as an evacuee shaped his personality in later life? Do you feel they helped or hurt him and if so, how?

12. What did you learn about wartime life in England and about yourself from reading this book

top of page (summary)

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
Katherine Boo, 2012
Random House
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780812979329

Summary
In this brilliantly written, fast-paced book, based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human.

Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a childhood in rural poverty, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. With a little luck, her sensitive, beautiful daughter—Annawadi’s “most-everything girl”—will soon become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to the good lives and good times they call “the full enjoy.”

But then Abdul the garbage sorter is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy; terror and a global recession rock the city; and suppressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power and economic envy turn brutal. As the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed. And so, too, are the imaginations and courage of the people of Annawadi.

With intelligence, humor, and deep insight into what connects human beings to one another in an era of tumultuous change, Behind the Beautiful Forevers carries the reader headlong into one of the twenty-first century’s hidden worlds, and into the lives of people impossible to forget. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 12, 1964
• Where—Washington, DC, USA
• Education—B.A., Barnard College
• Awards—Pulitzer Prize for Public Service; MacArthur Fellowship;
The Hillman Prize; National Magazine Award for Feature Writing
• Currently—divides her time between the U.S. and India

Katherine (Kate) J. Boo is an award-winning journalist and author known primarily for writing about America's poor and disadvantaged.

A native of Washington, D.C., Boo attended the College of William and Mary and graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College and began her career in journalism with editorial positions at Washington's City Paper and then the Washington Monthly. From there she went to the Washington Post, from 1993 to 2003.

In 2000, her series for the Post about group homes for the mentally impaired won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The Pulitzer judges noted that her work "disclosed wretched neglect and abuse in the city’s group homes for the mentally retarded, which forced officials to acknowledge the conditions and begin reforms."

In 2003, she joined the staff of The New Yorker, to which she had been contributing since 2001. One of her subsequent New Yorker articles, "The Marriage Cure," won the National Magazine Award for Feature Writing in 2004. The article chronicled state-sponsored efforts to teach poor people in an Oklahoma community about marriage in hopes that the classes would help people avoid or escape poverty. Another of Boo's New Yorker articles, "After Welfare," won the 2002 Sidney Hillman Award, which honors articles that advance the cause of social justice.

She was a senior fellow at the New America Foundation, from 2002 through 2006. In 2002, she won a MacArthur Fellowship.[7]

In 2012, Boo published her first book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity , a non-fiction account of life in the Annawadi slums of Mumbai, India. (Author bio from Wikipedia .)

Book Reviews
[An] exquisitely accomplished first book. Novelists dream of defining characters this swiftly and beautifully, but Ms. Boo is not a novelist. She is one of those rare, deep-digging journalists who can make truth surpass fiction, a documentarian with a superb sense of human drama. She makes it very easy to forget that this book is the work of a reporter.... Comparison to Dickens is not unwarranted.”
Janet Maslin - New York Times

A jaw-dropping achievement, an instant classic of narrative nonfiction.... With a cinematic intensity...Boo transcends and subverts every cliché, cynical or earnest, that we harbor about Indian destitution and gazes directly into the hearts, hopes, and human promise of vibrant people whom you’ll not soon forget.
Elle

Riveting, fearlessly reported.... [Beautiful Forevers] plays out like a swift, richly plotted novel. That's partly because Boo writes so damn well. But it's also because over the course of three years in India she got extraordinary access to the lives and minds of the Annawadi slum, a settlement nestled jarringly close to a shiny international airport and a row of luxury hotels. Grade: A.
Entertainment Weekly

A tough-minded, inspiring, and irresistible book.... Boo's extraordinary achievement is twofold. She shows us how people in the most desperate circumstances can find the resilience to hang on to their humanity. Just as importantly, she makes us care. (Four stars.)
People

A shocking—and riveting—portrait of life in modern India.... This is one stunning piece of narrative nonfiction.... Boo’s prose is electric.
O, The Oprah Magazine

You'll know Boo from her work at the Washington Post and now as staff writer for The New Yorker, which has brought her any number of honors, including the MacArthur "genius" award. Her writing is marked by a persuasive sense of humanity, never more than in this study of the hopeful and go-getting inhabitants of the slums surrounding the luxury hotels at the Mumbai airport. Teenaged Abdul aims to better his family with finds from the trash rich tourists have discarded, for instance, while Asha works to make her promising daughter the slum's first female college graduate. Of course, abuse, envy, and political and religious tensions turn up as well. Comparisons to Slumdog Millionaire are inevitable, but this would also match up nicely with fiction from Aravind Adiga (e.g., The White Tiger). For all informed readers
Library Journal

Discussion Questions
1. Barbara Ehrenreich calls Behind the Beautiful Forevers “one of the most powerful indictments of economic inequality I’ve ever read.” Yet the book shows the world of the Indian rich—lavish Bollywood parties, an increasingly glamorous new airport—almost exclusively through the eyes of the Annawadians. Are they resentful? Are they envious? How does the wealth that surrounds the slumdwellers shape their own expectations and hopes?

2. As Abdul works day and night with garbage, keeping his head down, trying to support his large family, some other citydwellers think of him as garbage, too. How does Abdul react to how other people view him? How would you react? How do Abdul and his sort-of friend, Sunil, try to protect themselves and sustain self-esteem in the face of other people’s contempt?

3. The lives of ordinary women—their working lives, domestic lives, and inner lives—are an important part of Behind the Beautiful Forevers. The author has noted elsewhere that she’d felt a shortage of such accounts in nonfiction about urban India. Do women like Zehrunisa and Asha have more freedom in an urban slum than they would have had in the villages where they were born? What is Meena, a Dalit, spared by living in the city? What freedoms do Meena, Asha, and Zehrunisa still lack, in your view?

4. Asha grew up in rural poverty, and the teenaged marriage arranged by her family was to a man who drank more than he worked. In Annawadi, she takes a series of calculated risks to give her daughter Manju a life far more hopeful than that of other young women such as Meena. What does Asha lose by her efforts to improve her daughter’s life chances? What does she gain? Were Asha’s choices understandable to you, in the end?

5. The author has said elsewhere that while the book brings to light serious injustices, she believes there is also hope on almost every single page: in the imaginations, intelligence and courage of the people she writes about. What are the qualities of a child like Sunil that might flourish in a society that did a better job of recognizing his capacities?

6. When we think of corruption, the examples tend to be drawn from big business or top levels of government. The kind of corruption Behind the Beautiful Forevers show us is often described as “petty”. Do you agree with that characterization of the corruption Annawadians encounter in their daily lives? Why might such corrruption be on the increase as India grows wealthier as a nation?

7. Does Asha have a point when she argues that something isn’t wrong if the powerful people say that it’s right? How does constant exposure to corruption change a person’s internal understanding of right and wrong?

8. Shortly before Abdul is sent to juvenile jail, a major newspaper runs a story about the facility headlined: “Dongri Home is a Living Hell.” Abdul’s experience of Dongri is more complex, though. How does being wrenched away from his work responsibilities at Annawadi change his understandings of the hardships of other people? Are terms like liberty and freedom understood differently by people who live in different conditions?

9. Fatima’s neighbors view her whorling rages, like her bright lipsticks, as free comic entertainments. How has her personality been shaped by the fact that she has been defined since birth by her disability—very literally named by it? Zehrunusa waivers between sympathy for and disapproval of her difficult neighbor. In the end, did you?

10. Zehrunisa remembers a time when every slumdweller was roughly equal in his or her misery, and competition between neighbors didn’t get so out of hand. Abdul doesn’t know whether or not to believe her account of a gentler past. Do you believe it? Might increased hopes for a better life have a dark as well as a bright side?

11. Many Annawadians—Hindu, Muslim, and Christian—spend less time in religious observance than they did when they were younger, and a pink temple on the edge of the sewage lake goes largely unused. In a time of relative hope and constant improvisation for the slumdwellers, why might religious practice be diminishing? What role does religious faith still play in the slumdwellers’ lives?

12. Who do you think had the best life in the book, and why?

13. In the Author’s Note Katherine Boo emphasizes the volatility of an age in which capital moves quickly around the planet, government supports decline, and temporary work proliferates. Had the author followed the families of Annawadi for only a few weeks or months, would you have come away with a different understanding of the effects of that volatility? Does uncertainty about their homes and incomes change how Annawadians view their neighbors? Does economic uncertainty affect relationships where you live?

14. At one point in the book, Abdul takes to heart the moral of a Hindu myth related by The Master: Allow your flesh to be eaten by the eagles of the world. Suffer nobly, and you’ll be rewarded in the end. What is the connection between suffering and redemption in this book? What connections between suffering and redemption do you see in your own life? Are the sufferers ennobled? Are the good rewarded in the end?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America
Leslie Zemeckis, 2013
Skyhorse
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781620876916

Summary
The art of burlesque is continuing its resurgence. There are thousands of performers packing venues all over the world. Yet many of the genre’s fans, and even those involved in the trade, are still in the dark when it comes to the history of the craft.

Leslie Zemeckis has decided to do something about preserving the legacy of the pioneers of burlesque with a critically acclaimed documentary Behind the Burly Q (2012). But it was just the beginning. In possession of hundreds of hours of taped interviews and rare, never-before-seen photos, Leslie knew there was more to be done. So she has documented the definitive oral history of burlesque as told by the original stars themselves in her first book.

With a foreword by burlesque’s equivalent of Lady Gaga—Blaze Starr—Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America (Skyhorse Publishing, June 2013) is a fascinating exploration of America’s “seediest” art form.

Given unprecedented access to the performers’ diaries, letters, albums, and memorabilia, Leslie’s book gathers their stories and personal photos here for the first time. In their own words, the performers confide their stories of being courted by King Saud of Saudi Arabia, and their encounters with famous fans, including Abbott and Costello, Jack Ruby, and JFK himself.

The history and the lore come alive with the accounts of “Stage Door Johnnies” who followed the performers from town to town; the infamous “flash” that made New York Mayor LaGuardia shut down the city’s burlesque clubs; and lighting their tassels on fire in a never-ending quest to “out-gimmick” other dancers.

Full of gossip and firsthand accounts of backstage treachery, rivalries, lawsuits, and debauchery, Behind the Burly Q is also a heartwarming and inspiring book about the women (and men) whose stories of “stripping” have never been told. (From the publisher.)

Read the article in Huff Post.

Author Bio
Leslie Zemeckis is an author, actress, and award-winning documentarian. Zemeckis wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning Bound by Flesh about Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton as well as the critically acclaimed Behind the Burly Q, a definitive history of burlesque.

Book Reviews
Charming....often entertaining.... The present-day interviews with these women are a delight and also poignant, partly because of the contrast between their older and younger selves, though mostly because of the lives they lived.... It’s great that she immortalized these women.
Manohla Dargis - New York Times

[M]any creatively named burlesque stars—Tempest Storm, Candy Cotton, Blaze Starr, Candy Barr, Val Valentine, Tee Tee Red, the list goes on — interviewed at poignant, amusing and enlightening length in a new book, Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America.
Rick Kogan - Chicago Tribune

Leslie Zemeckis relates the tragic and uplifting tales of the forgotten stars of burlesque's golden age.
Los Angeles Times

Utterly entertaining Behind the Burly Q is a painstakingly researched love letter to the women and men who once made up the community of burlesque performers…its treasure trove of vintage photographs and performance footage is enough to make historians and fans of classic erotica swoon…insightful, fascinating.
Ernest Hardy - Village Voice

A privileged front-row seat to the history of burlesque! Glorious ladies in their heyday....their long-ago stripteases still pack a sensual, sassy, what-the-hell punch, while juicy anecdotes run from raunchy to touching to funny to flat-out incredible.
Ronnie Scheib - Variety

Entertaining, and often poignant book.
Liz Smith

[A]comprehensive history of the golden age of burlesque. Drawing from extensive interviews conducted for [her] film, Zemeckis profiles a host of colorful dancers.... Rounding out Zemeckis’s oral history are profiles of those connected to the burlesque circuit—like comedians Abbott and Costello—and examinations of the legal and social furors and fevers kicked off by the “Burly Q.” This rich history, rife with vibrant quotes and first-hand insights from burlesque’s biggest dancers, is indispensable for fans of the ribald pastime.
Publishers Weekly

Filmmaker Zemeckis...introduces readers to a wild and varied cast of characters, many of whom she interviewed herself, such as Lili St. Cyr, Zorita, and the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee, who was immortalized in the Broadway musical Gypsy. However, the author also reveals a more vulnerable side to these larger-than-life figures, discussing unstable childhoods and marital woes.... Zemeckis offers a rich, colorful narrative that provides a vivid sense of the era. —Mahnaz Dar
Library Journal

Salty reminiscences.... Zemeckis assembled an impressive number of surviving performers from roughly the 1930s through the late ’50s to recount their experiences toiling in this often misunderstood cul-de-sac in American performing arts. An evolution of vaudeville, burlesque added striptease to the program in an effort to lure audiences back from the movies.... There is much colorful ground-level showbiz detail... and the anecdotes are never less than good fun. An affectionate and historically valuable document of an intriguing, little-served corner of American entertainment.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Why has burlesque been left out of the history books? Where the performers themselves reluctant to talk about performing in burlesque or is it because of our perceptions today that burlesque was no more than a strip show with second rate comedians?

2. When does the author consider the years to be the “golden age of burlesque” and why?

3. Did most of the women revere their time in burlesque or were they ashamed of it? Did their families know?

4. How often did the performers work? Could say a hand-balancer actually make a living in burlesque?

5. Why is is considered to be the premier form of entertainment in America?

6. Why did burlesque die out? And what do we owe its growing resurgence to today?

7. Where can you see burlesque today? Which performers and television shows are burlesque?

8. What happened to the men and women when burlesque died out? Could they cross over into “legitimate” show business?

9. So many of the women talked about growing up poor and coming from abusive families did this have anything to do with their choices to go into burlesque? Did it give them opportunities they might not otherwise have had?

10. Alan Alda’s father was in burlesque, who else was in burlesque that surprised you?
(Questions provided courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End
Atul Gawande, 2014
Henry Holt & Co.
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250081247

Summary
Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending.

Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit.

Nursing homes, preoccupied with safety, pin patients into railed beds and wheelchairs. Hospitals isolate the dying, checking for vital signs long after the goals of cure have become moot. Doctors, committed to extending life, continue to carry out devastating procedures that in the end extend suffering.

Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession’s ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified.

Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal asserts that medicine can comfort and enhance our experience even to the end, providing not only a good life but also a good end. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—November 5, 1965
• Where—Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
• Rasied—Athens, Ohio
• Education—B.S., Stanford University ; M.A. Oxford Universty; M.D., M.P.H., Harvard University
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in Newton, Massachusetts

Atul Gawande is an American surgeon, author, and public health researcher. He is a general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor in both the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Department of Surgery at Harvard Medical School. In his work in public health, he is Executive Director of Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation and also chairman of Lifebox, a nonprofit reducing deaths in surgery globally.

Early years
Gawande was born in Brooklyn, New York to Indian Maharashtrian immigrants to the United States, both doctors. The family soon moved to Athens, Ohio, where he and his sister grew up. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1987. He was a Rhodes scholar, earning a degree in Philosophy, Politics & Economics from Balliol College, Oxford in 1989. Gawande graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1995. He also has a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health, earned in 1999.

Political career and medical school
As a student, Gawande was a volunteer for Gary Hart's campaign. As a Rhodes Scholar, he spent one year at Oxford University. After graduation, he joined Al Gore's 1988 presidential campaign. He worked as a health-care researcher for Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), who was author of a "managed competition" health care proposal for the Conservative Democratic Forum. After two years he left medical school to become Bill Clinton's health care lieutenant during the 1992 campaign and became a senior adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services after Clinton's inauguration. He directed one of the three committees of the Clinton Health Care Task Force, supervising 75 people and defined the benefits packages for Americans and subsidies and requirements for employers.

He returned to medical school in 1993 and earned a medical degree in 1994.

Journalism
Soon after he began his residency, his friend Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate, asked him to contribute to the online magazine. His pieces on the life of a surgical resident caught the eye of The New Yorker which published several pieces by him before making him a staff writer in 1998.

A June 2009 New Yorker essay by Gawande compared the health care of two towns in Texas to show why health care was more expensive in one town compared to the other. Using the town of McAllen, Texas, as an example, it argued that a revenue-maximizing businessman-like culture (which can provide substantial amounts of unnecessary care) was an important factor in driving up costs, unlike a culture of low-cost high-quality care as provided by the Mayo Clinic and other efficient health systems.

Ezra Klein of the Washington Post called it "the best article you'll see this year on American health care—why it's so expensive, why it's so poor, [and] what can be done." The article was cited by President Barack Obama during Obama's attempt to get health care reform legislation passed by the United States Congress. The article, according to Senator Ron Wyden, "affected [Obama's] thinking dramatically" and who later said to a group of Senators, "This is what we’ve got to fix." After reading the New Yorker article, Warren Buffett's long-time business partner Charlie Munger mailed a check to Gawande in the amount of $20,000 as a thank you to Dr. Gawande for providing something so socially useful. Gawande donated the money to the Brigham and Women's Hospital Center for Surgery and Public Health.

In addition to his popular writing, Gawande has published studies on topics including military surgery techniques and error in medicine, included in the New England Journal of Medicine. He is also the director of the World Health Organization's Global Patient Safety Challenge. His essays have appeared in The Best American Essays 2003, The Best American Science Writing 2002, and The Best American Science Writing 2009.

Books
In 2002 Gawande published his first book, Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. It was a National Book Award finalist and has been published in over one hundred countries.

His second book, Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance, was released in 2007. It discusses three virtues that Gawande considers to be most important for success in medicine: diligence, doing right, and ingenuity. Gawande offers examples in the book of people who have embodied these virtues. The book strives to present multiple sides of contentious medical issues, such as malpractice law in the US, physicians' role in capital punishment, and treatment variation between hospitals.

Gawande's third book, The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, came out in 2009. It discusses the importance of organization and pre-planning (such as thorough checklists) in both medicine and the larger world. The Checklist Manifesto reached the New York Times Hardcover nonfiction bestseller list in 2010.

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End was in October 2014.

Awards and recognition
In 2006, Gawande was named a MacArthur Fellow for his work investigating and articulating modern surgical practices and medical ethics. In 2007, he became director of the World Health Organization's effort to reduce surgical deaths, and in 2009 he was elected a Hastings Center Fellow.

In 2004, he was named one of the 20 Most Influential South Asians by Newsweek. In the 2010 Time 100, he was included (fifth place) in Thinkers Category. Also in 2010, he was named by Foreign Policy magazine to its list of top global thinkers.

Personal life
Gawande lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife, Kathleen Hobson, who is a Stanford graduate, and their three children: Walker, Hattie, and Hunter. He enjoys reading. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/12/2014.)

Book Reviews
"I never expected that among the most meaningful experiences I'd have as a doctor—and, really, as a human being—would come from helping others deal with what medicine cannot do as well as what it can," [Gawande] writes. Being Mortal uses a clear, illuminating style to describe the medical facts and cases that have brought him to that understanding.
Janet Maslin - New York Times

Gawande writes that members of the medical profession, himself included, have been wrong about what their job is. Rather than ensuring health and survival, it is "to enable well-being." If that sounds vague, Gawande has plenty of engaging and nuanced stories to leave the reader with a good sense of what he means…Being Mortal is a valuable contribution to the growing literature on aging, death and dying. It contains unsparing descriptions of bodily aging and the way it often takes us by surprise. Gawande is a gifted storyteller, and there are some stirring, even tear-inducing passages here. The writing can be evocative…. The stories give a dignified voice to older people in the process of losing their independence. We see the world from their perspective, not just those of their physicians and worried family members.
Sheri Fink - New York Time Book Review

Dr. Gawande’s book is not of the kind that some doctors write, reminding us how grim the fact of death can be. Rather, he shows how patients in the terminal phase of their illness can maintain important qualities of life (Best Books of 2014).
Wall Street Journal

Atul Gawande’s wise and courageous book raises the questions that none of us wants to think about.... Remarkable.
John Carey - Sunday Times (UK)

Gawande’s book is so impressive that one can believe that it may well [change the medical profession].... May it be widely read and inwardly　digested.
Diana Athill - Financial Times (UK)

Being Mortal, Atul Gawande’s masterful exploration of aging, death, and the medical profession’s mishandling of both, is his best and most personal book yet.
Boston Globe

Masterful.... Essential.... For more than a decade, Atul Gawande has explored the fault lines of medicine...combining his years of experience as a surgeon with his gift for fluid, seemingly effortless storytelling.... In Being Mortal, he turns his attention to his most important subject yet.
Chicago Tribune

A needed call to action, a cautionary tale of what can go wrong, and often does, when a society fails to engage in a sustained discussion about aging and dying.
San Francisco Chronicle

Beautifully crafted.... Being Mortal　is a clear-eyed, informative exploration of what growing old means in the 21st　century...a book I cannot recommend highly enough. This should be mandatory reading for every American.... [I]t provides a useful roadmap of what we can and should be doing to make the last years of life meaningful.
Time.com

Beautifully written.... In his newest and best book, Gawande...has provided us with a moving and clear-eyed look at aging and death in our society, and at the harms we do in turning it into a medical problem, rather than a human one.
New York Review of Books

Being Mortal left me tearful, angry, and unable to stop talking about it for a week.... A surgeon himself, Gawande is eloquent about the inadequacy of medical school in preparing doctors to confront the subject of death with their patients.... it is rare to read a book that sparks with so much hard thinking.
Nature

　
Eloquent, moving (Best Books of 2014).
Economist

A great read that leaves you better equipped to face the future, and without making you feel like you just took your medicine (Best Books of 2014).
Mother Jones

Leading surgeon, Harvard medical professor, and best-selling author, Gawande is also a staff writer at The New Yorker, which published the National Magazine Award-winning article that serves as the basis for this study of how contemporary medicine can do a better, more humane job of managing death and dying.
Library Journal

Gawande displays the precision of his surgical craft and the compassion of a humanist...in a narrative that often attains the force and beauty of a novel.... Only a precious few books have the power to open our eyes while they move us to tears. Atul Gawande has produced such a work. One hopes it is the spark that ignites some revolutionary changes in a field of medicine that ultimately touches each of us (Best Books of 2014).
Shelf Awareness

[A] cleareyed look at aging and death in 21st-century America.... Gawande offers a timely account of how modern Americans cope with decline and mortality. He points out that dying in America is a lonely, complex business.... A sensitive, intelligent and heartfelt examination of the processes of aging and dying.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

The Best of Friends: Martha and Me
Mariana Pasternak, 2010
HarperCollins
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061661280

Summary
For more than two decades, Mariana Pasternak and Martha Stewart were nearly inseparable. They first met over a garden gate in Westport, Connecticut—two suburban wives wedded to successful men but with grand aspirations of their own.

Their friendship only deepened after their marriages ended in divorce. Drawn into a seductive world of privilege and adventure, Pasternak, who struggled as a working single mother, watched with admiration as Martha built an empire that would make her one of the richest women in America. The two women enjoyed amazing experiences, traveled the world together, and talked on a daily basis, sharing thoughts and feelings, plans and dreams. But as time passed, money, men, and the arrogance of wealth frayed the bonds of their friendship—until the final break came when Pasternak was called as a witness in the high-profile trial that ultimately brought about Stewart's conviction and prison sentence.

The Best of Friends: Martha and Me tells the story of an extraordinary friendship and its devastating aftermath with breathtaking candor. Every woman who has had a best female friend will see herself in this deeply personal memoir. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Mariana Pasternak grew up in Romania and immigrated to the United States as a political refugee. The mother of two daughters, she has been a biomedical engineer and has held other positions involving computer-based research and development. For the past twenty years, she has been working as a realtor in Connecticut, where she lives. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Ms. Pasternak winds up expressing even more affection for a special red Hermes handbag ("How I loved that bag!") than she does for the woman whose coattails she rode for more than 20 years.
New York Times

[A] spiky, entertaining memoir by Stewart’s former pal Mariana Pasternak.... This is an observant, dishy look at a world of luxury and privilege from the perspective of a woman who’s trying to justify—if only to herself—her years as a hanger-on.
Laurie Muchnick - Bloomberg

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for: The Best of Friends:

1. How does Martha Stewart come off in Pasternak's book? Has it changed you opinion of her? Have you come away with greater admiration of Stewart...or less?

2. What do you think of Mariana Pasternak?

3. What was Pasternak's motivation for penning the book? Is her view of Stewart an unbiased one? Is the book merely a kiss & tell book—gossipy and self-serving? Or does her memoir provide us with fascinating insights into one of the most powerful and remarkable women of our time?

4. How would you describe Pasternak and Stewart's friendship? What was the friendship built on—was it a genuine friendship? What did either woman gain from the relationship? What began to eat away at the bond between the two women—when did the first cracks begin to appear? How might you have fared in such a friendship, one in which the other half has a huge financial advantage?

5. What kind of mother, according to Pasternak, was Martha Stewart? Why did Pasternak never say anything to Stewart about her concerns? Why did she allow her own daughter to continue visiting the Stewart household unsupervised?

6. Talk about the 2004 Stewart trial and Pasternak's damaging testimony. On cross examination by Stewart's lawyer, Pasternak wavered, admitting, "I do not know if Martha said that or it's me who thought those words." Do you find it contradictory that six years later, Pasternak's memory has improved, if not regarding the trial, then on so many other points covered in her memoir? Or can this be explained by the fact that a writer's recall would vastly improve as a result of focusing on the act of writing?

7. Did you feel any envy, even just a twinge, reading about the high-end lifestyle lived by Martha Stewart? Any parts in particular—e.g., fame, food, travel, houses and furnishings? In other words, would it be fun to be Martha...or is it just the goodies that would be nice?

8. How does Pasternak describe Stewart's relationship with men and her proclivity toward sex? How is that the two women find themselves alone, for instance, on New Year's Eve in one of Martha's houses?

9. What was Pasternak's fascination with Andy Stewart? Why do Andy and Martha divorce? What happened to Pasternak's marriage and why?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Bettyville: A Memoir
George Hodgman, 2015
Penguin Books
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780525427209

Summary
A witty, tender memoir of a son’s journey home to care for his irascible mother—a tale of secrets, silences, and enduring love.

When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself—an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook—in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living?

When hell freezes over. He can’t bring himself to force her from the home both treasure—the place where his father’s voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict: Betty, who speaks her mind but cannot quite reveal her heart, has never really accepted the fact that her son is gay.

As these two unforgettable characters try to bring their different worlds together, Hodgman reveals the challenges of Betty’s life and his own struggle for self-respect, moving readers from their small town—crumbling but still colorful—to the star-studded corridors of Vanity Fair. Evocative of The End of Your Life Book Club and The Tender Bar, Hodgman’s debut is both an indelible portrait of a family and an exquisitely told tale of a prodigal son’s return. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1959-60
• Where—Paris, Missouri, USA
• Education—B.A., Missouri School of Journalism; M.A., Boston College
• Currently—lives in New York City and Paris, Missouri

George Hodgman is a veteran magazine and book editor who has worked at Simon & Schuster, Vanity Fair, and Talk magazine. His writing has appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Interview, W, and Harper’s Bazaar, among other publications. He lives in New York City and Paris, Missouri. (From .)

Book Reviews
A remarkable, laugh-out-loud book.... Rarely has the subject of elder care produced such droll human comedy, or a heroine quite on the mettlesome order of Betty Baker Hodgman. For as much as the book works on several levels (as a meditation on belonging, as a story of growing up gay and the psychic cost of silence, as metaphor for recovery), it is the strong-willed Betty who shines through.
New York Times

An intimate, heartfelt portrait of a mother and son, each at the crossroads of life.... Hodgman’s sharp wit carries the book ever forward.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

A superb memoir.... Hodgman is by turns wry, laugh-out-loud funny, self-deprecating, insecure to the point of near suicide, and an attentive caregiver despite occasional, understandable resentments.... I have read several hundred American memoirs; I would place Bettyville in the top five.
Steve Weinberg - Kansas City Star

In his tender, sardonic, and fearless account of life with Betty—who has never acknowledged that her son is gay—Hodgman delivers an epic unfolding of his lifelong search for acceptance and love.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A humorous, bittersweet account of Hodgman’s caring for his aging, irascible mother.
Vanity Fair

The author's continuous low-key humor infuses the memoir with refreshing levity, without diminishing the emotional toll of being the sole health-care provider to an elderly parent. This is an emotionally honest portrayal of a son's secrets and his unending devotion to his mother.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) This is a superior memoir, written in a witty and episodic style, yet at times it’s heartbreaking...filled with a lifetime’s worth of reflection and story after fascinating story.
Library Journal

The book is instantly engaging, as Hodgman has a wry sense of humor, one he uses to keep others at a distance. Yet the book is also devastatingly touching. Betty is one tough cookie, and...[t]here’s a lot for Hodgman to handle.... A tender, resolute look at a place, literal and figurative, baby boomers might find themselves.
Booklist

Hodgman writes with wit and empathy about all the loss he’s confronted with.... That doesn’t mean Bettyville is without humor—far from it.... This is a portrait of a woman in decline, but still very much alive and committed to getting the lion’s share of mini-Snickers at every opportunity. When things are left unsaid between parents and children, it leaves a hurt that can never be completely repaired, but love and dedication can make those scarred places into works of art. Bettyville is one such masterpiece.
BookPage

A gay magazine editor and writer's account of how he returned home to the Midwest from New York to care for his aging mother.... But when he returned to Paris [Missouri], it was with a greater acceptance of who he was: not the son Betty might have wanted or expected, but the son who would see her through the "strange days" of her final years of life. Movingly honest, at times droll, and ultimately poignant.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure that Took the Victorian World by Storm
Monte Reel, 2013
Knopf Doubleday
352 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780385534222

Summary
The unbelievably riveting adventure of an unlikely young explorer who emerged from the jungles of Africa with evidence of a mysterious, still mythical beast—the gorilla—only to stumble straight into the center of the biggest debate of the day: Darwin's theory of evolution

In 1856 Paul Du Chaillu marched into the equatorial wilderness of West Africa determined to bag an animal that, according to legend, was nothing short of a monster. When he emerged three years later, the summation of his efforts only hinted at what he'd experienced in one of the most dangerous regions on earth.

Armed with an astonishing collection of zoological specimens, Du Chaillu leapt from the physical challenges of the jungle straight into the center of the biggest issues of the time—the evolution debate, racial discourse, the growth of Christian fundamentalism—and helped push each to unprecedented intensities. He experienced instant celebrity, but with that fame came whispers—about his past, his credibility, and his very identity—which would haunt the young man.

Grand in scope, immediate in detail, and propulsively readable, Between Man and Beast brilliantly combines Du Chaillu's personal journey with the epic tale of a world hovering on the sharp edge of transformation. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Monte Reel is a former South America correspondent for the Washington Post, and he also reported for the newspaper in Washington and Iraq. His first book, The Last of the Tribe (2010), chronicles the story of the last surviving member of an indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest. After spending seven years in Argentina, he recently moved to the Chicago area, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He is originally from Mattoon, Illinois. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
(Required reading.) You’d half expect a Bela Lugosi mad scientist or a Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan to pop up in this Victorian-era drama, which travels from the London of Darwin and Dickens to unexplored Africa to Civil War-ravaged America.
New York Post

Entertaining and provocative story of the life and adventures of explorer Paul Du Chaillu.... [Reel] does a superb job of telling the engrossing story of Du Chaillu and tying it into the events and thoughts of the time, from the intense debate over racial differences in light of the theory of evolution to the habit of Abraham Lincoln’s political enemies of referring to him as a 'gorilla'...scrupulous in adhering to the facts... At the same time, it has the narrative flow and evocative language of a fine historical novel.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

An admirable book for those who like epic tales of exploration.... Fascinating.... highlights once again the big issues that seem endlessly interesting to new generations of Americans, 'the evolution debate, racial discourse, the growth of Christian fundamentalism' in careful historical context and with a fine hand for thoughtful exposition."
Buffalo News

Before there was Jane Goodall, or even Tarzan and King Kong, the gorilla was a creature of mystery....Reel retraces his life and work with the spirit of curiosity and adventure that drove du Chaillu in the first place. What results is a celebration of accomplishments too far-reaching to be understood in their time."
Daily Beast

Paul Du Chaillu was one of the Victorian era’s most famous explorers. He was the person who brought the gorilla to the attention of Europeans. In response to his fame, he was attacked mercilessly by competitors who claimed he was a fraud.... Reel (The Last of the Tribe) provides a robust intellectual history by embedding Du Chaillu’s story within the debate over evolution, the relationship among the human races, the rise of Christian fundamentalism.... In Reel’s hands, Du Chaillu’s adventures in Africa, including his discovery of Pygmies and his part in a smallpox epidemic, were no less harrowing than his interactions with many of the world’s leading scientists and explorers.
Publishers Weekly

In 1856, explorer and amateur naturalist Paul du Chaillu undertook a treacherous expedition through West Africa, after which he brought back to England the first known specimens of the African gorilla ever seen there. Reel...examines the colorful life and times of du Chaillu...how du Chaillu's hugely popular expedition chronicle...ignited a storm of interest and controversy in the scientific circles of Victorian England. While Reel clearly admires his subject, he is also willing to address and evaluate du Chaillu's errors and exaggerations.... Today's readers may find du Chaillu's penchant for killing gorillas repugnant, although he followed the standard scientific practice of the time. —Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI
Library Journal

Those unfamiliar with [Paul Du Chaillu] would do well to pick up a copy of Beatween Man and Beast, Monte Reel's new book about Du Chaillu's life and adventures in pursuit of this fierce creature... Although Du Chaillu's checkered life story is the bedrock of this book, Reel builds upon it fascinating sketches of England's leading intellectuals, explorers and freelance eccentrics of the day, detailing not only their personal achievements but their professional jealousies as well.
BookPage

Former Washington Post reporter Reel (The Last of the Tribe: The Epic Quest to Save a Lone Man in the Amazon, 2010) offers a fascinating sidelight on the perennial debate of man's origins. In the decade before the publication of Darwin's On the Origins of Species, evolution was already a hotly debated topic.... Reel weaves together the fierce contentions about the theory of evolution among leading Victorian scientists and the story of young African explorer Paul Du Chaillu.... In 1861, after writing a book about his exploits...his book was published and he became an overnight celebrity, for a time overshadowing Darwin in the popular imagination. Ultimately, Du Chaillu was accused of embellishing his account. A lively footnote to the debate between science and religion and the exploration of the African jungle in the Victorian era.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2015
Random House
166 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781925240702

Summary
Winner, 2015 National Book Award

This is your country, this is your world, this is your body, and you must find some way to live within the all of it.

In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis.

Americans have built an empire on the idea of "race," a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion.

What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?

Between the World and Me is Ta-Nehisi Coates’s attempt to answer these questions in a letter to his adolescent son. Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder.

Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—September 30, 1975
• Where—Baltimore, Maryland, USA
• Education—Howard University (no degree)
• Awards—National Book Award, George Polk Award, Hillman Prize (Journalism)
• Currently—lives in New York, New York

Ta-Nehisi Coates (TAH-nə-HAH-see KOHTS) is an American writer, journalist, and educator. Coates is a National Correspondent for The Atlantic, where he writes about cultural, social and political issues, particularly as regards African-Americans. In 2015, he won the National Book Award for Between the World and Me.

Coates has worked for the Village Voice, Washington City Paper, and Time. He has contributed to the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, O, and other publications. In 2008 he published his memoir, The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood. His second book, Between the World and Me, was published in 2015 to wide acclaim.

Early life
Coates was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to father, William Paul "Paul" Coates, a Vietnam War veteran, former Black Panther, publisher and librarian, and mother, Cheryl Waters-Hassan, who was a teacher. Coates' father founded and ran Black Classic Press, a publisher specializing in African-American titles, as a grassroots organization with a printing press in the basement of their home.

Coates grew up in the Mondawmin neighborhood of Baltimore during the crack epidemic. His father had seven children—five boys and two girls, by four women (his first wife had three children, Coates' mother had two boys, and the other two women each had one child). In Coates' family the important focus was on child-rearing. The children were raised together in a close-knit family; most lived with their mothers and often visited their father. Coates, however, said he lived with his father full-time. As a Black Panther, Coates' father adhered to the Black Panther doctrine of free love rather than monogamy.

As a child Coates, enjoyed comic books and Dungeons & Dragons. His interest in books was instilled at an early age when his mother punished bad behavior by making him write essays. Another big influence was his father's work with the Black Classic Press; Coates said he read many of the books his father published.

Coates attended a number of Baltimore-area schools, including William H. Lemmel Middle School (where some scenes for The Wire TV series were shot), Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, before graduating from Woodlawn High School. His father was hired as a librarian at Howard University, which enabled some of his children to attend with tuition remission.

After high school, he attended Howard University and left without a degree after five years to start a career in journalism. He is the only child in his family without a college degree. In summer 2014, Coates attended an intensive program in French at Middlebury College to prepare for a writing fellowship in Paris.

Journalism
Coates' first journalism job was as a reporter at the the Washington City Paper; his editor was David Carr, who later wrote for the New York Times.

From 2000 to 2007, Coates worked as a journalist at various publications, including Philadelphia Weekly, Village Voice and Time. His first article for The Atlantic, "This Is How We Lost to the White Man," about Bill Cosby and conservatism, started a new, more successful phase of his career. The article led to an appointment with a regular blog column for The Atlantic, a blog that was both popular, influential and had a high level of community engagement.

Coates became a senior editor at The Atlantic, for which he wrote feature articles as well as maintained a blog. Topics covered by the blog included politics, history, race, culture as well as sports, and music.

His writings on race, such as his September 2012 Atlantic cover piece "Fear of a Black President," and his June 2014 feature "The Case for Reparations," received special praise and won his blog a place on the Best Blogs of 2011 list by Time magazine, as well as the 2012 Hillman Prize for Opinion & Analysis Journalism. The blog's comment section has also received praise for its high level of engagement; Coates curates and moderates the comments heavily so that, "the jerks are invited to leave [and] the grown-ups to stay and chime in."

In discussing his Atlantic article on "The Case for Reparations," Coates said he had worked on the article for almost two years, reading Rutgers University professor Beryl Satter's book, Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America,. Satter's book is a history of redlining, which discussed the grassroots organization, the Contract Buyers League, of which Clyde Ross was one of the leaders. The focus of the article was more on the institutional racism of housing discrimination than on reparations for slavery.

Coates has worked as a guest columnist for the New York Times. He turned down an offer from them to become a regular columnist.

Books
In 2008, Coates published The Beautiful Struggle, a memoir about coming of age in West Baltimore and its effect on him. In the book, he discusses the influence of his father, a former Black Panther; the prevailing street crime of the era and its effects on his older brother; his own troubled experience attending Baltimore-area schools; and his eventual graduation and enrollment in Howard University.

Coates' second book, Between the World and Me, was published in July 2015. Coates said that one of the origins of the book came from the murder of a college friend Prince Carmen Jones Jr. who was killed by police in a case of mistaken identity. In an ongoing discussion about reparation, continuing the work of his June 2014 Atlantic article, Coates cited the bill sponsored by Representative John Conyers "H.R.40 - Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act" that has been introduced every year since 1989. One of the themes of the book was about what physically affected African-American lives, their bodies being enslaved, violence, that come from slavery and various forms of institutional racism.

Teaching
Coates was the 2012–14 MLK visiting professor for writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the City University of New York as its journalist-in-residence in the fall of 2014.

Personal life
Coates currently resides in Harlem with his wife, Kenyatta Matthews, and son, Samori Maceo-Paul Coates. His son is named after Samori Ture, a Mande chief who fought French colonialism, after black Cuban revolutionary Antonio Maceo Grajales, and after Coates' father. Coates met his wife when they were both students at Howard University. He is an atheist and a feminist.

Coates says that his first name, Ta-Nehisi, is an Egyptian name his father gave him that means Nubia, and in a loose translation is "land of the black." Nubia is a region along the Nile river located in current day northern Sudan and southern Egypt. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 8/27/2015.)

Book Reviews
Powerful and passionate...profoundly moving...a searing meditation on what it means to be black in America today.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times

Brilliant.... [Ta-Nehisi Coates] is firing on all cylinders, and it is something to behold: a mature writer entirely consumed by a momentous subject and working at the extreme of his considerable powers at the very moment national events most conform to his vision.
Washington Post

I’ve been wondering who might fill the intellectual void that plagued me after James Baldwin died. Clearly it is Ta-Nehisi Coates. The language of Between the World and Me, like Coates’s journey, is visceral, eloquent, and beautifully redemptive. And its examination of the hazards and hopes of black male life is as profound as it is revelatory. This is required reading.
Toni Morrison

A work of rare beauty and revelatory honesty.... Between the World and Me is a love letter written in a moral emergency, one that Coates exposes with the precision of an autopsy and the force of an exorcism.... Coates is frequently lauded as one of America’s most important writers on the subject of race today, but this in fact undersells him: Coates is one of America’s most important writers on the subject of America today.... [He’s] a polymath whose breadth of knowledge on matters ranging from literature to pop culture to French philosophy to the Civil War bleeds through every page of his book, distilled into profound moments of discovery, immensely erudite but never showy.
Slate

(Starred review.) [A]n immense, multifaceted work. This is a poet's book, revealing the sensibility of a writer to whom words—exact words—matter.... [I]t speaks so forcefully to issues of grave interest today....[and] will be hailed as a classic of our time.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) [W]hat it means to be black in America, especially...a black male.... This powerful little book may well serve as a primer for black parents, particularly those with sons.... [A] candid perspective on the headlines and the history of being black in America. —Thomas J. Davis, Arizona State Univ., Tempe
Library Journal

(Starred review.) [Coates] came to understand that "race" does not fully explain "the breach between the world and me," yet race exerts a crucial force, and young blacks like his son are vulnerable and endangered.... Coates desperately wants his son to be able to live "apart from fear—even apart from me." ... [A] moving, potent testament.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Between the World and Me has been called a book about race, but the author argues that race itself is a flawed, if not useless, concept—it is, if anything, nothing more than a pretext for racism. Early in the book he writes, "Race, is the child of racism, not the father." The idea of race has been so important in the history of America and in the self-identification of its people—and racial designations have literally marked the difference between life and death in some instances. How does discrediting the idea of race as an immutable, unchangeable fact change the way we look at our history? Ourselves?

2. Fear is palpably described in the book’s opening section and shapes much of Coates’s sense of himself and the world. "When I was your age," Coates writes to his son, "the only people I knew were black, and all of them were powerfully, adamantly, dangerously afraid." How did this far inform and distort Coates’s life and way of looking at the world? Is this kind of fear inevitable? Can you relate to his experience? Why or why not?

3. The book—in the tradition of classic texts like Ranier Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet to James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time—is written in the form of a letter. Why do you think Coates chose this literary device? Did the intimacy of an address from a father to his son make you feel closer to the material or kept at a distance?

4. One can read Between the World and Me in many different ways. It may be seen as an exploration of the African American experience, the black American male experience, the experience of growing up in urban America; it can be read as a book about raising a child or being one. Which way of reading resonates most with you?

5. Coates repeatedly invokes the sanctity of the black "body" and describes the effects of racism in vivid, physical terms. He writes:

And so enslavement must be casual wrath and random manglings, the gashing of heads and brains blown out over the river as the body seeks to escape.… There is no uplifting way to say this. I have no praise anthems, nor old Negro spirituals. The spirit and soul are the body and brain, which are destructive—that is precisely why they are so precious. And the soul did not escape. The spirit did not steal away on gospel wings.

Coates’s atheistic assertion that the soul and mind are not separate from the physical body is in conflict with the religious faith that has been so crucial to many African Americans. How does this belief affect his outlook on racial progress?

6. Coates is adamant that he is a writer, not an activist, but critics have argued that, given his expansive following and prominent position, he should be offering more solutions and trying harder to affect real change in American race relations. Do you think he holds any sort of responsibility to do so? Why or why not?

7. Some critics have argued that Between the World and Me lacks adequate representation of black women’s experiences. In her otherwise positive Los Angeles Times review, Rebecca Carroll writes: "What is less fine is the near-complete absence of black women throughout the book." Do you think that the experience of women is erased in this book? Do you think Coates had an obligation to include more stories of black women in the text?

8. While much of the book concerns fear and the haunting effects of violence, it also has moments where Coates explores moments of joy and his blossoming understanding of the meaning of love. What notions of hard-won joy and love does the book explore? How do these episodes function in counterpoint to the book’s darker passages?

9. Do you think Between the World and Me leaves us with hope for race relations in America? Why or why not? Do you think "hope" was what Coates was trying to convey to readers? If not, what are you left with at the end of the book? If so, hope in what?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen
Mary Norris, 2015
W.W. Norton & Co.
240 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780393352146

Summary
The most irreverent and helpful book on language since the #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

Mary Norris has spent more than three decades in The New Yorker's copy department, maintaining its celebrated high standards. Now she brings her vast experience, good cheer, and finely sharpened pencils to help the rest of us in a boisterous language book as full of life as it is of practical advice.

Between You & Me features Norris's laugh-out-loud descriptions of some of the most common and vexing problems in spelling, punctuation, and usage—comma faults, danglers, "who" vs. "whom," "that" vs. "which," compound words, gender-neutral language—and her clear explanations of how to handle them.

Down-to-earth and always open-minded, she draws on examples from Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and the Lord's Prayer, as well as from The Honeymooners, The Simpsons, David Foster Wallace, and Gillian Flynn. She takes us to see a copy of Noah Webster's groundbreaking Blue-Back Speller, on a quest to find out who put the hyphen in Moby-Dick, on a pilgrimage to the world's only pencil-sharpener museum, and inside the hallowed halls of The New Yorker and her work with such celebrated writers as Pauline Kael, Philip Roth, and George Saunders.

Readers—and writers—will find in Norris neither a scold nor a softie but a wise and witty new friend in love with language and alive to the glories of its use in America, even in the age of autocorrect and spell-check. As Norris writes, "The dictionary is a wonderful thing, but you can't let it push you around." (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth— February 7, 1952
• Raised—Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Education—B.A., Rutgers University; M.A., University of Vermont
• Currently—lives in New York, New York

Mary Norris was raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Rutgers University in 1974. She earned a Masters in English from the University of Vermont.

Norris joined the editorial staff at The New Yorker in 1978. She has been a query proofreader at the magazine since 1993, as well as a contributor to the magazine's "The Talk of the Town" column and newyorker.com.

Her first book, Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen was published in 2015. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 11/17/2015.)

Book Reviews
Ms. Norris, who has a dirty laugh that evokes late nights and Scotch, is…like the worldly aunt who pulls you aside at Thanksgiving and whispers that it is all right to occasionally flout the rules.
Sarah Lyall - New York Times

Copy editors are a peculiar species…But those at The New Yorker are something else entirely…A regular reader might be forgiven for wondering, "Are these people nuts?" In Mary Norris's Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, we have our answer: They most certainly are. And their obsessions, typographical and otherwise, make hilarious reading…Despite the extreme grammar, this book charmed my socks off…Norris is a master storyteller and serves up plenty of inside stuff.
Patricia T. O'Conner - New York Times Book Review

Brims with wit, personality—and commas.... Norris' enthusiasm is infectious. She's as passionate about sharp pencils as she is about sharp writing.... Delightful.
Heller McAlpin - NPR Books

[P]ure porn for word nerds.
Allan Fallow - Washington Post

“Destined to become an instant classic…. It’s hard to imagine the reader who would not enjoy spending time with Norris.
Christian Science Monitor

Mary Norris has an enthusiasm for the proper use of language that’s contagious. Her memoir is so engaging, in fact, that it’s easy to forget you’re learning things.
People

[A] delightful discourse on the most common grammar, punctuation, and usage challenges faced by writers of all stripes. Not surprisingly, Norris writes well—with wit, sass, and smarts—and the book is part memoir, part manual.... [A]fter reading this book, [readers will] think more about how and what they write.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) Part memoir and part writing guide, Norris's thoughtful and humorous narrative provides an irreverent account of her days as a New Yorker comma queen as well as an insightful look into the history of the English language. —Gricel Dominguez, Florida International Univ. Lib.
Library Journal

[A] funny and entertaining new book about language and life… While Norris may have a job as a “comma queen,” readers of Between You & Me will find that “prose goddess” is perhaps a more apt description of this delightful writer.
BookPage

(Starred review.) Norris delivers a host of unforgettable anecdotes.... In countless laugh-out-loud passages, Norris displays her admirable flexibility in bending rules when necessary. She even makes her serious quest to uncover the reason for the hyphen in the title of the classic novel Moby-Dick downright hilarious. A funny book for any serious reader.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
Jenna Miscavige Hill (with Lisa Pulitzer), 2013
HarperCollins
404 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062248473

Summary
Jenna Miscavige Hill was raised to obey. As the niece of the Church of Scientology's leader David Miscavige, she grew up at the center of this highly controversial and powerful organization. But at twenty-one, Jenna made a daring break, risking everything she had ever known and loved to leave Scientology once and for all. Now she speaks out about her life, the Church, and her dramatic escape, going deep inside a religion that, for decades, has been the subject of fierce debate and speculation worldwide.

Piercing the veil of secrecy that has long shrouded the world of Scientology, this insider reveals unprecedented firsthand knowledge of the religion, its obscure rituals, and its mysterious leader—David Miscavige. From her prolonged separation from her parents as a small child to being indoctrinated to serve the greater good of the Church, from her lack of personal freedoms to the organization's emphasis on celebrity recruitment, Jenna goes behind the scenes of Scientology's oppressive and alienating culture, detailing an environment rooted in control in which the most devoted followers often face the harshest punishments when they fall out of line. Addressing some of the Church's most notorious practices in startling detail, she also describes a childhood of isolation and neglect—a childhood that, painful as it was, prepared her for a tough life in the Church's most devoted order, the Sea Org.

Despite this hardship, it is only when her family approaches dissolution and her world begins to unravel that she is finally able to see the patterns of stifling conformity and psychological control that have ruled her life. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, she mounts a courageous escape, but not before being put through the ultimate test of family, faith, and love. At once captivating and disturbing, Beyond Belief is an eye-opening exploration of the limits of religion and the lengths to which one woman went to break free. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Jenna Miscavige Hill (born 1984) is a former Scientologist who, after leaving the Church of Scientology in 2005, has become an outspoken critic of the organization. She is the daughter of Ron Miscavige, Jr. and the niece of current church leader David Miscavige.

Hill, with Kendra Wiseman and Astra Woodcraft (both also raised in Scientology), founded the website exscientologykids.com. She has been interviewed about her experiences within Scientology by a number of media outlets, including ABC's Nightline in April 2008, and on Piers Morgan Tonight in February 2013 discussing details of the church.

In 2000, when Hill was 16, her father and mother left Scientology. Hill states that due to the Scientology-ordered practice of disconnection with relatives and friends who don't support Scientology or are hostile to it, letters from her parents were intercepted and she was not allowed to answer a telephone for a year.

She described her experience from ages five to 12 as thus: "We were also required to write down all transgressions...similar to a sin in the Catholic religion. After writing them all down, we would receive a meter check on the electropsychometer to make sure we weren't hiding anything, and you would have to keep writing until you came up clean." (From Wikipedia.)

Lisa Pulitzer is a former correspondent for the New York Times and coauthor of more than a dozen nonfiction titles, including New York Times bestsellers Stolen Innocence, Imperfect Justice, and Mob Daughter. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
An ex-member of Scientology's inner elite bolts—understandably, [if one is to] trust this undistinguished but still valuable memoir. If Charles Dickens had been a sci-fi author, he might have dreamed up something like Scientology and its weird workhouses.... [M]y life was Scientology," [Hill] writes. That life included absolute obedience to dictates that seem crafted to strip away any autonomy from the individual, if any individuality at all.... Hill scarcely saw her mother unless on "special Scientology/Sea Org occasions.... Hill's emotional turmoil is wrenchingly authentic, but [it] does not save the book.... Despite the uneven prose, readers with an interest in the psychology of religion, among other subjects, will find this rare insider's account to be of value—less so than Lawrence Wright's Going Clear (2013), but of value all the same
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America
Timothy Egan, 2009
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
324 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780547394602

Summary
On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men—college boys, day workers, immigrants from mining camps—to fight the fire. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them.

Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Born—November 8, 1954
• Where—Seattle, Washington, USA
• Awards—Pulitizer Prize, Journalism (2001); National Book
Award, Nonfiction; Washington State Book Award (twice)
• Currently—lives in Seattle, Washington

Timothy Egan is an American Pulitzer Prize winning author who resides in Seattle, Washington. He currently contributes opinion columns to the New York Times as the paper's Pacific Northwest correspondent. In 2001, he won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his contribution to the series "How Race is Lived in America."

In addition to his work with the New York Times, he has written six books, including The Good Rain (Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, 1991), Breaking Blue, and Lasso the Wind.

The Worst Hard Time is his non-fiction account of those who lived through The Great Depression's Dust Bowl, for which he won the 2006 Washington State Book Award in history/biography and a 2006 National Book Award.

In 2009 he wrote The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America, which details the Great Fire of 1910 that burned about three million acres (12,000 km²) and helped shape the United States Forest Service. The book also details some of the political issues of the time focusing on Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot. Egan won a second Washington State Book Award in history/biography in 2010 for this work, and a second Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award.

In 2012 Egan published a biography of Western and Native American photographer, Edward Curtis: Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis. (From Wikipedia.)

Also see the extensive interview with Egan and his publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Book Reviews
Egan weaves his account of the Big Burn with the creation story of the United States Forest Service. This might seem a dull, bureaucratic yarn, but Egan tells it as the stirring tale of a very odd couple: the irrepressible Teddy Roosevelt, who "burned 2,000 calories before noon and drank his coffee with seven lumps of sugar," and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, an ascetic loner who sometimes slept on a wooden pillow and for 20 years mystically clung to his deceased fiancee.
New York Times

In terms of sheer political courage, reforming the American health-care system is but a minor parliamentary maneuver compared to the chutzpah mustered by Teddy Roosevelt in 1907, when he established the national forest system. In one frenzied week, Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot, outlined 16 million acres of Western woodland that they felt needed to be preserved.... Egan always writes insightfully about his native region; here he commands the full sweep of characters, from the president on down to the loneliest mining-town drunk. The only off note, in fact, is the book's subtitle, which sells it just a little too hard. Did the Big Burn really "save America"?
Bill Gifford - Washington Post

Muir called Pinchot "someone who could relish, not run from a rainstorm"—a phrase that also describes The Big Burn's narrator. For as long as Egan keeps chasing storms, whether of dust, fire, rain or snow, you'd be smart to ride shotgun.
Los Angeles Times

[Egan] has already proved himself to be a masterly collector of memorable stories. His new book, The Big Burn, continues in the same tradition.... What makes The Big Burn particularly impressive is Egan’s skill as an equal-opportunity storyteller. By this I mean that he recounts the stories of men and women completely unknown to most of us with the same fervor he uses to report the stories of historic figures.... Even as we mark the centennial of this great fire, wildfires in the West continue to burn. It makes this book—which is a masterwork in every sense—worthy of a very careful reading.
Christian Science Monitor

(Starred review.) Egan, National Book Award winner for The Worst Hard Time, spins a tremendous tale of Progressive-era America out of the 1910 blaze that burned across Montana, Idaho and Washington and put the fledgling U.S. Forest Service through a veritable trial by fire. Underfunded, understaffed, unsupported by Congress and President Taft and challenged by the robber barons that Taft's predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, had worked so hard to oppose, the Forest Service was caught unprepared for the immense challenge. Egan shuttles back and forth between the national stage of politics and the conflicting visions of the nation's future, and the personal stories of the men and women who fought and died in the fire: rangers, soldiers, immigrant miners imported from all over the country to help the firefighting effort, prostitutes, railroad engineers and dozens others whose stories are painstakingly recreated from scraps of letters, newspaper articles, firsthand testimony, and Forest Service records. Egan brings a touching humanity to this story of valor and cowardice in the face of a national catastrophe, paying respectful attention to Roosevelt's great dream of conservation and of an America for the little man.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) Historians will enjoy Egan’s well-written book, featuring sparkling and dynamic descriptions of the land and people, as a review of Roosevelt’s conservation ideas, while general readers will find his suspenseful account of the fires mesmerizing.
Library Journal

Most reviewers thought that The Big Burn equaled or exceeded Egan's last book in both its prose and its historical synthesis. The majority were impressed by his ability to balance a riveting story with strong characters and an original analysis of the American conservation movement.... [A] fine piece of writing, a powerful history, and a great read.
Bookmarks Magazine

Discussion Questions
1. This gripping account begins with the fire’s destruction of Wallace, Idaho. What kinds of things make people late to the evacuating train? What would you bring with you if you were allowed only a case small enough to fit on your lap?

2. With so much animosity between Pinchot and Roosevelt’s young Forest Service and the “robber baron” businessmen, what ultimately brings people together to fight the Big Burn of 1910? How does Congress—still controlled by powerful business interests—fail the rangers and citizens of the West after the fire has finished raging?

3. Egan details the childhood and early careers of both Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot in order to give readers a fuller picture of why and how these men came to pioneer conservation as a national value in America. In what ways do Roosevelt’s experiences shape his politics? How do Pinchot’s experiences influence his work as “Big G.P.” of the Forest Service?

4. Roosevelt and Pinchot are very different types of men, and yet they share a passion for the great outdoors. What do Roosevelt and Pinchot have in common? How are they different from one another?

5. Throughout the book, Egan reveals that some powerful men whose hubris and greed would decide the fate of America’s still-untamed West spend time in that region, while others distance themselves both literally and figuratively. Discuss the relationship these men have to the land they all but rule over and the way Egan portrays them.

6. On page 112, Egan quotes Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe as wondering, “Why are you in such a hurry?” He’s referring to the rush of “manifest destiny,” with America’s population exploding from colonies of 2.9 million people to an ocean-to-ocean nation of 91 million. In the first decade of the twentieth century alone, the populations of Idaho and Washington doubled. Discuss the effect this rapid growth has on the young nation—why are they in such a hurry? What does it cost them—and us?

7. In many ways, the battle against the forest fires of 1910 is a war of the disenfranchised. Identify the players and discuss their roles in this epic disaster. Why do you think they answer the call for labor when those with the most at stake—such as the “idle men” of Wallace—do nothing?

8. Gifford Pinchot firmly believed that man could control forest fires, though he’d never seen anything like the Big Burn of 1910 when he published his A Primer of Forestry in 1900. What methods do the rangers and townsfolk use to try to control the fires? What methods do they use to survive?

9. The aftermath of the Big Burn seems like one colossal governmental failure, though some bright spots exist, such as the sea change in many Americans’ opinions about the black “buffalo soldiers” who became heroes in Wallace, Idaho. How does Egan’s portrayal of this seminal moment in American history make you feel? Did it change your mind about anything, or teach you anything new?

10. William H. Taft is portrayed as a complicated man in this book. He idolizes Roosevelt and yet fails to keep his promises to him; on page 246, Egan describes how he publicly attacks T.R. in an effort to save face, but retreats afterward to weep in private. Do you feel any sympathy for Taft? Why or why not?

11. Ten days after the fires die down, infuriated by Taft’s betrayal of his predecessor’s conservation efforts, Teddy Roosevelt takes to the bully pulpit once more to pioneer a “New Nationalism.” What does this term mean to him and to his supporters? Discuss how some of these principles may still be seen alive and well in today’s America and how others have not quite taken hold.

12. In the final chapter of the book, Egan describes the current landscape of what was once several national forests in Montana, Idaho, and Washington. He shares how the Forest Service still carries “the Pulaski” as their prized firefighting tool, and how the great “Milwaukee Road” is now gone, its tracks pulled up and sold for scrap. Towns like Avery, Taft, and Grand Forks are now gone or reduced to wilderness outposts. What effect does this chapter have on you, and what message do you think the author hoped you would come away with?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Big Girl: How I Gave Up Dieting and Got a Life
Kelsey Miller, 2016
Grand Central Publishing
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781455532636

Summary
A hilarious and inspiring memoir about one young woman's journey to find a better path to both physical and mental health.

At twenty-nine, Kelsey Miller had done it all: crash diets, healthy diets, and nutritionist-prescribed "eating plans," which are diets that you pay more money for. She'd been fighting her un-thin body since early childhood, and after a lifetime of failure, finally hit bottom.

No diet could transform her body or her life. There was no shortcut to skinny salvation. She'd dug herself into this hole, and now it was time to climb out of it.

With the help of an Intuitive Eating coach and fitness professionals, she learned how to eat based on her body's instincts and exercise sustainably, without obsessing over calories burned and thighs gapped. But, with each thrilling step toward a healthy future, she had to contend with the painful truths of her past.

Big Girl chronicles Kelsey's journey into self-loathing and disordered eating—and out of it. This is a memoir for anyone who's dealt with a distorted body image, food issues, or a dysfunctional family. It's for the late-bloomers and the not-yet-bloomed.

It's a book for everyone who's tried and failed and felt like a big, fat loser. So, basically, everyone. (From the publiosher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1985
• Where—N/A
• Education—B.S., Boston University
• Currently—lives in Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Kelsey Miller graduated from Boston University with a BS in Film & Television. She began her career in the film production industry before transitioning to full-time writing. Soon after joining the staff of Refinery29, she created The Anti-Diet Project, one of the website's most popular franchises. She is currently a Senior Features Writer and lives in Brooklyn. (From the pubisher.)

Book Reviews
This chronicle of [Miller's] journey from childhood through hard-won revelations is hilarious and brutally honest, offering plenty of wisdom for anyone who's struggled with issues of her own.
People

Readers of all sizes, shapes and backgrounds can relate to Big Girl. It's a tour de force on growing up, learning how to be healthy in mind, body and spirit, and coming to terms with the fact that life is fast, but it is OK to stop for a moment to bring home, smell and eat the bacon."
New York Daily News

Miller has shed her self-destructive bingeing and dieting habits...and gained the ability to recognize and embrace who she is. Her honestly, hilariously told story will appeal to any readers who have ever felt dissatisfaction with their bodies and will move them to tears of sorrow, laughter, and joy.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) This is not a diet book, it's an antidiet book, as well as a memoir of one woman's lifelong struggle to lose weight and journey through mindful eating.... [C]ompelling and deeply felt.
Library Journal

Miller does take a look at some of the deeper reasons behind her compulsive eating, and it's in these passages that her vulnerability comes through and her story becomes truly compelling. Readers will cheer for Miller to succeed on her "anti-diet" diet of intuitive eating.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock
Tanya Selvaratnam, 2014
Prometheus Books
370 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781616148454

Summary
A candid assessment of the pros and cons of delayed motherhood.

Biology does not bend to feminist ideals and science does not work miracles. That is the message of this eye-opening discussion of the consequences of delayed motherhood. Part personal account, part manifesto, Selvaratnam recounts her emotional journey through multiple miscarriages after the age of 37. Her doctor told her she still "had time," but Selvaratnam found little reliable and often conflicting information about a mature woman's biological ability (or inability) to conceive.

Beyond her personal story, the author speaks to women in similar situations around the country, as well as fertility doctors, adoption counselors, reproductive health professionals, celebrities, feminists, journalists, and sociologists. Through in-depth reporting and her own experience, Selvaratnam urges more widespread education and open discussion about delayed motherhood in the hope that long-lasting solutions can take effect.

The result is a book full of valuable information that will enable women to make smarter choices about their reproductive futures and to strike a more realistic balance between science, society and personal goals. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Sri Lanka
• Raised—Long Beach, California, USA
• Education—B.A., M.A., Harvard University
• Currently—Cambridge, Massachusetts; New York, New York

Born in Sri Lanka and raised in Long Beach, CA, Tanya Selvaratnam is a writer, producer, theater artist, and activist. As a producer, recent projects include Mickalene Thomas’s Happy Birthday to a Beautiful Woman (on HBO); the Rockefeller Foundation-funded MADE HERE; Catherine Gund’s What’s On Your Plate? (Discovery’s Planet Green), and Chiara Clemente’s Beginnings (Sundance Channel, Webby Award).

Since 2008, she has been the Communications and Special Projects Officer for the Rubell Family Collection. As an activist, she has worked with the Ms. Foundation for Women, the Third Wave Foundation, the NGO Forum on Women, and the World Health Organization. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees in Chinese language and history from Harvard University. (From the author.)

Visit the author's website.
Visit Tanya on Facebook.

Book Reviews
Producer and activist Selvaratnam, a self-defined casualty of the second-wave feminist idea that biology should not define destiny, responds with a provocative mix of solid information and palpable anger.… This wakeup call…is controversial, but few would argue with Selvaratnam’s suggestion that women get the facts before making family-planning decisions.
Publishers Weekly

Set aside the "mommy wars." This work is for the women who have been left out of the discussion until now.… Many will cheer on Selvaratnam’s ultimate points. Sure to invite discussion among feminists.
Library Journal

She’s intelligent (she’s a Harvard grad), passionate (she’s a feminist and activist), and artistic (she’s a documentary and theater producer). And she wants to share her hard-won wisdom so that young women in the future don’t make the same mistakes she did.
Booklist

In The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism and the Reality of the Biological Clock Tanya Selvaratnam presents her own story of “heartbreak and self-discovery” relative to her attempts to become a mother at the relatively advanced age of 40 after having experienced three miscarriages. She notes that women tend not to talk among themselves about failed pregnancies, and overall women are not “conditioned to feel the urgency of fertility.… The message repeated throughout this and later chapters is that women need to have much more information about their fertility and its limitations.… [Tanya] is to be applauded by her attempt to see the many dimensions of feminism and motherhood
New York Journal of Books

Discussion Questions
1. Given that infertility treatments are much cheaper outside of the United States, what do you think about the decision of many to pursue IVF and surrogacy in other countries?

2. What role should a doctor or gynecologist play with regard to informing patients about fertility over time? What questions should women ask their doctor?

3. What do you think about the conflict between parenthood and career becoming such a hot topic, as seen with the controversy around Anne-Marie Slaughter’s essay “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” and Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In?

4. Do you feel that feminism contributed to the current bind for women between succeeding at both developing careers and building families? Do you think that feminism can also provide a way forward, and if so, what does that way forward look like? How can we get there?

5. How can we normalize conversations among women about miscarriages, infertility, and reproductive challenges? Does the conversation begin on a macro level (media outlets, celebrities), a micro level (friends, peer groups), or a combination thereof?

6. How can the media have a discussion about the touchy topics of women who focus primarily on careers and those who prioritize family (and whether that dichotomy even exists) without alienating a large segment of its audience? Is there a middle ground of open, intelligent discourse about the subject, and if so, how should media figures work towards finding a balanced tone that supports women in general rather than creating subsets of women to face off against each other?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
Michael Lewis, 2010
W.W. Norton & Co.
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780393353150

Summary
Truth really is stranger than fiction.

Who better than the author of the signature bestseller Liar's Poker to explain how the event we were told was impossible—the free fall of the American economy—finally occurred; how the things that we wanted, like ridiculously easy money and greatly expanded home ownership, were vehicles for that crash; and how shareholder demand for profit forced investment executives to eat the forbidden fruit of toxic derivatives.

Michael Lewis's splendid cast of characters includes villains, a few heroes, and a lot of people who look very, very foolish: high government officials, including the watchdogs; heads of major investment banks (some overlap here with previous category); perhaps even the face in your mirror.

In this trenchant, raucous, irresistible narrative, Lewis writes of the goats and of the few who saw what the emperor was wearing, and gives them, most memorably, what they deserve. He proves yet again that he is the finest and funniest chronicler of our times. (From the publisher.)

The 2015 film version of Lewis's book stars Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gossling, and Brad Pitt.

Author Bio
• Birth—October 15, 1960
• Where—New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
• Education—B.A., Princeton; M.B.A., London School of Economics
• Currently—Currently—lives in Berkeley, California

Michael Lewis is an American contemporary non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt (2014); The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (2010); The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (2006); Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (2003); and Liar's Poker (1989).

Background
Lewis was born in New Orleans to corporate lawyer J. Thomas Lewis and community activist Diana Monroe Lewis. He attended the private, nondenominational, co-educational college preparatory Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. Later, he attended Princeton University where he received a BA in art history in 1982 and was a member of the Ivy Club.

After graduating from Princeton, he went on to work with New York art dealer Daniel Wildenstein. Despite his degree in art history, he nonetheless wanted to break into Wall Street to make money. After leaving Princeton, he tried to find a finance job, only to be roundly rejected by every firm to which he applied. He then enrolled in the London School of Economics to pursue a Master's degree in economics.

While still in England, Lewis was invited to a banquet hosted by the Queen Mother at St. James's Palace. His cousin, Baroness Linda Monroe von Stauffenberg, one of the organizers of the banquet, purposely seated him next to the wife of the London Managing Partner of Salomon Brothers. The hope was that Lewis, just having obtained his master's degree, might impress her enough for her to suggest to her husband that Lewis be given a job with Salomon Bros.—which had previously turned him down. The strategy worked: Lewis was granted an interview and landed a job.

As a result of the job offer, Lewis moved to New York City for Salomon's training program. There, he was appalled at the sheer bravado of most of his fellow trainees and indoctrinated into the money culture of Salomon and Wall Street in general.

After New York, Lewis was shipped to the London office of Salomon Brothers as a bond salesman. Despite his lack of knowledge, he was soon handling millions of dollars in investment accounts. In 1987, he witnessed a near-hostile takeover of Salomon Brothers but survived with his job. However, growing disillusioned with his work, he eventually quit to write Liar's Poker and become a financial journalist.

Writing
Lewis described his experiences at Salomon and the evolution of the mortgage-backed bond in Liar's Poker (1989). In The New New Thing (1999), he investigated the then-booming Silicon Valley and discussed obsession with innovation.

Four years later, Lewis wrote Moneyball (2003), in which he investigated the success of Billy Beane and the Oakland A's. In August 2007, he wrote an article about catastrophe bonds entitled "In Nature's Casino" that appeared in the New York Times Magazine.

The Big Short, about a handful of scrappy investors who foresaw the 2007-08 subprime mortgage debacle, came out in 2010. Flash Boys, detailing high-speed trading in stock and other markets, was published in 2014. Like both The Big Short and Moneyball, the book features an underdog type who is ahead of the pack in understanding his industry.

Lewis has worked for The Spectator, New York Times Magazine, as a columnist for Bloomberg, as a senior editor and campaign correspondent to The New Republic, and a visiting fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He wrote the "Dad Again" column for Slate. Lewis worked for Conde Nast Portfolio but in February 2009 left to join Vanity Fair, where he became a contributing editor.

Film
The film version of Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, was successfully released in 2011. The Big Short, with its all-star cast—Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gossling, and Brad Pitt—came out in 2015 to top reviews.

Personal life
Lewis married Diane de Cordova Lewis, his girlfriend prior to his Salomon days. After several years, he was briefly married to former CNBC correspondent Kate Bohner, before marrying the former MTV reporter Tabitha Soren in 1997. Lewis lives with Tabitha, two daughters, and one son (Quinn, Dixie, and Walker) in Berkeley, California. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 1/11/2016.)

Book Reviews
No one writes with more narrative panache about money and finance than Mr. Lewis, the author of Liar's Poker, that now classic portrait of 1980s Wall Street. His entertaining new book does not attempt a macro view of the financial crisis, but instead proposes to open a small window on the calamities by recounting the stories of some savvy renegades who cashed in on their conviction that the system was rotten… Mr. Lewis does a nimble job of using his subjects' stories to explicate the greed, idiocies and hypocrisies of a system notably lacking in grown-up supervision, a system filled with firms that "disdained the need for government regulation in good times" but "insisted on being rescued by government in bad times.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times

Since his first book, the autobiographical Liar’s Poker, Lewis has tackled big, engaging stories…by finding and developing characters whose personal narratives reveal a larger truth. He's done it again. The story of the crash is, overwhelmingly, a tale of failure. But Lewis managed to find quirky investors who minted fortunes by making unpopular, calculated bets on a financial meltdown. Ditching the aloof irony of his earliest works, he constructs a story that is funny, incisive, profanity-laced and illuminating—full of difficult-to-like underdogs whose vindication and enrichment we end up cheering.
Daniel Gross - New York Times Book Review

If you read only one book about the causes of the recent financial crisis, let it be Michael Lewis's, The Big Short…What's so delightful about Lewis's writing is how deftly he explains and demystifies how things really work on Wall Street, even while creating a compelling narrative and introducing us to a cast of fascinating, all-too-human characters…The Big Short manages to give us the truest picture yet of what went wrong on Wall Street—and why. At times, it reads like a morality play, at other times like a modern-day farce. But as with any good play, its value lies in the way it reveals character and motive and explores the cultural context in which the plot unfolds.
Steven Pearlstein - Washington Post

[A] microcosmic lens on the personal histories of several Wall Street outsiders who were betting against the grain—to shed light on the macrocosmic tale of greed and fear.
Publishers Weekly

Lewis is a storyteller, and he weaves the personal stories of these renegades against the inner workings of Wall Street's mortgage-backed securities money machine.... Verdict: Readers from generalists through specialists will find this fast-paced, engaging account both illuminating and disturbing. Highly recommended. —Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA
Library Journal

[Combines] an incendiary, timely topic with the author's solid, insightful, and witty investigative reporting.... Lewis is a capable guide into the world of CDOs, subprime mortgages, head-in-the-sand investments, inflated egos—and the big short.
Booklist

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Big Short.

1. After reading The Big Short, do you have a clearer understanding of the Wall Street collapse of 2008? Does Michael Lewis do a good job, or a poor one, of explaining the arcane financial devices and the ins and outs of the bond markets? Did you find it interesting? Or were you bored to tears?

2. Follow-up to Question 2: How much did you know about financial crisis before reading The Big Short? What have you learned since that confirmed, or deviated from, your prior understanding of the events of 2008?

3. Where, or on whom, does Michael Lewis place blame for the events leading up to the crash?

4. What role did the rating agencies play—Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch? Were they at fault, or was the system such that they were forced to become unwilling partners?

5. Talk about the mortgage initiators. What role did they play? Discuss the array of mortgages offered and how they destabilized the system.

6. Steve Eisman, Mike Burry, and the men who ran the "garage band hedge fund" made huge fortunes off the downfall of others. Do you see them as prophetic heroes, greedy opportunists...or something else? How does Lewis portray them?

7. Follow-up to Question 6: Why did a handful of outsiders foresee what would happen with the subprimes while neither the heads of the large financial firms nor government regulators saw what was coming? Do you think it was genuine ignorance (the derivatives were simply too obscure to understand) or willful ignorance (no one really wanted to turn off the money spigot)? What about the risk managers for the Wall Street firms—where were they in all of this?

8. Another way to approach this book is to think of it almost as a mystery: who know how much...and when did they know it?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
Mark Obmascik,
Simon & Schuster
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781451648607

Summary
Every January 1, a quirky crowd storms out across North America for a spectacularly competitive event called a Big Year—a grand, expensive, and occasionally vicious 365-day marathon of birdwatching. For three men in particular, 1998 would become a grueling battle for a new North American birding record.

Bouncing from coast to coast on frenetic pilgrimages for once-in-a-lifetime rarities, they brave broiling deserts, bug-infested swamps, and some of the lumpiest motel mattresses known to man. This unprecedented year of beat-the-clock adventures ultimately leads one man to a record so gigantic that it is unlikely ever to be bested.

Here, prizewinning journalist Mark Obmascik creates a dazzling, fun narrative of the 275,000-mile odyssey of these three obsessives as they fight to win the greatest—or maybe worst—birding contest of all time. (From the publisher.)

More
Now reissued to tie in to the 2011 major motion picture release from 20th Century Fox starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, the critically heralded book by award-winning journalist Mark Obmascik—“a feathered version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ” ( Outside ).

With engaging, unflappably wry humor, The Big Year re-creates the grand, grueling, expensive, and occasionally vicious, “extreme” 365-day contest for a new North American birdwatching record. In this thrilling real-life adventure, three men battle the daunting forces of nature—and each other—in their whirlwind 275,000-mile odyssey from Texas to British Columbia, Cape May to Alaska. One of them achieves an astonishing record unlikely ever to be bested.

A captivating tour of human and avian nature, passion and paranoia, honor and deceit, fear and loathing, The Big Year shows the lengths to which people will go to pursue their dreams, to conquer and categorize—no matter how low the stakes. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Mark Obmascik is the bestselling author of Halfway to Heaven: My White-knuckled—and Knuckleheaded—Quest for the Rocky Mountain High, winner of the 2009 National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature, and The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, which received five Best of 2004 citations by major media. The Big Year movie, with Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson, was released in 2011. Obmascik was lead writer for the Denver Post team that won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize, and winner of the 2003 National Press Club award for environmental journalism. He lives in Denver with his wife, Merrill Schwerin, and their three sons, Cass, Max, and Wesley. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
In one of the wackiest competitions around, every year hundreds of obsessed bird watchers participate in a contest known as the North American Big Year. Hoping to be the one to spot the most species during the course of the year, each birder spends 365 days racing around the continental U.S. and Canada compiling lists of birds, all for the glory of being recognized by the American Birding Association as the Big Year birding champion of North America. In this entertaining book, Obmascik, a journalist with the Denver Post, tells the stories of the three top contenders in the 1998 American Big Year: a wisecracking industrial roofing contractor from New Jersey who aims to break his previous record and win for a second time; a suave corporate chief executive from Colorado; and a 225-pound nuclear power plant software engineer from Maryland. Obmascik bases his story on post-competition interviews but writes so well that it sounds as if he had been there every step of the way. In a freewheeling style that moves around as fast as his subjects, the author follows each of the three birding fanatics as they travel thousands of miles in search of such hard-to-find species as the crested myna, the pink-footed goose and the fork-tailed flycatcher, spending thousands of dollars and braving rain, sleet, snowstorms, swamps, deserts, mosquitoes and garbage dumps in their attempts to outdo each other. By not revealing the outcome until the end of the book, Obmascik keeps the reader guessing in this fun account of a whirlwind pursuit of birding fame.
Publishers Weekly

Environmental journalist Obmascik follows the 1998 Big Year's three main competitors.... Their drive to win propelled all three past the rarified count of 700 species seen, and the winner saw an extraordinary 745 species—a number that will probably never be equaled.... With a blend of humor and awe, Obmascik takes the reader into the heart of competitive birding, and in the process turns everyone into birders. Nancy Bent
Booklist

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for The Big Year:

1. Talk about the personalities of the three characters—Sandy Komita, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller. What is it that drives each man to attempt The Big Year competition...and why their fierce desire to win it? Do you admire these men for their passion or raise your eyebrows at their fanaticism?

2. Talk about the physical dangers the men undergo, as well as the damage to their bodies ("warbler" and "binocular" neck)...even their poor dietary habits. Would you call this an "unhealthy" possession (physically or mentally)?

3. Mascik provides detailed explanations about birds, birding and the Big Year competition. Does his information enhance the book for you...is it interesting and informative? Or is it overly detailed...a distraction from an otherwise fast-paced narrative?

4. Is there a particular species—its habits and habitat—that caught your interest? Perhaps the ruby-throated hummingbird, the Baird sparrow, or Colima Warbler?

5. Talk about the different locales the men traveled to for their various bird sitings. Which would you have found the most difficult to endure...or which the most intriguing? Would you ever want to make any one of those treks?

6. What did you think of the"hokey pokey" (p. 151) or reference to the "Dukes of Hurl"? Did those bring a laugh? What other parts of the book did you find humorous?

7. Talk about the competition's ethical code, particularly the rarity of cheating. What impressed you the most about how the competitors adhered to the code of honor?

8. Were you a birder before you read this book? If so, what have you learned? If you weren't a birder before, does the book inspire you to take up the hobby?

9. Of the three characters, whom were you rooting for most? Did you have a premonition as to who would win...or did the author keep you guessing?

10. Have you seen the movie adaptation of The Big Year? If so, how does it compare with the book?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

	The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession Mark Obmascik

The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession
Mark Obmascik

The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act
Clay Risen, 2014
Bloomsbury USA
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781608198245

Summary
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the single most important piece of legislation passed by Congress in American history.

This one law so dramatically altered American society that, looking back, it seems preordained—as Everett Dirksen, the GOP leader in the Senate and a key supporter of the bill, said, "no force is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." But there was nothing predestined about the victory: a phalanx of powerful senators, pledging to "fight to the death" for segregation, launched the longest filibuster in American history to defeat it.

The bill's passage has often been credited to the political leadership of President Lyndon Johnson, or the moral force of Martin Luther King. Yet as Clay Risen shows, the battle for the Civil Rights Act was a story much bigger than those two men. It was a broad, epic struggle, a sweeping tale of unceasing grassroots activism, ringing speeches, backroom deal-making and finally, hand-to-hand legislative combat.

The larger-than-life cast of characters ranges from Senate lions like Mike Mansfield and Strom Thurmond to NAACP lobbyist Charles Mitchell, called "the 101st senator" for his Capitol Hill clout, and industrialist J. Irwin Miller, who helped mobilize a powerful religious coalition for the bill. The "idea whose time had come" would never have arrived without pressure from the streets and shrewd leadership in Congress—all captured in Risen's vivid narrative.

This critical turning point in American history has never been thoroughly explored in a full-length account. Now, New York Times editor and acclaimed author Clay Risen delivers the full story, in all its complexity and drama. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1979
• Where—Nasville, Tennessee, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Chicago
• Currently—lives in Brooklyn (New York City), New York

Clay Risen is an editor at The New York Times op-ed section. Before that, he was an assistant editor at The New Republic and the founding managing editor of the noted quarterly Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. His recent freelance work has appeared in such journals as The Atlantic, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post.

His first book, A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination (2009) was hailed as “compelling, original history” (Peniel Joseph) and “a crucial addition to civil rights history” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). He is also the author of American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit (2013) and The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act (2014). (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
[I't took just over a year of negotiations and compromises, both inside and outside of Congress, for the bill to become law. Risen does his best to infuse drama into a story that is already a matter of the historical record. Fortunately, Risen is adept at weaving in juicy snippets of conversation and his fluid prose mutes some of the wonkiness in the political-process narrative.
Publishers Weekly

Arguably, Risen's most important contribution is revealing that J. Irwin Miller and the National Council of Churches—tireless lay and ministerial advocates—served as the act's moral conscience, and that it likely would not have passed without the resulting groundswell of public support. Risen adds deputy U.S. Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach to the roster of unsung heroes. —Karl Helicher, Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA
Library Journal

A journalist's in-depth, behind-the-scenes account of the unsung congressional and White House heroes who helped the Civil Rights Act become the law of the land.... It makes for scrupulous accuracy but also slow, labyrinthine reading. Well-researched but sometimes tedious.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Billionaire at the Barricades: The Populist Revolution from Regan to Trump
Laura Ingraham, 2017
St. Martin's Press
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250150646

Summary
Americans didn’t just go to the polls in 2016. They joined a movement that swept the unlikeliest of candidates, Donald Trump, into the Oval Office.
Can he complete his agenda? Or will his opponents in the media, protestor class, and political establishment block his efforts and choke off the movement he represents?

In Billionaire at the Barricades, Laura Ingraham gives readers a front row seat to the populist revolution as she witnessed it.

She reveals the origins of this movement and its connection to the Trump presidency. She unmasks the opposition, forecasts the future of the Make America Great Again agenda and offers her own prescriptions for bringing real change to the swamp of Washington.

Unlike most of her media colleagues, Ingraham understood Trump’s appeal and defied those who wrote his political obituary.

Now she confronts the president’s critics and responds to those who deny the importance of his America First agenda. With sharp humor and insight she traces the DNA of the populist movement: from Goldwater’s 1964 campaign, to Nixon’s Silent Majority, to Reagan’s smashing electoral victories.

Populism fueled the insurgency campaigns of Buchanan and Perot, the election of George W. Bush, and the Tea Party rallies of the Obama presidency. But a political novice ― a Manhattan billionaire ― proved to be the movement’s most vocal champion. This is the inside story of his victory and the fitful struggle to enact his agenda. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—June 19, 1963
• Where—Glastonbury, Connecticut, USA
• Education—B.A., Dartmouth College; J.D., University of Virginia
• Currently—lives near Washington, D.C.

Laura Anne Ingraham is an American TV and radio talk show host, author, and conservative political commentator. She hosts the nationally syndicated radio show, The Laura Ingraham Show, is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette, a long time Fox News Channel contributor, and host of her own FNC show, The Ingraham Angle, weeknights at 10 p.m.

In the late 1980s, Ingraham worked as a speechwriter in the Ronald Reagan administration for the Domestic Policy Advisor. She also briefly served as editor of The Prospect, the magazine issued by Concerned Alumni of Princeton.

After law school, in 1991, she served as a law clerk for Judge Ralph K. Winter, Jr., of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in New York and subsequently clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. She then worked as an attorney at the New York-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 1995, she appeared on the cover of The New York Times Magazine in a leopard-print miniskirt in connection with a story about young conservatives.

In 1996, she and Jay P. Lefkowitz organized the first Dark Ages Weekend in response to Renaissance Weekend.

Ingraham has had two stints as a cable television host. In the late 1990s, she became a CBS commentator and hosted the MSNBC program Watch It! Several years later, Ingraham began campaigning for another cable television show on her radio program. She finally got her wish in 2008, when Fox News Channel gave her a three-week trial run for a new show entitled Just In.

Her book, Of Thee I Zing, was released in 2011. In August 2013, conservative Newsmax magazine named Ingraham among the "25 most influential women in the GOP."

Political columnist Paul Bedard reported on January 15, 2017, that Ingraham had been approached by Republican party "insiders," to run for the Senate seat held by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine. Ingraham later confirmed that she was considering it.

Personal
Ingraham has previously dated broadcaster Keith Olbermann, Dinesh D’Souza, and former New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli. In April 2005, she made two announcements: her engagement to Chicago businessman James V. Reyes and her surgery for breast cancer. In May 2005, Ingraham told listeners that her engagement to Reyes was canceled, citing issues regarding her diagnosis with breast cancer.

Quick Facts: Ingraham is 6-'3", a convert to Roman Catholicism, and has studied Russian.

In May 2008, Ingraham adopted a young girl from Guatemala, whom she has named Maria Caroline. In July 2009 she adopted a 13-month-old boy, Michael Dmitri, and two years later, in June 2011, she announced the adoption of her third child, 13-month-old Nikolai Peter. Both of the boys were from Russia. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/28/2017.)

Book Reviews
I ran into my old friend Laura Ingraham last week the day her new book launched. I haven’t had a chance to dip into it yet, and there are certainly things I disagree with in it (we’ve had our disputes over the past two years), but I’m sure it’s smart and sharp-elbowed. Even if you are not in sympathy with Trump-style populism, it’s not going away, and Laura is one of its top voices.
Rich Lowry - National Review

Laura Ingraham was one of the few people who saw Donald Trump’s shocking victory coming. More importantly, as a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan who saw firsthand how viciously the Bush-aligned establishment despised Reagan’s working-class voters. Ingraham understands how powerful the conservative-populist movement is and why the elites in the permanent political class have spent gazillions and worked overtime for three decades to thwart it.… [A] must-read.
Tony Lee - Breitbart News

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for Billionaire at the Barricades ... then take off on your own:

1. Nearly everyone — in media and politics — dismissed the candidacy of Donald Trump early on. What was it that tipped Laura Ingraham off about the power of Trump's appeal?

2. Follow-up to Question 1: Consider Dave Brat's stunning 2014 victory in Virginia over then House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Ingraham called Brat's win "cataclysmic." Why? What did it reveal about the party and the voters?

3. What were your initial reactions to Candidate Trump? Did you dismiss him at first … or take him seriously? Did your reaction to him change over time? Has it changed since he has taken office?

4. How would you define the progressive movement and its supporters? Consider Ingraham's observation that voters "didn’t care about [Trump's] rough language." Instead, “they cared about saving their country and knew the only way to do it was to elect a renegade — a disruptor — someone who owed the Old Guard nothing.” What do progressives want to save the country from? Why does it take a renegade to save it?

5. Follow-up to Question 4: In what ways was Trump a "disruptor?" How did he pit himself against the Establishment Republicans? How did (does) he differ from the "Old Guard"?

6. Ingraham reports that in a private GOP meeting, everyone "laughed out loud at the idea that Trump's border wall would ever be built." Are people laughing now? What do you think of the wall — and what do you think its chances are of being built? Ingraham predicts that if it is not built "the president and his part will pay a severe political price." Do you agree?

7. Pointing to politicians' hypocrisy, Ingraham notes that while many claim they had never seen populism before, all successful "presidential candidates invoke the populist style because it connects with working people." But, she goes on to say, except for Regan, once in office, all presidents have "governed as globalists." First, define globalism: what policies, specifically, does the term refer to? Second, do you agree with her assessment that previous presidents have all been globalists? Talk about the reasons populists and Trump oppose globalism. What is the argument in favor of it?

8. Ingraham also posits, however, that there is an overlap between conservative and populism. In what areas do the two blocs agree?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Bitch is the New Black
Helena Andrews, 2010
HarperCollins
244 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061778827

Summary
Meet Helena Andrews, sassy, single, smart, and, yes, a bitch—but Tina Fey said it best, bitch is the new black!

When Helena Andrews heard this declaration on Saturday Night Live, her first reaction was How daaare you? But after a commercial break and some thought, she decided to poke at the stereotype that says "successful" and "bitch" are synonyms. Unafraid and frank, she comes to realize that being a bitch is sometimes the best way to be—except, of course, when it's not.

Bitch Is the New Black follows Andrews—sexy, single, and a self-described smart-ass—on her trip from kidnapped daughter of a lesbian to Washington, D.C., political reporter who can't remember a single senator's name. Told in Andrews's singular voice, this addictive memoir explores the roller coaster of being educated and single while trying to become an "actual adult" and find love.

In these candid yet heartfelt essays, she chronicles that ride from beginning to end: a childhood spent on an all-white island, escaping via episodes of The Cosby Show; being set up with Obama's "body guy" Reggie Love by Maureen Dowd; and the shocking suicide of a best friend. Through it all, Andrews and her gang of girlfriends urge each other to "keep it moving." But no one can stay strong all the time—not even the women we believe do so without trying.

As Andrews says, "Despite the fact that the most recognizable woman in the United States is black, popular culture still hasn't moved past the only adjective apparently meant to describe us— "strong." She is also flawed, tired, naive, greedy, gutsy, frightened, and kind: secret sides that come out in honest detail here. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—October 28, 1980
• Born—southern California, USA
• Education— B.A., Columbia University; M.A.
Northwestern University
• Currently—lives in Washington, D.C.

Helena Andrews is a graduate of Columbia University and has written for numerous publications, including the New York Times and Marie Claire. She lives in Washington, D.C., and is currently working on the film adaptation of Bitch Is the New Black with the creator of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, Shonda Rhimes. (From the publisher.)

More
Helena Andrews is an author, journalist and pop culture critic. Her first book, Bitch is the New Black (2010) is a collection of essays chronicling her experiences as a single Black female in Washington, DC. First conceptualized as a daily blog documenting the sad state of dating among educated African Americans, Bitch is the New Black evolved to describe all the influences and impacts on the modern Black woman. The film rights have been optioned by "Grey's Anatomy" creator/executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who will serve as executive producer for the project.

In a interview with The Root.com she discussed the book:

Despite the fact that the most visible woman in the United States is black, popular culture still hasn't moved past the only adjective apparently meant to describe us: "strong." Bitchwill hopefully function as a sort of dictionary (abridged, of course), providing a new vocabulary for black women. Almost automatically I'd describe myself as strong, but I'm also flawed, tired, sexy, depressed, frightened, naïve, hilarious, greedy and, of course, bitchy. In 16 essays, 'Bitch' gives credence to each one of my faces—secret sides every woman often keeps hidden.

Career
Helena began work in publishing as an intern at O, the Oprah Magazine in 2002. After leaving O, she worked brief stints at Seventeen, Domino, and Rap Up magazines. After a year pursuing a master's degree from Northwestern University in 2005, Helena worked as a news assistant in the Washington bureau of the New York Times. In 2006 she became a staff writer for the online political magazine Politico.com where she covered the cultural goings on of Capitol Hill. Helena has appeared on CNN, Inside Edition, Fox News and XM Radio. Currently, she is a regular contributor to Slate’s TheRoot.com and AOL’s PoliticsDaily.com.

Helena graduated from Columbia University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing. At Columbia she joined the Rho Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She earned a master's degree in print journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2005. (From Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
Andrews's exploration of what it's like to be young, black and single in Washington, D.C., is at times cringingly frank. Still, any young professional woman, regardless of color, will relate.
Nancy Trejos - Washington Post

[A] bitingly funny—and honest—read....[Andrews] establishes herself as an individual, proving that the women who fit into the “strong (single) black woman” category are more complex than the one-dimensional persona lets on.
Associated Press

Andrews offers a caustic and humorous running account of her life, mad texting her girlfriends about dates and career horrors, as she navigates the prickly terrain of a modern America getting used to a black First Lady and struggling to rethink its image of black women in general.
Booklist

Political reporter Andrews assembles 16 autobiographical essays exploring her unconventional upbringing, academic and professional accomplishment and the challenges of being a successful, single black woman in Washington, D.C. The scathingly witty author examines a wide variety of topics that, beneath the jokes and sarcasm, address weighty issues (depression, aging, abortion) with wry astuteness. The "bitch" referred to in the title is an allusion to the tough veneer—perhaps subtly survivalist—that Andrews claims is necessary for a black woman who is often the only black woman in school or at work. She reveals the inception of this facade in chapters about her childhood, where she describes being the only child of an openly gay single mother whose eccentricities were both fascinating and impenetrable. One anecdote describes the author's abduction by her grandmother at age six, in a misguided attempt to protect her; another details her attempt to reconcile the Bible with her mother's homosexuality (she couldn't). Whatever the effect of these profound incidents, the author clearly inherited ambition and confidence. She attended Columbia and Northwestern before climbing the ranks as a reporter in Washington—a situation that presented an entirely new set of obstacles, from finding an apartment without rats to finding camaraderie in the workplace. "There's something terribly frightening about being the only black person at a political newspaper when there's a black guy running for president," she writes. "Or should I say freeing?" Much of the book chronicles Andrews's dating misadventures. Nearing 30, and with a hilariously grandbaby-crazed mother, the author's reaction to a Washington Post headline titled "Marriage Is for White People" is understandably incredulous. Andrews, however, finds comfort in her artistic success, and has already sold the movie rights to her book. An irreverent, savvy and sharp memoir.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Bitch is the New Black:

1. Talk about the title: what does it mean? How does Helena Andrews use the word "bitch? How does she apply the word to herself? Is it a pejorative or a compliment? Does she use the title out of malice or self-confidence?

2. Why, according to Andrews, are successful black women lonely and single? Is her assessment—that success gets in the way of romance—accurate? What are your personal experiences and observations?

3. Why does Andrews admire with astronaut Lisa Nowak?

4. Talk about Andrews' prayers for her father's return. How did his absence haunt her life as a young girl...and later, as a young woman?

5. Discuss her growing up years on Catalina Island. In particular, what do you think of her mother? What kind of mother was she? Did you agree with the friend's accusation that Frances was raising Andrews to have no feelings?

6. Talk about the kidnapping scene? What were your emotions while reading it?

7. What impact did The Bill Cosby show have on Andrews and her expectations for life? Talk about her hopes for the TV-film, Polly and its effect on her white classmates?

8. In general, how does Andrews describe the various people who enter her life—the interior designer, Reggie Love, Rayetta, or Dexter? Are her assessments of them fair, funny, mean, perceptive? Does she present them as fully-developed individuals...or as one-diminsional figures?

9. How does Andrews relate to the Obamas, Michelle in particular—her "diplomas in plural, a career in progress, a presidential husband, and perfect babies"?

10. What do you think of Dexter? At one point, he tells Andrews that she's too good for him—do you agree, or not? Why is Andrews attracted to him?

11. Talk about Andrews' treatment of difficult subjects—abortion and abusive relationships.

12. What, if anything, does Andrews come to learn by the close of her book? Do you feel she has examined her life, and her own role in its unfolding, with depth and perception? Or do you see the book as a more superficial treatment, written primarily as an entertaining, comedic take on life for a single black woman?

13. Which of the book's 16 essays are your favorites? Which parts are the most humorous? Most moving? Most enlightening? Most irritating?

14. Overall, what is your response to Helena Andrews and her book? Would you describe her writing as crass and offensive—a way to gain attention? Or is her writing a raw and openly honest presentation of life's disappointments. Does she strike a chord in your own life?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family
Gail Lumet Buckley, 2016
Grove/Atlantic
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780802124548

Summary
In The Black Calhouns, Gail Lumet Buckley—daughter of actress Lena Horne—delves deep into her family history, detailing the experiences of an extraordinary African-American family from Civil War to Civil Rights.

Beginning with her great-great grandfather Moses Calhoun, a house slave who used the rare advantage of his education to become a successful businessman in post-war Atlanta, Buckley follows her family’s two branches: one that stayed in the South, and the other that settled in Brooklyn.

Through the lens of her relatives’ momentous lives, Buckley examines major events throughout American history. From Atlanta during Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, and then from World War II to the Civil Rights Movement, this ambitious, brilliant family witnessed and participated in the most crucial events of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Combining personal and national history, The Black Calhouns is a unique and vibrant portrait of six generations during dynamic times of struggle and triumph. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—December 21, 1937
• Where—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—B.A., Radcliff College (now Columbia University)
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York

Gail Lumet Buckley is an American writer and the author of three books—The Hornes: An American Family (1986); Blacks in Uniform: From Bunker Hill to Desert Storm (2001); and The Black Calhouns: From Civil War to Civil Rights with One African American Family (2016).

Buckley was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Louis Jones, a publisher, and Lena Horne, the famed singer and Hollywood's first black movie star. As Horne's career took off, she left Gail and Gail's younger brother "Little Teddy" behind in Pittsburgh to pursue work in New York. The marriage ultimately failed, and Teddy remained in Pittsburgh at his father's insistence; Gail, however, went with her mother. The two traveled between New York and California, eventually settling in California where Gail attended an all white school. She was classmates with Natalie Wood and the children of various Hollywood luminaries.

When her mother remarried Lennie Hayton, a white composer and conductor, the family moved back to New York where interracial marriage was legal. Gail was thrust into a glittering society of Hollywood celebrities, luxury ocean liners, posh European hotels, and exclusive watering holes. She received a superior education from a private Quaker school in upstate New York and headed off to Harvard.

Yet despite this privileged existence, Gail and her parents were not immune to racism. As she wrote in The Hornes: "We actually left home because of race and politics.” And the Quaker school she attended was chosen because few other private American boarding schools accepted black students.

After graduating from Harvard in 1959, Gail worked as a journalist, including stints at Marie-Claire in Paris and Life magazine. It was at Life that she met her first husband, Sidney Lumet, a well known TV and movie director. They married in 1963, had two children, and split their time between New York and London in support of Sydney's career. The marriage ended in 1978. Five years later, Gail married her second husband, Kevin Buckley, and began to devote herself to writing.

In addition to her three books, Gail has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, New York Daily News, Washington Post, Vogue, Playboy, and People. (Adapted from encyclopedia.com and the publisher. Retrieved 2/14/2016.)

Book Reviews
The story of Buckley's ancestors is fascinating for many reasons. Her candid portraits of their experiences offer a window onto shameful episodes in American history that are more recent and relevant than many realize. The stories also represent at least a proxy for the untold stories of so many others whose lives have been conveniently forgotten, excised from national consciousness...Buckley's moving chronicle, like Ta-Nehisi Coates's Between the World and Me, should be read in schools across the country.
Christian Science Monitor

(Starred review.) In this thoroughly engaging family chronicle, Buckley reveals an expansive tapestry of African-American history since the Civil War. The story begins with her great-great-grandfather Moses Calhoun, a freed slave turned businessman.... Buckley’s awesomely informative shout-out to the Calhouns is a treat to read.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) Buckley...writes here about her family history.... Although the author sometimes loses focus by including each major event in post-Civil War black history,...the book comes alive when she discusses the life of her famous mother and her own childhood.... [It] covers much of the same ground as Buckley's previous book, The Hornes. —Kate Stewart, U.S. Senate Lib., Washington, D.C.
Library Journal

(Starred review.) [An] assiduously researched and gracefully written family history...entrancingly well-told.... Buckley’s superbly realized American family portrait is enthralling and resounding.
Booklist

[A] middle-class black family's journey of hard work, education, and aspiration in a deeply racist United States.... The author later weaves her own story of 1960s political awakening into this thoroughly jam-packed narrative of history and nostalgia....ambitious, relentless, and occasionally messy.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Black Like Me
John Howard Griffin, 1961
Penguin Group USA
208 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780451234216

Summary
A dramatic true story about crossing the color line in the segregated Deep South.

In the Deep South of the 1950s, journalist John Howard Griffin decided to cross the color line. Using medication that darkened his skin to deep brown, he exchanged his privileged life as a Southern white man for the disenfranchised world of an unemployed black man.

His audacious, still chillingly relevant eyewitness history is a work about race and humanity—that in this new millennium still has something important to say to every American. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—June 16, 1920
• Where—Dallas, Texas, USA
• Died—September 9, 1980
• Where—Fort Worth, Texas
• Awards—National Council of Negro Women Award; Pacem
in Terris Peace and Freedom Award (Catholic Church)
• Education—University of Poitiers (France); Ecole
de Medecine (Paris)

John Howard Griffin was an American journalist and author much of whose writing was about racial equality. He is best known for darkening his skin and journeying through Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia to experience segregation in the Deep South in 1959. He wrote about this experience in his 1961 book Black Like Me.

Griffin was born in Dallas, Texas to John Walter Griffin and Lena May Griffin, née YoungAwarded a scholarship, he studied French and literature at the University of Poitiers and medicine at the École de Médecine. At 19, he worked as a medic in the French Resistance army, where he was in charge of a psychiatric hospital. He also helped to smuggle Jewish children to safety and freedom.

He then served 39 months stationed in the South Pacific in the United States Army Air Corps. He spent a year in 1943-44 as the only white person on one of the Solomon Islands, where he was assigned to study the local culture; he even went so far as to marry. His biographer says he had to learn "the Floridian dialect," which would place his stay in the Florida or Nggela Islands, just north of Guadalcanal, where a significant campaign had just taken place in 1942-43. His 1956 novel Nuni is a semi-autobiographical work that draws heavily on his year "marooned" on the tropical island, and shows an interest in ethnography that he followed more fully in Black Like Me.

Later in his service, he was decorated for bravery. As a result of an accident during his service in the United States Air Force, he went blind; during this decade of darkness from 1947 to 1957 he wrote. He returned to Texas and taught piano, marrying one of his pupils. He later regained his vision, becoming an accomplished photographic artist. His experiences in losing and regaining sight have been posthumously published as Scattered Shadows: A Memoir of Blindness and Vision.

Griffin converted to Catholicism in 1952 and became a Third Order Carmelite. He was also a lifelong Democrat.

In the fall of 1959, Griffin determined to investigate the plight of African-Americans in the South firsthand. He consulted a New Orleans dermatologist, who prescribed a course of drugs, sunlamp treatments, and skin creams. Griffin also shaved his head so as not to reveal his straight hair. He spent several weeks as a black man in New Orleans and parts of Mississippi (with side trips to Alabama and Georgia) traveling mainly by bus and hitch-hiking.

His resultant memoir, Black Like Me, became a best seller in 1961. The book described in detail the problems a black man encountered in the South meeting simple needs such as finding food, shelter, and toilet facilities. Griffin also described the hatred he often felt from white people he encountered in his daily life—shop clerks, ticket sellers, bus drivers, et al. Griffin was particularly shocked by the extent to which white men displayed curiosity about his sexual life. The tale was tempered with some anecdotes of whites who were relatively friendly and helpful.

After the publication of Black Like Me, Griffin became a national celebrity for a time. In a 1975 essay included in later editions of the book, Griffin described the hostility and threats to himself and his family which emerged in his Texas hometown. He eventually was forced to move out of America and went to Mexico.

Throughout his life, Griffin lectured and wrote on race relations and social justice. Griffin was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award, named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. Pacem in Terris is Latin for "Peace on Earth."

In later years, Griffin focused much of his work on researching his friend Thomas Merton, the American Trappist monk and spiritual writer whom he first met in 1962. Griffin was the original choice by Merton's estate to write the authorized biography of Merton. While Griffin's health prevented him from completing this project, his more finished portion of the biography, on Merton's later years, was posthumously published in 1983 as Follow the Ecstasy: Thomas Merton, the Hermitage Years, 1965-1968.

Griffin died on September 9, 1980 at age 60 from complications due to diabetes.

It has been erroneously claimed that the large doses of Oxsoralen Griffin used in 1959 eventually led to his death from (the claim asserts) skin cancer. However, Griffin never had skin cancer; the only negative symptoms he suffered because of the drug were temporary and minor. The worst, arguably, were fatigue and nausea. (From Wikipedia and the New York Times.)

Book Reviews
(Audio version.) Griffin's mid-century classic on race brilliantly withstands both the test of time and translation to audio format. Concerned by the lack of communication between the races and wondering what "adjustments and discriminations" he would face as a Negro in the Deep South, the late author, a journalist and self-described "specialist in race issues," left behind his privileged life as a Southern white man to step into the body of a stranger. In 1959, Griffin headed to New Orleans, darkened his skin and immersed himself in black society, then traveled to several states until he could no longer stand the racism, segregation and degrading living conditions. Griffin imparts the hopelessness and despair he felt while executing his social experiment, and professional narrator Childs renders this recounting even more immediate and emotional with his heartfelt delivery and skillful use of accents. The CD package includes an epilogue on social progress, written in 1976 by the author, making it suitable for both the classroom and for personal enlightenment.
Publishers Weekly

(Audio version.) In 1959, Griffin, a noted white journalist, decided to try an experiment. He felt that the only way to determine the truth about how African Americans were treated by whites, and to learn if there was discrimination, was to become one. After a series of medical treatments that darkened his skin, he began his travels in the Deep South. Made up primarily of his journal entries during that time, Black Like Me, read by Ray Childs, details the experiences he had while passing for black. He finds that the people who saw him as white days earlier would not give him the time of day. He suffered even more as he rode buses in New Orleans, discovering how whites would no longer sit next to him. Listeners will be fascinated by his bus trip to Mississippi during which the driver would not let any of the African Americans off at a rest stop and how some of the passengers decided to deal with this slight. A fascinating view of life before the heyday of the Civil Rights movement, showing the difficulties of being black in America. For all libraries. —Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress
Library Journal

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Black Like Me:

1. Griffin became an international celebrity after publication of his article in Sepia magazine and later his book, Black Like Me. However, he also faced open hostility throughout the American South, including being burned in effigy in his hometown. What might today's reaction be if the book had just been published?

2. What motivates Griffin to change the color of his skin and take on the identify of a black man?

3. Talk about his reaction as Griffin looks in the mirror and first sees a black man peering back at him. He feels he has lost his identity. How would you feel if you changed the color of your skin? How does skin color affect identity? Is skin color a more powerful determinant than gender?

4. What do you consider as the most difficult experience that Griffin faced as a black man? What angered or depressed him—or you—the most?

5. How did you respond to the white men's attitude toward African-American sexuality? How does that stance dehumanize black men and women? And what does it say about white men who are so obsessed by the idea of black sexuality?

6. Griffin spends a day with his acquaintance P.D. East, and the two discuss racism and the law in the South. Talk about the ways in which prejudice was incorporated into the South's legal code.

7. How does the treatment Griffin receives at the hands of white people affect him? What does he notice about himself after a couple of weeks? Do you think his experience of racism was harder for Griffin because he was white...or easier because he was white?

8. Talk about Griffin's time in Montgomery, Alabama, and the young Martin Luther King, Jr., back then a still unknown figure outside the South.

9. What were some of the other positive things Griffin experienced? What about those who rose above the cruelty of hatred and intolerence? In what way did they offer hope?

10. The book was published in 1959. How far has the nation come in the past 50 years. Beyond the most obvious fact that the country elected an African-American president, to what extent—and how—does racism continue to show itself? What racial injustices, faced by Griffin in 1959, still exist today?

11. Follow-up to Question 10: What would Griffin would experience if he were to attempt his project today?

12. Even with his darkened skin, John Howard Griffin was still a white man. Was it possible for him to truly experience life as a black man? Is his book well-meaning but arrogant in its attempt to speak of another race's experiences? Or do you think Black Like me offers a critical perspective because it is the closest that any white person could ever come to experiencing—and thus understanding—racial intolerance?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Black Mzungu
Alexandria K. Osborne, 2015
Niyah Publishing
222 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780982221570

Summary
When Alexandria "Nur" Osborne applied for a short fellowship in Tanzania, she never imagined that 6 months would turn into a lifetime; and that the bush of East Africa would teach her about love, identity, and courage.

The Black Mzungu is the vivid, candid account of how Nur, an African American Muslim expat, and Saidi, her Tanzanian husband whom she met during the fellowship, breathe life into a beautiful 92 acre homestead vacated four decades earlier by Saidi's family.

Living there on the coastal southern region of Lindi, Tanzania, Nur's perceptions of how things "ought" to be are often challenged. From the dangerous natural wildlife to locals who view them as outsiders, she and Saidi must learn to navigate both natural and man-made obstacles. Still, through personal triumphs, they forge a way to give back to the land they now call home.

Mzungu is derived from the Swahili word "kizunguzungu," which means dizzy. When Europeans came to East Africa they were always getting lost and wandered in circles. Indigenous people gave them the name "mzungu" because they wandered in circles to the point of making someone dizzy.

Mzungu has evolved to mean the "wanderer." Now it is used to mean someone of European descent. However, it is also commonly used to refer to any non-Swahili speaking foreigner. As an adjective it is used to mean a certain lifestyle (e.g., that mzungu house or "do not charge me a mzungu price").

Recently I have been feeling more like a real mzungu; that is, a wanderer. As friends and family from the life I had known for 5 decades move, change jobs, or even die, I wonder "where is home?" As an African-American residing in sub-Sahara Africa I had resisted the term mzungu, even sometimes feeling insulted. Now I realize I am mzungu, the WANDERER, looking for a place to call home. (From the author.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1956
• Where—New York, New York, USA
• Education—B.S., Pratt Institute; MBA, Western Michigan University; PhD, Walden University
• Currently—LIndi, Tanzania

Alexandria Osborne was born in 1956 in Harlem, New York, and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. After earning a B.S. in Chemistry from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, Alex accepted a position at a global pharmaceutical company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Michigan brought about many life changes including marriage to a Libyan American and converting to Islam. It’s also the place Alex raised her daughter, Zubayda with whom she would often travel to Libya. Finding it difficult to say Alex, her in-laws in Libya gave her the name Nur, a name she adopted as her own. It was the beginning of a dynamic, cross-cultural life.

In 2005, Nur earned a MBA in Management from Western Michigan University and later began her studies for a PhD in Management with a specialty in Leadership and Organization Change.

In 2009, she made her first visit to sub-Sahara Africa to begin a six-month fellowship for an international NGO in Tanzania. That same year, her research study conducted at Tripoli Medical Center in Libya was approved, earning her a PhD from Walden University.
During her fellowship, she met her current husband, Saidi, and returned to his homeland in the coastal southern region of Lindi, Tanzania. In 2013, she founded the Lindi Islamic Foundation of Tanzania–LIFT (www.tanzania-lift.org).

She now lives in Tanzania with her husband, their chickens and other farm animals where she enjoys starting off each morning with a good strong cup of Tanzanian coffee. (From the author.)

Visit the author's website.
Follow Alexandria on Facebook.

Book Reviews
Charming, funny, heart-warming and interesting. This book is a very enjoyable read!
Karen Wentland (Ohio, USA)

A reminder of the luxuries of first world living through an open and honest telling of leaving home, and the familiar, to start a new life halfway across the world, definitely worth reading.
Leanna Abdelmaged (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

Fresh voice, engaging subject, arresting realities.
Mary Ann Mitchell (Michigan, USA)

I really enjoyed reading The Black Mzungu; it was very interesting to see this part of Africa through the eyes of an American expat. There is rich detail about the people, animals and surroundings which is fascinating. Osborne is not shy in sharing her experiences: good, bad, ugly and beautiful.
Barb VanEseltine (Michigan, USA)

Discussion Questions
1. What type of events in someone’s life might make someone move to another part of the world?

2. What factors would determine the level of acceptance of someone who lives among people from a different culture? What should someone do to gain acceptance?

3. What risks did the author consider when she decided where she would reside?

4. What burden do African Americans carry that make some consider a connection to a continent they never visited Should they?

5. What common bond is more important in forming friendships: religion, color, language, socio-economic, nationality?

6. What skills are needed to navigate a new environment?

7. What comforts could you sacrifice to make a new life? And, what would you need to replace those comforts?

8. Trust is an important factor in forming relationships. Who betrayed the author’s trust? How can someone gain your trust in a new environment? Is it the same factors in the West and developing world?

9. Do you think the author will live out her life in her new home? If not, what would cause her to return back to the States permanently?

10. What void did the foundation fill?

11. Was the change the author made in her life revolutionary or evolutionary? Why?

12. What compromises, if any, did the author make in her own values?

13. What are the possible repercussions of reporting an illegal activity that seems systemic and accepted by society?

14. What boundaries would you set with you neighbors? When do you give and when do you decline? Are you more apt to give if someone asks?

15. Retirement is a major life event. How different do you think the author’s life would be if she retired in the States instead of Africa?

16. Which institution or sector of society has the biggest impact on the lives of people?

17. Africa is rich in resources. Why has its wealth not improved the lives of the masses? What changes, if any, need to be made for the people of southeast Tanzania to benefit from the discovery of natural gas?

18. Do non-profit organizations and international aid help or hinder development?

19. How do you think the people of the author’s village felt when she moved next door?

20. When is wildlife something to be marveled? And, when is it something to be feared? What measures would you put in place to live among the wildlife?
(Questions courtesy of the author.)

top of page (summary)

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Malcolm Gladwell, 2005
Little, Brown & Co.
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316010665

Summary
How do we make decisions—good and bad—and why are some people so much better at it than others? That's the question Malcolm Gladwell asks and answers in the follow-up to his huge bestseller, The Tipping Point. Utilizing case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the shooting of Amadou Diallo, Gladwell reveals that what we think of as decisions made in the blink of an eye are much more complicated than assumed.

Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, he shows how the difference between good decision-making and bad has nothing to do with how much information we can process quickly, but on the few particular details on which we focus. Leaping boldly from example to example, displaying all of the brilliance that made The Tipping Point a classic, Gladwell reveals how we can become better decision makers—in our homes, our offices, and in everyday life. The result is a book that is surprising and transforming. Never again will you think about thinking the same way. (From the publisher.)

Gladwell is also the author of The Tipping Point, Outliers, and What the Dog Saw.

Author Bio
• Birth—September 3, 1963
• Where—Fareham, Hampshire, England, U.K.
• Raised—Elmira, Ontario, Canada
• Education—B.A., University of Toronto
• Currently—New York, New York, USA

Malcolm T. Gladwell is an English-Canadian journalist, bestselling author, and speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996. He has written five books, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference (2000), Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), Outliers: The Story of Success (2008), What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures (2009), and David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants (2013). The first four books were on the New York Times Best Seller list.

Gladwell's books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of sociology, psychology, and social psychology. Gladwell was appointed to the Order of Canada 1n 2011.

Early life
Gladwell was born in Fareham, Hampshire, England. His mother is Joyce (Nation) Gladwell, a Jamaican-born psychotherapist. His father, Graham Gladwell, is a British mathematics professor. Gladwell has said that his mother is his role model as a writer. When he was six, his family moved to Elmira, Ontario, Canada.

Gladwell's father noted that Malcolm was an unusually single-minded and ambitious boy. When Malcolm was 11, his father allowed him to wander around the offices at his university, which stoked the boy's interest in reading and libraries. During his high school years, Gladwell was an outstanding middle-distance runner and won the 1,500 meter title at the 1978 Ontario High School 14-year-old championships in Kingston, Ontario. In the spring of 1982, Gladwell interned with the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C. He graduated with a degree in history from the University of Toronto's Trinity College in 1984.

Career
Gladwell's grades were not good enough for graduate school (as Gladwell puts it, "college was not an... intellectually fruitful time for me"), so he decided to go into advertising. After being rejected by every advertising agency he applied to, he accepted a journalism position at The American Spectator and moved to Indiana. He subsequently wrote for Insight on the News, a conservative magazine owned by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.

In 1987, Gladwell began covering business and science for the Washington Post, where he worked until 1996. In a personal elucidation of the 10,000 hour rule he popularized in Outliers, Gladwell notes, "I was a basket case at the beginning, and I felt like an expert at the end. It took 10 years—exactly that long."

When Gladwell started at The New Yorker in 1996 he wanted to "mine current academic research for insights, theories, direction, or inspiration." His first assignment was to write a piece about fashion. Instead of writing about high-class fashion, Gladwell opted to write a piece about a man who manufactured T-shirts, saying

...it was much more interesting to write a piece about someone who made a T-shirt for $8 than it was to write about a dress that costs $100,000. I mean, you or I could make a dress for $100,000, but to make a T-shirt for $8 – that's much tougher.

Gladwell gained popularity with two New Yorker articles, both written in 1996: "The Tipping Point" and "The Coolhunt." These two pieces would become the basis for Gladwell's first book, The Tipping Point, for which he received a $1 million advance. He continues to write for The New Yorker and also serves as a contributing editor for Grantland, a sports journalism website founded by ESPN's Bill Simmons.

Works
When asked for the process behind his writing, Gladwell has said...

I have two parallel things I'm interested in. One is I'm interested in collecting interesting stories, and the other is I'm interested in collecting interesting research. What I'm looking for is cases where they overlap.

The title for his first book, The Tipping Point (2000), came from the phrase "tipping point"—the moment in an disease epidemic when the virus reaches critical mass and begins to spread at a much higher rate.

Gladwell published Blink (2005), a book explaining how the human subconscious interprets events or cues and how past experiences can lead people to make informed decisions very rapidly.

Gladwell's third book, Outliers (2008) examines the way a person's environment, in conjunction with personal drive and motivation, affects his or her possibility and opportunity for success.

What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures (2009) bundles together Gladwell's favorite articles from The New Yorker since he joined the magazine as a staff writer in 1996. The stories share a common idea, namely, the world as seen through the eyes of others, even if that other happens to be a dog.

David and Goliath (2013) explores the struggle of underdogs versus favorites. The book is partially inspired by a 2009 article Gladwell wrote for The New Yorker, "How David Beats Goliath."

Reception
The Tipping Point and Blink became international bestsellers, each selling over two million copies in the US.

David Leonhardt wrote in the New York Times Book Review: "In the vast world of nonfiction writing, Malcolm Gladwell is as close to a singular talent as exists today" and that Outliers "leaves you mulling over its inventive theories for days afterward." Ian Sample of The Guardian (UK) also wrote of Outliers that when brought together, "the pieces form a dazzling record of Gladwell's art. There is depth to his research and clarity in his arguments, but it is the breadth of subjects he applies himself to that is truly impressive."

Criticism of Gladwell tends to focus on the fact that he is a journalist and not a scientist, and as a result his work is prone to oversimplification. The New Republic called the final chapter of Outliers, "impervious to all forms of critical thinking" and said that Gladwell believes "a perfect anecdote proves a fatuous rule."

Gladwell has also been criticized for his emphasis on anecdotal evidence over research to support his conclusions. Steven Pinker, even while praising Gladwell's attractive writing style and content, sums up Gladwell as "a minor genius who unwittingly demonstrates the hazards of statistical reasoning." Pinker accuses him of using "cherry-picked anecdotes, post-hoc sophistry and false dichotomies" in Outliers.

Despite these criticisms Gladwell commands hefty speaking fees: $80,000 for one speech, according to a 2008 New York magazine article although some speeches he makes for free. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/02/2013.)

Book Reviews
An interesting read, packed with thought-provoking information and anecdotes. At times it seems contradictory and as if Gladwell is using a bit of filler to push the covers farther apart. But that's okay because it's fun-going and, for book clubs, offers opportunities for good discussion...especially the section on diagnosing relatioships.
A LitLovers LitPick (Jul. '08)

In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell, a former science and business reporter at the Washington Post who now writes for The New Yorker, offers his account of this sort of seemingly instantaneous judgment. Readers acquainted with Gladwell's articles and his 2000 bestseller The Tipping Point will have high anticipations for this volume; those expectations will be met. The book features the fascinating case studies, skilled interweavings of psychological experiments and explanations and unexpected connections among disparate phenomenon that are Gladwell's impressive trademark.
Howard Gardner - Washington Post

Best-selling author Gladwell has a dazzling ability to find commonality in disparate fields of study. As he displays again in this entertaining and illuminating look at how we make snap judgments-about people's intentions, the authenticity of a work of art, even military strategy-he can parse for general readers the intricacies of fascinating but little-known fields like professional food tasting (why does Coke taste different from Pepsi?). Gladwell's conclusion, after studying how people make instant decisions in a wide range of fields from psychology to police work, is that we can make better instant judgments by training our mind and senses to focus on the most relevant facts-and that less input (as long as it's the right input) is better than more. Perhaps the most stunning example he gives of this counterintuitive truth is the most expensive war game ever conducted by the Pentagon, in which a wily marine officer, playing "a rogue military commander" in the Persian Gulf and unencumbered by hierarchy, bureaucracy and too much technology, humiliated American forces whose chiefs were bogged down in matrixes, systems for decision making and information overload. But if one sets aside Gladwell's dazzle, some questions and apparent inconsistencies emerge. If doctors are given an algorithm, or formula, in which only four facts are needed to determine if a patient is having a heart attack, is that really educating the doctor's decision-making ability-or is it taking the decision out of the doctor's hands altogether and handing it over to the algorithm? Still, each case study is satisfying, and Gladwell imparts his own evident pleasure in delving into a wide range of fields and seeking an underlying truth.
Publishers Weekly

Journalist Gladwell (The Tipping Point) examines the process of snap decision making. Contrary to the model of a rational process involving extensive information gathering and rational analysis, most decisions are made instantaneously and unconsciously. This works well for us much of the time because we learn to "thin-slice"-that is, to ignore extraneous input and concentrate on one or two cues. Sometimes, we don't even consciously know what these cues are, as in Gladwell's anecdote about a tennis coach who can predict when a player is going to make a rare sort of error but doesn't know how he knows. The book also explores how this process can go horribly wrong, as in the Amadou Diallo shooting. Gladwell gets the science facts right and has the journalistic skills to make them utterly engrossing. A big promo campaign is planned; for once a best seller will be more than worthy. Essential for all libraries.
Library Journal

Gladwell...brilliantly illuminates an aspect of our mental lives that we utterly rely on yet rarely analyze, namely our ability to make snap decisions or quick judgments.... But... [u]nconscious knowledge is not the proverbial light bulb, he observes, but rather a flickering candle. Gladwell's ground-breaking explication of a key aspect of human nature is enlightening, provocative, and great fun to read.
Donna Seaman - Booklist

We need to place more trust in our "thin-slicer"—our capacity to make instant judgments-but we also need to sharpen its edge more keenly with experience and education. Gladwell's second entry into the aren't-our-brains-amazing genre (The Tipping Point, 2000) has an Obi-Wan Kenobi flavor, a "trust-your-feelings-Luke" antirationalism that attempts, in some ways, to deconstruct the Force. The author's great strength lies in his stories, and here he crafts a number of engaging ones: an account of art experts fooled by a fake; a summary of how a psychologist, looking at an hourlong video of a married couple conversing, can predict with 95% accuracy if they will divorce; an unnerving narrative about the Millennium Challenge, a war game in which a maverick commander deals a devastating blow to the bean-counting rule-followers on the team that was supposed to win. There are stories of a rock star fighting the odds, of cops shooting an innocent man who looked suspicious, of Coca-Cola making a big marketing mistake. We learn about the Aeron chair, All in the Family, Lee at Chancellorsville. (Unconventional people sometimes surprise.) We ponder the odd political rise of Warren G. Harding. We have a power lunch with some professional food-tasters-the author quips that it was like cello-shopping with Yo-Yo Ma. We chat with a car-selling superstar. Gladwell also rediscovers something Poe described in "The Haunted Palace": our eyes and our faces are windows to the soul. He tells us that the autistic are unable to decode or even notice the facial information of others. All these stories are nicely written and most inform and entertain at the same time, but they don't add up to anything terribly profound, despite the author's sometimes Skywalker-ish enthusiasm. Brisk, impressively done narratives that should sell very well indeed, particularly to Gladwell's already well-established fan base.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Have you ever had a feeling that a couple's future is successful or doomed just by witnessing a brief exchange between them? What do you think you're picking up on?

2. Many couples seek marriage counseling from a therapist, a priest, rabbi etc. But do you think a couple about to get married should go and see John Gottman, the psychologist who can predict with a 95% accuracy whether a couple will be together in 15 years just by watching an hour of their interaction? If you were about to be married or could go back to before you were, would you want to see Gottman and find out his prediction?

3. The central argument of the chapter is that our unconscious is able to find patterns in situations and behavior based on very narrow slices of experience. This is called 'thin-slicing.'' What kinds of phenomena, if any, do not lend themselves to 'thin-slicing?'

4. Gottman decodes a couple's relationship and predicts divorce by identifying their patterns of behavior. Can we change our natural and unconscious patterns of behavior? Would awareness of these patterns with our partner be enough to avert an inevitable break-up?

5. Do you think you could hire someone by 'thin-slicing' the candidate during a brief interview? Or do you think this would only work for certain kinds of jobs or perhaps, only certain kinds of people?

6. The psychologist, Samuel Gosling, shows how 'thin-slicing' can be used to judge people's personality when he uses the dorm room observers. Visualize your bedroom right now. What does it say about you?

7. If scrolling through someone's iPod or scanning their bookshelf can tell us more about that individual, what other kinds of 'thin-slicing' exercises could reveal aspects of their personality?

8. Art historian Bernard Berenson or billionaire George Soros are examples of practiced 'thin-slicers' who have made highly pressured snap judgments based on nothing more than a curious ringing in the ears or a back spasm. What kind of physical, inexplicable cues have you or others you know of experienced which led to successful decision-making?

9. Priming refers to when subtle triggers influence our behavior without our awareness of such changes. An example of this occurs in Spain where authorities introduced classical music on the subway and after doing so, watched vandalism and littering drastically decrease. Can you think of situations when priming occurs?

10. Should we introduce priming in schools to encourage better behavior or more diligent work patterns? What about the service industry? Could employers prime their staff to be more polite to customers?

11. If an individual's behavior is being influenced unbeknownst to them, when can priming become manipulative? How is it different from the controversy a few years back when cinemas used subliminal advertising during previews to 'encourage' people to buy from the confectionary stand?

12. The Iyengar/Fisman study revealed that what the speed-daters say they want and what they were actually attracted to in the moment didn't match when compared. What does this say for on-line dating services? Can we really predict what kind of person we will 'hit it off' with? Is it better to let friends decide who is more suited for you as opposed to scanning profiles that correspond with your notion of what you think you are looking for?

13. Does your present spouse/ partner fit the preconceived idea of whom you imagined yourself ending up with? Have you dated someone that was the antithesis of what you thought you found attractive? Is there even a point of asking someone, "what's your type?

14. The Warren Harding error reveals the dark-side of 'thin-slicing'—when our instincts betray us and our rapid cognition goes awry. Looking at the example of that 1920 presidency, can we say that this type of error is happening today in political elections? Do you think this explains why there has never been a black or female president?

15. The Implicit Association Test (IAT) shows that our unconscious attitudes may be utterly incompatible with our stated conscious values. So like car salesmen who unconsciously discriminate against certain groups of potential customers or businesses that appear to favor tall men for CEOs, do you find it plausible that we are not accountable for these actions because they are a result of social influences as opposed to personal beliefs?

16. Do you buy the argument that we are completely oblivious to our unconsciously motivated behavior (like the disturbing IAT results that show 80% of test-takers have pro-white associations?) Is this just a convenient excuse to justify our biases?

17. Riper believed that strategy and complex theory were inappropriate and futile in the midst of battle, "where the uncertainties of war and the pressure of time made it impossible to compare options carefully and calmly." What other 'work' spaces discount rational analysis and demand immediate 'battlefield' decision-making?

18. Can one ever really prepare for decisive, rapid-fire scenarios? Is planning for the unpredictable worthwhile or a waste of time and energy?

19. If improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport, could anyone be a stand-up comic or performer? Or, will some people always naturally be better at thinking on their toes and more adept at unleashing spontaneity?

20. Riper says, "When we talk about analytic versus intuitive decision-making, neither is good or bad. What is bad is if you use either of them in an inappropriate circumstance." But is decision-making all about the circumstances or more about the personality of the decision-maker i.e. do circumstances have more impact on decision-making if you are a more cerebral, logical individual versus an indecisive, instinctual one?

21. In the cases of Kenna's music and the Aeron chair we see that first impressions can often lead us astray. What we initially judge as disapproval may just be a case of confusion or mistrust for something new and different. How can we distinguish a decision motivated by fear of the unknown from the ones that stem from genuine dislike towards something? Are we better off leaving it to the experts to tell us what we should like?

22. What if we have personal investment in the new product or person? Can we or how do we separate our emotional involvement from our intuitive judgment?

23. Do you believe our unconscious reactions come out of a locked room that we can't ever truly see inside? Can we ever know ourselves wholly and understand the motivation and reason behind our every move? If an individual claims to completely know how their mind works, are they incredibly self-aware or just delusional? And if we can't totally get behind that locked door and fully 'know' why we react the way we do, is psychiatry an over-priced and limited exercise?

24. The Diallo shooting is an example of a mind-reading failure. It reveals a grey area of human cognition; the middle ground between deliberate and accidental. Do you think the shooting was more deliberate or accidental?

25. Mind-reading failures lie at the root of countless arguments, misunderstandings, and hurt feelings. Often, people make excuses for a sarcastic or hurtful remark as "just joking." But if there is no clear-cut line between deliberate and accidental do you agree, "There is always truth in jest?" Do you think when we misread others and get irritated we are in fact only recognizing something in that person that we don't like about ourselves?

26. Eckman and Friesens' work of decoding facial expressions reveals that the information on our face is not just a signal of what's going on inside our mind but it is what is going on inside our mind. But what about politicians or celebrities and other figures constantly in the public eye? Do you believe they are always feeling their expressions or are they just camera-savvy posers who defy Eckman and Friesens' expression theory? How about extremely stoic individuals? Do they have diminished emotions in keeping with their limited expressions? Have you ever been 'two-faced' or watched someone else speak badly about another individual only to then turn around and greet them with a warm, gushy hello? Is that 'friendly' expression false or an attempt to make amends?

27. Autistic patients read their environment literally. They do not, like us, seem to watch people's eyes when they are talking to pick up on all those expressive nuances that Eckman has so carefully catalogued. What do you make of individuals who avoid eye contact during conversation? How do you think this affects their ability to understand or interpret the speaker? Could this explain how lying is often signaled by averted eye-contact?

28. Have you ever experienced a 'mind-blind' moment? A moment where conditions were so stressful or confusing, your actions seemed to be the result of temporary autism? If 'mind-blindness' occurs at extreme points of arousal, could this explain why people 'lose their heads' in the heat of the moment and say something they don't mean or cheat on spouses etc?

29. We always wonder how some individuals react to situations that make them heroes like the fireman who ran into the burning building or the ER doctor who operated in the nick of time. Do you think that what separates the 'men from the ' is this ability to control or master one's reactions in moments of extreme stress and arousal?

30. Is this skill accessible? Are you intrigued to practice and believe it is something you could improve?

31. Just as the National Symphony Orchestra members were shocked to find their newly employed horn player was a female, do you think that even as far as we've come with issue of race and gender equality, we still judge with our eyes and ears rather than our instinct? Are our interpretations of events, people, issues etc filtered through our internal ideologies and beliefs? Do you agree that perception is reality? And with this in mind, could improving our powers of rapid cognition ultimately change our reality?
(Questions from the author's website.)

top of page (summary)

Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade
Walter Kirn, 2014
W.W. Norton & Co.
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780871404510

Summary
An In Cold Blood for our time, a chilling, compulsive story of a writer unwittingly caught in the wake of a grifter-turned-murderer.

In the summer of 1998, Walter Kirn—then an aspiring novelist struggling with impending fatherhood and a dissolving marriage—set out on a peculiar, fateful errand: to personally deliver a crippled hunting dog from his home in Montana to the New York apartment of one Clark Rockefeller, a secretive young banker and art collector who had adopted the dog over the Internet.

Thus began a fifteen-year relationship that drew Kirn deep into the fun-house world of an outlandish, eccentric son of privilege who ultimately would be unmasked as a brazen serial impostor, child kidnapper, and brutal murderer.

Kirn's one-of-a-kind story of being duped by a real-life Mr. Ripley takes us on a bizarre and haunting journey from the posh private clubrooms of Manhattan to the hard-boiled courtrooms and prisons of Los Angeles. As Kirn uncovers the truth about his friend, a psychopath masquerading as a gentleman, he also confronts hard truths about himself. Why, as a writer of fiction, was he susceptible to the deception of a sinister fantasist whose crimes, Kirn learns, were based on books and movies? What are the hidden psychological links between the artist and the con man?

To answer these and other questions, Kirn attends his old friend’s murder trial and uses it as an occasion to reflect on both their tangled personal relationship and the surprising literary sources of Rockefeller's evil. This investigation of the past climaxes in a tense jailhouse reunion with a man whom Kirn realizes he barely knew—a predatory, sophisticated genius whose life, in some respects, parallels his own and who may have intended to take another victim during his years as a fugitive from justice: Kirn himself.

Combining confessional memoir, true crime reporting, and cultural speculation, Blood Will Out is a Dreiser-esque tale of self-invention, upward mobility, and intellectual arrogance. It exposes the layers of longing and corruption, ambition and self-delusion beneath the Great American con. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1962
• Where—Akron, Ohio, USA
• Raised—Saint Croix, Minnesota
• Education—B.A., Princeton University, B.A., Oxford University (UK)
• Currently—lives in Livingston, Montana

Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. He is the author of eight books, including Up in the Air, which was made into a movie starring George Clooney, and Blood Will Out, a memoir of his friendship with the imposter and convicted murder, Clark Rockefeller.

A 1983 graduate of Princeton University, he has published a collection of short stories and several novels, including Thumbsucker, which was made into a 2005 film featuring Keanu Reeves and Vince Vaughn; Up in the Air, which was made into a 2009 film directed by Jason Reitman; and Mission to America. In 2005, he took over weblogger Andrew Sullivan's publication for a few weeks while Sullivan was on vacation. He has also written The Unbinding, an Internet-only novel that was published in Slate magazine.

He has also reviewed books for New York magazine and has written for The New York Times Book Review and New York Times Sunday Magazine, and is a contributing editor of Time, where he has received popularity for his entertaining and sometimes humorous first-person essays among other articles of interest. He also served as an American cultural correspondent for the BBC.

In addition to teaching nonfiction writing at the University of Montana, Kirn was the 2008–09 Vare Nonfiction Writer in Residence at the University of Chicago. He received his A.B. in English at Princeton University in 1983, and obtained a second undergraduate degree in English Literature at Oxford University, where he was a Keasbey Scholar.

Personal life
Kirn's family joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was twelve. Although he is no longer affiliated with the church, he received the 2009 William Law X-Mormon of the Year award. In 1995, Kirn married Maggie McGuane, a model and journalist and the daughter of actress Margot Kidder and novelist Thomas McGuane. Kirn was 32 at the time; McGuane was 19. The couple had two children, Masie and Charlie, and are now divorced. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/16/2014.)

Book Reviews
[P]rimarily a tale of seduction. For 15 years, Mr. Kirn allowed himself to fall for the con man then calling himself Clark Rockefeller, certain that if he let their friendship persist, he’d find...a book in it.... There is the part of Mr. Kirn that will always be the Midwestern arriviste [who] sees The Great Gatsby around every corner; he’s certainly right in thinking of Clark as self-invented. As for The Talented Mr. Ripley, that works, too; this is a book about a man who will do anything to steal others’ identities, no matter what it takes to get those others out of his way.

Walter Kirn’s latest book is bound to be shelved in the crime section. But it’s actually about class.... In this smart, real-life psychological thriller, the fake Rockefeller is a zombie Gatsby and Kirn the post-apocalyptic Fitzgerald, chronicling upper-crust America in free fall.... In the end, his book isn’t about the fake Rockefeller but about the mysteries of Kirn’s—and by extension, our—response to him.
Nina Burleigh - New York Times Book Review

[A] fascinating account of the imposter he considered his friend for 10 years… Blood Will Out is an exploration of a hoaxer from the point of view of a mark, and of a relationship based on interlocking deceptions and self-deceptions. The result is a moral tale about the dangers of social climbing on a rickety ladder—for both those trying to scramble up the rungs and those trying to hold it steady below.
Heller McAlpin - Washington Post

Riveting and disturbing, Blood Will Out is a mélange of memoir, stranger-than-fiction crime reporting and cultural critique. The literary markers run the gamut from James Ellroy’s My Dark Places, and Fyodor Doestoevsky’s Crime and Punishment to Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley trilogy and Strangers on a Train. Kirn’s self-lacerating meditations on class, art, vanity, ambition, betrayal and delusion elevate the material beyond its pulpy core… Kirn’s belated acceptance of reality provides the most fascinating and frustrating element of this engaging, self-flagellating memoir.
Larry Lebowitz - Miami Herald

One of the most honest, compelling and strangest books about the relationship between a writer and his subject ever penned by an American scribe… Each new revelation comes subtly, and each adds to the pathetic and creepy portrait of Clark Rockefeller as a vacuous manipulator… The ending of Blood Will Out is at once deeply ambiguous and deeply satisfying. By then, Kirn has looked into the eyes of a cruel, empty man—and learned a lot about himself in the process.
Hector Tobar - Los Angeles Times

Kirn is such a good writer and Gerhartsreiter such a baroquely, demonically colorful subject, you could imagine this being a fine read had they no personal connection. That they did, however, elevates Blood Will Out to another level: Kirn lards his story with detail while reviewing his own psyche, in an attempt to discover how he—a journalist!—could have been so fooled. The irony? With all due respect to Kirn's skills as a novelist, it is hard to conceive of any fictionalized version of ''Clark Rockefeller'' being as compelling as the real thing.
Clark Collis - Entertainment Weekly

Kirn bravely lays bare his own vanities and follies in this heart-pounding true tale; he examines the hold of fiction on the human imagination—how we live for it and occasionally die for it, too.
Judith Newman - More Magazine

The story of Blood Will Out is one of cosmic ironies and jaw-dropping reversals… What makes Blood Will Out so absorbing is its teller more than its subject. Kirn’s persona is captivating—funny, pissed off, highly literate, and self-searching. He’s also an elegant, classic writer… Add the highly readable, intricately told Blood Will Out to the list of great books about the dizzying tensions of the writing life and the maddening difficulty of getting at the truth.
Amity Gaige - Slate

In the summer of 1998, Kirn....entered a wild and murky 15-year friendship with the man who called himself "Clark Rockefeller"—a man who would eventually be the target of a nationwide FBI manhunt and charged with murder.... Kirn’s candor, ear for dialogue, and crisp prose make for a masterful true crime narrative that is impossible to put down. The book deserves to become a classic.
Publishers Weekly

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nascetur neque iaculis vestibulum, sed nam arcu et, eros lacus nulla aliquet condimentum, mauris ut proin maecenas, dignissim et pede ultrices ligula elementum. Sed sed donec rutrum, id et nulla orci. Convallis curabitur mauris lacus, mattis purus rutrum porttitor arcu quis
Library Journal

The complicated, credulity-straining relationship between the author and his subject leaves the reader wondering about both of them. This is a book about two very strange characters. One is best known as Clark Rockefeller, "the most prodigious serial imposter in recent history".... The other is Kirn a respected journalist and novelist.... A book that casts long-form narrative journalism in general, and Kirn's in particular, in an unflattering light.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
Gabrielle Hamilton, 2011
Random House
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780812980882

Summary
Winner, 2012 James Beard Foundation Award for Writing & Literature

I wanted the lettuce and eggs at room temperature...the butter-and-sugar sandwiches we ate after school for snack...the marrow bones my mother made us eat as kids that I grew to crave as an adult.... There would be no ‘conceptual’ or ‘intellectual’ food, just the salty, sweet, starchy, brothy, crispy things that one craves when one is actually hungry. In ecstatic farewell to my years of corporate catering, we would never serve anything but a martini in a martini glass. Preferably gin.

Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty fierce, hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Above all she sought family, particularly the thrill and the magnificence of the one from her childhood that, in her adult years, eluded her. Hamilton’s ease and comfort in a kitchen were instilled in her at an early age when her parents hosted grand parties, often for more than one hundred friends and neighbors. The smells of spit-roasted lamb, apple wood smoke, and rosemary garlic marinade became as necessary to her as her own skin.

Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; the soulless catering factories that helped pay the rent; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a difficult and prickly marriage that nonetheless yields rich and lasting dividends.

Blood, Bones & Butter is an unflinching and lyrical work. Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion. By turns epic and intimate, it marks the debut of a tremendous literary talent.. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Gabrielle Hamilton is the chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village. She received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Food & Wine. Hamilton has also authored the 8-week Chef Column in The New York Times, and her work has been anthologized in six volumes of Best Food Writing. She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and the Food Network, among other television. She lives in Manhattan with her two sons. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Though Ms. Hamilton's brilliantly written new memoir, Blood, Bones & Butter, is rhapsodic about food — in every variety, from the humble egg-on-a-roll sandwich served by Greek delis in New York to more esoteric things like 'fried zucchini agrodolce with fresh mint and hot chili flakes’—the book is hardly just for foodies. Ms. Hamilton, who has an M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of Michigan, is as evocative writing about people and places as she is at writing about cooking, and her memoir does as dazzling a job of summoning her lost childhood as Mary Karr's "Liars' Club" and Andre Aciman’s "Out of Egypt" did with theirs.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times

[L]uminous…Hamilton quickly proves that her decade-in-the-making work can live up to the extraordinary "best memoir by a chef ever" hype. That quote, by the way, is from the previous title holder, Anthony Bourdain...Hamilton...shares two of Bourdain's traits: a wicked, sometimes obscene sense of humor and a past checkered with drug use and crime. But as he admits in his jacket testimonial, she's the superior writer by a mile. To read Blood, Bones & Butter is to marvel at Hamilton's masterly facility with language.
Joe Yonan - Washington Post

Hamilton’s writing about food is so vivid it could make you half-crazed with hunger, leaving you in front of the open fridge with a cold chicken leg in one hand and the book in the other.
Boston Globe

Blood, Bones & Butter, more than any book I know, captures the essence of contemporary cool when it comes to food. This is what you'd read if you came here from another country (or from another decade) and wanted to know what people valued in dining.... Her vision is so aptly and evocatively written that it's hard not to succumb to its rough-hewn glamour. So preferable to the corporatized alternatives most Americans are stuck with—in both city and country alike—which is one reason for the book's almost certain success. And if Blood, Bones & Butter isn't made into a movie in the next 12 days, I will eat stilted food in sterile dining rooms for a week.
Time.com

(Starred review.) Owner and chef of New York's Prune restaurant, Hamilton also happens to be a trained writer (M.F.A., University of Michigan) and fashions an addictive memoir of her unorthodox trajectory to becoming a chef. The youngest of five siblings born to a French mother who cooked "tails, claws, and marrow-filled bones" in a good skirt, high heels, and apron, and an artist father who made the sets for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, Hamilton spent her early years in a vast old house on the rural Pennsylvania–New Jersey border. With the divorce of her parents when she was an adolescent, the author was largely left to her own devices, working at odd jobs in restaurants. Peeling potatoes and scraping plates-"And that, just like that, is how a whole life can start." At age 16, in 1981, she got a job waiting tables at New York's Lone Star Cafe, and when caught stealing another waitress's check, she was nearly charged with grand larceny. After years of working as a "grunt" freelance caterer and going back to school to learn to write (inspired by a National Book Foundation conference she was catering), Hamilton unexpectedly started up her no-nonsense, comfort-food Prune in a charming space in the East Village in 1999. Hamilton can be refreshingly thorny (especially when it comes to her reluctance to embrace the "foodie" world), yet she is also as frank and unpretentious as her menu-and speaks openly about marrying an Italian man (despite being a lesbian), mostly to cook with his priceless Old World mother in Italy.
Publishers Weekly

The book’s subtitle should arouse interest. How was the author’s education inadvertent? What is the reason she was reluctant to become a chef? All will become clear upon completion of the final page of this lusty, rollicking, engaging-from-page-one memoir of the chef-owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village.... Add this to the shelf of chef memoirs but also recommend it to readers with a penchant for forthright, well-written memoirs in general. —Brad Hooper
Booklist

Discussion Questions
1. What does food mean to the author? How did your particular attitude toward food develop?

2. What challenges do writers and chefs share? Are they unique to those professions?

3. What saved the author from a life of substance abuse and crime?

4. Gabrielle Hamilton’s mother-in-law is a central figure in her book. Why did she become so important for her? Do you have someone equally important in your own life?

5. Being invited by Misty Callies to prep for a large dinner party and, later, to work at her restaurant were milestones for Gabrielle Hamilton. Why were these experiences significant for her?

6. Gabrielle Hamilton writes about her ambivalence in wedding her husband. Why do you think she married him? Have you ever felt similarly about your own relationships?

7. Getting one’s needs met is a recurring theme. How do you think Gabrielle Hamilton feels about this and how has it influenced her journey?

8. Is Blood, Bones & Butter a funny book?

9. Many have commented on the “honesty” of the book, suggesting that such candor and intimacy are uncommon. Are readers mostly responding to the way Gabrielle Hamilton writes about her own family or does that “honesty” manifest elsewhere? What is her point or objective in being so forthcoming? Do you think you would be so upfront in your own memoir?

10. Did you like/not like the ending and why?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Blue-Eyed Boy: A Memoir
Robert Timberg, 2014
Penguin Group (USA)
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781594205668

Summary
Acclaimed journalist Robert Timberg’s extraordinary, long-awaited memoir of his struggle to reclaim his life and find his calling after being severely burned as a young Marine lieutenant in Vietnam

In January 1967, Robert Timberg was a short-timer, counting down the days until his combat tour ended. He had thirteen days to go before he got to go back home to his wife in Southern California. That homecoming would eventually happen, but not in thirteen days, and not as the person he once was. The moment his vehicle struck a Vietcong land mine divided his life into before and after.

He survived, barely, with third-degree burns over his face and much of his body. It would have been easy to give up. Instead, Robert Timberg began an arduous and uncertain struggle back—not just to physical recovery, but to a life of meaning. Remarkable as his return to health was—he endured thirty-five operations, one without anesthesia—just as remarkable was his decision to reinvent himself as a journalist and enter one of the most public of professions. Blue-Eyed Boy is a gripping, occasionally comic account of what it took for an ambitious man, aware of his frightful appearance but hungry for meaning and accomplishment, to master a new craft amid the pitying stares and shocked reactions of many he encountered on a daily basis.

By the 1980s, Timberg had moved into the upper ranks of his profession, having secured a prestigious Nieman Fellowship at Harvard and a job as White House correspondent for The Baltimore Sun. Suddenly his work brought his life full circle: the Iran-Contra scandal broke. At its heart were three fellow Naval Academy graduates and Vietnam-era veterans, Oliver North, Bud McFarlane, and John Poindexter. Timberg’s coverage of that story resulted in his first book, The Nightingale’s Song, a powerful work of narrative nonfiction that follows these three academy graduates and two others—John McCain and Jim Webb—from Annapolis through Vietnam and into the Reagan years.

In Blue-Eyed Boy, Timberg relates how he came to know and develop a deep understanding of these five men, and how their stories helped him understand the ways the Vietnam War and the furor that swirled around it continued to haunt him, and the nation as a whole, as they still do even now, nearly four decades after its dismal conclusion.

Like others of his generation, Robert Timberg had to travel an unexpectedly hard and at times bitter road. In facing his own life with the same tools of wisdom, human empathy, and storytelling grit he has always brought to his journalism, he has produced one of the most moving and important memoirs of our time. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1942-43
• Where—New York City, NY area
• Education—U.S. Naval Academy; M.A., Stanford University
• Currently—lives in Bethesda, Maryland

Robert Timberg is an American journalist, writer, and author of four books, including The Nightingale's Song (1995) and his memoir, Blue-Eyed Boy (2014)

Timberg was raised in the New York City area. His father was American musician and composer Sammy Timberg. He received his college education at the United States Naval Academy and his journalism degree at Stanford University. He served with the American Marines in Vietnam from March 1966 to February 1967. He worked for many years as a reporter for The Evening Sun and The Baltimore Sun. He is also the author of John McCain: An American Odyssey (1999) and State of Grace: A Memoir of Twilight Time (2005), a book about his experiences with sandlot football and growing up.

Robert Timberg, who was disfigured by a land mine as a Marine in Vietnam, went on to become a successful journalist. His memoir Blue Eyed Boy charts his struggle to recover from his wounds (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 8/3/2014.)

Book Reviews
In a clear confiding voice, [Timberg’s] autobiography Blue-Eyed Boy speaks to you like an American Proust, straight from the start: 'Falling asleep is never a problem for me. Waking up always is.' As he approached age 70, he at last let himself look back at the jagged scenery of his life….There’s a hardwon beauty in those crevices…. Timberg’s memoir is a searing loss of innocence tale, one that may address a wider swath of college baby boomers in the 1960s than he thought. Whatever side you were on when it came to the Vietnam War, it ended badly. Nobody won. America suffered a shattering loss of innocence over that war, starting in 1967, the year Timberg—who goes by "Bob"—lost the man in the mirror. Then comes the best part of his journey: a mordant tale told of adult resurrection.
US News & World Report

Blue-Eyed Boy, the just-released memoir by wounded veteran and journalist Robert Timberg, excels with limpid writing and gripping personal travail and triumph, never once hinting at or lamenting what-might-have-been, even as it admirably meets all the requisites of an exemplary memoir…. Forcing the reader to seriously ponder obligations and responsibilities to one’s country and society, Blue-Eyed Boy is a welcome tonic, an elixir of life delivered with hard-hitting flesh-and-blood reality. Refreshingly honest in depicting less than admirable personal behavior, Timberg is equally blunt in recounting the arduously difficult and tortuously slow road to mental, psychological, and physical recovery. In spite of numerous setbacks and indignities in the struggle to cope and "come back," Timberg thrives as much in his writing as he has in life.
American Conservative

In this straightforward and unsentimental account, Timberg traces the trajectory of his career, from promising Naval Academy graduate and wounded war veteran to success as a journalist.... [He] had to confront the political split in the country between those who fought in the war (few of the privileged at Stanford) and those who dodged their draft calls, a subject that keeps him simmering throughout. Eventually, his marriage crumbled under the stress of recovery, but Timberg, a Nieman fellow, devoted his time to writing books.
Publishers Weekly

[W]hat's especially important here is that, having immersed himself in reporting on the Iran-Contra scandal and talking with the Vietnam-era veterans at the heart of it (see his The Nightingale's Song), he finally saw clearly how the Vietnam War has shaped this nation.
Library Journal

This thoroughly absorbing autobiography really begins with the author’s life-altering experience of being badly wounded (and severely and permanently disfigured) as a marine officer in Vietnam..... Timberg will strike many readers as demonstrating the truth of the notion that 'genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains'—although, in Timberg’s case, he first had to demonstrate a large capacity for enduring pain.
Booklist

In 1986, the Sun tapped [Timberg] to cover the Iran-Contra scandal.... The scandal, and the book that later emerged from it, became a kind of extended catharsis for Timberg. Both forced him to revisit his own brutal experiences and, in so doing, help a nation still tormented by Vietnam find the beginnings of its own peace. An empathetic and extremely candid memoir.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Blue Like Jazz
Donald Miller, 2003
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
256 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780785263708

Summary
Donald Miller's fresh and original voice may change the way Christians view the "status quo" faith and build a bridge to seekers who believe that organized religion doesn't meet their spiritual needs.

"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve... I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal.

Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1971
• Raised—Houston, Texas, USA
• Currently—lives in Portland, Oregon

Donald Miller grew up in Houston, Texas. Leaving home at the age of twenty-one, he traveled across the country until he ran out of money in Portland, Oregon, where he lives today.

Harvest House Publishers released his first book, Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance, in 2000. Two years later, after having audited classes at Portland’s Reed College, Don wrote Blue Like Jazz, which would slowly become a New York Times Bestseller.

In 2004 Don released Searching for God Knows What a book about how the Gospel of Jesus explains the human personality. Searching has become required reading at numerous colleges across the country. In 2005 he released Through Painted Deserts the story of he and a friends road trip across the country. Don’s most recent project is a book about growing up without a father called To Own a Dragon.

Don is the founder of The Belmont Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation which partners with working to recruit ten-thousand mentors through one-thousand churches as an answer to the crisis of fatherlessness in America.

A sought-after speaker, Don has delivered lectures to a wide-range of audiences including the Women of Faith Conference, the Veritas Forum at Harvard University and the Veritas Forum at Cal Poly. In 2008, Don was asked to deliver the closing prayer on Monday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Don’s next book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years humorously and tenderly chronicles Don’s experience with filmmakers as they edit his life for the screen, hoping to make it less boring. He then shares the principles storytellers use to make a story meaningful and exciting, exploring their affect when he applies those principles to his actual life.

Of his new book, Don says: “It might be the greatest book ever written. I don’t think anybody is going to read a book again after they read my new one. I think God is proud of me. I am going to make a killing off this thing and I’m going to use the money to go to space. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Miller is a young writer, speaker and campus ministry leader. An earnest evangelical who nearly lost his faith, he went on a spiritual journey, found some progressive politics and most importantly, discovered Jesus' relevance for everyday life. This book, in its own elliptical way, tells the tale of that journey. But the narrative is episodic rather than linear, Miller's style evocative rather than rational and his analysis personally revealing rather than profoundly insightful. As such, it offers a postmodern riff on the classic evangelical presentation of the Gospel, complete with a concluding call to commitment. Written as a series of short essays on vaguely theological topics (faith, grace, belief, confession, church), and disguised theological topics (magic, romance, shifts, money), it is at times plodding or simplistic (how to go to church and not get angry? "pray... and go to the church God shows you"), and sometimes falls into merely self-indulgent musing. But more often Miller is enjoyably clever, and his story is telling and beautiful, even poignant. (The story of the reverse confession booth is worth the price of the book.) The title is meant to be evocative, and the subtitle-"Non-Religious" thoughts about "Christian Spirituality"—indicates Miller's distrust of the institutional church and his desire to appeal to those experimenting with other flavors of spirituality.
Publishers Weekly

This is a book worth reading. We're the richer for reading it, because Miller has given us a living, breathing example of a follower of Jesus who has expressed his many doubts about God and revealed his many frustrations with Christianity, and not only lived through it but actually got his book published by a Christian publisher. That's empowering. Miller accomplishes all this through a series of memoirish essays arranged topically. That's an accurate description of the structure, but there's a whole lot more life in the book than in that description.
Faithful Reader.com

Can you love a God who doesn't make sense? Like Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies, Miller's memoir-like collection of essays wrestles with the paradoxes of the Christian faith, describing his journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely gracious Savior. A mind-changing perspective for those who believe that organized religion doesn't meet their spiritual needs.
Christianbook.com

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started fo Blue Like Jazz:

1. In what way is Miller's understanding of his faith like jazz. How are the two related in Miller's eyes?

2. Talk about Miller's first journey of faith: how he came to his beliefs at Reed College in the confessional booth during the annual Ren Fayre. What happened when he went inside the booth "with doubts," as he says, "and came out believing so strongly in Jesus I was ready to die and be with him"? Can conversion happen that simply or easily?

3. Discuss also the way in which Miller nearly lost his faith. What brought him to the brink? How, then, did he find his path back? Have you ever experienced something similar?

4. What are his frustrations with "Christianity" or the way he sees it practiced in some quarters? Do you agree or disagree with his assessments? How does he learn to love Christians even in churches where he doesn't fit in? He refers to some of his co-religionists as "wacko Republican fundamentalists": do you find his epithet insulting? Funny? Truthful? Or...what?

5. Consider the characters who populate his book: Andrew the Protestor, Tony the Beat, Mark the Cussing Pastor. Do you have any favorites...are there some whose experiences you relate to more than others? Are their paths enlightening?

6. Miller refers to himself, somewhat ironically, as Captain Trendy Spiritual Writer. What does he mean? Do you agree?

7. Does Miller's humor enhance the message of his book? Do you find it honest? Refreshing? Glib? Irreligious?

8. In what way does Miller find Jesus is relevant to the 21st century? How does Miller interpret scripture to reflect today's culture?

9. What are the doubts that sometimes beset Miller? Here he says, for instance, "At the end of the day, when I am lying in bed and I know the chances of any of our theology being exactly right are a million to one, I need to know that God has things figured out, that if my math is wrong we are still going to be okay." Can you comment on this interesting passage? It seems contradictory—if we've got it wrong, how will we be "okay"?

10. What other passages struck you in this book—passages that you found interesting, insightful, puzzling, humorous, wrong-headed?

11. In what way does Miller's book affect your own faith...or lack of it? Does it confirm your beliefs, alter them? Does it challenge you in any way? Is this book safe for your pastor to read? How about your children!

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Bob Hope: My Life in Jokes
Linda Hope, 2003
Hyperion
224 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781401307424

Summary
Bob Hope died at the age of 100 in July '03. His legendary career spanned the entire 20th century, from impersonating Charlie Chaplin in front of the firehouse in Cleveland in 1909 to celebrating an unprecedented 60 years with NBC in 1996.

Hope entertained millions worldwide with his performances in vaudeville and on Broadway, on his top-rated weekly radio show, in beloved movies such as his Road pictures with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, and, most notably, in the countless television appearances that made him a superstar and a welcome guest in every living room in the country.

With My Life in Jokes, readers can enjoy the very best of his humor and, in the process, learn about the amazing life and career of a true national treasure.

On the early years:
"I wouldn't have had anything to eat if it wasn't for the stuff the audience threw at me."

On growing old:
"Age is only a number. However, in my case, it's a rather large number."

(From the publisher.)

Biography
Linda Hope
Linda, Bob Hope's daughter, is chief operating office of Hope Enterprises and producer of his television specials for the last 25 years. She lives in North Hollywood, California, and Ireland.

Bob Hope
• Birth—May 29, 1903
• Where—Eltham, London, UK
• Raised—Cleveland, Ohio, USA
• Death—July 27, 2003
• Where—Los Angeles, California, USA
• Education—Boys Industrial School in Lancaster, Ohio
• Awards—(See below)

Bob Hope, born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-born American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, author, and athlete who appeared on Broadway, in vaudeville, movies, television, and on the radio. He was noted for his numerous United Service Organizations (USO) shows entertaining American military personnel—he made 57 tours for the USO between 1942 and 1988. Throughout his long career, he was honored for this work. In 1996, the U.S. Congress declared him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces."

Over a career spanning 60 years (1934 to 1994), Hope appeared in over 70 films and shorts, including a series of "Road" movies co-starring Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. In addition to hosting the Academy Awards fourteen times, he appeared in many stage productions and television roles, and was the author of fourteen books. He participated in the sports of golf and boxing, and owned a small stake in his hometown baseball team, the Cleveland Indians. He was married to his wife, fellow performer Dolores Hope (nee DeFina), for 69 years.

Earliest years
Hope was born in 1903, the fifth of seven sons. His English father, William Henry Hope, was a stonemason from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, and his Welsh mother, Avis Townes, was a light opera singer from Barry who later worked as a cleaning woman. In 1908 the family emigrated to the United States aboard the SS Philadelphia, and passed inspection at Ellis Island on March 30, 1908, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio.

From the age of 12, Hope earned pocket money by busking (frequently on the streetcar to Luna Park), singing, dancing, and performing comedy patter. He entered many dancing and amateur talent contests (as Lester Hope), and won a prize in 1915 for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. For a time Hope attended the Boys Industrial School in Lancaster, Ohio. As an adult, Hope donated sizable sums of money to the institution.

Hope worked as a butcher's assistant and a lineman in his teens and early twenties. Deciding to try a show business career, he and his girlfriend, Millie Rosequist, signed up for dance lessons. Encouraged after they performed in a three-day engagement at a club, Hope then formed a partnership with Lloyd Durbin, a fellow pupil from the dance school. Silent film comedian Fatty Arbuckle saw them perform in 1925 and obtained them steady work with a touring troupe called Hurley's Jolly Follies.

Within a year, Hope had formed an act called the Dancemedians with George Byrne and the Hilton Sisters, conjoined twins who performed a tap dancing routine in the vaudeville circuit. Hope and Byrne had an act as a pair of Siamese twins as well, and danced and sang while wearing blackface, before friends advised Hope that he was funnier as himself. In 1929, he changed his first name to "Bob." In one version of the story, he named himself after racecar driver Bob Burman. In another, he said he chose Bob because he wanted a name with a friendly "Hiya, fellas!" sound to it. After five years on the vaudeville circuit, Hope was surprised and humbled when he failed a 1930 screen test for the French film production company Pathe at Culver City, California.

Film career
Hope signed a contract for six short films with Educational Pictures of New York. The first was a comedy, Going Spanish (1934). He was not happy with the film, and told Walter Winchell, "When they catch John Dillinger, they're going to make him sit through it twice." Educational dropped his contract, but he soon signed with Warner Brothers. He made movies during the day and performed Broadway shows in the evenings.

Hope moved to Hollywood when Paramount Pictures signed him for the 1938 film The Big Broadcast, also starring W. C. Fields. The song "Thanks for the Memory", which later became his trademark, was introduced in this film as a duet with Shirley Ross. The sentimental, fluid nature of the music allowed Hope's writers (he depended heavily upon joke writers throughout his career to later create variations of the song to fit specific circumstances, such as bidding farewell to troops while on tour.

As a movie star, he was best known for comedies like My Favorite Brunette and the highly successful "Road" movies in which he starred with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. The series consists of seven films made between 1940 and 1962. Hope had seen Lamour as a nightclub singer in New York, and invited her to work on his United Service Organizations (USO) tours. Lamour sometimes arrived for filming prepared with her lines, only to be baffled by completely re-written scripts or ad-lib dialogue between Hope and Crosby. Hope and Lamour were lifelong friends, and she remains the actress most associated with his film career. Hope also made movies with many other leading women, including Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball, Rosemary Clooney, Jane Russell and Elke Sommer.

Hope teamed with Crosby for the "Road" pictures and countless stage, radio, and television appearances together over the decades from their first meeting in 1932 until Crosby's death in 1977. The two invested together in oil leases and other business ventures, but they did not see each other socially.

After the release of Road to Singapore (1940), Hope's screen career took off, and he had a long and successful career in the movies. He starred in 54 theatrical features between 1938 and 1972, as well as cameos and short films. Most of Hope's later movies failed to match the success of his 1940s efforts. He was disappointed with his appearance in Cancel My Reservation (1972), his last film, and the movie was poorly received by critics and filmgoers.

Hope was host of the Academy Awards ceremony fourteen times between 1939 and 1977. His feigned desire for an Academy Award became part of his act. Although he was never nominated for an Oscar, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him with four honorary awards and, in 1960, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. While introducing the 1968 telecast, he quipped, "Welcome to the Academy Awards, or, as it's known at my house, Passover."

USO shows
While aboard the RMS Queen Mary when World War II began in September 1939, Hope volunteered to perform a special show for the passengers, during which he sang "Thanks for the Memory" with rewritten lyrics. He performed his first USO show on May 6, 1941, at March Field, California, and continued to travel and entertain troops for the rest of World War II, and later during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the third phase of the Lebanon Civil War, the latter years of the Iran–Iraq War, and the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War.

His USO career lasted half a century, during which he headlined 57 tours. He had a deep respect for the men and women who served in the military, and this was reflected in his willingness to go anywhere in order to entertain them.

During the Vietnam War, Hope had trouble convincing some performers to join him on tour. Anti-war sentiment was high, and Hope's pro-war stance made him a target of criticism. Some shows were drowned out by boos and others were listened to in silence. The tours were funded by the United States Department of Defense, his television sponsors, and by NBC, the network that broadcast the television specials that were created after each tour. Many people considered him as an enabler of the war and a member of the system that made it possible.

Hope recruited his own family members for USO travel. His wife, Dolores, sang from atop an armored vehicle during the Desert Storm tour, and his granddaughter, Miranda, appeared alongside Hope on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. Of Hope's USO shows in World War II, writer John Steinbeck, who was then working as a war correspondent, wrote in 1943:

When the time for recognition of service to the nation in wartime comes to be considered, Bob Hope should be high on the list. This man drives himself and is driven. It is impossible to see how he can do so much, can cover so much ground, can work so hard, and can be so effective. He works month after month at a pace that would kill most people.

For his service to his country through the USO, he was awarded the Sylvanus Thayer Award by the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1968. A 1997 act of Congress signed by President Bill Clinton named Hope an "Honorary Veteran." He remarked, "I've been given many awards in my lifetime—but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most—is the greatest honor I have ever received." In homage to Hope, Stephen Colbert carried a golf club on stage each night during his own week of USO performances, which were taped for his TV show, The Colbert Report, during the 2009 season.
Theater

As a comedian
Hope was praised for his comedic timing, specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes. His style of delivery of self-deprecating jokes, first building himself up and then tearing himself down, was unique. Working tirelessly, he performed hundreds of times per year. Early films such as The Cat and the Canary (1939) and The Paleface (1948) were financially successful and were praised by critics, and by the mid-1940s, with his radio program getting good ratings as well, he became one of the most popular entertainers in the United States.

When Paramount threatened to stop production of the Road pictures in 1945, they received 75,000 letters in protest. He had no faith in his skills as a dramatic actor, and his performances of that type were not as well received. Hope had been a leader in the radio genre until the late 1940s, but as his ratings began to slip, he switched to television in the 1950s, an early pioneer of that medium. He published several books—written with ghostwriters—about his wartime experiences.

Although he made an effort to keep his material up-to-date, he never adapted his comic persona or his routines to any great degree. By the 1970s his popularity was beginning to wane with soldiers and with the movie-going public. But he continued doing USO tours into the 1980s, in spite of being considered a promoter of the military–industrial complex, as he thought it was a patriotic thing to do, and he continued to appear on television into the 1990s. Nancy Reagan called him "America's most honored citizen and our favorite clown."

Family
Hope's first short-lived marriage was to his vaudeville partner, Grace Louise Troxell, whom he married in January 1933. In 1934, Hope married Dolores (DeFina) Reade, who had been one of his co-stars on Broadway in Roberta. They adopted four children at an adoption agency called The Cradle, in Evanston, Illinois: Linda (1939), Tony (1940), Kelly (1946), and Nora (1946). From them he had several grandchildren, including Andrew, Miranda, and Zachary Hope. Tony (as Anthony J. Hope) served as a presidential appointee in the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations and in a variety of posts under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.

Later career
Hope continued an active career past his 75th birthday, concentrating on his television specials and USO tours. Although he had given up starring in movies after Cancel My Reservation, he made several cameos in various films and co-starred with Don Ameche in the 1986 TV movie A Masterpiece of Murder.

A television special created for his 80th birthday in 1983 at the Kennedy Center in Washington featured President Ronald Reagan, Lucille Ball, George Burns, and many others. In 1985, he was presented with the Life Achievement Award at the Kennedy Center Honors, and in 1998 he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II. Upon accepting the appointment, Hope quipped, "I'm speechless. 70 years of ad lib material and I'm speechless."

At the age of 95, Hope made an appearance at the 50th anniversary of the Primetime Emmy Awards with Milton Berle and Sid Caesar. Two years later, he was present at the opening of the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment at the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress has presented two major exhibitions about Hope's life—"Hope for America: Performers, Politics and Pop Culture" and "Bob Hope and American Variety."

Hope celebrated his 100th birthday on May 29, 2003. He is among a small group of notable centenarians in the field of entertainment. To mark this event, the intersection of Hollywood and Vine in Los Angeles was named "Bob Hope Square" and his centennial was declared "Bob Hope Day" in 35 states. Even at 100, Hope maintained his self-deprecating sense of humor, quipping, "I'm so old, they've canceled my blood type." He converted to Roman Catholicism late in life.

Death
Hope remained in good health until old age, though he became a bit frail. In June 2000 he spent nearly a week in a California hospital after being hospitalized for gastrointestinal bleeding. In August 2001, he spent close to two weeks in the hospital recovering from pneumonia.

On July 27, 2003, two months after his 100th birthday, Bob Hope died at his home in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles. His grandson, Zach Hope, told Soledad O'Brien that when asked on his deathbed where he wanted to be buried, Hope had told his wife, "Surprise me."

His remains were interred in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles. After Hope's death, many newspaper cartoonists worldwide paid tribute to his work for the USO or featured Bing Crosby (who died on October 14, 1977) welcoming Hope into heaven.

Dolores Hope, 6 years younger than her husband, outlived him for 8 more years. She died in 2011 at the age of 102.

Academy Awards
Hope was awarded five honorary awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

• 1940: Special Award—for his unselfish services to the motion picture industry
• 1944: Special Award—for his many services to the Academy
• 1952: Honorary Award—for his contribution to the laughter of the world, his service to the motion picture
industry, and his devotion to the American premise
• 1959: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
• 1965: Honorary Award—for unique and distinguished service to the industry and the Academy.

(From Wikipedia. Accessed 6/27/2013.)

Book Reviews
Linda Hope, who assembled this volume, clearly understands her father, Bob, and that his life can best be told through his jokes. To read them is to know how he felt on personal and political issues, and their topical, satiric nature makes them more biographically relevant than old material from most other comedians.... The quality of the jokes range from gently amusing to side-splitting, mildly sharp but never mean-spirited. After reading them, it's easy to understand Hope saying he'd like to live his life all over again because "it's been a hell of a ride."
Publishers Weekly

Discussion Questions
(Many thanks to Angela from the Ligonier Public Library in Indiana, PA, who developed these questions and has graciously shared them with LitLovers. She also recommended this book to LitLovers.)

1.My Life in Jokes is written in a peculiar way for a biography with small snapshots of his life followed by jokes. Did you enjoy this style of this book or find it distracting? Some reviews said that reading so many jokes in a line dulled their punch.

2. Bob Hope was originally born in England, a fact many people do not know. How do you think his early life helped shape him? Do you think he considered himself all American?

3. Did you feel that more personal info could have been introduced about his life? Or was that left out with respect to his family?

4. What did you think of Bob Hope’s relationship with the various presidents? How did he roast them in public and yet become close friends with most of the ones that he met?

5. Was there one joke that stood out to you above the rest?

6. Talk about specific passages that struck you as significant—or interesting, profound, amusing, illuminating, disturbing, sad...? What was memorable?

7. Both Bob Hope and his wife lived to see a century of their life. How do you think the changes they saw throughout their lives help to shape who they are.

8. Bob Hope loved the military, he spent much of his life traveling overseas to see servicemen and perform for them. Why do you think he had such a love for what they did? Why do you think the military loved him so much also? And what did you think about them honoring him by making him a veteran and naming military vehicles after him?
(Questions courtesy of Angela, Ligoniere Library, Indiana, PA.)

top of page (summary)

Bolivar: American Liberator
Marie Arana, 2013
Simon & Schuster
603 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781439110195

Summary
It is astonishing that Simon Bolivar, the great Liberator of South America, is not better known in the United States. He freed six countries from Spanish rule, traveled more than 75,000 miles on horseback to do so, and became the greatest figure in Latin American history.

His life is epic, heroic, straight out of Hollywood: he fought battle after battle in punishing terrain, forged uncertain coalitions of competing forces and races, lost his beautiful wife soon after they married and never remarried (although he did have a succession of mistresses, including one who held up the revolution and another who saved his life), and he died relatively young, uncertain whether his achievements would endure.

Drawing on a wealth of primary documents, novelist and journalist Marie Arana brilliantly captures early nineteenth-century South America and the explosive tensions that helped revolutionize Bolívar. In 1813 he launched a campaign for the independence of Colombia and Venezuela, commencing a dazzling career that would take him across the rugged terrain of South America, from Amazon jungles to the Andes mountains. From his battlefield victories to his ill-fated marriage and legendary love affairs, Bolivar emerges as a man of many facets: fearless general, brilliant strategist, consummate diplomat, passionate abolitionist, gifted writer, and flawed politician.

A major work of history, Bolivar colorfully portrays a dramatic life even as it explains the rivalries and complications that bedeviled Bolívar’s tragic last days. It is also a stirring declaration of what it means to be a South American. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1949
• Where—Peru
• Raised—United States
• Education—B.A., Northwestern University; M.A., Hong
Kong University: certificate of scholarship, Yale
University
• Currently—lives in Washington D.C.

Marie Arana is an author, editor, journalist, and member of the Scholars Council at the Library of Congress.

Arana was born in Peru, the daughter of Jorge Arana, a Peruvian born civil engineer, and Marie Campbell Arana, she moved with her family to the United States at the age of 9, achieved her B.A. in Russian at Northwestern University, her M.A. in linguistics at Hong Kong University, a certificate of scholarship at Yale University in China, and began her career in book publishing, where she was vice president and senior editor at Harcourt Brace and Simon & Schuster.

For more than a decade she was the editor in chief of "Book World", the book review section of The Washington Post, during which time she instituted the partnership of The Washington Post with the White House (First Lady Laura Bush) and the Library of Congress (Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress) in hosting the annual National Book Festival on the Washington Mall. She currently sits on the board of the National Book Festival. Arana is a Writer at Large for The Washington Post. She is married to Jonathan Yardley, the Post's chief book critic, and has two children from a previous marriage, Lalo Walsh and Adam Ward.

Marie Arana is the author of a memoir about a bicultural childhood American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood (finalist for the 2001 National Book Award as well as the Martha PEN/Albrand Award for the Art of the Memoir); editor of a collection of Washington Post essays about the writer's craft, The Writing Life (2002); and the author of Cellophane (a satirical novel set in the Peruvian Amazon, published in 2006, and a finalist for the John Sargent Prize). Her most recent novel, published in January 2009, is Lima Nights. She has written the introductions for many books, among them a National Geographic book of aerial photographs of South America, Through the Eyes of the Condor. Her biography of Venezuelan military and political leader, Simon Bolivar—Bolivar: American Liberator—was published in 2013.

Arana has served on the board of directors of the National Book Critics Circle and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. For many years, she has directed literary events for the Americartes Festivals at the Kennedy Center. She has been a judge for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award as well as for the National Book Critics Circle. Her commentary has been published in USA Today, Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic, and numerous other literary publications throughout the Americas.

Arana was an Invited Research Scholar at Brown University in 2008-2009. In October 2009, Arana received the Alumnae Award of the Year at Northwestern University.

In April 2009, Arana was named John W. Kluge Distinguished Scholar at the Library of Congress through 2010. In September 2009, she was elected to the Scholars' Council of the Library of Congress as well as the Board of Directors of the National Book Festival. She is currently Senior Consultant to the Librarian of Congress. (From Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
Most North American historians, including me, have mentioned [Bolivar] only in passing, usually making "the George Washington of Latin America" reference, as though his life merits attention only when viewed through a North American prism. The hemispheric condescension inherent in that conception obviously needed correction in the form of a comprehensive biography that makes Bolivar's life accessible to a large readership in the United States. Bolivar is unquestionably that book…As befits its subject, Bolivar is magisterial in scope, written with flair and an almost cinematic sense of history happening…We might call Arana's style Bolivarian—colorful, passionate, daring, verging on novelistic.
Joseph J. Ellis - Washington Post

Wonderful.... In Arana's energetic and highly readable telling, Bolivar comes alive as having willed himself an epic life.... She brings great verve and literary flair to her biography of Bolivar.
Hector Tobar - Los Angeles Times

The George Washington of South America cuts a dashing though dark-edged and ultimately tragic figure in this rousing biography. Peruvian journalist Arana (American Chica) chronicles Gen. Simon Bolivar’s struggle against the Spanish Empire in the 1810s and ’20s through several dizzying cycles of battlefield victory, triumphal procession, demoralizing reversal, and squalid exile, before he finally drove imperial forces out of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. .. Arana’s dramatic narrative is appropriately grand and enthralling, if a tad breathless, and it makes Bolivar an apt embodiment of the ambitions and disappointments of the revolutionary age.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) [A] human story of a wealthy Creole who, inspired by Enlightenment ideas, sought to bring South Americans of all colors responsible and representative government. As Arana aptly points out, his vision of equality went much further than the ideals of George Washington. Today, Bolivar is viewed either as the archetype of the Latin American strongman or an impossibly faultless crusader of equality. In her work, Arana adeptly finds the statesman behind the images. —Brian Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NM
Library Journal

(Starred review.) Arana is an indefatigable researcher, a perceptive historian, and a luminous writer, as shown in her defining, exhilarating biography of the great South American liberator Simon Bolivar.... Her understanding of the man behind the fame—and behind the hostility that enveloped him in his later years—brings this biography to the heights of the art and craft of life-writing.
Booklist

Inspired biography of the great Latin American revolutionary, with great depth given to his fulsome ideas.... Arana's work is bold and positively starry-eyed about her subject. She....reconstructs the wildly erratic, early character development that led to...a career forged by his own will.... Bolivar embraced revolution wholeheartedly, declaring freedom for Spanish-American slaves, proclaiming war to the death and ruling by an authoritative style that won many detractors. Arana ably captures the brash brilliance of this revered and vilified leader.
Kirkus Reviews

top of page (summary)

Bonk: The Curious Coupling Science and Sex
Mary Roach, 2008
W.W. Norton & Company
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780393334791

Summary
The study of sexual physiology—what happens, and why, and how to make it happen better—has been a paying career or a diverting sideline for scientists as far-ranging as Leonardo da Vinci and James Watson.

The research has taken place behind the closed doors of laboratories, brothels, MRI centers, pig farms, sex-toy R&D labs, and Alfred Kinsey’s attic. Mary Roach, “the funniest science writer in the country” (from The New Yorker), devoted the past two years to stepping behind those doors.

Can a person think herself to orgasm? Can a dead man get an erection? Is vaginal orgasm a myth? Why doesn’t Viagra help women—or, for that matter, pandas?

In Bonk, Roach shows us how and why sexual arousal and orgasm, two of the most complex, delightful, and amazing scientific phenomena on earth, can be so hard to achieve and what science is doing to slowly make the bedroom a more satisfying place. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—March 20, 1959
• Rasied—Etna, New Hampshire, USA
• Education—B.A., Weslyan University
• Awards—see below
• Currently—lives in Oakland, California

Mary Roach is an American author, specializing in popular science. To date, she has published five books: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003), Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005) (published in some markets as Six Feet Over: Adventures in the Afterlife), Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (2008), Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (2010), and Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal (2013).

Roach was raised in Etna, New Hampshire. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University in 1981. After college, Roach moved to San Francisco, California and spent a few years working as a freelance copy editor. She worked as a columnist and also worked in public relations for a brief time. Her writing career began while working part-time at the San Francisco Zoological Society, producing press releases on topics such as elephant wart surgery. On her days off from the SFZS, she wrote freelance articles for the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday Magazine.

From 1996 to 2005 Roach was part of The Grotto, a San Francisco-based project and community of working writers and filmmakers. It was in this community that Roach would get the push she needed to break into book writing. While being interviewed by Alex C. Telander of BookBanter, Roach answers the question of how she got started on her first book:

A few of us every year [from The Grotto] would make predictions for other people, where they'll be in a year. So someone made the prediction that, "Mary will have a book contract." I forgot about it and when October came around I thought, I have three months to pull together a book proposal and have a book contract. This is what literally lit the fire under my butt.

Early career
In 1986, she sold a humor piece about the IRS to the San Francisco Chronicle. That piece led to a number of humorous, first-person essays and feature articles for such publications as Vogue, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Discover Magazine, National Geographic, Outside Magazine, and Wired. She has also written articles for Salon.com and tech-gadget reviews for Inc.com. An article by Roach, entitled "The C word: Dead man driving," was published in the Journal of Clinical Anatomy. Roach has had monthly columns in Reader's Digest (“My Planet”) and Sports Illustrated for Women (“The Slightly Wider World of Sports”).

Besides being a best selling author, Roach is involved in many other projects on the side. Roach reviews books for The New York Times and was the guest editor of the Best American Science and Nature Writing's 2011 edition. She also serves as a member of the Mars Institute's Advisory Board and was recently asked to join the Usage Panel of the American Heritage Dictionary.

Personal life
Roach has an office in downtown Oakland and lives in the Glenview neighborhood of Oakland with her husband Ed Rachles, an illustrator and graphic designer. She also has two step-daughters.

While Roach has often been quoted saying that she does not have much free time between writing books, she is very fond of backpacking and travel. The latter she has been able to do a great deal of while doing research for her articles and books. Roach has visited all seven continents twice. She has been to Antarctica a few times as part of the National Science Foundation's Polar Program. In 1997, she visited Antarctica to write an article for Discover Magazine on meteorite hunting with meteorite hunter Ralph Harvey.

Recognition
In 1995, Roach's article "How to Win at Germ Warfare" was a National Magazine Award Finalist. In the article, Roach conducts an interview with microbiologist Chuck Gerba of the University of Arizona who describes a scientific study where bacteria and virus particles become aerosolized upon flushing a toilet: "Upon flushing, as many as 28,000 virus particles and 660,000 bacteria [are] jettisoned from the bowl."

In 1996, her article on earthquake-proof, bamboo houses, "The Bamboo Solution", took the American Engineering Societies' Engineering Journalism Award in the general interest magazine category. In this article the reader learns from Jules Janssen, a civil engineer, that bamboo is "stronger than wood, brick, and concrete...A short, straight column of bamboo with a top surface area of 10 square centimeters could support an 11,000-pound elephant."

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers was a New York Times Bestseller, a 2003 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, and one of Entertainment Weekly's Best Books of 2003. Stiff also won the Amazon.com Editor's Choice award in 2003, was voted as a Borders Original Voices book, and was the winner of the Elle Reader's Prize. The book has been translated into 17 languages, including Hungarian (Hullamerev) and Lithuanian (Negyveilai).[6] Stiff was also selected for Washington State University's Common Reading Program in 2008-09.

Roach's column "My Planet" (Reader's Digest) was runner-up in the humor category of the 2005 National Press Club awards. Roach's second book, Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, was the recipient of the Elle Reader's Prize in October 2005. Spook was also listed as a New York Times Notable Books pick in 2005, as well as a New York Times Bestseller. In 2008, Roach's book, Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex, was chosen as the New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, it was in The Boston Globe's Top 5 Science Books, and it was listed as a bestseller in several other publications.

In 2011, Roach's book, Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, was chosen as the book of the year for the 7th annual One City One Book: San Francisco Reads literary event program. Packing for Mars was also 6th on the New York Times Best Seller list.[22]

In 2012, Roach was the recipient of the Harvard Secular Society's Rushdie Award for her outstanding lifetime achievement in cultural humanism. The same year, she received a Special Citation in Scientific inquiry from Maximum Fun.

Style
The common theme throughout all of Roach's books is a literary treatment of the human body. Roach says of her publication history,

My books are all [about the human body], Spook is a little bit of departure because it's more about the soul rather than the flesh and blood body, but most of my books are about human bodies in unusual circumstances.

When asked by Peter Sagal, of NPR, specifically how she picks her topics, she replied, "Well, its got to have a little science, it's got to have a little history, a little humor—and something gross."

While Roach does not possess a science degree, she attempts to take complex ideas and turn them into something that the average reader can understand. She takes the reader with her through the steps of her research, from learning about the material to getting to know the people who study it, as she described in a public dialog with Adam Savage:

Make no mistake, good science writing is medicine. It is a cure for ignorance and fallacy. Good science writing peels away the blindness, generates wonder, and brings the open palm to the forehead: "Oh! Now I get it!"

Regarding her skepticism about the world around her, Roach states in her book Spook,

Flawed as it is, science remains the most solid god I've got. And so I've decided to turn to it, to see what it had to say on the topic of life after death. Because I know what religion says, and it perplexes me. It doesn't deliver a single, coherent, scientifically sensible or provable scenario… Science seemed the better bet. (Author bio from Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
In her previous books, Stiff and a follow-up, Spook, Mary Roach set out to make creepy topics (cadavers, the afterlife) fun. In Bonk…she takes an entertaining topic and showcases its creepier side. And then she makes the creepy funny. Intended as much for amusement as for enlightenment, Bonk is Roach's foray into the world of sex research, mostly from Alfred Kinsey onward, but occasionally harking back to the ancient Greeks and medievals (equally unenlightened). Roach belongs to a particular strain of science writer; she's interested less in scientific subjects than in the ways scientists study their subjects—less, in this case, in sex per se than in the laboratory dissection of sex.
Pamela Paul - New York Times

[M]orbidity was a basic part of [her previous] books’ reporting.... Certainly that formula works for circus sideshows, with which Bonk has too many interests in common. The penile mishaps..., severings...and surgeries cited by Ms. Roach are nothing if not memorable, but her book consistently undermines its own discoveries. So Bonk uneasily mixes revulsion with "those rare, shining moments when urology approaches high comedy."... What emerges from this experience? One party-perfect anecdote and not much interesting information.
Janet Maslin - New York Times

In keeping with her popular previous volumes Stiff and Spook, Bonk shows Mary Roach to be a meticulous researcher with a passion for the details most likely to make you queasy…Roach is funny and…as insurance against a dull cocktail party, Bonk can't be beat.
Rick Weiss - Washington Post

Roach is one of those rare writers who can tackle the most obscure unpleasantness and distill the data into a hilarious and informative package. . . . It’s a wonderful read, sprinkled with facts you can quote to amaze your friends.
San Francisco Chronicle

Roll over, Kinsey. Mary Roach has done it again. Like Stiff, her improbable page-turner about cadavers, Bonk proves that full-bodied research can be riveting.
Oprah Magazine

Roach is not like other science writers. She doesn't write about genes or black holes or Schrodinger's cat. Instead, she ventures out to the fringes of science, where the oddballs ponder how cadavers decay (in her debut, Stiff) and whether you can weigh a person's soul (in Spook). Now she explores the sexiest subject of all: sex, and such questions as, what is an orgasm? How is it possible for paraplegics to have them? What does woman want, and can a man give it to her if her clitoris is too far from her vagina? At times the narrative feels insubstantial and digressive (how much do you need to know about inseminating sows?), but Roach's ever-present eye and ear for the absurd and her loopy sense of humor make her a delectable guide through this unesteemed scientific outback. The payoff comes with subjects like female orgasm (yes, it's complicated), and characters like Ahmed Shafik, who defies Cairo's religious repressiveness to conduct his sex research. Roach's forays offer fascinating evidence of the full range of human weirdness, the nonsense that has often passed for medical science and, more poignantly, the extreme lengths to which people will go to find sexual satisfaction.
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) Not to be missed: the martial art of yin diao gung (“genitals hanging kung fu”), monkey sex athletes, and the licensing of porn stars’ genitals for blow-up reproductions. To stay on the ethical side of human-subjects experimentation, Roach offers herself as research subject several times, resulting in some of her best writing. —Patricia Monaghan
Booklist

Wondering whether orgasms make sows more fertile? Turn to Roach for the answer. One of the funniest and most madcap of science writers, the author has approached sticky subjects to hilarious effect in her two previous books. Stiff (2003) looked at the many uses to which human cadavers have been put, while Spook (2005) told of science's attempts to understand the afterlife. Her latest is no less captivating or entertaining, as she flings wide the closed doors behind which the scientific study of coitus has traditionally been conducted. Roach details the careers of sex researchers Alfred Kinsey, William Masters and Virginia Johnson, Marie Bonaparte (Napoleon's great-grand-niece) and porn-star-turned-Ph.D. Annie Sprinkle, among others. Such researchers "to this day, endure ignorance, closed minds, righteousness, and prudery," she writes. "Their lives are not easy. But their cocktail parties are the best." Emulating her subjects' daring spirit, Roach displays a firm belief that there is no question too goofy to ask-or, barring that, to Google. What happens when you implant a monkey testicle in a man: Does he get more vital, or does he get an infection? She explores centuries of research into such questions as how penile implants work (a pump could be involved); whether surgically relocating the clitoris can lead to better sex (no); why the human penis is shaped as it is (to scoop out competitors' sperm); and what exactly is going on when it enters a vagina (shockingly, there is still much to learn). Apart from its considerable comic value, the book also emulates its predecessors by illustrating a precept of scientific research: The passion to know, in the face of censure and propriety, is what advances our understanding of the world. A lively, hilarious and informative look at science's dirty secrets.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Why might have Mary Roach chosen to make herself and her husband human subjects in lab-based studies of sex?

2. How does humor help Roach tackle the myriad questions surrounding human sex lives and practices?

3 Mary Roach writes, “Sex is far more than the sum of its moving parts.” Unpack that statement. What insight does it provide into the functions and limitations of lab-based, physiological studies of sex?

4. Freudian theory holds that grown women who rely on the clitoris for sexual gratification are stuck in a childlike state. This “phallic” phase, according to Freud, “is supposed to end at puberty, when a woman embraces her proper role as a passive, feminine being... [T]he clitoris should... hand over its sensitivity, and at the same time its importance, to the vagina.” Roach presents research that subverts Freudian theory about the separation of the clitoris and vagina. How has physiological science offered a defense against the theories of Freud on female sexuality? Why does this matter?

5. Roach notes that the linking of sexual delight and fertility dates as far back as Western medicine itself. Does this idea—no orgasm, no babies—surprise you? How have ideas about fertility shaped our understanding of sexual gratification?

6. The nineteenth–century physician Joseph Beck felt confident that some sort of uterine “upsuck” occurred during a female orgasm—”upsuck” that could pull sperm toward an egg for fertilization. But sex physiologist Roy Levin points out that “sperm straight out of the penis are not yet up to the job of fertilizing an egg. They need time to capacitate.” What is the lesson here in regard to fertility science?

7. Roach describes the introduction of Viagra to consumers. “In 1998,” she writes, “Pfizer—with a cadre of media–savvy urologists in tow—launched a massive publicity campaign to announce an exciting new approach to impotence, [Viagra]. Only it was not called impotence anymore; it was erectile dysfunction.” Why do you think the language changed? Does one terminology sound more “medical” than the other? Why might that be significant?

8. “Homo sapiens,” Roach writes, “is one of the few species on earth that care if they are having sex.” How do you react to this idea? What insight might this provide into the biological pressures and cultural forces at work in our sex lives?

9. Like Spook and Stiff, Bonk involves a wide–ranging tour of the human body. How would you compare these books? What kind of research techniques and writing style do all three books employ?

10. Roach remarks that “the ubiquitous media coverage of sex and sex research...have chipped away at the taboos that kept couples from talking openly with each other about the sex they were having.” Do you agree or disagree? Has journalism made sex easier to discuss? And has sex become a more admissible subject of scientific research?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Abrams, 2016
Penguin Publishing
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780399185045

Summary
Two spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.

In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?

They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.

This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye.

We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives.

The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
Dalai Lama
• Birth—1935
• Where—Takster, Tibet
• Education—Lharampa degree
• Awards—Nobel Peace Prize; U.S. Congressional Gold Medal
• Currently—lives in Dharamsala, India

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. He is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan People and of Tibetan Buddhism. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and the US Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. Born in 1935 to a poor farming family in the village of Takster in northeastern Tibet he was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the 13th Dalai Lama. He studied with a series of tutors, and in 1959, at the age of 23, he took his final examination at Lhasa's Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. Passing with honors, he was awarded the Lharampa degree, the highest-level geshe degree, roughly equivalent to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy.

He has been a passionate advocate for a secular universal approach to cultivating fundamental human values. For over three decades the Dalai Lama has maintained an ongoing conversation and collaboration with scientists from a wide range of disciplines, especially through the Mind and Life Institute, an organization that he co-founded. The Dalai Lama travels extensively, promoting kindness and compassion, interfaith understanding, respect for the e<nvironment, and, above all, world peace. He lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. For more information, please visit www.dalailama.com.

Desmond Tutu
• Birth—1931
• Where—Klerksdorp, South Africa
• Education—Pretoria Bantu Normal College;
Peter's Theological College (Rosettenville); Cambridge University
• Awards—Nobel Peace Prize; U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom
• Currently—lives in Cape Town South Africa

Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Southern Africa, became a prominent leader in the crusade for justice and racial reconciliation in South Africa. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. In 1994, Tutu was appointed chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission by Nelson Mandela, where he pioneered a new way for countries to move forward after experiencing civil conflict and oppression. He was the founding chair of The Elders, a group of global leaders working together for peace and human rights. Archbishop Tutu is regarded as a leading moral voice and an icon of hope. Throughout his life, he has cared deeply about the needs of people around the world, teaching love and compassion for all. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa. For more information please visit www.tutu.org.za.

Douglas Abrams is an author, editor, and literary agent. He is the founder and president of Idea Architects, a creative book and media agency helping visionaries to create a wiser, healthier, and more just world. He is also co-founder, with Pam Omidyar and Desmond Tutu, of HumanJourney.com, a public benefit company working to share life-changing and world-changing ideas. Doug has worked with Desmond Tutu as his cowriter and editor for over a decade, and before founding his own literary agency, he was a senior editor at HarperCollins and also served for nine years as the religion editor at the University of California Press. He believes strongly in the power of books and media to catalyze the next stage of global evolutionary culture. He lives in Santa Cruz, California, USA.

Book Reviews
The question may be timeless, but their answer has urgent significance.
Time

This sparkling, wise, and immediately useful gift to readers from two remarkable spiritual masters offers hope that joy is possible for everyone even in the most difficult circumstances, and describes a clear path for attaining it.
Publishers Weekly

[An] exquisite book.… An intimate glimpse into the minds of two of the world's spiritual guides, and their foundation for an attainable and practical approach to experiencing a more enriching and sustainable life of abundant joy.
Shelf Awareness

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Book of Joy … then take off on your own:

1. First, talk about the two men at the heart of this treatise on joy. Discuss their backgrounds and how two such different men have come to understand the need for and the path to joy. Do the the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu share any similarities in their personal histories?

2. In your own words, what is joy? Do you experience it — frequently, on occasion, rarely if ever? What in your life triggers feelings of joy?

3. How do the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu define joy — what do they see as its true nature?

4. One of the shortest answers to attaining joy in a world of suffering is not thinking too much about yourself. What does that mean? How is it possible to step outside of one's consciousness … NOT to think of the self?

5. The Dalai Lama, when asked about exile from his homeland, says, "wherever you have friends, that's your country, and wherever you receive love, that's your home." Do you agree?

6. What does BishopTutu mean when he says that even a person who struggles with hardship is a "masterpiece in the making"?

7. Go through each of the Eight Pillars of Joy — the four of the mind: perspective, humility, humor, acceptance; and the four of the heart: forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, generosity. Talk about what each of those pillars means, personally or generally, and how each contributes to feeling joyful. Or try the opposite: what happens in you don't incorporate these pillars into your life? How does that "nil" approach detract from experiencing joy?

8. Have you ever kept your own notebook on gratitude or joy, writing down at the start or end of each day your thoughts about what has made you thankful or joyful?

9. What role does religion, or any spiritual practice, play in creating a sense of joy?

10. Nearly every page of The Book of Joy contains some remarkable insight. Which observations or passages in particular made you stop and ponder … or say, "Yes!" … or which struck you as profound in some way?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Book That Matters Most
Ann Hood, 2016
W.W. Norton & Co.
368 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780393241655

Summary
An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship, and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of The Knitting Circle.

Ava’s twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country.

Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them.

Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood—one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother.

Alternating with Ava’s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man.

Ava’s mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1956
• Where—West Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
• Education—B.A., University of Rhode Island; graudate studies New York University
• Awards—Pushcart Prize (twice); Best American Spiritual Writing Award; Paul Bowles
Prize for Short Fiction
• Currently—lives in Providence, Rhode Island

Ann Hood is an American novelist and short story writer; she has also written nonfiction. The author of more than a dozen books, her essays and short stories have appeared in many journals and magazines, including the Paris Review, Ploughshares, and Tin House. Hood is a regular contributor to the New York Times "Home Economics" column.

Hood is the winner of a number of awards: Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction, two Pushcart Prizes, and a Best American Spiritual Writing Award. She is a faculty member in the MFA in Creative Writing program at The New School in New York City. She lives in Providence with her husband and their children.

Early Years
Hood was born in West Warwick, Rhode Island and earned her BA in English from the University of Rhode Island. After college she worked for the now-defunct airlines TWA as a flight attendant, living in Boston and Saint Louis and later moving to New York City. She attended graduate school at New York University, studying American Literature.

Hood began writing her first novel Somewhere Off The Coast Of Maine in 1983 while working as a flight attendant—and while attending graduate school—writing whenever she could during train rides to JFK airport or in the galleys of the airplane while passengers slept. During a furlough from the airline, she worked at the Spring Street Bookstore in Soho and Tony Roma's while writing Somewhere Off The Coast Of Maine.

Like much of her work, the novel draws upon her own life. Hood says the book began as a series of short stories about three women who went to college together in the 1960s. A year earlier, her older brother, Skip, died in a freak accident and Hood was struggling with how to cope with the loss. At a writer’s conference, Hood was convinced by the writer Nicholas Delbanco that she was really writing a novel, and from there she began to connect the stories. The book was published in 1987.

Hood’s flight attendant career ended in 1986 when TWA went on strike and the flight attendants found themselves soon “replaced.” With more time to devote to writing, her stories and essays began to appear in Mademoiselle, Redbook, Story, Self, Glamour, New Woman, among others.

Personal life
Hood lives with her husband, businessman Lorne Adrain, her teenage son Sam and her daughter Annabelle in Providence, Rhode Island.

On April 18, 2002, Hood's five-year-old daughter, Grace, died from a virulent form of strep. For two years Hood found herself unable to write or even read. She took solace in learning to knit and in knitting groups. She gradually made her way back to her craft, writing short essays about Grace and grief.

To make sense of her own grief, in fall of 2004 Hood began to write her novel The Knitting Circle, about a woman whose five-year-old daughter dies from meningitis. The woman joins a knitting group of others also struggling to heal from loss. Hood’s best-selling memoir Comfort: A Journey Through Grief chronicles her own struggle after her daughter’s sudden death. That memoir was named one of the top ten non-fiction books of 2008 by Entertainment Weekly and was a New York Times Editor's Choice.

The summer after Grace died, Hood and Adrain decided to adopt a child and in 2005 traveled to China, where they adopted Annabelle. Hood’s experience adopting in China became the inspiration for her 2010 novel The Red Thread, which follows a woman struggling with the accidental death of her young daughter. The woman, Maya Lange, begins an adoption agency for Chinese babies.

Work
Hood’s short story "Total Cave Darkness," about an alcoholic woman who runs away with a Protestant minister nine years younger than she is, appeared in the Paris Review in 2000. It is also the opening story in her collection of stories An Ornithologist's Guide To Life. The title story of that collection appeared in Glimmer Train in 2004 and revolves around a young girl who slowly discovers her mother is having an affair with their neighbor. Her stories have also appeared in Tin House, Ploughshares, Good Housekeeping, Story, Five Points, and others.

In addition to Somewhere Off The Coast of Maine, The Knitting Circle, and The Red Thread, Hood has written seven other novels: The Obituary Writer (2013) Waiting To Vanish (1988), Three-Legged Horse (1989), Something Blue (1991), Places To Stay The Night (1993), The Properties of Water (Doubleday), and Ruby (1998).

Hood, in addition to her memoir, has written an addition work of nonfiction: Do Not Go Gentle: My Search For Miracles in a Cynical Time (1999) follows Hood’s travels to Chimayo, New Mexico in search of a miracle cure for her father’s lung cancer. The dirt at El Santuario de Chimayo, a Roman Catholic church, is believed to have healing properties and thousands flock to the site each year. Her father’s tumor did disappear, but he later died from complications from chemotherapy. Hood initially wrote about this experience in an essay for Doubletake magazine. That essay went on to win a Pushcart Prize. Hood’s editor at Picador urged her to turn it into a book. (Adapted from Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
Hood’s novel is rich with pleasures, and will no doubt launch a thousand book club discussions.
USA Today

Hood examines the push and pull between mothers and grown children and the transformative power of fiction.
People

Great novelists can envelop you in relatable plot lines that make you feel like you’re part of the story. That’s what Ann Hood, author of the much beloved The Knitting Circle, does in her latest.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune

[A] moving, intricate story about loss, healing, and the value of critical thinking.... This is a gripping, multifaceted novel about recovering from different kinds of loss and the healing that comes from a powerful story.
Publishers Weekly

While some [readers] might become intrigued..., they also deserve a more developed, sharpened plot than this far-fetched, somewhat preposterous novel provides.... [S]ure to divide readers—between those who are captivated and those who desire a more detailed story line. —Andrea Tarr, Corona P.L., CA
Library Journal

Hood...has a knack for dramatic revelation...because she is so skilled at knowing what to leave out. Whether or not they think of themselves as bookish, readers of all stripes will enjoy cycling through these characters' lives and discovering their shared, mysterious past.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for The Book That Matters Most...then take off on your own:

1. Ava's reason for joining a book club is for "the comfort of people who wanted nothing more than to sit together and talk about books." Does that sum up your own reasons for joining (or perhaps forming) your own club? Do you have other reasons (other than the wine)?

2. Aside from her broken marriage, what other emotional baggage does Ava carry with her? How do some members of the group dredge up her feelings of inadequacy?

3. If your club decided to choose the books that matter most to each of you, what books might show up on the list?

4. What about the books on Ava's club's list—Pride ad Prejudice, Gatsby, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Mockingbird, among others? Anne Hood extracts something pertinent to Ava out of each book. Talk about some of those relevant points: which do you find most insightful? Do any resonate with your own life? Do you find some of them simplistic or shallow, perhaps even schmaltzy?

5. Ava is flummoxed by the assignment. "She couldn't remember the last book she'd read that mattered at all. In fact, she purposely chose books that didn't matter." Why do you think she ignored books that had any significance to her?

6. Discuss From Clare to Here, the (fictional) book that Ava finally settles on. What does it mean to Ava, and what does the fact that she chose it reveal about her?

7. The author juxtaposes Ava's improving situation with her daughter Maggie's descent into addiction. What does the author gradually reveal about Maggie? Why is Maggie the way she is?

8. The Book That Matters Most makes the case for the power of literature to transform us. In what way is Ava transformed? Has a book ever transformed you? If so, in what way?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Border Crossings: Coming of Age in the Czech Resistance
Charles Novacek, 2012
1021 Press
272 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780985415105 (hardcover)
9780985415112 (paperback)

Summary
This absorbing memoir, chronicles the remarkable life of Charles Novacek―one that took him from his youth spent in the Czech resistance against the Nazis and the Communists to the displaced persons camps of Germany, to the military dictatorship of Venezuela before granting him access to the American Dream.

Charles Novacek was born in Czechoslovakia in 1928 to a Hungarian homemaker mother and Moravian policeman father. In 1938, his idyllic childhood was shattered with the Munich Agreement, displacement of the Novacek family to Moravia and the ensuing Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. The family became actively involved in the Czech resistance. At the age of eleven Charles and his sister Vlasta were trained for wartime resistance by their father Antonin and Uncle Josef Robotká: how to resist pain, hunger and fear―and to trust no one.

Novacek continued his work in the resistance after World War II ended as the Soviets occupied his homeland. He endured arrest, capture, and torture ultimately escaping across the German border. Novacek’s memoir brings the experiences and thoughts of the young resistance fighter sharply to life while also bearing the sage perspective of a man in his eighth decade of life. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—May 11, 1928
• Where—Ozd'any, Czechoslovakia
• Death—2007
• Where—Detroit, Michigan, USA
• Education—Industrial College of Engineering, Brno,
   Czechoslovaki; attended Maasaryk University School
   of Law, Brno; B.G.S., M.A., Liberal Studies, University
   of Michigan, Dearborn; M.A., Painting, Eastern Michigan
   University

To those he met in his adopted hometown of Detroit, Michigan, Charles Novacek was a fascinating Renaissance man. He spoke seven languages, traveled the globe and constantly pursued knowledge. After retiring from a successful career as a civil engineer, Charles returned to school, following his lifelong dream of becoming an artist. He earned a master’s degree in painting from Eastern Michigan University and a Bachelor of General Studies and Master of Arts in Liberal Arts Studies from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, eventually showing his paintings and sculpture in Detroit area galleries.

What most people never discovered, however, was that the charming, erudite artist spent his boyhood in the Czech Resistance, defending his homeland from the Nazis and the Communists. Charles’ father, Antonin, had been a prisoner of war in World War I and ensured his son developed wilderness survival skills at an early age. Charles’ childhood was spent exploring the wilds of Slovakia and the Tatra Mountains. He learned how to find food and water, how to fire a rifle and shoot an arrow, and how to create shelter. He learned the details of the landscape around his home, including the location of its many caves.

This free-roaming childhood came to an end in 1939, as war raged across the continent and the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia. Charles and his sister were inducted into the Czech Resistance. At an age most children were learning how to diagram sentences, they were learning how to resist torture, handle phobias, and to control pain, hunger and thirst. Reflecting the desperation of the times, they were warned to trust no one.

Under cover of night Charles met Czech and British RAF soldiers parachuting behind enemy lines and showed them caves he had equipped for their shelter. In an incredible act of bravery, he once snuck into a Nazi truck and stole a rifle and ammunition in order to shoot a Nazi who was about to blow up a railroad bridge. The Nazis destroyed the town’s clothing warehouse, food supply and granary that day, but the vital railroad bridge remained.

He continued to fight the Communists, enduring imprisonment and a daring escape. After realizing his homeland had become too dangerous for him to stay, Charles escaped to a displaced person’s camp in Germany. There he met Valentina, a young Latvian doctor who would become his first wife. They emigrated to Venezuela and then, in 1956, to America, where they raised four children before Valentina’s death in 1994. In 1996, he met and married Sandra, with whom he shared world travels. Charles began work on his memoir and Sandra was there to help and encourage him. In 2007, the man who had faced a firing squad as a teenager died at the age of 79. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Border Crossings is the well-told and dramatic story of a young man whose comfortable life is abruptly transformed by the savagery of World War II. Forced to rely on primal instincts and his familiarity with the rugged highlands of Moravia, Charles Novacek casts his lot first with the anti-Hitler Underground and then with the resistance to the Nazis’ Communist successors. “My recollections pain me,” he writes, “still, they have made me who I am.” Novacek’s experience as a Hungarian-speaking Czecho-Slovak patriot demonstrates the folly of petty nationalism and the resilience of human decency and love.
Madeleine Albright - former U.S. Secretary of State

I have been transformed by this honest, extraordinary telling. In Border Crossings Charles Novacek shows us, through his personal story (told as if we are right there in the room with him) the true face of totalitarianism; he reminds us of the preciousness, the miracle, of freedom. What a gift he has given us--and what a gift his wife, Sandra, has offered us, as well, in making sure that his brave story is here for the world to read. This is a powerful memoir that crosses all borders and speaks directly to the human heart.
Joseph Hurka - author (Fields of Light: A Son Remembers His Heroic Father)

Here is a story that is meant to survive, just as its teller was. I got to know Charles in his later years but only had hints of what is contained in these pages. They are riveting. I was drawn into the best and worst of humanity and, not incidentally, into the history of the West in the mid-twentieth century. Courage, love, despair, a fierce will are all preserved with the help of one who was "not the love of Charles’ life . . . but his last love."
John Kotre, Ph.D. - author (White Gloves: How We Create Ourselves Through Memory)

Border Crossings helps fill the lack of personal accounts of resistance movements amidst a voluminous array of World War II literature. This compelling memoir, written through the eyes of young Charles, shows how circumstances required him to become a shrewd hero. In his opposition first toward Nazism and then Communism, Charles Novacek’s personal story illustrates why people sacrifice themselves and their families for an ideal. Intimate, intense, fascinating!
Christina Vella - coauthor (The Hitler Kiss)

Discussion Questions
1. For the person who chose this book: What made you want to read it? What made you suggest it to the group for discussion? Did it live up to your expectations? Why or why not?

2. What do you think motivated Charles to share his life story? How did you respond to his voice?

3. Discuss the book's structure and the author's use of language and writing style. How does he draw the reader in and keep the reader engaged? Does the author convey this with comedy, self-pity, or something else?

4. Discuss the title Border Crossings and what it signifies to Charles. How does it keep recurring throughout the course of the book? What does the title mean to you?

5. Describe Charles’ relationships with his family members and how they compare with relationships of today’s families.

6. What is the author's most admirable quality? Is he like someone you would want to know or have known? Why or why not?

7. Think back to your childhood. What were the major world events that influenced your own world view? Did you have an adult in your life who shaped your opinion of the people of another country, ethnicity or racial group? How were you influenced?

8. Contrast your childhood to Charles’ childhood. What was different and what was similar?

9. Compare this book to other memoirs you have read. Is it similar to any of them? Did you like it more or less than other books you've read? What do you think will be your lasting impression of the book? Do you want to read more books on this topic?

10. Which scenes in Border Crossings were most memorable for you? Which were the most inspiring? Which were the funniest?

11. What did you find surprising about the facts introduced in this book?

12. How has reading this memoir changed your opinion of a certain topic?

13. Do you think Border Crossings changed your views on the primary subject of the story? If so, explain why.

14. How has Border Crossings increased your interest in the subject matter?

15. What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn't been discussed already? Were you glad you read this book? Would you recommend it to a friend?

16. What role did women play in Charles’ survival?

17. What do you think Charles meant when he said “I think something went wrong along the way; somehow we misgauged freedom, and the nation abuses it.” What are your thoughts on this?

18. Do you think persons involved in World War II and Cold War resistance suffered from undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)? You may have experienced it or know someone who has. How do you think Charles was affected by PTSD and how do you think he tried to live with it?

19. Have you ever experienced living in a divided community, like the towns Charles lived in as a child and an adult? Reflect on the ethnic, religious, class, or racial separations you have encountered both outwardly and self-imposed.

20. Charles Novacek completed three college degrees after retirement and finished writing his memoir at the age of seventy-nine; what are your dreams for the future and how does Charles inspire you to reach for them?

21. Who do you most admire in Border Crossings? Why? Is there someone you know who is like this person?

22. Many are people are shocked that Charles’ parents would allow their son to be involved in the resistance movement at such a young age. Why do you think they did this and what are your thoughts on their decision?

23. Discuss whether you feel that ordinary Czecho-Slovak citizens during World War II and the Cold War could have a part of the political decisions and events of which they could have become either beneficiaries or victims. How much influence do you think your own personal politics has on the public and foreign policy decisions of your own local and national government?

24. The most important message of Border Crossings is. . .

25. Border Crossings made me realize. . .

26. If you could talk to Charles Novacek what would you ask or tell him? Why?
(Questions, courtesy of Sandra A. Novacek.)

Born to Run
Bruce Springsteen, 2016
Simon & Schuster
528 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501141515

Summary
Writing about yourself is a funny business…But in a project like this, the writer has made one promise, to show the reader his mind. In these pages, I’ve tried to do this.
—Bruce Springsteen

In 2009, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed at the Super Bowl’s halftime show. The experience was so exhilarating that Bruce decided to write about it. That’s how this extraordinary autobiography began.

Over the past seven years, Bruce Springsteen has privately devoted himself to writing the story of his life, bringing to these pages the same honesty, humor, and originality found in his songs.

He describes growing up Catholic in Freehold, New Jersey, amid the poetry, danger, and darkness that fueled his imagination, leading up to the moment he refers to as "The Big Bang": seeing Elvis Presley’s debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. He vividly recounts his relentless drive to become a musician, his early days as a bar band king in Asbury Park, and the rise of the E Street Band.

With disarming candor, he also tells for the first time the story of the personal struggles that inspired his best work, and shows us why the song "Born to Run" reveals more than we previously realized.

Born to Run will be revelatory for anyone who has ever enjoyed Bruce Springsteen, but this book is much more than a legendary rock star’s memoir. This is a book for workers and dreamers, parents and children, lovers and loners, artists, freaks, or anyone who has ever wanted to be baptized in the holy river of rock and roll.

Rarely has a performer told his own story with such force and sweep. Like many of his songs ("Thunder Road," "Badlands," "Darkness on the Edge of Town," "The River," "Born in the U.S.A.," "The Rising," and "The Ghost of Tom Joad," to name just a few), Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography is written with the lyricism of a singular songwriter and the wisdom of a man who has thought deeply about his experiences. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—September 23, 1949
• Where—Freehold, New Jersey, USA
• Education—Freehold High School
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in Colts Neck, New Jersey

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. His memoir, Born to Run, was releaed in 2016.

Springsteen is best known for his work with his E Street Band. Nicknamed "The Boss", Springsteen is widely known for his brand of poetic lyrics, Americana, working class and sometimes political sentiments centered on his native New Jersey, his distinctive voice and his lengthy and energetic stage performances, with concerts from the 1970s to the present decade running over four hours in length.

Springsteen's recordings have included both commercially accessible rock albums and more somber folk-oriented works. His most successful studio albums, Born to Run (1975) and Born in the U.S.A. (1984), showcase a talent for finding grandeur in the struggles of daily American life. He has sold more than 64 million albums in the United States and more than 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists of all time.

Awards
He has earned numerous awards for his work, including 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award as well as being inducted into both the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/28/2016.)

Book Reviews
[B]ig, loose, rangy and intensely satisfying…The book is like one of Mr. Springsteen's shows—long, ecstatic, exhausting, filled with peaks and valleys. It's part seance and part keg party…. His writing voice is much like his speaking voice; there's a big, raspy laugh on at least every other page…. Most important, Born to Run is, like [Springsteen's] finest songs, closely observed from end to end. His story is intimate and personal, but he has an interest in other people and a gift for sizing them up.
Dwight Garner - New York Times

Springsteen can write—not just life-imprinting song lyrics but good, solid prose that travels all the way to the right margin. I mean, you'd think a guy who wrote "Spanish Johnny drove in from the underworld last night / With bruised arms and broken rhythm and a beat-up old Buick…" could navigate his way around a complete and creditable American sentence. And you'd be right…. Nothing in Born to Run rings to me as unmeant or punch-pulling…. And like a fabled Springsteen concert—always notable for its deck-clearing thoroughness—Born to Run achieves the sensation that all the relevant questions have been answered by the time the lights are turned out. He delivers the story of Bruce…via an informally steadfast Jersey plainspeak that's worked and deftly detailed and intimate with its readers—cleareyed enough to say what it means when it has hard stories to tell, yet supple enough to rise to occasions requiring eloquence—sometimes rather pleasingly subsiding into the syntax and rhythms of a Bruce Springsteen song
Richard Ford - New York Times Book Review

Bruce Springsteen’s frank and gripping memoir, Born to Run, is an intimate portrait of one man’s lifelong attempt to follow that primary command. People who choose rock and roll as their vocation are usually trying to break free from constraints, to smash things, to stir up a little turmoil in their souls. Springsteen entered a world of chaos and turned to guitars and amplifiers and lyrics to create order.
David Brooks - Atlantic Monthly

A virtuoso performance, the 508-page equivalent to one of Springsteen and the E Street Band's famous four-hour concerts: Nothing is left onstage, and diehard fans and first-timers alike depart for home sated and yet somehow already aching for more.”
Barbara J. King - NPR

[I]t might be easy to think that his new memoir Born To Run couldn't be all that revelatory since we already know so much. But it turns out that the nine years he spent writing it were worthwhile ones. He reached deep into his memory banks and produced a stunning 510 page book that will thrill even the most hardcore Bruce fanatics.
Andy Greene - Rolling Stone

(Starred review.) [A]n entertaining, high-octane journey from the streets of New Jersey to all over the world. A natural storyteller, Springsteen commands our attention, regaling us with his tales of growing up poor with a misanthropic father.... [He] writes with the same powerful lyrical quality of his music.
Publishers Weekly

Starred review.) The Boss speaks—and he does so as both journeyman rocker and philosopher king.... Springsteen is gentle with those who treated him poorly...but generous with love for friends and listeners alike. A superb memoir by any standard, but one of the best to have been written by a rock star.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use these LitLovers talking points to start a discussion for Born to Run...then take off on your own:

1. What did you know about Bruce Springsteen, or what expectations did you have, before reading Born to Run. Were your expectations met? Has your understanding of Springsteen changed, or has it been confirmed by the book? How does his memoir-writing voice compare with his lyric-writing voice?

2. Talk about Springsteen's growing up years (three a.m. bedtimes, 3 p.m. risings) and his family. What does he mean when he writes...

It was a place where I felt an ultimate security, full license and a horrible unforgettable boundary-less love. It ruined me and it made me.

3. Follow-up to Question 2: Douglas Springsteen had a large impact on his son's music. Discuss their difficult father-son relationship, as well as Douglas's mental illness. Bruce writes of the time his father broke down in front of him:

It shocked me, made me feel uncomfortable and strangely wonderful. He showed himself to me, mess that he was. It was one of the greatest days of my teenage life.

—In what way was it both shocking and wonderful

4. In his songs, what message was Springsteen hoping to convey to his father? Or to himself?

5. Many teenagers dream of being a rock star and spend hours working at it. How was Bruce Springteen's commitment different? Could you say it was almost compulsive, perhaps manic?

6. What does the following passage reveal about Springsteen's struggle to find himself?

I wanted to kill what loved me because I couldn’t stand being loved. It infuriated and outraged me, someone having the temerity to love me—nobody does that … and I’ll show you why. It was ugly and a red flag for the poison I had running through my veins, my genes. Part of me was rebelliously proud of my emotionally violent behavior, always cowardly and aimed at the women in my life.

7. Talk about Patti Scialfa. In what way has she helped ground her husband? How would you describe Springsteen's feelings for her? How difficult would it be married to a superstar like Springsteen? What strains would it place on a relationship?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Bossypants
Tina Fey, 2011
Little, Brown & Co.
277 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780316056861

Summary
Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.

She has seen both these dreams come true.

At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon—from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.

Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.

(Includes Special, Never-Before-Solicited Opinions on Breastfeeding, Princesses, Photoshop, the Electoral Process, and Italian Rum Cake!). (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—May 18, 1970
• Where—Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, USA
• Education—University of Virginia
• Awards—for TV and entertainment (below)
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls (2004) and Baby Mama (2008).

Fey first broke into comedy as a featured player in the Chicago-based improvisational comedy group The Second City. She then joined SNL as a writer, later becoming head writer and a performer, known for her position as co-anchor in the "Weekend Update" segment. In 2004 she adapted the screenplay Mean Girls in which she also co-starred. After leaving SNL in 2006, she created the television series 30 Rock, a situation comedy loosely based on her experiences at SNL. In the series, Fey portrays the head writer of a fictional sketch comedy series. In 2008, she starred in the comedy film Baby Mama, alongside former SNL co-star Amy Poehler. Fey next appeared in the 2010 comedy films Date Night and Megamind.

She has received seven Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild of America Awards. She was singled out as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008 by the Associated Press, which gave her its AP Entertainer of the Year award for her satirical portrayal of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in a guest appearance on SNL. In 2010, Fey was the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the youngest-ever winner of the award.

Early life
Fey was born in Upper Darby, PA a township just west of Philadelphia. She is the daughter of Zenobia "Jeanne" (nee Xenakes), a brokerage employee of Greek descent, and Donald Fey, a university grant proposal-writer of German and Scottish descent. She has a brother, who is eight years older, named Peter.

Fey was exposed to comedy early. She recalls:

I remember my parents sneaking me in to see Young Frankenstein. We would also watch Saturday Night Live, or Monty Python, or old Marx Brothers movies. My dad would let us stay up late to watch The Honeymooners. We were not allowed to watch The Flintstones though: my dad hated it because it ripped off The Honeymooners.

She also grew up watching Second City Television (SCTV) and cites Catherine O'Hara as a role model.

Fey enrolled at the University of Virginia, where she studied playwriting and acting, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama.

Early career
After graduating, Fey originally had plans to do graduate work in drama at DePaul University in Chicago, but she moved instead to Chicago, knowing about the improvisational comedy troupe, The Second City. She took night classes at Second City, immersing herself in the "cult of improvisation" and becoming, as she described it later...

like one of those athletes trying to get into the Olympics. It was all about blind focus. I was so sure that I was doing exactly what I'd been put on this earth to do, and I would have done anything to make it onto that stage. Not because of SNL, but because I wanted to devote my life to improv. I would have been perfectly happy to stay at Second City forever.

In 1994, she joined the cast of The Second City, where she performed eight shows a week, for two years. Improvisation became an important influence on her initial understanding of what it means to be an actress, as she noted in an interview for The Believer in November 2003:

When I started, improv had the biggest impact on my acting. I studied the usual acting methods at college—Stanislavsky and whatnot. But none of it really clicked for me. My problem with the traditional acting method was that I never understood what you were supposed to be thinking about when you're onstage.

But at Second City, I learned that your focus should be entirely on your partner. You take what they're giving you and use it to build a scene. That opened it up for me. Suddenly it all made sense. It's about your partner. Not what you're going to say, not finding the perfect mannerisms or tics for your character, not what you're going to eat later.

Improv helped to distract me from my usual stage bullshit and put my focus somewhere else so that I could stop acting. I guess that's what method acting is supposed to accomplish anyway. It distracts you so that your body and emotions can work freely. Improv is just a version of method acting that works for me.

Saturday Night Live (1997–2006)
While performing shows with the Second City in 1997, Fey submitted several scripts to NBC's variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL), at the request of its head writer Adam McKay, a former performer at Second City. She was hired as a writer for SNL following a meeting with SNL creator Lorne Michaels, and moved to New York. She went on to write a series of parodies, including one of ABC's morning talk show The View. She co-wrote the "Sully and Denise" sketches with Rachel Dratch, who plays one of the teens.

Fey played an extra in one of the episodes in 1998, and after watching herself, decided to diet and lost 30 pounds. She told The New York Times, "I was a completely normal weight. But I was here in New York City, I had money and I couldn't buy any clothes. After I lost weight, there was interest in putting me on camera." In 1999, McKay stepped down as head writer, which led Michaels to approach Fey for the position. She became SNL's first female head writer, a milestone she downplays.

In 2000, Fey began performing in sketches, and she and Jimmy Fallon became co-anchors of SNL's "Weekend Update" segment. Fey said she did not ask to audition, but that Michaels approached her, explaining that there was "chemistry" between Fey and Fallon. Michaels, however, revealed that choosing Fey was "kind of risky" at the time. Her role in "Weekend Update" was well-received by critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "...Fey delivers such blow darts—poison filled jokes written in long, precisely parsed sentences unprecedented in Update history—with such a bright, sunny countenance makes her all the more devilishly delightful." Dennis Miller, a former cast member of SNL and anchor of "Weekend Update," wrote that "Fey might be the best "Weekend Update" anchor who ever did it. She writes the funniest jokes."

In 2001, Fey and the writing staff won a Writers Guild of America Award for SNL's 25th anniversary special. The following year at the 2002 Emmy Awards ceremony, she and the writing team won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.

Amy Poehler replaced Fallon in 2004, which was the first time that two women co-anchored "Weekend Update". Fey revealed that she "hired" Poehler as her co-host for the segment. The reception to the teaming of Fey and Poehler was positive, with Rachel Sklar of the Chicago Tribune noting that the pairing "has been a hilarious, pitch-perfect success as they play off each other with quick one-liners and deadpan delivery."

The 2005–2006 season was her last; she thereafter departed to develop 30 Rock.

30 Rock (2006–present)
In 2002, Fey suggested a pilot episode for a situation comedy and eventually developed the pilot project under the working title Untitled Tina Fey Project. In October 2006, the pilot aired on NBC as 30 Rock.

In 2007, Fey received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series. The show itself won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series. In 2008, she won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy awards all in the category for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. The following year, Fey again won the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in the same categories. In early 2010, Fey won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Lead Actress.

Feature films
Fey made her debut as writer and co-star of the 2004 teen comedy Mean Girls. Characters and behaviors in the movie are based on Fey's high school life at Upper Darby High School and on the non-fiction book Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman.

Fey and former SNL castmate Amy Poehler starred in the 2008 comedy Baby Mama, which received mixed reviews, though many critics enjoyed Fey's performance.

In 2009, she appeared in The Invention of Lying alongside Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, and Christopher Guest.

Fey will star in an upcoming comedy entitled Mommy & Me alongside Meryl Streep, who will play her mother. The film will be directed by Stanley Tucci.

Impersonation of Sarah Palin
From September to November 2008, Fey made frequent guest appearances on SNL to perform a series of parodies of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On the 34th season premiere episode, aired September 13, 2008, Fey imitated Palin in a sketch, alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton. Their repartee included Clinton needling Palin about her "Tina Fey glasses." The sketch quickly became NBC.com's most-watched viral video ever, with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday. Fey reprised this role on the October 4 show and on the October 18 show when she was joined by the real Sarah Palin, and on the November 1 show where she was joined by John McCain and his wife Cindy. The October 18 show had the best ratings of any SNL show since 1994. The following year Fey won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Palin. Fey returned to SNL in April 2010, and reprised her impression of Palin in one sketch titled "Sarah Palin Network." Fey once again did her impression of Palin when she hosted Saturday Night Live on May 8, 2011.

In December 2009, Entertainment Weekly put her impersonation on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, writing, "Fey's freakishly spot-on SNL impersonation of the wannabe VP (and her ability to strike a balance between comedy and cruelty) made for truly transcendent television."

Other work
In 2000, Fey partnered with fellow SNL cast member Rachel Dratch in the Off Broadway two-woman show Dratch & Fey at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. The production was well received by critics, with The Wall Street Journal's Tim Townsend writing that production "isn't about two women being funny. [...] Dratch and Fey are just funny. Period."

She has appeared on PBS's Sesame Street, as a guest judge on the Food Network program Iron Chef America, in Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign as Tinker Bell, along with Mikhail Baryshnikov as Peter Pan and Gisele Bündchen as Wendy Darling. She has also done commercials for American Express credit card.

On February 23, 2008, Fey hosted the first episode of SNL after the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. For this appearance, she was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. She later hosted SNL on April 10, 2010, and received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Her book, an autobiographical comedy entitled Bossypants, was released in 2011, receiving a positive review from the New York Times, though somewhat mixed reviews in other periodicals.

In the media
Fey was ranked in the Hot 100 List at number 80 on Maxim magazine in 2002. She was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in 2003, and one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 2007, she was included in People's 100 Most Beautiful issue.

In 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Fey as one of their Entertainers of the Year for her work on "Weekend Update." She again was named one of the magazine's Entertainers of the Year in 2007, and number two in 2008. In 2009, Fey was named as Entertainment Weekly's fifth individual in their 15 Entertainers of the 2000s list. The newspaper editors and broadcast producers of the Associated Press voted Fey the AP Entertainer of the Year as the performer who had the greatest impact on culture and entertainment in 2008, citing her impression of Sarah Palin on SNL. She has appeared on Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in 2008, 2009, and 2010, at No. 99, No. 86, and No. 90 respectively.

In 2007, the New York Post included Fey in New York's 50 Most Powerful Women, ranking her at number 33. Fey was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 and 2009, as selected annually by Time magazine. Fey's featured article for the 2009 list was written by 30 Rock co-star, Alec Baldwin. She was selected by Barbara Walters as one of America's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008.

In 2011, Tina Fey landed at the top of the Forbes magazine’s list of the highest-paid TV actresses.

Personal life
Fey is married to Jeff Richmond, composer on 30 Rock. They met at Chicago's Second City and dated for seven years before marrying in a Greek Orthodox ceremony in 2001. The couple have two daughters. In April 2009, Fey and Richmond purchased a $3.4 million apartment in the Upper West Side in New York City.

Charity work
Her charity work includes support of Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research. In April 2008, she participated in "Night of Too Many Stars," a comedy show benefit for autism education.

Fey is also a supporter of Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization, in their campaign to end world hunger. Fey narrated a video for Mercy Corps's Action Center in New York City, describing hunger as a symptom of many wider world problems. She also supports the Love Our Children USA organization, which fights violence against children, who named her among their Mothers Who Make a Difference in 2009. She was the 2009 national spokesperson for the Light the Night Walk, which benefits the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. (From Wikipedia.)

Book Reviews
[Fey's] dagger-sharp, extremely funny…Bossypants isn't a memoir. It's a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation.
Janet Maslin - New York Times,,

It’s probably unwise to expect soul-baring candor from a book with a made-up biographical note on the jacket flap. Those who hoped Tina Fey...would shed her comedic persona and play it straight are going to find her sort-of memoir, Bossypants, disappointing.... [Her memoir is] a collection of biographical essays and thematically related humor pieces rather than a straight chronological reminiscence.
Nicole Arthur - Washington Post

At first, Bossypants appears to be just more of the same...but inside lies a collection of autobiographical essays that should (but of course won't) prove once and for all that pretty is nowhere near as important as funny, and funny doesn't work without that rare balance of truth and heart.... In chapter after chapter, in a voice consistently recognizable as her own, Fey simply tells stories of her life.
Mary McNamara - Los Angeles Times

Oh Tina. I do slightly wish you hadn't.... Bossypants takes the interesting approach to memoir of remembering almost nothing, and providing "revelations" that might more accurately be called "concealments." Which isn't to say that it's unenjoyable. There are some hugely funny bits, and some inspiring bits, and some nerdishly interesting bits.... It's just the bookiness of it. Fey is out of her genre, and it shows.
Carole Cadwalladr - Guardian/Observer (UK)

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Bossypants:

1. Readers and reviewers are all over the map on Bossypants: some see it as a revealing memoir, others as an act of concealment, revealing very little of her personal life. Where do you stand on Fey's book? Is the book a memoir...or a comedy book filled with one-liners. Is it humorous...or insightful...or neither? Do you want more? Or does it leave you satisfied?

2. Speaking of one-liners, which ones do you find funny or, perhaps, insightful? Talk about the lines that tickled your funny bone...or others that struck the philosopher in you.

3. Fey has never been afraid to poke fun at female vulnerability...or to twist it. How does she do that here? Do you appreciate her take on the feminine? What matters most to Fey about being a woman? What matters most to you—whether you're a woman...or a man?

4. Which essay pieces do you find most engaging or provocative—the women's magazine parody, the "prayer" for her daughter, the pretend facts-of-life brochure, or the satirical "me time" for parents?

5. How have Fey's growing-up years shaped her? Does she devote time (and ink) telling us? If not, why not?

6. Fey takes issue with various comments, by males, that women are not funny. Here is Fey's own comment on that stance:

It's an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove that it doesn't exist.

Do you agree with her...or are men funnier than women? Is their humor different?

7. Artistically and philosophically speaking, authors tend to explore life's tragedies and the ways in which ordinary individuals cope with sorrow. Yet Fey finds that real life teaches her about comedy. What, then, is funny about life—is it funny? What kind of funny? Have you ever made observations—about people and situations—that could be turned into comedy skits or one-liners?

8. Talk about Fey's how-to advice on improv comedy. How did it prepare her for Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock?

9. What's with the book's cover? Why would Fey have given herself hairy, masculine arms?

10. What does Fey tell us about her personal life—her husband, for instance? What do we know about him?

11. What do you think of Tina Fey? Has reading Bossypants altered your view of her? Why or why not?

12. Is Fey really Liz Lemon...or is Liz really Tina Fey? Who wrote this book—Tina or Liz? In other words, are they one in the same?

top of page (summary)

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer, 2009
HarperCollins
372 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780061730337

Summary
A windmill means more than just power, it means freedom.

William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger, and a place where hope and opportunity were hard to find. But William had read about windmills in a book called Using Energy, and he dreamed of building one that would bring electricity and water to his village and change his life and the lives of those around him. His neighbors may have mocked him and called him misala-crazy—but William was determined to show them what a little grit and ingenuity could do.

Enchanted by the workings of electricity as a boy, William had a goal to study science in Malawi's top boarding schools. But in 2002, his country was stricken with a famine that left his family's farm devastated and his parents destitute. Unable to pay the eighty-dollar-a-year tuition for his education, William was forced to drop out and help his family forage for food as thousands across the country starved and died.

Yet William refused to let go of his dreams. With nothing more than a fistful of cornmeal in his stomach, a small pile of once—forgotten science textbooks, and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to bring his family a set of luxuries that only two percent of Malawians could afford and what the West considers a necessity— electricity and running water.

Using scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves, William forged a crude yet operable windmill, an unlikely contraption and small miracle that eventually powered four lights, complete with homemade switches and a circuit breaker made from nails and wire. A second machine turned a water pump that could battle the drought and famine that loomed with every season.

Soon, news of William's magetsi a mphepo—his "electric wind"—spread beyond the borders of his home and he became an inspiration around the world. Here is the remarkable story about human inventiveness and its power to overcome crippling adversity. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind will inspire anyone who doubts the power of one individual's ability to change his community and better the lives of those around him. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 5, 1987
• Where—Malawi, Africa
• Education—self-educated
• Currently—a student in Johannesburg, South Africa

William Kamkwamba is a student at African Leadership Academy, a pan-African high school in Johannesburg, South Africa. A 2007 TED Global Fellow, Kamkwamba has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and his inventions displayed at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. He's often invited to tell his story, and in 2008, he delivered an address at the World Economic Forum on Africa. (From the publisher.)

More (on William Kamkwamba)
William Kamkwamba is a Malawian secondary school student and inventor. He gained fame in his country when, in 2001, he built a windmill, to power a few electrical appliances in his family's house in Masitala, using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard.

Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village, and two other windmills (the tallest standing at 39 feet) and is planning two more, including one in Lilongwe. After leaving school due to his family inability to afford the tuition, he took up self-education by going to his village's library. There, he found the book Using Energy and in it discovered a picture and explanation of windmills.

His story, told in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, was written with journalist Bryan Mealer and published in 2009. Kamkwamba took part in the first event celebrating his particular type of ingenuity, called Maker Faire Africa, in Ghana in August 2009.

When the Daily Times newspaper in Blantyre wrote a story on Kamkwamba's windmills in November 2006, the story circulated through the blogosphere, and TED conference director Emeka Okafor invited Kamkwamba to speak at TED Global 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, as a guest. His speech moved the audience, and several venture capitalists at the conference pledged to help finance his secondary education. His story was covered by Sarah Childress for the Wall Street Journal. He became a student at African Bible College Christian Academy in Lilongwe, but is now on a scholarship at the African Leadership Academy in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Among other appearances, Kamkwamba was interviewed on The Daily Show on October 7, 2009 and by social news website Reddit. (From Wikipedia.)

_____________________

Bryan Mealer
Bryan Mealer is the author of All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo, which chronicled his experience covering the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mealer is a former Associated Press staff correspondent and his work has appeared in several magazines, including Harper's and Esquire. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) American readers will have their imaginations challenged by 14-year-old Kamkwamba's description of life in Malawi, a famine-stricken, land-locked nation in southern Africa: math is taught in school with the aid of bottle tops ("three Coca-Cola plus ten Carlsberg equal thirteen"), people are slaughtered by enemy warriors "disguised... as green grass" and a ferocious black rhino; and everyday trading is "replaced by the business of survival" after famine hits the country. After starving for five months on his family's small farm, the corn harvest slowly brings Kamkwamba back to life. Witnessing his family's struggle, Kamkwamba's supercharged curiosity leads him to pursue the improbable dream of using "electric wind"(they have no word for windmills) to harness energy for the farm. Kamkwamba's efforts were of course derided; salvaging a motley collection of materials, from his father's broken bike to his mother's clothes line, he was often greeted to the tune of "Ah, look, the madman has come with his garbage." This exquisite tale strips life down to its barest essentials, and once there finds reason for hopes and dreams, and is especially resonant for Americans given the economy and increasingly heated debates over health care and energy policy.
Publishers Weekly

Discarded motor parts, PVC pipe, and an old bicycle wheel may be junk to most people, but in the inspired hands of William Kamkwamba, they are instruments of opportunity. Growing up amid famine and poverty in rural Malawi, wind was one of the few abundant resources available, and the inventive fourteen-year-old saw its energy as a way to power his dreams. "With a windmill, we'd finally release ourselves from the troubles of darkness and hunger," he realized. "A windmill meant more than just power, it was freedom." Despite the biting jeers of village skeptics, young William devoted himself to borrowed textbooks and salvage yards in pursuit of a device that could produce an "electric wind." The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is an inspiring story of an indomitable will that refused to bend to doubt or circumstance. When the world seemed to be against him, William Kamkwamba set out to change it. —Dave Callanan.
Amazon

William Kamkwamba, the youthful author of this book, was born in Malawi, an African nation best known for its harrowing poverty, its AIDS epidemic, and its long-term food crisis. In 2001, William was just 14 years old when the country was struck by the greatest famine within memory. With his family now too poor to pay his $80-a-year tuition, this eager learner was forced to leave school. Against those staggering odds, he continued to read, learn, and experiment. Inspired by a few old school textbooks, he devised a primitive working windmill, cobbled together from bicycle parts, blue-gum trees, and other makeshift scraps. With his homemade invention, he gave his family and himself electricity and a new start. Inspiring and refreshing as the wind.
Barnes & Noble

Discussion Questions
1. Could you imagine living without electricity? What would your life be like? Describe William's life and compare it to American teenagers and even your own.

2. How did the villagers compensate for not having electricity, telephones, or most of the modern conveniences we take for granted?

3. What is the role of magic in the story? What about education? Contrast the two. Is there room for both in a culture? What about education and religion? How do the two impact each other? How did William's religion influence his outlook?

4. What did electricity and the creation of the windmill mean for William, his family, and his village? What might his accomplishment mean for the world?

5. What motivates people like William to attempt the unthinkable? How would you describe him to someone who's never heard of his achievement?

6. Compare William to his father and to his mother. How are they alike? How did his parents shape William's outlook?

7. Imagine what a handful of Williams with some encouragement and financial backing from government and private sources might accomplish. Offer some ideas.

8. Malawi is an extremely poor nation. What are the causes of this poverty and what exacerbates it? How might these causes and influences be overcome? How has the West—think of organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, run by Americans and Europeans—helped to contribute to nations like Malawi's troubles?

9. William writes of the corruption, greed, nonexistent services, and lack of empathy that turned the drought into a disaster for average people like him and his family. Can you see any similarities with our own culture, both past and present? Think about the American Depression. How did that compare to Malawi's drought?

10. William was desperate to stay in school but could not because of money. Think about American students. Why do you think with all the opportunities for schooling, students are disinterested in learning? In your opinion, what accounts for the differences between William and his American counterparts?

11. Many Americans criticize public schools and some even question the need for them. Others argue that money doesn't matter when it comes to education. How does William's experience address our own debates on the subject? Think about his school, and compare it to American schools. Might William's life be different if he had access to education without having to pay? How so?

12. What lessons did you take away from William's story?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
Peggy Orenstein, 2020
HarperCollins
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062666970

Summary
Peggy Orenstein’s Girls & Sex broke ground, shattered taboos, and launched conversations about young women’s right to pleasure and agency in sexual encounters. It also had an unexpected effect on its author…

Orenstein realized that talking about girls is only half the conversation.

Boys are subject to the same cultural forces as girls—steeped in the same distorted media images and binary stereotypes of female sexiness and toxic masculinity—which equally affect how they navigate sexual and emotional relationships.

In Boys & Sex, Peggy Orenstein dives back into the lives of young people to once again give voice to the unspoken, revealing how young men understand and negotiate the new rules of physical and emotional intimacy.

Drawing on comprehensive interviews with young men, psychologists, academics, and experts in the field, Boys & Sex dissects so-called locker room talk; how the word "hilarious" robs boys of empathy; pornography as the new sex education; boys’ understanding of hookup culture and consent; and their experience as both victims and perpetrators of sexual violence.

By surfacing young men’s experience in all its complexity, Orenstein is able to unravel the hidden truths, hard lessons, and important realities of young male sexuality in today’s world.

The result is a provocative and paradigm-shifting work that offers a much-needed vision of how boys can truly move forward as better men. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—November 1961
• Where—Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
• Education—B.A., Oberlin College
• Awards—(see Recognition below)
• Currently—lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, California

Peggy Orenstein is an American essayist and author of nonfiction books. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, she attended Oberlin College where she earned a B.A.

After college, she moved to New York City, where she worked as an associate editor at "Esquire," later acquiring senior editing positions at Manhattan, Inc. and 7 Days. In 1988, after moving to San Francisco, California, she became managing editor of Mother Jones and, in 1991, a writer and producer at Farallon Films. She is married to filmmaker Steven Okazaki. They have a daughter and live in San Francisco's Bay Area.

Books
♦ 2020 - Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity
♦ 2016 - Girls & Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape
♦ 2011 - Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl
Culture
♦ 2007 - Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother
♦ 2000 - Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids and Life in a Half-Changed World
♦ 1994 - Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self Esteem, and the Confidence Gap

Other
A contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, Orenstein has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Vogue, Elle, More, Mother Jones, Slate, O: The Oprah Magazine, New York Magazine and The New Yorker.

She has contributed commentaries to NPR’s All Things Considered. Her articles have been anthologized multiple times, including in The Best American Science Writing.

She has been a keynote speaker at numerous colleges and conferences and has been featured on, among other programs, Nightline, Good Morning America, Today Show, NPR’s Fresh Air and Morning Edition and CBC’s As It Happens.

Recognition
In 2012, Columbia Journalism Review named Orentstein one of its "40 women who changed the media business in the past 40 years."

She has been recognized for her "Outstanding Coverage of Family Diversity," by the Council on Contemporary Families and received a Books For A Better Life Award for Waiting for Daisy. Her work has also been honored by the Commonwealth Club of California, the National Women’s Political Caucus of California and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Additionally, she has been awarded fellowships from the United States-Japan Foundation and the Asian Cultural Council. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 4/3/2016 .)

Book Reviews
Orenstein’s Boys & Sex is a natural follow-up to her 2016 best seller Girls & Sex. The young men we meet here tend to be hyperarticulate—to the extent that I was initially skeptical of their eloquence…. However unexpected it is, though, the boys’ willingness and ability to share is also decidedly eye-opening ... Every few pages, the boy world cracks open a little bit like that…. To her credit, Orenstein acknowledges her biases. And, through story after story, she forced me to see mine: I was wrong to presume that young men couldn’t be beautifully well spoken and lucid about issues of love and sex. In fact, that assumption is so common, it’s at the root of our problems.
Lauren Smith Brody - New York Times Book Review

A sobering look at the landscape in which young men are growing up—and an invitation for the grown-ups in their lives to offer a lot more support and direction.
Chicago Tribune

To be clear, none of these subjects are new, and men who read this book might not learn anything revolutionary. What Orenstein does excellently, however, is condense, clarify, and draw out the perspectives of the boys and men that she interviewed—their voices, interspersed with her own, lift the book up, hopefully showing readers that they are not alone in their experiences…. The book’s strength lies in Orenstein’s ability to summarize biting, salient points that, even if they don’t come as a shock to some readers, are nonetheless reemphasized clearly…. [A] valuable addition to the litany of books out there discussing what, exactly, is happening with the youth these days.
Harvard Crimson

Through a combination of extensive interviews with young men and sociological research, the book seeks to move beyond the space of think pieces written by men and actually include them in the conversation. It gives readers a digestible overview of the problem…. In between introducing terms like "feminist fuckboy" and "Golden Dick Syndrome," the book also tells stories of boys that are largely neglected in society’s sex conversations…. Most moving are the stories of young men who are victims of abuse, how it often comes as a result of their fears of straying from gender expectations…. These narratives further complicate Orenstein’s problem and make the book a more interesting read…. What I came away understanding is that regardless of how a boy identifies, he is probably confused…. I believe people of all ages can benefit from reading Orenstein’s book and that it can inspire change for the better for all.
Columbia Journal

[Orenstein] trains her expert eye on the world of adolescent boys, and the unique set of challenges that young men are facing today. Boys & Sex is not just a candid and often devastating view into the lives of real high school and college boys right now; it's an affirmation of hope, and an exercise in the power of listening.
Salon

(Starred review) [C]candid and fascinating portrait of young American masculinity.… Expertly written and sometimes disturbing, but always informative, Orenstein’s latest is a valuable reference for parents of teenage boys and young men.
Publishers Weekly

By interviewing young men and collecting data for two years, Orenstein developed insights into her subjects' ideas of masculinity and how society can steer young men away from misogynistic patterns.… A thought-provoking read for all interested in gender studies. —Emily Bowles, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison
Library Journal

(Starred review) [A] welcome forum for exploring "a hunger for more guidance about growing up, hooking up, and finding love in a new era." A highly constructive analysis that provides many topics for exploration and discussion by parents and others who interact with boys.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. William Pollack believes there is a "boy code" that "trains young men to see masculinity in opposition to, and adversarial toward, femininity: a tenuous, ever-shifing position that must be continuously policed" (13). Do you agree? If so, why do you think masculinity is defined so narrowly? If you disagree with Pollack's statement, how would you define today's model for masculinity?

2. Orenstein and the young men she interviews talk about the use of the world "hilarious." What does that word cover up? Why do boys use it? What are some ways to promote more emotionally intelligent responses from boys… and men?

3. Talk about the male use of porn and how it affects their understanding of and expectations for sex. What about the frequent use of violent rape in popular culture—especially in TV shows and movies. Does that have an impact on young (or older) males' thinking about intimate relationships?

4. Talk about the hookup culture? What do you think has caused this evolution in male/female relationships? How does the idea of hook-ups line up with the values of so-called conventional masculinity? What do you think of Wyatt? What does it mean to be a "feminist fuckboy"?

5. How difficult is the path for young gay and trans people? How has society changed, or not changed, when it comes to social queerness? To what extent are younger people more open to gender preferences that don't align with traditional views?

6. What are the pressures that young black men experience on campuses? Did anything surprise you regarding their views on attending predominantly white educational institutions? Why were, or why weren’t, you surprised by what you read?

7. How do we create so-called "good guys"? What, in fact, does it mean to be a good guy? Why do some young men see themselves as not that bad, even when their behavior falls short. How do come of the young men who Orenstein interviews feel about, or understand, coercion?

8. How can we help young men understand the concept of "meaningful consent" in their sexual relations. What do they need to know?

9. In what ways can young men be encouraged to perform their own emotional labor? How do we increase a
young man’s emotional intelligence—or make him aware that being attuned to emotional intelligence isn’t a
bad thing—or a sign of weakness? How do we break the cycle of women being the ones who do emotional labor?
(Questions adapted from the HarperCollins teaching guide.)

top of page (summary)

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics
Daniel James Brown, 2013
Penguin Group (USA)
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780143125471

Summary
The story about the American Olympic triumph in Nazi Germany

Out of the depths of the Depression comes an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate account of how nine working-class boys from the American West showed the world at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin what true grit really meant.

It was an unlikely quest from the start. With a team composed of the sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team was never expected to defeat the elite teams of the East Coast and Great Britain, yet they did, going on to shock the world by defeating the German team rowing for Adolf Hitler.

The emotional heart of the tale lies with Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not only to regain his shattered self-regard but also to find a real place for himself in the world.

Drawing on the boys’ own journals and vivid memories of a once-in-a-lifetime shared dream, Brown has created an unforgettable portrait of an era, a celebration of a remarkable achievement, and a chronicle of one extraordinary young man’s personal quest. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Raised—San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA
• Education—B.A., Diablo Valley College; M.A., University of
California at Berkeley and University of California at Los Angeles
• Currently—lives near Seattle, Washington

In his words:
I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Diablo Valley College, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA. I taught writing at San Jose State University and Stanford before becoming a technical writer and editor. I now write narrative nonfiction books full time. My primary interest as a writer is in bringing compelling historical events to life as vividly and accurately as I can.

I live in the country outside of Seattle, Washington with my wife, two daughters, and an assortment of cats, dogs, chickens, and honeybees. When I am not writing, I am likely to be birding, gardening, fly fishing, reading American history, or chasing bears away from the bee hives. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
For those who like adventure stories straight-up, The Boys in the Boat…is this year’s closest approximation of Unbroken….It’s about the University of Washington’s crew team: Nine working-class boys from the American West who at the 1936 Olympics showed the world what true grit really meant.
New York Times

If you imagined a great regatta of books about rowing, then Brown's The Boys in the Boat certainly makes the final heat.
Boston Globe

The astonishing story of the UW’s 1936 eight-oar varsity crew and its rise from obscurity to fame.…The individual stories of these young men are almost as compelling as the rise of the team itself. Brown excels at weaving those stories with the larger narrative, all culminating in the 1936 Olympic Games…A story this breathtaking demands an equally compelling author, and Brown does not disappoint. The narrative rises inexorably, with the final 50 pages blurring by with white-knuckled suspense as these all-American underdogs pull off the unimaginable.
Seattle Times

Cogent history…and a surprisingly suspenseful tale of triumph.
USA Today

This riveting and inspiring saga evokes that of Seabiscuit…Readers need neither background nor interest in competitive rowing to be captivated by this remarkable and beautifully crafted history. Written with the drama of a compelling novel, it's a quintessentially American story that burnishes the esteem in which we embrace what has come to be known as the Greatest Generation.
Associated Press

A stirring tale of nine Depression-era athletes beating the odds and their inner demons to compete at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. You can Google the result and spoil the sport, but that won’t dull the many pleasures in Daniel James Brown’s colorful, highly readable celebration of a grueling collegiate challenge.
Bloomberg News

This riveting tale of beating the odds (and the Germans) at the 1936 Olympics is a rousing story of American can-do-ism. It’s also a portrait of the nine boys who first rowed together for the University of Washington, and of the one in particular who made the sport his family and his home.
Parade

Brown’s book juxtaposes the coming together of the Washington crew team against the Nazis’ preparations for the Games, weaving together a history that feels both intimately personal and weighty in its larger historical implications. This book has already been bought for cinematic development, and it’s easy to see why: When Brown, a Seattle-based nonfiction writer, describes a race, you feel the splash as the oars slice the water, the burning in the young men’s muscles and the incredible drive that propelled these rowers to glory.
Smithsonian Magazine

Brown tells...an all-American story of humble working-class boys squaring off against a series of increasingly odious class and political foes: their West Coast rivals at Berkeley; the East Coast snobs ....and ultimately the German team.... Brown lays on the aura of embattled national aspiration good and thick, but he makes his heroes’ struggle as fascinating as the best Olympic sagas
Publishers Weekly

In this sweeping saga, Brown vividly relates how, in 1936, nine working-class rowers from the University of Washington captured gold at the Berlin Olympics.... [T]hese athletes overcame the hopelessness common during the Great Depression by learning to trust themselves and one another, and by rowing with grace and power.... [A] superb book. —Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA
Library Journal

(Starred review.) If Jesse Owens is rightfully the most famous American athlete of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, repudiating Adolf Hitler’s notion of white supremacy by winning gold in four events, the gold-medal-winning effort by the eight-man rowing team from the University of Washington remains a remarkable story.... A book that informs as it inspires. —Alan Moores
Booklist

Discussion Questions
1. Did you know much about rowing before reading The Boys in the Boat? If not, what aspects of the sport surprised you most? If so, did you learn anything about rowing that you didn’t know before? And if you don’t generally follow sports or sports history, what made you want to read this book?

2. Compare how the Olympics were regarded in the 1930s to how they are regarded now. What was so significant about the boys’ win in 1936, right on the dawn of the Second World War? What political significance do the Olympics Games hold today?

3. Thanks to hours of interviews and a wealth of archival information from Joe Rantz, his daughter Judy, and a number of other sources, Daniel James Brown is able to tell Joe’s story in such fine detail that it’s almost as if you are living in the moment with Joe. How did you feel as you were reading the book? What significance does Joe’s unique point of view have for the unfolding of the narrative? And why do you think Joe was willing to discuss his life in such detail with a relative stranger?

4. While The Boys in the Boat focuses on the experiences of Joe Rantz and his teammates, it also tells the much larger story of a whole generation of young men and women during one of the darkest times in American history. What aspects of life in the 1930s struck you most deeply? How do the circumstances of Americans during the Great Depression compare to what America is facing now?

5. Brown mentions throughout the book that only a very special, almost superhuman individual can take on the physical and psychological demands of rowing and become successful at the sport. How did these demands play out in the boys’ academic and personal lives? How did their personal lives influence their approach to the sport?

6. Despite how much time Joe Rantz spent training with the other boys during his first two years at the University of Washington, he didn’t really form close personal relationships with any of them until his third year on the team. Why do you think that was? What factors finally made Joe realize that it did matter who else was in the boat with him (p. 221)?

7. Joe and Joyce maintain a very loving and supportive relationship throughout Joe’s formative years, with Joyce consistently being his foundation, despite Joe’s resistance to relying on her. How did their relationship develop while they were still in college? In what ways did Joyce support Joe emotionally? What about Joyce’s own challenges at home? How do you think her relationship with her parents affected her relationship with Joe?

8 .Al Ulbrickson’s leadership style was somewhat severe, to say the least, and at many times, he kept his opinions of the boys and their standings on the team well-guarded. Even with this guardedness, what about him inspired Joe and the boys to work their hardest? What strategies did Ulbrickson use to foster competition and a strong work ethic among them and why?

9. George Pocock and Al Ulbrickson each stand as somewhat mythic figures in The Boys in the Boatt; however, they were very different men with very different relationships to the boys. Discuss their differences in leadership style and their roles within the University of Washington’s rowing establishment. What about Pocock enabled him to connect with Joe Rantz on such a personal level?

10. At one point, Pocock pulls Joe aside to tell him “it wasn’t just the rowing but his crewmates that he had to give himself up to, even if it meant getting his feelings hurt” (p. 235). How do you think this advice affected Joe’s interactions with the other boys? How do you think it might have affected Joe’s relationship to his family, especially after the deaths of Thula Rantz and his friend Charlie MacDonald?

11. What was Al Ulbrickson and Ky Ebright’s relationship to the local and national media? How did they use sportswriters to advance their teams’ goals and how did the sportswriters involve themselves in collegiate competition? Were you surprised at all by the level of involvement, especially that of Royal Brougham? How does it compare to collegiate sports coverage today?

132. When Al Ulbrickson retired in 1959, he mentioned that one of the highlights of his career was “the day in 1936 that he put Joe Rantz in his Olympic boat for the first time, and watched the boat take off” (p. 364). Why do you think that moment was so important for Ulbrickson? What about Joe was so special to him and how did Joe become the element that finally brought the boys of the Husky Clipper together?

13. Later in the book, it is noted “all along Joe Rantz had figured that he was the weak link in the crew” (p. 326), but that he found out much later in life that all the other boys felt the same way. Why do you think that was? And why do you suppose they didn’t reveal this to each other until they were old men?

14. What was your favorite hair-raising moment in The Boys in the Boat? Even knowing the outcome of the 1936 Olympic Games, was there any point where you weren’t sure if Joe and the boys would make it?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)

Boys in the Trees: A Memoir
Carly Simon, 2015
Flatiron Books
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250095893

Summary
Simon's memoir reveals her remarkable life, beginning with her storied childhood as the third daughter of Richard L. Simon, the co-founder of publishing giant Simon & Schuster, her musical debut as half of The Simon Sisters performing folk songs with her sister Lucy in Greenwich Village, to a meteoric solo career that would result in 13 top 40 hits, including the #1 song "You're So Vain."

She was the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, for her song "Let the River Run" from the movie Working Girl.

The memoir recalls a childhood enriched by music and culture, but also one shrouded in secrets that would eventually tear her family apart.

Simon brilliantly captures moments of creative inspiration, the sparks of songs, and the stories behind writing "Anticipation" and "We Have No Secrets" among many others. Romantic entanglements with some of the most famous men of the day fueled her confessional lyrics, as well as the unraveling of her storybook marriage to James Taylor. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—June 25, 1945
• Where—New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Sarah Lawrence College
• Awards—(in music...see below)
• Currently—lives on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

Carly Elisabeth Simon is an American singer-songwriter, musician and children's author. She first rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), "You Belong To Me" (No. 6), "Coming Around Again" (No. 18), and her four Gold certified singles "Jesse" (No. 11), "Mockingbird" (No. 5), a duet with James Taylor, "You're So Vain" (No. 1), and "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from the 1977 James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me.

After a brief stint with her sister Lucy Simon as duo group the Simon Sisters, she found great success as a solo artist with her 1971 self-titled debut album Carly Simon, which won her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and spawned her first Top 10 single "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be."

She achieved international fame with her third album No Secrets which sat firmly at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 5 weeks, and spawned the worldwide hit "You're So Vain", for which she received three Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Over the course of her career, Simon has amassed 24 Billboard Hot 100 charting singles, 28 Billboard Adult Contemporary charting singles, and has won two Grammy Awards. AllMusic called Simon, "One of the quintessential singer/songwriters of the '70s". Simon has a contralto vocal range.

For her 1988 hit "Let the River Run", from the film Working Girl, Simon became the first artist in history to win a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award for a song composed and written, as well as performed, entirely by a single artist. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994, inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "You're So Vain" in 2004, and awarded the ASCAP Founders Award in 2012. In 1995 and 1998, respectively, Simon received the Boston Music Awards Lifetime Achievement and a Berklee College of Music Honorary Doctor of Music Degree.

Simon is the former wife of another notable singer-songwriter, James Taylor. Simon and Taylor have two children together, Sarah "Sally" Maria Taylor and Benjamin "Ben" Simon Taylor, who are also musicians. (From Wikipedia. Retrieved 2/8/2016.)

Book Reviews
Boys in the Trees, Ms. Simon’s overripe memoir, means to correct the impression of extravagant good fortune....This book’s style recalls that of her songs: a little precious, a little redundant, a little too much. She recalls "my parents' dinner parties, one after another, like gold, shimmering beads strung on a necklace." She overplays the drama. ("He was my captor and I was his slave.") And in the too-much-information department, well: "James was my muse, my Orpheus, my sleeping darling...." But the barrier thrown up by this language isn’t insurmountable. And Ms. Simon has a tumultuous story to tell.
Janet Maslin - New York Times

[A] brilliant memoir.... Simon’s tone throughout is surprisingly heavy for someone who often appeared like a carefree, music biz boom-time girl. It can get overblown over matters of the heart, too: her tumultuous relationship with ex-husband James Taylor is likened in florid detail to the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. But for the most part, the book reveals her experiences clinically and compellingly, subtly showing us how canny and clever she is.
Guardian (UK)

[T]he book’s overriding theme is one of longing. Boys in the Trees recounts Simon’s singing career only in fits and starts, as if it were more a hobby than a vocation. It ends with the painful dissolution of her marriage to Taylor—who, despite his largely clean-cut public image, features in a few grim, drug-addled moments—more than 30 years ago.
Boston Globe

A lyrical look back at her childhood, her career, and oh, the men in her life...anecdote-filled...dishy without being salacious. There’s plenty here for fans to feast upon" - USA Today
"Boys in the Trees meets its lofty expectations. As one of pop music’s more literate songwriters — she was the first solo woman to win a Best Song Oscar for Let the River Run from Working Girl — Simon writes beautifully and affectingly. Her publisher father, for whom she clamored for attention and validation, would be proud.
Miami Herald

Intelligent and captivating...Don't miss it.
People Magazine

Carly Simon could have gotten away with just the name-dropping. In her life, she's crossed paths with an astonishing range of famous people, from Cat Stevens and Jimi Hendrix to Benny Goodman and Albert Einstein. So it's a pleasant surprise that in her compelling new autobiography, Boys in the Trees, she lays out her naked emotions and insecurities, and that she proves to be a supple writer with a gift for descriptions.
Rolling Stone

One of the best celebrity memoirs of the year ... elegantly written and revealing.
Hollywood Reporter

Simon's memoir unfolds in long, florid, intensely observed scenes...that are at once charged with erotic tension and attuned to subtle undercurrents of feeling. Her writing is impressionistic, slightly boy-crazy, wonderfully evocative, and suffused with the warm voice and bittersweet sensibility of her songs.
Publishers Weekly

The best parts of the book are when the author describes how her songs came into being, while the few tedious ones are moments when names are dropped right and left.... Memoirs by rock icons of the 1960s and '70s are flying fast and furious these days. This is one of the best, lively and memorable.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Boys in the Trees...and then take it from there:

1. Describe Carly Simon. For someone as bright, talented, and accomplished as she is, she has wrestled for much of her life with self-esteem. How might you explain that? Why was she unable to accept that she might have been, as one boyfriend described her, "the cleverest, wisest, most perfect girl"?

2. Talk about Simon's privileged childhood and her overbearing father. Then, of course, there's Simon's mother Andrea and her young lover. How did Simon's early life affect her?

3. In what way might Simon's wealthy background have hurt her professionally, at least early on. What does that say about the era in which she first began singing?

4. Who are the "boys in the trees"? What does the title mean?

5. The memoir indulges in a fair amount of name dropping, particularly regarding men. Did you find it annoying, or were you complete taken with her tales of the famous men in her life. Who most intrigued you?

6. Would you describe the writing as highly eroticized?

7. Talk about her marriage with James Taylor. What was the early marriage like, what drew the couple together, and what soured their relationship? Simon herself says this: From the beginning, James and I were linked together as strongly as we were not just because of love, and music, but because we were both troubled people trying our best to pass as normal."

8. So who is "You're so Vain" about? At least who does Simon say the song is—or isn't—about?

9. Discuss Simon's songwriting, how her songs came into being. What did her creative process entail: flashes of insight, serendipity, hard work, borrowings from others...? A number of reviewers have described these sections as the best of the book. Do you agree or not?

10. What about Simon's memoir surprised you, made you laugh, angered you...or struck you in any other fashion?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
Susannah Calahan, 2013
Simon & Schuster
266 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781451621389

Summary
An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.

When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there.

Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk.

What happened?

In a swift and breathtaking narrative, Susannah tells the astonishing true story of her descent into madness, her family’s inspiring faith in her, and the lifesaving diagnosis that nearly didn’t happen.

Brain on Fire is an unforgettable exploration of memory and identity, faith and love, and a profoundly compelling tale of survival and perseverance that is destined to become a classic. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—January 30, 1985
• Raised—Summit, New Jersey, USA
• Education—Washington Uiversity
• Currently—lives in Brooklyn, New York City, New York

Susannah Cahalan is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, a memoir about her struggle with a rare autoimmune disease of the brain that affected her at the age of 24.

Cahalan writes for the New York Post. Her work has also been featured in the New York Times, Scientific American Magazine, Glamour, Psychology Today, and other publications. She lives in Brooklyn. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Brain on Fire is at its most captivating when describing the torturous process of how doctors arrived at [the] diagnosis…At its best, Cahalan's prose carries a sharp, unsparing, tabloid punch in the tradition of Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin.
Michael Greenberg - New York Times Book Review

Cahalan's tale is told in straightforward journalistic prose and is admirably well-researched and described. Because she has no memory of her "month of madness," the story rests on doctors' notes and recollections, hospital films, her father's journals, both parents' recounting of what happened, and the reminiscences of her devoted boyfriend and those of her many friends and relatives. This story has a happy ending, but take heed: It is a powerfully scary book.
Maggie Scarf - Washington Post

The best reporters never stop asking questions, and Cahalan is no exception.… The result is a kind of anti-memoir, an out-of-body personal account of a young woman's fight to survive one of the cruelest diseases imaginable. And on every level, it's remarkable.… Cahalan is a gifted reporter, and Brain on Fire is a stunningly brave book. But even more than that, she's a naturally talented prose stylist—whip-smart but always unpretentious—and it's nearly impossible to stop reading her, even in the book's most painful passages.
NPR.org

A fascinating look at the disease that—if not for a nick-of-time diagnosis—could have cost this vibrant, vital young woman her life.
People

The bizarre and confounding illness that beset the 24-year-old New York Post reporter in early 2009 so ravaged her mentally and physically that she became unrecognizable to coworkers, family, friends, and—most devastatingly—herself… She dedicates this miracle of a book to "those without a diagnosis"…. [An] unforgettable memoir.
Elle

Focusing her journalistic toolbox on her story, Cahalan untangles the medical mystery surrounding her condition.… A fast-paced and well-researched trek through a medical mystery to a hard-won recovery.
Publishers Weekly

A compelling, quick read with a moving message. Cahalan's hip writing style, sympathetic characters, and suspenseful story will appeal to fans of medical thrillers…. [T]his book may save lives and promote empathy for those struggling with mental illness. —Chrissy Spallone, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Lib.
Library Journal

(Starred review)This fascinating memoir by a young New York Post reporter…describes how she crossed the line between sanity and insanity…Cahalan expertly weaves together her own story and relevant scientific information…compelling.
Booklist

[T]he author conjures the traumatic memories of her harrowing ordeal.… A valiant attempt to recount a mostly forgotten experience, though the many questions that remain may prove frustrating to some readers.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. A quote from the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche appears at both the beginning and end of Cahalan’s memoir: "The existence of forgetting has never been proved: we only know that some things do not come to our mind when we want them to." Why do you think Cahalan chooses to recall this quotation at both the story’s start and end? How does it correspond to Cahalan’s tale and its major themes? In addition to the content of the quotation, why is it particularly poignant that the author would choose a quote by Nietzsche to bookend her work?

2. Evaluate and discuss the style and genre of Brain on Fire. Cahalan describes the book as a memoir, but she also says that it reportage. She acknowledges using help from other sources since she has little to no memory of many of the happenings recounted in the book. In the author’s note she goes so far as to describe herself as an "unreliable source." How does this detail affect our experience of and response to her story? What does this indicate about truth and bias in storytelling? What complex issues does it raise in our understanding of works designated as nonfiction?

3. In the author’s note, Cahalan says that her book is "a journalist’s inquiry into that deepest part of self—personality, memory, identity." What does her story reveal about these three subjects? How does her account challenge our preconceptions of these three subjects? Alternatively, how does her account confirm or bolster what we already know and believe about these three subjects?

4. Brain on Fire is divided into three parts and fifty-three chapters. Why is this structure meaningful and important? How does it correspond to some of the major subjects and themes of the book? How does this structure affect our comprehension of the work or our emotional experience of it as readers?

5. Consider and discuss the various reactions to Cahalan’s illness as chronicled in her book. Are the responses uniform or varied? Are they expected or unexpected? What about Cahalan’s own responses to her illness and what she endures? Consider the response she recalls having while she was suffering versus her response after her treatment and recovery. What does consideration of these responses reveal about our responses to the mysterious and the unknown?

6. Consider and discuss your own reactions as readers to what you encounter on the page—at the opening of the story and as the story continues to its conclusion. How did your thoughts, feelings, and opinions change throughout?

7. In Chapter 22 (p. 83), Cahalan refers to a quote by William F. Allman’s book Apprentices of Wonder: Inside the Neural Network Revolution: "The brain is a monstrous beautiful mess." What does Allman mean by this? What does it reveal about the workings of the brain? How does this correspond to what we find revealed in Cahalan’s book?

8. The characters in Brain on Fire—friends, family, medical personnel, and even Cahalan herself—frequently consider if she may be suffering from some form of mental illness. What does the book reveal, then, about our way of thinking about mental illness? For instance, what does Cahalan’s story suggest about the relationship between psychology and neurology? What preconceptions does it reveal about our understanding of mental illness as a society? How does this story help to highlight the necessity of compassionate responses to those who are ill?

9. Cahalan incorporates many epigraphs, quotes, and references to famous figures—Nietzsche, Aristotle, Virginia Wolff, and many others—in her story. What may be the primary reason or reasons for these being included and why are they important?

10. Cahalan has titled her memoir Brain on Fire. What does this title mean and where does it come from?

11. Consider the role of faith in the story—not only religious faith, but also faith defined more broadly to include support for others, faith in one’s self (think not only of Cahalan’s story but of Dr. Najjar’s story), hope and resilience. What role does faith seem to play in success and recovery both for Cahalan and those around her?

12. What are some of the reasons that Cahalan may have chosen to share her story with the public? What lessons can we ultimately learn from her unique story?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
Adam Rutherford, 2017
The Experiment
416b pp.
ISBN-13: 9781615194049

Summary
In our unique genomes, every one of us carries the story of our species—births, deaths, disease, war, famine, migration, and a lot of sex.

But those stories have always been locked away—until now.

Who are our ancestors? Where did they come from? Geneticists have suddenly become historians, and the hard evidence in our DNA has blown the lid off what we thought we knew. Acclaimed science writer Adam Rutherford explains exactly how genomics is completely rewriting the human story—from 100,000 years ago to the present.

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived will upend your thinking on Neanderthals, evolution, royalty, race, and even redheads. (For example, we now know that at least four human species once roamed the earth.) Plus, here is the remarkable, controversial story of how our genes made their way to the Americas—one that’s still being written, as ever more of us have our DNA sequenced.

Rutherford closes with “A Short Introduction to the Future of Humankind,” filled with provocative questions that we’re on the cusp of answering: Are we still in the grasp of natural selection? Are we evolving for better or worse? And … where do we go from here? (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1974 - 1975
• Where—Ipswich, Sufffolk, UK
• Education—Ph.D., University College London Institute of Child Health
• Awards—Shortlisted, Wellcome Book Prize
• Currently—N/A

Dr Adam Rutherford is a British geneticist, author, and broadcaster. He was an editor for the journal Nature for a decade, is a frequent contributor to the newspaper The Guardian, hosts the BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Science, and has produced several science documentaries.

In addition to broadcasting, Rutherford has published three books related to genetics and the origin of life: Creation: The Origin of Life and Creation: The Future of Life, both issued in 2014, and A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Told Through Our Genes, released in 2017.

Early life
Rutherford, who is half Guyanese Indian, was born in Ipswich in the East of England and attended Ipswich School.

He was admitted to the medical school at University College London, but transferred to a degree in evolutionary genetics, including a project under Steve Jones studying stalk-eyed flies. In 2002, he completed a Ph.D. in genetics at the University College of London's Institute of Child Health, at Great Ormond Street Hospital. His thesis subject was the role of a specific gene (CHX10) on eye development —specifically, the effect of mutations on the development of eye disorders.

Rutherford's other academic research was also on genetic causes of eye disorders, including the relation of retinoschisin to retinoschisis, the role of mutations of the gene CRX in retinal dystrophy, and the role of the gene CHX10 in microphthalmia in humans and mice.

Rutherford published two books on the creation of life — Creation: The Origin of Life and Creation: The Future of Life — which in the UK, because the two are printed back-to-back (so the book can be read starting at either end), have been collectively called "two books in one."

The first part of the book argues in support of the theory, first proposed by Thomas Gold, that life emerged not in primordial warm ponds, but in extremophile conditions in the deep ocean, while the second part discusses "synthetic biology" — the use of genetic modification to create new organisms. In the US the book is published in a more conventional format with the title, Creation: How Science Is Reinventing Life Itself.

Rutherford was the Podcast Editor and the audio-video editor for the journal Nature until 2013, responsible for all the publication's published audio, video, and podcasts. He also published audio interviews with notable personalities, including Paul Bettany on his role playing Charles Darwin in the movie Creation, and David Attenborough on his documentary Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life. He wrote editorials on other diverse topics ranging from the overlap of art and science to reviews of science-themed movies.

Rutherford is a frequent contributor to The Guardian, writing primarily on science topics. He wrote a blog series covering his thoughts and analysis while re-reading Darwin's On the Origin of Species. And he has written articles supporting the teaching of evolution in schools and criticizing the teaching of creationism as science.

Religion is another topic of interest to Rutherford, notably his authorship of a 10-part series on his experience participating in the Alpha course. His works are also included in the compilation, The Atheist's Guide to Christmas.

Rutherford also writes on New Age themes and alternative medicine, including a review critical of Rupert Sheldrake's A New Science of Life. He has written critically about the lack of controls on advertising claims for homeopathy.

As a guest writer, he published an article in Wired on the possibility of using DNA for information storage.

Broadcasting
Rutherford frequently appears on BBC science programs, on both radio and television. Since 2013 he has been the host of the program Inside Science on BBC Radio 4.

In 2012 he was featured on the series Horizon on BBC Two television in the documentary Playing God, which covered synthetic biology using the example of the "Spider Goat," a goat genetically modified to produce spider silk in its milk.

In 2011 he presented, on BBC Four, The Gene Code, a two-part series on the implications of the decoding of the human genome, and his documentary, Science Betrayed, detailed the story of the discredited link between the MMR vaccine and autism.

In 2010, The Cell, his 3-part series on the discovery of cells and the development of cell biology, presented on BBC Four, was included in the Daily Telegraph's list of "10 classic science programmes."

In 2006, Discovery Science produced the six-episode TV series, Men in White, in which three scientists, Rutherford, Basil Singer, and Jem Stansfield applied science to the solution of everyday problems.

He also appeared in BBC Radio 4's The Infinite Monkey Cage, with physicist Brian Cox, physician and science writer Ben Goldacre, author Simon Singh, musician Tim Minchin, and comedians Helen Arney and Robin Ince.

Rutherford is a frequent guest on the Little Atoms radio chat show, and he has also acted as a science advisor on programmes such as The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, and the film World War Z.

In 2011 he conceived and directed Space Shuttles United, a video and musical tribute to all the space shuttle missions. (Adapred from Wikipedia. Retrieved 10/12/2017.)

Book Reviews
Rutherford’s follow-up to his highly regarded first book Creation is an effervescent work, brimming with tales and confounding ideas carried in the "epic poem in our cells." The myriad storylines will leave you swooning.… Rutherford, a trained geneticist, is an enthusiastic guide. He is especially illuminating on the nebulous concept of race, how it both does and doesn’t exist. Rutherford has proved himself a commendable historian—one who is determined to illuminate the commonality of Homo sapiens.
Guardian (UK)

Fifteen years ago, the first sequence and analysis of the human genome was published. A monumental surge in genetics followed. Science writer and broadcaster Adam Rutherford rides that tide and traces its effects, first focusing on how genetics has enriched, and in some cases upset, our understanding of human evolution, then examining the revelations of recent findings, such as deep flaws in the concept of race.… Rutherford unpeels the science with elegance.
Nature

A sweeping new view of the human evolution story, using the latest science of DNA as the central guide.… Recommended.
Scientific American

(Starred review.) Rutherford raises significant questions and explains complex topics well, engaging readers with humor and smooth prose.
Publishers Weekly

At times, Rutherford succumbs to editorializing on peripheral topics, including creationism, epigenetics, and genetic determinism, but he continues to be a witty writer throughout…. By turns amusing and provocative. —Nancy R. Curtis, Univ. of Maine Lib., Orono
Library Journal

An enthusiastic history of mankind [through] DNA … followed by a hopeful if cautionary account of what the recent revolution in genomics foretells.… Often quirky but thoughtful—solid popular science.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived … then take off on your own:

1. Talk about some of the specific information DNA has turned up regarding "how our evolution has proceeded." Most especially, how has the new genetic learning upset the conventional wisdom about our human development?

2. Follow-up to Question 1: What is the story of the Neanderthals and our relationship with them? In terms of interbreeding, how does new knowledge contradict what has long been the accepted science? And the Denisovans: who were they?

3. How does Adam Rutherford response to the insistence that genetics is destiny? What is his view of the nature vs. nurture conundrum?

4. What light does DNA shed on race...and racism?

5. Rutherford delights in meanders and digressions, providing fascinating nuggets on subjects like earwax. What other stray topics does he light upon? How about the Vikings …or the so-called "warrior gene"?

6. What role have genes played in eradicating or curing diseases? Were you surprised by Rutherford's answers?

7. Discuss the case of sickle cell, and the way in which evolution can give with one hand while taking away with the other.

8. How does the author feel about companies that offer genetic testing to reveal individuals' personal ancestry?

9. How does Rutherford defend against the naysayers when it comes to the cost and danger of continuing genetic research? What are the arguments made against further study — and what is the author's defense for its continuation? What is your opinion?

10. What struck you most about A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived? What surprised you most? Was your own understanding of human evolution challenged … or affirmed?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying
Nina Riggs, 2017
Simon & Schuster
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501169359

Summary
An exquisite memoir about how to live—and love—every day with “death in the room,” from poet Nina Riggs, mother of two young sons and the direct descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, in the tradition of When Breath Becomes Air.

“We are breathless, but we love the days. They are promises. They are the only way to walk from one night to the other.”

Nina Riggs was just thirty-seven years old when initially diagnosed with breast cancer—one small spot. Within a year, the mother of two sons, ages seven and nine, and married sixteen years to her best friend, received the devastating news that her cancer was terminal.

How does one live each day, "unattached to outcome"? How does one approach the moments, big and small, with both love and honesty?

Exploring motherhood, marriage, friendship, and memory, even as she wrestles with the legacy of her great-great-great grandfather, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nina Riggs’s breathtaking memoir continues the urgent conversation that Paul Kalanithi began in his gorgeous When Breath Becomes Air.

She asks, what makes a meaningful life when one has limited time?

Brilliantly written, disarmingly funny, and deeply moving, The Bright Hour is about how to love all the days, even the bad ones, and it’s about the way literature, especially Emerson, and Nina’s other muse, Montaigne, can be a balm and a form of prayer. It’s a book about looking death squarely in the face and saying “this is what will be.”

Especially poignant in these uncertain times, The Bright Hour urges us to live well and not lose sight of what makes us human: love, art, music, words. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—March 29, 1977
• Raised—North of Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Death—February 26, 2017
• Where—Greensboro, North Carolina

Nina Riggs was a poet, author, wife, and mother of two young sons, who died of breast cancer in 2017 at the age of 39. Her memoir The Bright Hour, about living and loving "with death in the room, was published several months after her death. The book was widely acclaimed for its inspiration, even humor, and became an bestseller.

Riggs traced her literary lineage back to Ralph Waldo Emerson, her great-great-great grandfather. As she told Nora Krug of the Washington Post:

His legacy hangs long over our family, and I grew up right near his old stomping grounds north of Boston. I was literally and figuratively raised in his shadow and, since I really wanted to be a writer from a young age, I guess I was bound to have to contend with his legacy. But I didn’t always have any sense of that. In fact, I came to an understanding of his writing only later in my life. For many years I didn’t even engage with Emerson directly. His portraits were around, and the family had first editions of Emerson’s work.

Riggs left Massachusetts for North Carolina where she earned her B.A. and her M.F.A. in poetry. in 2009 she published a book of poems, Lucky, Lucky.

Breast cancer was rife in her family, on both sides—she lost her mother nearly two years before her own death, and a great aunt was diagnosed in the 1970s. When Riggs herself was diagnosed, in 2015, she wrote about living with the disease on her blog, Suspicious Country. The memoir grew out of her blog.

Riggs' other work appeared in The Washington Post and New York Times. Riggs lived with her husband John Durbenstein, a lawyer, and their two young sons in Greensboro, North Carolina. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
Knowing Nina Riggs died shortly after writing The Bright Hour…makes this moving and often very funny memoir almost unbearable to read. But that's because it is not one bromide after the other. It is true, and it might crush you…You can read a multitude of books about how to die, but Riggs, a dying woman, will show you how to live.
Judith Newman - New York Times Book Review

The Bright Hour is a stunning work, a heart-rending meditation on life—not just how to appreciate it while you’re living it, but how to embrace its end, too. It is this year’s When Breath Becomes Air.
Nora Krug - Washington Post

A vivid, immediate dispatch from the front lines of mortality and a record of a life by someone who wasn't done living yet. But there is nothing maudlin about it...her warm portraits of each of [the members of her closest circle] are a large part of the book's emotional power. So is something we don't notice fully until it's gone: the strength and clarity of Riggs's voice, which never faded on the page, and which we won't get to hear again.
Laura Collins-Hughes - Boston Globe

Like the bestselling When Breath Becomes Air, the work she left behind is a beautiful testament to the quiet magic of everyday life and making the most of the time we are given, whether it’s spent taking last-minute trips to Paris, wallpapering the mudroom, or reveling in a newly purchased couch. "These are the things we all say at the end of book club now: I love you," she writes. "Of course we do. Why haven’t we been saying that all along?"
New York Post

Beautiful and haunting…a thoughtful and heartbreaking exploration of what makes life meaningful in a person's remaining days...Buried within this agonizing tale are moments of levity—I laughed out loud many, many times—and flashes of poetry.… This book provides a stunning look at that experience and has forever changed my understanding of the illness narrative. It’s a book every doctor and patient should read…It's hard not to compare The Bright Hour to When Breath Becomes Air, Paul Kalanithi's best-selling memoir about his battle with lung cancer. Both were in their late 30s when they discovered they were dying, and both write spare prose with a poignancy that is uncommon. However, Riggs' book is markedly different in tone and content. It's more humorous and less philosophical — but equally moving.
USA Today - Matt McCarthy, MD,

Poet Nina Riggs was only 37, the mother of two young sons, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a year she had lost her mother to multiple myeloma—and learned her own cancer was terminal as well. Riggs died last February, leaving behind this deeply affecting memoir, a simultaneously heartbreaking and funny account of living with loss and the specter of death. As she lyrically, unflinchingly details her reality, she finds beauty and truth that comfort even amid the crushing sadness.
People

Profound and poignant...superb...I put down The Bright Hour a slightly different, and better, person—unbearably sad and also feeling, as Riggs did, "the hug of the world."
Kelly Corrigan - O Magazine

In this memoir, published posthumously, Nina Riggs asks: How do you make life meaningful when you know your time is limited? With humor and honesty, The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying chronicles Riggs’s diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and the moments shared with her school-age sons and her husband before her death at age 39.
Real Simple

(Starred review.) Riggs frequently quotes her legendary relative and uses his writings as a guide…. In this tender memoir Riggs displays a keen awareness of and reverence for all the moments of life—both the light, and the dark, “the cruel, and the beautiful.”
Publishers Weekly

(Starred review.) Poet Riggs…reminds us that we are all in this world until we leave it; the gallows humor surrounding her mother's funeral will make readers howl guiltily but appreciatively.…beautifully crafted book as it imbues life and loved ones with a particularly transcendent glow. —Bette-Lee Fox, Library Journal
Library Journal

(Starred review.) A loving mother of two meditates on the nature of life and death.… Riggs' indefatigable spirit is the true heroine in this story of life and loss; even in her darkest moments, she writes, "the beautiful, vibrant, living world goes on." A luminous, heartbreaking symphony of wit, wisdom, pain, parenting, and perseverance against insurmountable odds.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Bright Hour … then take off on your own:

1. Nina Riggs has written a remarkable memoir—about a facing down a deadly disease—and done so with courageous and even, at times, humor. Find passages that strike you as particularly brave or inspirational or witty or sad. What passages stand out to you in terms of their sheer emotional power?

2. Riggs poses a question we all grapple with, but for her its answer was most urgent: what makes a meaningful life, particularly when that life is to be cut short? How does Riggs answer that question? How would you answer it?

3. The book's title comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "That is morning; to cease for a bright hour to be a prisoner of this sickly body, and to become as large as the World." What does the passage mean and what is its significance to the memoir?

4. Talk about how the death of Riggs' mother, Jan, affected her? Consider how painful it must have been for her mother to know she couldn't be there for Nina when she needed her.

5. After her surgery, Riggs' doctor dissuaded her from reconstructive surgery—"That's a survivor issue. We're not there yet." Was that a proper response on the doctor's part? How might you have felt had you received the answer: angry, fearful, or grateful for the honesty?

6. Talk about her husband's Epilogue and Acknowledgements. What does he reveal about himself in his writing and about his and Riggs' relationship?

7. Riggs wrote: "There are so many things that are worse than death: old grudges, a lack of self-awareness, severe constipation, no sense of humor, the grimace on your husband's face as he empties your surgical drain into the measuring cup." Do you agree that there are things worse than death? If so, what would you add to that list?

8. Overall, how did you experience The Bright Hour? Have you read Randy Pausche's The Last Lecture (2008) or Paul Kalanithi's When Breath Becomes Air (2016)? If so, is Riggs' book similar to either one in tone and message?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Brother, I'm Dying
Edwidge Danticat, 2007
Knopf Doubleday
288 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781400034307

Summary
Winner, 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award

From the best-selling author of The Dew Breaker, a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully moving family story that centers around the men closest to her heart—her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph.

From the age of four, Edwidge Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her “second father,” when she was placed in his care after her parents left Haiti for a better life in America. Listening to his sermons, sharing coconut-flavored ices on their walks through town, roaming through the house that held together many members of a colorful extended family, Edwidge grew profoundly attached to Joseph. He was the man who “knew all the verses for love.”

And so she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City. She is at last reunited with her two youngest brothers, and with her mother and father, whom she has struggled to remember. But she must also leave behind Joseph and the only home she’s ever known.

Edwidge tells of making a new life in a new country while fearing for the safety of those still in Haiti as the political situation deteriorates. But Brother I’m Dying soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. Late in 2004, his life threatened by an angry mob, forced to flee his church, the frail, eighty-one-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by U.S. Customs, held by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world. His brother, Mira, will soon join him in death, but not before he holds hope in his arms: Edwidge’s firstborn, who will bear his name—and the family’s stories, both joyous and tragic—into the next generation.

Told with tremendous feeling, this is a true-life epic on an intimate scale: a deeply affecting story of home and family—of two men’s lives and deaths, and of a daughter’s great love for them both. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1969
• Where—Port-au-Prince, Haiti
• Education—B.A., Barnard College; M.F.A., Brown University
• Awards—(see below)
• Currently—lives in New York City

Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian-American novelist and short-story writer. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, she was two years old when her father Andre immigrated to New York, to be followed two years later by her mother Rose. This left Danticat and her younger brother, also named Andre, to be raised by her aunt and uncle. Although her formal education in Haiti was in French, she spoke Kreyol at home.

Early years
While still in Haiti, Danticat began writing at 9 years old. At the age of 12, she moved to Brooklyn, New York, to join her parents in a heavily Haitian American neighborhood. As an immigrant teenager, Edwidge's disorientation in her new surroundings was a source of discomfort for her, and she turned to literature for solace.

Two years later she published her first writing in English, "A Haitian-American Christmas: Cremace and Creole Theatre," in New Youth Connections, a citywide magazine written by teenagers. She later wrote another story about her immigration experience for the same magazine, "A New World Full of Strangers". In the introduction to Starting With I, an anthology of stories from the magazine, Danticat wrote, “When I was done with the [immigration] piece, I felt that my story was unfinished, so I wrote a short story, which later became a book, my first novel: Breath, Eyes, Memory…Writing for New Youth Connections had given me a voice. My silence was destroyed completely, indefinitely.”

After graduating from Clara Barton High School in Brooklyn, New York, Danticat entered Barnard College in New York City. Initially she had intended on studying to become a nurse, but her love of writing won out and she received a BA in French literature in translation. In 1993, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Brown University—her thesis, entitled "My turn in the fire—an abridged novel," was the basis for her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, which was published by Soho Press in 1994. Four years later it became an Oprah's Book Club selection.

Career
Since completing her MFA, Danticat has taught creative writing at the New York University and the University of Miami. She has also worked with filmmakers Patricia Benoit and Jonathan Demme, on projects on Haitian art and documentaries about Haïti. Her short stories have appeared in over 25 periodicals and have been anthologized several times. Her work has been translated into numerous other languages, including French, Korean, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish.

Danticat is a strong advocate for issues affecting Haitians abroad and at home. In 2009, she lent her voice and words to Poto Mitan: Haitian Women Pillars of the Global Economy, a documentary about the impact of globalization on five women from different generations.

Edwidge Danticat is married to Fedo Boyer. She has two daughters, Mira and Leila.

Books and Awards

1994 - Breath, Eyes, Memory (novel)—Granta's Best Young American Novelists; Super Flaiano Prize
1996 - Krik? Krak! (stories)
1998 - The Farming of Bones (novel)—American Book Award
2002 - Behind the Mountains (young adult novel)
2002 - After the Dance: A Walk Through Carnival in Jacmel, Haiti (travel book)
2004 - The Dew Breaker (novel-in-stories) The Story Prize
2005 - Anacaona: Golden Flower, Haiti, 1490 (young adult novel)
2007 - Brother, I'm Dying (memoir/social criticis ) National Book Critics Circle Award; Dayton Literary Peace Prize
2010 - Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work (essay collection,) OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
2011 - Tent Life: Haiti (essay contributor)
2011 - Haiti Noir (anthology editor)
2011 - Best American Essays, 2011 (anthology editor)
2013 - Claire of the Sea Light (novel)

(From Wikipedia. Retrieved 9/15/13.)

Book Reviews
In Brother, I'm Dying, Ms. Danticat brings the lyric language and emotional clarity of her remarkable 2004 novel The Dew Breaker to bear on the story of her own family, a story which, like so much of her fiction, embodies the painful legacy of Haiti's violent history, demonstrating the myriad ways in which the public and the private, the political and the personal, intersect in the lives of that country's citizens and exiles. Ms. Danticat not only creates an indelible portrait of her two fathers, her dad and her uncle, but in telling their stories, she gives the reader an intimate sense of the personal consequences of the Haitian diaspora: its impact on parents and children, brothers and sisters, those who stay and those who leave to begin a new life abroad. She has written a fierce, haunting book about exile and loss and family love, and how that love can survive distance and separation, loss and abandonment and somehow endure, undented and robust.
Michiko Kakutani - New York Times

How does a novelist, who trades in events filtered through imagination and memory, recreate an event so recent, so intimate and so outrageous, an attack on her own loyalties and sense of deepest belonging? The story of Joseph Dantica could be, perhaps will be, told in many forms: as a popular ballad (performed, in my imagination, by Wyclef Jean); as Greek tragedy; as agitprop theater; as a bureaucratic nightmare worthy of Kafka. But Edwidge Danticat, true to her calling, has resisted any of these predictable responses. "Anger is a wasted emotion," says the narrator of The Dew Breaker, her most recent novel; in telling her family's story, she follows this dictum almost to a fault, giving us a memoir whose cleareyed prose and unflinching adherence to the facts conceal an astringent undercurrent of melancholy, a mixture of homesickness and homelessness.
Jess Row - New York Times Book Review

As she recounts in her powerful new memoir, Brother, I'm Dying, Danticat was 2 when her father left Haiti for the United States and 4 when her mother followed him to New York City. "Then, as now, leaving often seemed like the only answer, especially if one was sick like my uncle or poor like my father, or desperate, like both." She lived for eight years with her father's older brother, Joseph, a dynamic pastor who ran a church and school in the hilltop neighborhood of Bel Air overlooking Port-au-Prince, while waiting to join her parents. Danticat interweaves the story of her childhood spent between her two "papas" with the final months of both men's lives, which happened to coincide with her first pregnancy. In the process, Brother, I'm Dying, a nominee for this year's National Book Award, illustrates the large shadow cast by political and personal legacies over both the past and the future.
Bliss Broyard - Washington Post

(Starred review.) In a single day in 2004, Danticat (Breath, Eyes, Memory; The Farming of Bones) learns that she's pregnant and that her father, Andre, is dying—a stirring constellation of events that frames this Haitian immigrant family's story, rife with premature departures and painful silences. When Danticat was two, Andre left Haiti for the U.S., and her mother followed when Danticat was four. The author and her brother could not join their parents for eight years, during which Andre's brother Joseph raised them. When Danticat was nine, Joseph—a pastor and gifted orator—lost his voice to throat cancer, making their eventual separation that much harder, as he wouldn't be able to talk with the children on the phone. Both Andre and Joseph maintained a certain emotional distance through these transitions. Danticat writes of a Haitian adage, " A When you bathe other people's children, you should wash one side and leave the other side dirty." I suppose this saying cautions those who care for other people's children not to give over their whole hearts. In the end, as Danticat prepares to lose her ailing father and give birth to her daughter, Joseph is threatened by a volatile sociopolitical clash and forced to flee Haiti. He's then detained by U.S. Customs and neglected for days. He unexpectedly dies a prisoner while loved ones await news of his release. Poignant and never sentimental, this elegant memoir recalls how a family adapted and reorganized itself over and over, enduring and succeeding to remain kindred in spite of living apart.
Publishers Weekly

Haitian-born American writer Danticat (The Dew Breaker) is at her best-fearless, persuasive, and captivating-in recounting her family history. We meet the author as a child in her native country when she is left in the care of her pastor uncle, Joseph, after her parents and brothers immigrate to America. Fast-forward several years, and a teenage Danticat joins the family she barely remembers in New York City, leaving behind her beloved "second father" and island country. What comes next are not uncommon threads in an immigrant narrative-political uncertainties and the colorful figures imposing them, rogues empowered with guns to protect the interests of a self-serving dictator, visa aspirations, cultural woes, and the soothing power of family. In a world where the concept of the distinct nation is fast giving way to the preeminence of diasporas, this is a tale for all, both uplifting and tragic (in 2004, 81-year-old Joseph fled to Miami after escaping a pro-Aristide mob only to be detained and die in prison). Most readers will likely recognize a kindred spirit or something familiar in this family account, brought so vividly to life and captured for the ages by a fine writer. Recommended for all public libraries.
Edward K. Owusu-Ansah - Library Journal

Danticat (The Dew Breaker, 2004, etc.) tells the dramatically twinned stories of her father's and uncle's hardworking, tragedy-haunted lives. This exceptionally gripping memoir starts off momentously in 2004, when the author discovers she's pregnant on the same day she learns that her father has end-stage pulmonary fibrosis. From there, Danticat angles backward in time, sketching a family history marked by long absences and a backdrop of political unrest. While her parents tried to make a better life in Brooklyn, the author was raised in Haiti by her uncle Joseph; she didn't join her mother and father until she was 12. She depicts Joseph, a pastor in Port-au-Prince, as a quiet, dignified man who suffered as only good men do. A radical laryngectomy in 1978 took away his voice. Years later, fleeing the gangs terrorizing Haiti in the post-Aristide years, he died in an undeservedly ugly fashion, humiliated and denied his medication by the U.S. authorities to whom he applied for asylum. Shifting back and forth in time, Danticat alternates between her uncle's and her father's stories. She keeps herself solidly in the background, using her childhood experiences as a means to vividly portray two honorable, duty-bound men who wanted nothing more than to lead respectable lives in a peaceful and prosperous Haiti. The country's troubled history is always smoldering in the background, and there's an explosion of tears waiting behind almost every sentence. But Danticat avoids sentimentality in smoothly honed prose that is nonetheless redolent with emotion. Deeply felt memoir rife with historical drama and familial tragedy.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Danticat tells us that she has constructed the story from the...

borrowed recollections of family members.... What I learned from my father and uncle, I learned out of sequence and in fragments. This is an attempt at cohesiveness, and at re-creating a few wondrous and terrible months when their lives and mine intersected in startling ways, forcing me to look forward and back at the same time [pp. 25-26].

Discuss what this work of reconstruction and reordering means for the structure of the story she presents, as well as for her own understanding of what happened to the two brothers

2. Consider the scene in which Danticat sees the results of her pregnancy test. How do her fears for her father affect her first thoughts of her child? She says to herself, "My father is dying and I'm pregnant" [pp. 14-15]. How does this knowledge change her sense of time? How does it affect her understanding of the course of her family's history?

3. As a child, Danticat was disturbed at how little her father said in the letters he sent to the family in Haiti. He later told her, “I was no writer.... What I wanted to tell you and your brother was too big for any piece of paper and a small envelope” [p. 22]. Why, as a child, did she “used to dream of smuggling him words” [p. 21]?

4. How does young Edwidge retain her loyalties to her parents, even though they are absent from her life for so many years? Is there evidence that she feels hurt or rejected by their decision to leave for the States? How does she feel when they come back to visit Haiti with two new children [pp. 87-96]?

5. Haiti's history is briefly sketched on page29 and elsewhere. While many readers will know that Haiti was a slave colony, why is the fact of the American invasion and nineteen-year occupation less well known [p. 29]? Danticat's paternal grandfather, Granpe Nozial, fought with the guerrilla resistance against the Americans. How does the family's engagement with Haiti's political history affect Joseph's unwillingness to emigrate to the U.S.? Why does he refuse to leave Haiti, or even to remove himself from the dangers of Bel Air [pp. 30-36]?

6. If so few words are passed between Danticat's parents and their two children in Haiti, how is emotion transmitted? Is there a sense, in the book, that Danticat is emotionally reticent even after her reunion with her parents? Why is she reluctant to tell her parents the news about her pregnancy [p. 44]? Why is it important that her father gave her a typewriter as a welcoming present [pp. 118-20]?

7. Danticat found a scrap of paper on which she had written, soon after coming to Brooklyn, “My father's cab is named for wanderers, drifters, nomads. It's called a gypsy cab” [p. 120]. What does this suggest about how she understood, or thought about, her father's work and her family's status in America? What does it reveal about a young girl's interest in the power of words?

8. Brother, I'm Dying is Danticat's first major work of nonfiction. What resemblances does it bear, if any, to her works of fiction in terms of style, voice, content, etc.?

9. Danticat says of her story, “I am writing this only because they can't” [p. 26]. As a girl, Edwidge was often literally her uncle's voice, because after his tracheotomy she could read his lips and tell others what he was saying. Why is it important that she also speak for her father and her uncle in writing this memoir?

10. Consider the relationship between the two brothers, Mira and Joseph. There is a significant difference in age, and Mira has been away from his brother for decades, by the end of the story. Despite this, they remain close. What assumptions about kinship and family ties are displayed in their love for each other? Are these bonds similar to, or stronger than, ties you would see between American-born brothers?

11. When Danticat describes the death of her cousin, Marie-Micheline, or her uncle's list of the bodies he has seen on the street, or when she recounts the story of the men laughing as they kick around a human head, or the threat of the gangs to decapitate her uncle Joseph, or the looting and burning of his home and his church, what is your response as a reader? How does this violence resonate against the warmth and love that are so clearly expressed by the feeling of Danticat's extended family members for each other?

12. How does Danticat convey a sense of the richness of Haitian culture? What are the people like? What are their folk tales like? How does their use of both Creole and French affect their approach to language and speech? How does she make us feel the effects of the violence and poverty that the Haitians endure?

13. Does what happened to Joseph while in custody in Florida suggest that racist assumptions lie at the heart of U.S. immigration policy? Is Danticat right to wonder whether this would have happened had he not been Haitian, or had he not been black [p. 222]? Does it seem that the family could have taken legal action against the Department of Homeland Security?

14. Danticat's description of what happens to her uncle in U.S. custody is reconstructed from documents. How does Danticat control her emotion while presenting these events? How, in general, would you describe her writing style as she narrates these often devastating events?

15. Danticat relates her Granme Melina's story about the girl who wanted the old woman to bring her father back from the land of the dead [pp. 265-67]: what is the effect of her decision to end the book with this story? How does the story reflect on the book as a whole, and on the act of writing?

16. As one reviewer put it, “If there's such a thing as a warmhearted tragedy, Brother, I'm Dying is a stunning example” (Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor). Do you agree? If so, what elements in the writing and the story contribute to this effect?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

top of page (summary)

The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret War
Stephen Kinzer, 2013
Henry Holt
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780805094978

Summary
A joint biography of John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles, who led the United States into an unseen war that decisively shaped today’s world.

During the 1950s, when the Cold War was at its peak, two immensely powerful brothers led the United States into a series of foreign adventures whose effects are still shaking the world.

John Foster Dulles was secretary of state while his brother, Allen Dulles, was director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In this book, Stephen Kinzer places their extraordinary lives against the background of American culture and history. He uses the framework of biography to ask: Why does the United States behave as it does in the world?

The Brothers explores hidden forces that shape the national psyche, from religious piety to Western movies—many of which are about a noble gunman who cleans up a lawless town by killing bad guys. This is how the Dulles brothers saw themselves, and how many Americans still see their country’s role in the world.

Propelled by a quintessentially American set of fears and delusions, the Dulles brothers launched violent campaigns against foreign leaders they saw as threats to the United States. These campaigns helped push countries from Guatemala to the Congo into long spirals of violence, led the United States into the Vietnam War, and laid the foundation for decades of hostility between the United States and countries from Cuba to Iran.

The story of the Dulles brothers is the story of America. It illuminates and helps explain the modern history of the United States and the world. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—August 4, 1951
• Raised—Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—B.A., Boston University
• Currently—lives in Boston, Massachusetts

Stephen Kinzer is a United States author and newspaper reporter. He is a veteran New York Times correspondent who has reported from more than fifty countries on five continents.

During the 1980s he covered revolution and social upheaval in Central America. In 1990, he was promoted to bureau chief of the Berlin bureau and covered the growth of Eastern and Central Europe as they emerged from Soviet rule. He was also New York Times bureau chief in Istanbul (Turkey) from 1996 to 2000. He currently teaches journalism and United States foreign policy at Boston University.

Kinzer has written several non-fiction books about Turkey, Central America, Iran, the US overthrow of foreign governments from the late 19th century to the present, and about Rwanda's recovery from genocide.

Views
Kinzer has spoken out widely against a potential U.S. attack on Iran, warning that it would destroy the pro-US sentiment that has become widespread among the Iranian populace under the repressive Islamic regime. He is also a fierce opponent of US foreign policy toward Latin America. In a 2010 interview with Imagineer Magazine, he stated:

The effects of U.S. intervention in Latin America have been overwhelming negative. They have had the effect of reinforcing brutal and unjust social systems and crushing people who are fighting for what we would actually call “American values.” In many cases, if you take Chile, Guatemala, or Honduras for examples, we actually overthrew governments that had principles similar to ours and replaced those democratic, quasi-democratic, or nationalist leaders with people who detest everything the United States stands for.

In Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change From Hawaii to Iraq, published in 2006, Kinzer critiques US foreign policy as overly interventionist.

In his 2008 book A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man who Dreamed It, Kinzer credits President Paul Kagame for the peace, development, and stability that Rwanda has enjoyed in the years after the Rwandan genocide, and criticizes the leaders of Rwanda before the genocide such as Juvenal Habyarimana.

His 2013 biography The Brothers: John Foster Dulles, Allen Dulles, and Their Secret War examines the Dulles brothers—Secretary of State and Director of the CIA, respectively—and their prosecution of the Cold War, including US government-sanctioned murders of foreign officials. (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 1/16/2014 .)

Book Reviews
Anyone wanting to know why the United States is hated across much of the world need look no farther than this book. The Brothers is a riveting chronicle of government-sanctioned murder, casual elimination of "inconvenient" regimes, relentless prioritization of American corporate interests and cynical arrogance on the part of two men who were once among the most powerful in the world…In his detailed, well-constructed and highly readable book, Stephen Kinzer…shows how the brothers drove America's interventionist foreign policy.
Adam LeBor - New York Times Book Review

[A] fluently written, ingeniously researched, thrillerish work of popular history… Mr. Kinzer has brightened his dark tale with an abundance of racy stories. Gossip nips at the heels of history on nearly every page.
Wall Street Journal

[A] bracing, disturbing and serious study of the exercise of American global power… Kinzer, a former foreign correspondent for the New York Times, displays a commanding grasp of the vast documentary record, taking the reader deep inside the first decades of the Cold War. He brings a veteran journalist’s sense of character, moment and detail. And he writes with a cool and frequently elegant style.
Washington Post

[A] fast-paced and often gripping dual biography.
Boston Globe

Born into Eastern establishment privilege, these two men strode into the uppermost strata of the U.S. government with a virulent anti-communist bent that infused US foreign policy during the Cold War. The siblings were temperamental opposites.... This approachable history is a candid appraisal of how the Dulles's grandiose geopolitical calculations set in motion events that continue to reverberate in American foreign policy today.
Publishers Weekly

Award-winning foreign correspondent Kinzer uses Wild West mythology—with the good guys gunning down the bad guys in a lawless town—to explain the policies of Cold War Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother, CIA director Allen Dulles.
Library Journal

An author tending toward criticism of American foreign affairs, Kinzer casts a jaundiced eye on siblings who conducted them in the 1950s. Framing his assessment as a dual biography of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and CIA director Allen Dulles, Kinzer roots their anti-Communist policies in their belief in American exceptionalism.... A historical critique sure to spark debate. —Gilbert Taylor
Booklist

[T]he dark side of Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration through the activities of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen, the director of the CIA. The author reveals the pair's responsibility for the wave of assassinations, coups and irregular wars.... [T]he author clearly presents the Dulles family's contributions to the development of a legal and political structure for American corporations' international politics. A well-documented and shocking reappraisal of two of the shapers of the American century. (Best Nonfiction Book of 2013.)
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Also, consider these LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for The Brothers:

1. Start with the personalities of the two brothers: how do they differ from one another, and how they are similar? How did the family background shape the brothers' beliefs, attitudes, and actions as adults? Do you admire one brother more than the other?

2. Talk about the brothers' personal lives as adults: their relationship with one another, their spouses, and their children.

3. Kinzer examines the brothers' outsized influence in foreign policy as Secretary of State and Director of Central Intelligance. Is the author overly condemnatory...or are his criticisms on target? Critics say Kinzer does not take into account the tenor of the times: the fact that the Soviet threat was real and increasing and that China had come under Communist control, threatening to destablize the East. What are your views? Did the Dulles brothers overreach ... or were their policies and actions appropriate for the time?

4. To what degree does the United States have the right to interfer in other countries' governments? Do we have the right to overthrow foreign governments? Assist with or spur assassinations? What if our vital national interests are at stake? How do we determine what our national interests are? Have those "interests" changed over the past 50-60 years, since the time of the Dulles brothers? Or do our national interests remain the same—only the tacts change?

5. Talk about the Dulles family's financial support of preNazi and Nazi Germany. To what degree was the family complicit in the rise of Nazi power?

6. To what extent did the Dulles brothers operate foreign policy for the benefit of American corporations? Is that a fair, or unfair, assessment?

7. Talk about the CIA era under Allen Dulles. Lyndon B. Johnson once referred to it as "Murder Inc." Was he right?

8. Does this book alter or confirm your views of American foreign policy over the years? Were you suprised by what you read in The Brothers?

9. How would you describe the long-term influence of the Dulles brothers on US foreign policy?

(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)

top of page (summary)

Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man
Brian McGrory, 2012
Crown Publishing
336 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780307953063

Summary
Brian McGrory's life changed drastically after the death of his beloved dog, Harry: he fell in love with Pam, Harry's veterinarian. Though Brian’s only responsibility used to be his adored Harry, Pam came with accessories that could not have been more exotic to the city-loving bachelor: a home in suburbia, two young daughters, two dogs, two cats, two rabbits, and a portly, snow white, red-crowned-and-wattled step-rooster named Buddy.

While Buddy loves the women of the house, he takes Brian's presence as an affront, doing everything he can to drive out his rival. Initially resistant to elements of his new life and to the loud, aggressive rooster (who stares menacingly, pecks threateningly, and is constantly poised to attack), Brian eventually sees that Buddy shares the kind of extraordinary relationship with Pam and her two girls that he wants for himself. The rooster is what Brian needs to be—strong and content, devoted to what he has rather than what might be missing. As he learns how to live by living with animals, Buddy, Brian’s nemesis, becomes Buddy, Brian’s inspiration, in this inherently human story of love, acceptance, and change.

In the tradition of bestsellers like Marley and Me, Dewey, and The Tender Bar comes a heartwarming and wise tale of finding love in life’s second chapter—and how it means all the more when you have to fight for it. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Boston, Massachusetts, USA
• Education—B.A., Bates College
• Awards—Scripps Howard award
• Currently—lives in Massachusetts

Brian McGrory is a longtime newspaper reporter, editor, and columnist. Born and raised in and around Boston, he went to college at Bates College in Maine. He worked for the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, the New Haven Register in Connecticut, and has written for and edited the Boston Globe since 1989. He has a twice weekly column that appears on the front of the metro section, for which he has won the Scripps Howard journalism award, and is the author of four novels. He lives in Massachusetts with his entire family. (From the publisher.)

Book Reviews
A moving and funny account of one man’s journey from bachelor to husband and father aided by remarkable pets. Novelist and Boston Globe columnist McGrory begins his tale by recounting his bond with his first dog, Harry. Obedient yet loving, Harry helps him through his divorce and enjoyment of newly single life, until a painful disease takes the dog just before his 10th birthday. A grieving McGrory goes about his life, “swallowed up by acres of emptiness like I had never imagined,” until Pam, his former vet, sends him an expensive necktie, and he falls in love again. Pam, recently divorced with two young daughters, introduces McGrory to suburbia and a rooster named Buddy. Originally a science fair project for one of the girls, Buddy quickly becomes the neighborhood attraction, strutting out on the front lawn. Despite McGrory’s hopes that Pam will find a more suitable home for the rooster, Buddy’s tenure becomes permanent with a strong fence around the yard and a home in the shed. In spite of (or perhaps because of) Buddy’s frequent attacks on McGrory, and a disastrous summer in Maine, McGrory comes to understand the obligations and sacrifices that come with family life.
Publishers Weekly

C'mon, how can you resist that title? With the death of his cherished dog, Harry, McGrory lost his best friend but gained in the romance department: he fell for Harry's veterinarian, Pam. And he was ready to accept Pam's entire family—two daughters, two cats, two dogs, two rabbits, and one rooster—but the white-feathered, red-crowned Buddy was not about to accept him. Here's how McGrory overcame Buddy's resistance to sharing Pam. Since he's a Scripps Howard Award-winning journalist at the Boston Globe and a novelist to boot (e.g., Dead Line), expect good writing.
Library Journal

The story of a newspaper columnist who got a second shot at love and happiness in the suburbs—only a crazed rooster named Buddy stood in his way.... Readers who adore their pets will no doubt identify with the profundity of losing a cherished animal, but the unrelenting somberness juxtaposed with the occasionally silly moment make for an uneven narrative. An unexpectedly melancholy meditation on marriage, mortality and the merits of living in suburbia.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:

• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)

Specific discussion questions will be added if and when they are made available by the publisher.

top of page (summary)

Page 2 of 15

GetLit

LitClub

LitResources

LitBlog

LitFood

LitCourse