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Defining Style

Emphasizing personal style, Joan Barzilay Freund’s Defining Style is a freeing, inspiring and extremely innovative look at interior design.
Emphasizing personal style, Joan Barzilay Freund’s Defining Style is a freeing, inspiring and extremely innovative look at interior design.
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HistoryBlack History

Review

Review by bookpagedev

The powerful message of King’s “Letter” Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is generally regarded as the preeminent piece of writing from the civil rights movement. Forceful, scholarly, persuasive, the letter rallied supporters behind King’s cause and staked his claim to a moral high ground above those who urged a more cautious solution to racial discrimination. Now, for the first time comes a comprehensive examination of King’s famous letter in Blessed Are the Peacemakers. Author and historian S. Jonathan Bass presents a well-researched account of how the letter was created and examines in compelling fashion how it affected the lives of those it touched.

Defying a court injunction against marching, King and his followers were arrested in April 1963 by Bull Connor’s Birmingham police force and confined to the city jail. There, in a dark and isolated cell, King began scribbling in the margins of a newspaper his eloquent response to eight white ministers who had criticized his demonstrations and called for a more gradual approach toward solving the South’s racial dilemma. When King’s letter was made public, many of the ministers to whom it was addressed endured personal agony. Vilified in the national media, they received hate mail and criticism from both sides civil rights advocates in the North, as well as segregationists in their own congregations. In this balanced portrayal, based on personal interviews with many of the participants, Bass describes how the turmoil took its toll two of the pastors left their churches (and the city of Birmingham), soon after, while others remained bitter and puzzled by their inclusion in this troubling piece of the nation’s history. Bass’ book is a worthy addition to the history of the civil rights movement and a vivid reminder of the passions and conflicts it aroused.

The powerful message of King's "Letter" Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is generally regarded as the preeminent piece of writing from the civil rights movement. Forceful, scholarly, persuasive, the letter rallied supporters behind King's cause and staked his claim to a moral…
NonfictionAudioSocial Science

The Nineties

Review by G. Robert Frazier

The 1990s may be a decade often lamented for its generation of “slackers” and eternally epitomized in the TV series “Seinfeld” (frequently described as “a show about nothing”), but Chuck Klosterman has found a treasure trove of history, nostalgia and pop culture relics to explore in The Nineties (12.5 hours). Each chapter is devoted to a defining characteristic or experience of Generation X, from VHS tapes and Blockbuster video stores to the strange phenomenon dubbed “the Mandela Effect,” in which whole swaths of people remember things differently than the way they actually happened. Klosterman narrates the audiobook in an almost tongue-in-cheek fashion, with acclaimed voice actor Dion Graham reading the footnotes and quotations.

Klosterman discusses the ’90s with both the intimacy of someone who lived through the decade and the authority of the beloved pop culture commentator that he has established himself as through 12 previous books. The Nineties provides a fascinating, granular look at a defining period of history, and if you’re listening on your smartphone, you’ll connect even stronger with Klosterman’s examination of an era that marked the “end to an age where we controlled technology more than it controlled us.”

The Nineties provides a fascinating, granular look at a defining period of history, and author Chuck Klosterman narrates in an almost tongue-in-cheek fashion.
NonfictionHistory

River of the Gods

Review by Priscilla Kipp

The Nile’s mythic reputation as the longest river in Africa, and arguably the world, once inspired generations of European explorers to seek its source—and exploit Africa’s vast resources in the process. Now, thanks to this richly detailed story well told by historian Candice Millard, a colorful and controversial chapter in world history resurfaces. In River of the Gods: Genius, Courage, and Betrayal in the Search for the Source of the Nile, 19th-century explorers’ egos loom godlike over expeditions, their abused local guides save lives and prompt discoveries, and the second largest continent on Earth finally gets mapped.

Millard, the prize-winning author of Hero of the Empire, among others, introduces a cast of characters and succeeds in making each of them unforgettable. Richard Burton, “an army of savants in a single man,” was chosen by the Royal Geographical Society in 1856 to head the expedition to locate the source of the Nile—“one of the most complex and demanding expeditions ever attempted.” But he soon ran afoul of his quirky colleague, John Hanning Speke, and barely survived their quest. It was Speke who earned the discoverer’s fame and glory, though his character flaws (paranoia and narcissism among them) marred his reputation and may have cost him his life. Sidi Mubarak Bombay, the previously enslaved man who guided the expedition and repeatedly saved them from treachery, disease, injury and themselves, didn’t immediately receive recognition for being integral to their success. Burton’s wife, Isabel Arrundell, was a fervent Catholic who defied her mother to marry Burton, a proclaimed agnostic who proposed by dropping off a note on his way to Africa.

Millard excels at describing it all, balancing narrative flow with abundant details that give a vast landscape its weight and power, clarify complicated people and arduous journeys, and add those who have gone largely unseen to the historical stage. Take, for example, such memorable details as a beetle burrowing into Speke’s ear; the thieves, deserters and raiders thwarting these yearslong expeditions; diseases and infections leading to blindness, deafness and death; the hardships of Bombay, who was once traded for cloth; and two huge, breathtakingly beautiful lakes, one of which, it was finally proven, spawned the Nile.

In River of the Gods, a mythic and unforgettable history of the Nile, European explorers’ egos may loom godlike but East African guides save lives.
NonfictionCrafts, Hobbies & Home

Review

Review by bookpagedev

Lifestyles of the musical and famous Your friend Fred must make a speech at his company’s annual convention, and he hasn’t a clue where to begin collecting his information. You want to help Fred with his fact-finding mission, but private detectives are pricey, and your Web search returned hundreds of thousands of sites. What gift doesn’t require bloodhounds, a modem, or a fingerprint kit? Why books, of course! Ê ÊAt some point, everyone must write a report, an article, or speech. Reference books are imperative for research and documentation, and the handier, the better. Random House’s Famous Name Finder is the perfect tool when you can remember a name but can’t quite place the person. This book will eliminate the need to ask, who’s that person you know, the one who was married to . . . because it cross-references 10,000 people from various fields, including sports, entertainment, the arts, and history. Can’t remember the first name? Can’t remember the last name? Can’t remember the real name? The Famous Name Finder is indexed by first name, last name, nickname, and spouse’s name; each entry also includes biographical information. How many times have you watched a movie based on a favorite book, and walked away thinking about the differences between the two? Novels into Film: The Encyclopedia of Movies Adapted from Books (Checkmark Books, $16.95, 0816039615) is a book that identifies and examines how a book is translated to the big screen. Each entry includes a brief synopsis of the novel, and the film or films that adapted its story. The differences between the two, as well as differences in themes, characters, etc., are studied. Brief bibliographies are listed at the end of each passage, and various photographs are included. There is some critique involved, but the major emphasis here is not to determine the success or failure of film adaptations, but rather to inform the reader of the unique and specific process that goes into the translation of print to film. With a foreword by director Robert Wise, Novels into Film is a great choice for folks who love books, movies, or both. Everyone is familiar with dictionaries and encyclopedias, but references books are taking different and exciting paths that extend beyond mere alphabetizing. The Oxford Children’s Book of Famous People (Oxford University Press, $37.50, 0195215176) examines the lives of 1,000 well-known figures. From Aesop to Pele to William I, this is an ideal resource for short writing assignments, or a springboard for larger, more detailed amounts of research. Updated for the millennium, The Oxford Children’s Book of Famous People also includes entries about more recent notables, such as Tom Cruise, Tony Blair, Bill Gates, and Diana, Princess of Wales, to name a few. Readers will find extra guidance from the directories in the back, organized by theme and period. This is a wonderful quick-reference addition to any workspace.

Picture this: a gorgeous volume of album covers. DK Publishing’s 100 Best Album Covers: The Stories Behind the Sleeves ($19.95, 078944951X) provides music lovers with the inside scoop on the most artistically innovative album covers of all time. Learn about the visual artists behind the works, the labor-intense production schedules, the concepts behind the finished products and the alternative plans for jackets that were banned in certain countries. What makes this book particularly interesting is that authors Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell do not focus on the recording artists themselves; while certain Elvis, Beatles, and Prince albums are included, you’ll also find The Popinjays, System 7, and Happy Mondays receive equal page time. There’s plenty of insider information provided, but the focus is not on who topped the charts, but who had the eye-catching album covers. 100 Best Album Covers is a refreshing alternative for both music and art lovers. Cajun music is as flavorful as its food, and thanks to University Press of Mississippi, readers may sample it once again. Cajun and Creole Music Makers (Musiciens cadiens et creoles) ($35, 1578061709) has been re-issued and updated, thanks to author Barry Jean Ancelet and photographer Elemore Morgan Jr. Originally published in 1984, Cajun and Creole Music Makers is the definitive volume of Louisiana culture. To update the book for its re-issue, Ancelet and Morgan returned to the original material and added more recent musicians like Steve Riley and Dirk Powell. In some cases, such as Christine Balfa’s, it is a then and now perspective of Louisiana life. The text is featured in both English and French, and over 100 photographs show these musicians in various surroundings. The result is an intimate look at the inner workings and sustaining power behind the music. Who says information has to come in black and white text? Seaports of the South: A Journey (Longstreet Press, $25,1563524996) is very informative and also beautiful enough to display. Author Louis D. Rubin Jr. and photographer John F. Harrington look at 13 seaports found in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, Georgia, and Florida. Readers will travel with these two men, who have been friends since age 16, and marvel at the history and distinct personality that distinguish each seaport. Rubin and Harrington recount the development each port has undergone, particularly after the Civil War, and the unique commercial role that each seaport plays in our nation’s economy. Climb aboard and enjoy this spectacular journey through time and this region.

Lifestyles of the musical and famous Your friend Fred must make a speech at his company's annual convention, and he hasn't a clue where to begin collecting his information. You want to help Fred with his fact-finding mission, but private detectives are pricey, and your…

Virology

Sparkling prose, glittering insights, lucid thinking and accessible writing about difficult viruses make Virology one of the best science books of the year.
NonfictionNatureMemoirEnvironment

Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World

Review by Carla Jean Whitley

The world is on fire—metaphorically, yes, but also sometimes literally. Climate change is having its way with Earth, altering so many landscapes across the world. Yet our time here is limited; even as we try to intervene, our individual bodies are breaking down.

In the face of these dueling realities, the late nature writer and National Book Award winner Barry Lopez still celebrated the world around him. His posthumous essay collection, Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World, is an apt swan song, an ode to places both far-flung and close to home.

The essays, some previously unpublished, span from 1989 to the final years of Lopez’s life, which ended on Christmas Day 2020. They spring from a variety of sources—responding to a photography collection depicting the American West, paying homage to the Western writer Wallace Stegner, documenting Lopez’s own global explorations—but together they offer insight into the drive and heart of a thoughtful observer of the modern world. Lopez wrote that his life’s mission was “to know and love what we have been given, and to urge others to do the same,” and that mission is tenderly woven throughout these pieces.

As he explored the planet, Lopez also turned his attention to his interior landscape. In one essay, California’s terrain reminds him of the freedom of his childhood, when the miles around Los Angeles were still agricultural. But it also prompts him to reflect on the pedophile who abused him, and the ways that trauma shaped him for decades afterward.

The collection is organized in a way that brings its focus home, with the final pieces highlighting both the Oregon woods where Lopez lived for half a century and his dawning awareness that the end was near. He wrote, “I have traveled to nearly eighty countries doing research as a writer, and when I am asked where I would most like to go in the world, I always say the same thing: here. Here is where I have had the longest conversation with the world outside myself. Here is where I have tested the depths of that world and found myself still an innocent. Here is where the woods are familiar and ever new.”

Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World is a powerful reminder from a great writer that we can learn about ourselves from the world around us, and that we have an obligation to care for the Earth as we care for ourselves.

Barry Lopez’s posthumous essay collection is a powerful reminder that we have an obligation to care for the Earth as we care for ourselves.
NonfictionLiteratureEssays

Translating Myself and Others

Review by Robert Weibezahl

We tend to believe that some things get lost in translation, but perhaps, as Jhumpa Lahiri suggests in her absorbing new collection of essays, Translating Myself and Others, some things are also gained. Lahiri won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her debut collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, and has subsequently enraptured readers with her penetrating novels and stories. She famously moved to Rome in 2015 and began writing in Italian, publishing in Italian and translating the work of Italian novelist Domenico Starnone into English.

This linguistically bifurcated existence has inspired much thought on the art of translation, which Lahiri says has always been a controversial literary form. The short essays she collects here—some written in English and some translated into English from Italian—explore her passion for translation, a subject she previously taught at Princeton. Yet interwoven with some of the more arcane nuts-and-bolts issues that face the literary translator are other things that Lahiri, as a writer of fiction, has learned from the process of rendering the words of other writers, as well as her own, into a new tongue. “Now that I have become a translator in addition to remaining a writer, I am struck by how many people regard what I am doing as ‘secondary’ and thus creatively inferior in nature,” she writes. “Readers who react with suspicion to a work in translation reinforce a perceived hierarchy in literature between an original work and its imitation.” Indeed, translators rarely even get recognition on a book’s jacket, or enduring recognition outside of academic circles. And yet, so much of the world’s literature would be inaccessible to us without their intensive work. Throughout these essays, Lahiri shows how painstaking and full of care the process of translation is.

Essays on translation might seem an unlikely conduit for a writer’s most intimate thoughts and feelings, but Lahiri is an engaging guide, and her pensive ruminations provide a window into her soul. In “Why Italian?” she ponders the longstanding connection that she, a woman who was already fluent in English and Bengali, felt to Italian even before learning it and why she was compelled to write in it. “Where I Find Myself,” fulfilling the clever double meaning of its title, examines how Lahiri finds new intentions when she translates her own work from Italian into English (something she long avoided doing but has now embraced), sometimes revising the original Italian in the process in a kind of reverse engineering that she compares to a tennis game. In a very moving afterword, “Translating Transformation,” she reconsiders her mother’s recent death through the prism of Ovid, whose masterwork she is currently co-translating. “In the face of death,” she writes, “the Metamorphoses had completely altered my perspective.”

Translating Myself and Others is a subtle yet ultimately engrossing work, somewhat academic at times, yet infused with the kind of understated, often startling capacity for observation that has always been Lahiri’s literary superpower.

Master storyteller Jhumpa Lahiri spins thoughtful and personal essays on the unsung art of literary translation.

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