-
Understanding 1776
Paul O’Connor, contributing editor, is wandering the United States this summer, listening to audio books that enrich his travels, and reviewing those books for Briar Patch. Here’s a look back at 1776, just in time for Independence Day enlightenment. By Paul T. O’Connor REVOLUTIONARY SUMMER: The Birth of American Independence. By Joseph J. Ellis. Read…
-
Root, root, root for the home team
What better time than summer to read a book about baseball? Paul O’Connor took a break from his wanderings this summer to visit an Iowa town and team featured in a new book he’s been reading about minor-league baseball. CLASS A: BASEBALL IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYWHERE. By Lucas Mann. Pantheon Books. Hardcover. 315 pages.…
-
For a great escape, try Dan Brown’s latest
Here’s a great vacation book, whether you listen to it, as I did, while driving, or read the print version. I enjoyed Dan Brown’s blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, especially, but I’ve somehow missed a couple of his other efforts. Judging from some reviews I’ve read of The Lost Symbol, missing that one might have…
-
And you thought you knew American history
Paul O’Connor, professor, gentleman, journalist, scholar and sometime editorial writer, is on his annual drive-about. For a companion when he’s driving long distances, he has some new audio books. Here’s a look at one he found worth the listen. By Paul T. O’Connor HERE IS WHERE: Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History. By Andrew Carroll. Random…
-
This father knows best, or at least tells it best
By Linda C. Brinson I’ve followed Clyde Edgerton’s writing career from the beginning, when he blasted onto the North Carolina literary scene in a storm of controversy. His first novel, Raney, poked fun at Southern Baptists, and his employer at the time, Campbell University, an affiliate of the N.C. Baptist State Convention, was not amused.…
-
Gorillas, evolution and adventure
My husband says he can’t drive while listening to an audio book – it’s too distracting. But I can (and usually do), except when traffic gets bad or directions confusing. On a recent trip, I took the wheel so that we could listen to a book I thought we’d both enjoy. I was right. He’s…
-
The prim, the proper, the depraved
Most of us know, through Charles Dickens or other sources, something of the seamy side of Victorian England and how difficult life was for the poor people of the day. Anne Perry’s two outstanding series of historical novels set in that period also shed light into some of the darker corners of life among the…
-
Life in a van, and a lot more
By Linda C. Brinson If you have access to the Greensboro News & Record today (May 26), please read my interview with Ken Ilgunas and my review of his book Walden on Wheels. The N&R doesn’t provide its copy free online, so I can’t offer a link. Ken is a thoughtful, engaging young man who’s…
-
A modest civics lesson on a lofty subject
Paul O’Connor (no known relation to Sandra Day O’Connor) is embarking on his annual driving trip, which means lots of good listening/reading time for him, and lots of good reviews for us. By Paul T. O’Connor OUT OF ORDER. By Sandra Day O’Connor. Random House Audio. CDs, 7 Hours. $35. It’s an oddity of America’s…