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Think you know all about our founders? Think again
Paul O’Connor, who, like me, has been on spring break from the rigors of teaching journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has found time to review a book that’s been out a few years but is new to him. When I was the book-page editor at a newspaper, we did not…
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What’s not to like?
Did you like Ike? If you are old enough to remember when he was president, you probably don’t have any negative memories of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Maybe not any particularly positive ones, either. He was just there, the president, old reliable. Paul O’Connor, who’s barely old enough to have memories of Ike, reviews a book…
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A review not to be missed
Paul O’Connor started the year out by sending this review to me, which was an admirable way for him to start the new year. Unfortunately, I was on a bird-watching expedition to Lake Mattamuskeet when the review hit my inbox, so I didn’t start the new year in quite so efficient a manner. Fortunately, my…
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A thought-provoking new look at the Father of Our Country
We all know that our Founders were devout, practicing Christians favoring small government and no taxes, right? Guess again. Or better yet, read Paul O’Connor’s review of a new biography of George Washington on Briar Patch Books. By Paul O’Connor WASHINGTON: A LIFE. By Ron Chernow. The Penguin Press. 817 pages. Hardcover, $40. Softcover, $20.…
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No laughing matter
Bob Moyer takes a sobering look at a serious subject: humor in Nazi Germany, and what it tells us about that terrible time. By Robert Moyer DEAD FUNNY: Humor in Hitler’s Germany. By Rudolph Herzog. Translated by Jefferson Chase. Melville House. 256 pages. $26. It is unbelievable that Hitler was responsible for the deaths of…
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The great disconnect: Our children, our world
Here we have a new reviewer discussing a book that has been the subject of considerable attention since it was published in 2008. I wrote about the book a couple of times in op-ed columns for the Winston-Salem Journal back then, when I was the editorial-page editor. Its subject is near and dear to my…
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American dreams
You may derive some odd comfort from a reminder that as crazy as our times seem, they fit right in with the story of American history. Steve Wishnevsky reviews a book that looks at a past America on the brink of a great war. By Stephen Wishnevsky TWILIGHT AT THE WORLD OF TOMORROW: GENIUS, MADNESS,…
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When reality isn’t real – or is it?
Steve Wishnevsky of Winston-Salem has seen the future in a fascinating new book. Read his review and see how brave you feel about the new world that awaits us. By Stephen Wishnevsky INFINITE REALITY: AVATARS, ETERNAL LIFE, NEW WORLDS, AND THE DAWN OF THE VIRTUAL REVOLUTION. By Jim Blascovitch and Jeremy Bailenson. HarperCollins. 304 pages.…
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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…
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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…