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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…
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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…
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Around the world
What a great, immensely entertaining book – and it’s educational, too. This would be a good choice for a book club, for vacation reading or any time you want to get transported by a good story. By Linda C. Brinson EIGHTY DAYS: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s History-Making Race Around the World. By Matthew Goodman.…
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Insights into history
How did that happen? How did the United States win World War II, only to find itself within months embroiled in a frightening, costly “cold war” with one of its former allies? Paul O’Connor looks at a book that provides some insights. By Paul T. O’Connor SIX MONTHS IN 1945: FROM WORLD WAR TO COLD…
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Out of the South, into life’s travails
For a debut novelist, it doesn’t get much better than what is unfolding for Ayana Mathis and The Twelve Tribes of Hattie. It’s Oprah’s pick for her book club, and it was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review on Jan. 6. The book deserves the attention. It is a haunting,…
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Jefferson: No more Mr. Nice Guy
Paul O’Connor takes a look at – and a listen to – the latest re-examination of Thomas Jefferson, one of our greatest presidents (or was he?). By Paul T. O’Connor THOMAS JEFFERSON: THE ART OF POWER. By Jon Meacham. Read by Edward Herrmann. Random House Audio. 15 CDs. 19 hours. $50. Also available in hardback…
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The Civil War – did it have to happen?
Full disclosure: Although he’s lived in North Carolina for decades, and knows more about the workings of government in the Tar Heel State than just about anybody, Paul O’Connor is a Connecticut Yankee. Bless his heart. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, he approached this book about the causes of the Civil War (aka,…
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Good read, good ending
Paul O’Connor and I were working together on the Winston-Salem Journal’s editorial pages at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. Paul has read a lot about the circumstances that led up to the attacks and the findings of the 9/11 Commission. I was interested to read his review of this book about how, 10…
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The FBI: Too much, too little
We know, more or less, about J. Edgar Hoover and his excesses, but there’s a lot more appalling information in the history of the FBI. Paul O’Connor reviews a new book that lays out many of the excesses and shortcomings. By Paul T. O’Connor ENEMIES: A History of the FBI. By Tim Weiner. Read by…
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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…