Book Rec of the Day 4/21-5/10/09

APRIL IS NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

On a train journey one day, Harold Pinter, Geoffrey Godbert, and Anthony Astbury started talking poetry, and from their conversation arose this idea for an anthology: 100 of the finest short- to medium-length poems of 100 English-language poets in alphabetical order, from James Agee to William Butler Yeats. Some of these poems you will find familiar. Some will be new to you. Will you agree with their choices? In any case, they all make splendid reading and a fine companion for your own travels by train.

100 POEMS BY 100 POETS: AN ANTHOLOGY, compiled by Harold Pinter, Geoffrey Godbert, and Anthony Astbury (1986; Grove Press, 1992)

WITH A CLEAN CONSCIENCE

Short, sweet, and to the point: hundreds of recipes for gentle, eco-friendly, nontoxic, yet effective ways to take out stains, deodorize the carpet, freshen the air, wash windows, clean bathrooms and kitchens, mop the floors, and more. Save the planet, your money, and your sanity with these easy tips.

GREEN CLEAN, by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin (Melcher Media, 2005)

A SECRETARY OF STATE’S SECRETARY OF STATE

Probably the most influential secretary of state in the 20th century, Dean Acheson was instrumental in the creation of America’s Cold War containment policy, the Marshall Plan, and the Truman Doctrine. Though denounced by Republicans at the time, he is now regarded with admiration not only by Democrats but also by Henry Kissinger and Condoleeza Rice. Robert L. Beisner has written a thorough and insightful book about a man of deep intelligence who did not suffer fools gladly. A must for those with a real interest in American history of the postwar period.

DEAN ACHESON: A LIFE IN THE COLD WAR, by Robert L. Beisner (Oxford University Press USA, 2006)

In a work both moving and humorous, Kiran Desai explores the strains of a globalizing world through the story of a Cambridge-educated Indian judge who lives with his granddaughter and his cook in Northeastern India. The granddaughter is in love with a young man involved in the neighboring Nepali insurgency. At the same time the cook’s son is struggling as an illegal immigrant in New York, working ill-paying jobs in restaurants where he overhears Wall Streeters talking about the rich opportunities in Asian markets. The Inheritance of Loss won the 2006 Man Booker Prize.

THE INHERITANCE OF LOSS, by Kiran Desai (Grove Press, 2006)

THE LIVES OF SHORT PEOPLE

“Short people got no reason to live,” sang Randy Newman in his brilliant send-up of prejudice. We all laughed when we heard it, but Stephen Hall’s book is a serious examination of the lives of the short in a world where the phrase “size matters” is more than just a joke. Besides presenting sociological studies, the book examines human growth hormone, childhood bullying, anthropological studies, and why some short people become Napoleon while others kind of just disappear. Fascinating stuff, especially if you were shorter than 99 percent of all the boys in your class.

SIZE MATTERS: HOW HEIGHT AFFECTS THE HEALTH, HAPPINESS, AND SUCCESS OF BOYS—AND THE MEN THEY BECOME, by Stephen S. Hall (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

MASTER OF THE MACABRE

This 2006 collection chronologically arranges all of Roald Dahl’s short fiction for adults. The author of James and the Giant Peach definitely had a dark side (as did the Brothers Grimm) and you’ll find it in these tales of revenge and sadistic humor. Milquetoast husbands get back at their harridan wives, and put-upon, wrung-out wives mete out just, and unjust, retribution. Remember the story of the woman who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb? Then there’s “Poison,” in which a man awakens to find a venomous snake coiled up asleep on his belly. Happy times for lovers of the macabre.

COLLECTED STORIES, by Roald Dahl (Everyman’s Library, 2006)

LET SOMEBODY ELSE DO THE WORK

Everybody knows that Adam Smith is probably the most important economic thinker of all time, right? But it’s a reputation we have pretty much simply accepted—who among us has actually read the 1,000-plus pages of The Wealth of Nations to find out if Smith was as smart as “they” told us he was? P. J. O’Rourke, one of America’s leading conservative satirists, has decided to rectify this lamentable situation. He has turned Smith’s voluminous 18th-century prose into a snazzy, grin-inducing 256 pages of rah-rah capitalist joy. Now all we have to do is trust O’Rourke.

ON THE WEALTH OF NATIONS (BOOKS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD), by P. J. O’Rourke (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2006)

GROUNDBREAKING STUDY

Mark Harris, former environmental columnist with the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, takes on a subject many people do not like to face: burials. Most of us haven’t done much research about the topic, but we should know more about the choices we have. Harris’s argument for “green” (chemical- and metal-free) burial methods is so interesting and the information so unusual that Grave Matters is bound to become the manual for generations to come. Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews.

GRAVE MATTERS: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE MODERN FUNERAL INDUSTRY TO A NATURAL WAY OF BURIAL, by Mark Harris (Scribner, 2007)

GASTRONOMIC DREAMS

Up for some Figgy Piggy, anyone? Maybe a plateful of Shrimp Einstein or Happy Kid Pudding? One of our most creative chefs shows how to bring both playfulness and artfulness into the kitchen. Master chef Michel Richard presents very original and inventive recipes such as All-Crust Potato Gratin, Fluffy Spinach Bites, and a “salami” made of raspberries and almonds. Delicious and tempting dishes are shown in beautiful photographs that illustrate his techniques and show off the luscious victuals to a T. As fun for armchair chefs as for those with culinary experience.

HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN: THE CRAFT OF COOKING, THE ART OF EATING, by Michel Richard (Artisan, 2006)

OCEANIC THRILLER

Dr. Peter Crane has been sent to look into a strange disease attacking workers on an oil platform in the Atlantic. Once there, he finds that his real mission lies at the ocean floor, where an archeological dig may be turning up more than the usual artifacts. Has Atlantis been discovered? Deep Storm is a fast-paced, page-turning thriller that is a sure bet for readers who loved diving into Michael Crichton’s Sphere.

DEEP STORM, by Lincoln Child (Doubleday, 2007)

Award-winning authors Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney bring together essays of 45 writers on ways in which the geographic contours of our American landscape have shaped our language. With contributions from writers such as Barbara Kingsolver, Antonya Nelson, William Kittredge, and Jon Krakauer, the colorful origins of almost forgotten terms—hoodoo, playa, vly, arroyo, swale, gooseneck—shine again with their original brilliance and sing of America’s variety and beauty. Publishers Weekly starred review.

HOME GROUND: LANGUAGE FOR AN AMERICAN LANDSCAPE, edited by Barry Lopez and Debra Gwartney (Trinity University Press, 2006)

Intriguing, unsettling questions circle the homeless former photographer Bobbie Crocker. Some of them have to do with a vicious assault on Laurel Estabrook. Laurel, from West Egg, Long Island, is disturbed to learn that Bobbie had some sort of connection to Tom and Daisy Buchanan, and perhaps even to Jay Gatsby. The references to the Fitzgerald classic novel are intriguing, and Chris Bohjalian really knows how to thicken a plot and leaven the suspense. He does so very satisfactorily in The Double Bind, right up to its shocking end.

THE DOUBLE BIND, by Chris Bohjalian (Shaye Areheart Books, 2007)

INSIDE STORY

Journalist Zaki Chehab was born in Palestine and grew up in its refugee camps. For years he has followed the story of the Palestinian resistance and has watched and studied Hamas from its beginnings. He has interviewed its leaders and talked to its followers, such as a woman who gladly sacrificed three of her sons as suicide bombers to the cause. For Hamas that cause is to return Palestine to what it was before 1948. Inside Hamas is probably the definitive book on a frighteningly successful extremist Islamist movement.

INSIDE HAMAS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MILITANT ISLAMIC MOVEMENT, by Zaki Chehab (Nation Books, 2007)

The irrepressible Becky Brandon (née Bloomwood) is back, this time with a new little bun in the oven to shop for. Tracking down the best of everything for baby, Becky decides she must have a star obstetrician (who is also an obstetrician to the stars). When that turns out to be an ex-sweetheart of her husband, Becky and the plot kick into action. A thoroughly delightful addition to Sophie Kinsella’s bestselling Shopaholic series.

SHOPAHOLIC & BABY, by Sophie Kinsella (The Dial Press, 2007)

THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

In 1951, when Bobby Thomson’s bat met Ralph Branca’s pitch and sent it sailing out of the park, the hit instantly became one of the great moments in baseball. That home run won the pennant for the Giants from their cross-borough rivals, the Dodgers, and it became known as “the shot heard round the world.” Wall Street Journal writer Joshua Prager gives this history-making homer the thorough treatment it deserves, investigating its fairness (did the Giants steal the Dodgers’ pitching signs?) and its effects through the years on Thomson, Branca, and others. A gripping read for baseball fans.

THE ECHOING GREEN: THE UNTOLD STORY OF BOBBY THOMSON, RALPH BRANCA AND THE SHOT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD, by Joshua Prager (Pantheon, 2006)

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR MOTHER’S DAY

Looking for stories of a mother’s sacrifice for her little tyke or a boy’s awkward love for his mummy? Then don’t come looking for Colm Tóibín. The nine narratives in this collection are about the deep difficulties between mothers and their grown sons. In one a drinking mum talks too much about her criminal son, causing him no end of trouble. In another a son is accused of molesting children, but the mother is kept in the dark about it until just before the trial. A book of intense, spell-binding prose and perceptive, heart-wrenching tales.

MOTHERS AND SONS: STORIES, by Colm Tóibín (Scribner, 2007)

FATHER WAS A GAY UNDERTAKER

Fun Home is a brilliantly realized graphic memoir of a childhood spent in a Victorian gothic-revival house that also happened to be a funeral parlor. Dominating both the house and the memoir is Alison Bechdel’s father, an emotionally absent, closeted gay man who, besides being the funeral-home director, was also a high-school English teacher whose interest in his male students went a bit beyond the parsing of sentences. By turns moving and funny, Bechdel has created a powerful work of art.

FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)

MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB

In 1993 Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2, the world’s second-highest mountain. He failed, and when he descended, exhausted and ill, he found shelter in the Pakistani village of Korphe, where the impoverished citizens nursed him back to health. In return he swore to them that he would build them a school. This is the story of that school, and the more than 50 that followed, and of how Mortenson showed isolated mountain people that the extremism of the Taliban was not the only way to knowledge and understanding. Truly inspirational.

THREE CUPS OF TEA: ONE MAN’S MISSION TO PROMOTE PEACE . . . ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin, 2007)

As Carrie rises from country bumpkin and factory girl to celebrated actress in New York, George falls from man of wealth and importance to thief to homeless beggar. Dreiser’s great American novel was poorly received at first, mainly on moral grounds. But as the 20th century progressed, writers and readers came to understand that, as Sinclair Lewis said, it “came to housebound and airless America like a great free Western wind, and to our stuffy domesticity gave us the first fresh air since Mark Twain and Whitman.”

SISTER CARRIE, by Theodore Dreiser (1900; Signet Classics, 2000)

CELEBRITY BIO

John Dickerson’s pioneering mother, Nancy, was CBS’s first female reporter and the first woman in the Washington press corps. Many of the gentler aspects of domestic life were of little interest to the confidant of Lyndon Johnson, consummate D.C. insider, and ubiquitous figure at the epicenter of news and society. John, now a reporter on the same beat for Slate, looks at his sometimes bumpy relationship with his ambitious mother with wit, honesty, and compassion.

ON HER TRAIL: MY MOTHER, NANCY DICKERSON, TV NEWS’ FIRST WOMAN STAR, by John Dickerson (Simon & Schuster, 2006)