-
9/11, Ten years later
As the United States approaches the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that shocked our nation and sent us to war, Paul O’Connor reviews a new book that tells the “full story.” By Paul T. O’Connor THE ELEVENTH DAY: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden, by Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan.…
-
Life, love and danger in old Puerto Rico
Warning: Here’s another audio book that might make you waste precious gasoline if you listen, as I do, while you are driving. There are many passages in this book where I was unwilling to stop listening, even if I was about to reach my destination. By Linda Brinson CONQUISTADORA. By Esmeralda Santiago. Random House Audio.…
-
Finding what is in poems
Welcome to a new yet familiar reviewer, Kathryn Milam. Years ago, when I edited the book-review page for the Winston-Salem Journal, I was always pleased when Kathryn contributed a review. A writer herself, she’s an insightful reader. Then she moved away, and, later, the Journal discontinued its locally written/edited adult book-review page. Now Kathryn’s back,…
-
Still time for a summer read
I’ll admit it. In a way, I’m late in reviewing this book. It would make a good beach read, and here we are at the end of July. I don’t mean that “beach read” description as an insult. While Summer in the South is an entertaining, reasonably quick read, it has more substance than many…
-
Art, in the eye of one who knows
Steve Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem is a man of many talents. Besides being a prolific writer, astute reviewer and sage observer of the political scene, he also is a gifted luthier. He crafts beautiful instruments of wood. So when Steve is swept off his feet by a book, we need to pay attention. By Stephen Wishnevsky…
-
Off to the South of Thailand
It’s always a pleasure to run across another good author. And if you make this discovery by reading what’s billed as the first in a new series, that’s all the better. Colin Cotterill is, apparently, someone whose works I should have been reading already. He’s done quite well with a series featuring Dr. Siri, a…
-
So much information
Steve Wishnevsky has tackled a big book about a big subject and come away almost – but fortunately not quite – at a loss for words to describe it. By Stephen Wishnevsky THE INFORMATION: A HISTORY, A THEORY, A FLOOD. By James Gleick. Pantheon Books. 544 pages. $29.95. This is quite the ambitious attempt, to…
-
Listening and laughing
There’s an odd thing about audio books. I find that I can enjoy listening to books that I most likely would not read. That’s been true of some pretty heavy nonfiction. And now I’ve found it to be true of one of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum books. I started to say “mysteries” or “thrillers” instead…
-
Reading Hillerman in Hillerman country
A day in June found me in Tuba City, Ariz., on the Navajo Nation. My husband and son and I were camping in the Four Corners area where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. This is Indian country, with large reservations occupying much of the area. Naturally, I thought of Tony Hillerman, who wrote…