Monthly Archives: February 2012
** Kayak Morning by Roger Rosenblatt
I had loved Making Toast, a perfect-pitch memoir of a grandfather caring for his orphaned grandchildren, and I was disappointed by Kayak Morning: Reflections on Love, Grief, and Small Boats, the premise of which is wonderful (his learning to kayak … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
** A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor
Great museums can be overwhelming and I recall fondly a visual treasure hunt I once hastily put together at the British Museum for my daughters that had us tramping through its many galleries in search of just ten objects, trying … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
* Lonely at the Top by Thomas Joiner
Poor men. They run almost all countries, dominate the world of business, and provide the vast majority of media pundits. So it’s a little hard to feel sorry for them and I was a skeptical when I opened Lonely at … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
** Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Biographies can be fawning or boring (and in some sad cases, both!) but Steve Jobs is a page-turner. It overdoes the fawning only occasionally, and since it also includes a sobering amount of critical stories, including Jobs’s famous dressing downs … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
* The Watchman’s Rattle by Rebecca Costa
Beyond the evocative title, I did not find much to like in The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Our Way Out of Extinction and I’m still a little puzzled that the venerable E.O. Wilson lent his name and credibility to the foreword. … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
** The Virtues of Our Vices by Emrys Westacott
Is it possible to read two or three books about gossip in a week? Apparently, yes. And it’s also possible, within the course of a week, to peer both into the world of academic mathematicians and philosopher. The Virtues of … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
** Quiet by Susan
I am rarely accused of being too quiet, which may be one of the reasons why I did not relish Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, but I am interested in my introverted friends, … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
** Civilization by Niall Ferguson
Civilization: The West and the Rest is a vast, erudite, and ambitious presentation of Western civilization, from its Renaissance overtaking of China to our time, which is presented as its twilight, with China ready to take over. I admired the … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
* Would it Kill you to Step Doing that? by Henry Alford
Great title for a book that reflects on manners, and a breezy and often funny style to recount heaps of anecdotes. But I found the hodgepodge of advice and wisecracks in Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That: A … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
*** Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
I had a strong feeling of deja vu when reading Thinking, Fast and Slow, and it was because it brought to mind two other books I read recently, Willpower and The Believing Brain, both of which explores the interactions of … Continue reading
Filed under Non fiction
