I celebrate Black Friday by reviewing A Giant Cow-tipping by Savages, by John Weir Close, in which Close explores the wild world of mergers and acquisitions in the coke-fueled 80s. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: A Giant Cow-tipping by Savages, by John Weir Close
This week at CCLaP, I review Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters, and the Making of a New American Food Culture, by Dana Goodyear, that encompasses everything from anti-FDA crusaders to luxury chefs in Vegas to seekers of illegal whale meat. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Anything That Moves, by Dana Goodyear
At the New York Journal of Books I review The Confidence Trap: A History of Democracy in Crisis from World War I to the Present, by David Runciman, a challenging, confounding, but ultimately rewarding political analysis democracy’s ability to weather crises and occasionally get blindsided by the next crisis. Continue reading The Confidence Trap, by David Runciman @ NYJB
This week Karl Wolff continues his essay series, The NSFW Files, with “Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle,” by Vladimir Nabokov, an erotic tale of incest set in an alternate historical timeline. Continue reading The NSFW Files: Ada, or Ardor: a Family Chronicle, by Vladimir Nabokov
Over at the New York Journal of Books, I review Calder Walton’s fascinating Empire of Secrets: British Intelligence, the Cold War, and the Twilight of Empire, all about the UK’s precarious position and its nefarious intelligence practices during the Cold War. Continue reading Empire of Secrets: British Intelligence, the Cold War, and the Twilight of Empire, by Calder Walton @ NYJB
This week at the New York Journal of Books, I review Tales of Two Cities: Paris, London, and the Birth of the Modern City, by Jonathan Conlin, which is “. . . an entertaining account that strings together fascinating factoids into a tapestry of urban history and cultural anthropology.” Continue reading Tales of Two Cities: Paris, London, and the Birth of the Modern City, by Jonathan Conlin @ NYRB
I am looking for panelists to participate in a literary roundtable focusing on various aspects of Ada. Everything from family relations to literary history to the postmodernist project can be discussed and explored. For panelists, the prerequisites are comically low. Have you read the book? If you’ve answered yes to that question, then you can be on the panel. Continue reading The Ada Roundtable: An Open Call for Panelists
This week at CCLaP Karl Wolff reviews “Pervert,” by Mr. If, a confrontational erotic memoir of sorts that hocks a gobbet of spit at everything proper and polite in the United Kingdom. Continue reading CCLaP Fridays: Pervert, by Mr. If
I recently reviewed Bitter Orange, by Marshall Moore at CCLaP. In this interview with the author, we discuss the superhero genre, the concept of self-loathing, and scheduling creative writing projects around a busy work life. Continue reading The Marshall Moore Interview
At NYJB, I review Happy Mutant Baby Pills, by Jerry Stahl, “. . . a comical descent into the carefully choreographed madness of contemporary American culture.” Continue reading Happy Mutant Baby Pills, by Jerry Stahl @ NYJB
The Driftless Area Review 