Blogcritics Category: Books: News

Book Review: The Nation Guide to the Nation

Barbara Barnett — Thu, 8 Jan 2009 19:06:54 EST

The Editors of The Nation have compiled this guide to the 21st-century American Left.
The past eight years seemed an eternity. And now with Barack Obama about to become President of the United States, liberal is no longer a label to be uttered in hushed tones. It’s OK to be a card-carrying liberal again! As it has been since it first began publication in 1865, The Nation is the about as close as you can get to being the...

Book Review: Buyology - Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom

Alyse Wax — Tue, 6 Jan 2009 05:15:36 EST

Lindstrom presents an interesting theory, one that definitely deserves some study, but I didn't quite buy it with this book.
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom is an interesting concept with a poor execution. Lindstrom is a marketing and branding expert who has worked for some of the world’s biggest companies, helping them figure out how to market their products.Buyology is the culmination of a three year scientific study into how...

The Early Word: New Books for the Weeks of December 15 and 22, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 06:18:22 EST

Special Double Issue! Abe, FDR & Constitution, ESP, White House & Middle East, Sesame Street History, Ruark, Rehnquist Court, Kay Hooper, Michael McGarrity, Merry Christmas!
These are the the new releases that made The Short List. Because this close to Christmas there is no such thing as The Long List.FICTION:Blood SinsBy Kay Hooper (due Dec. 16)Lightening may not strike twice, but it can pack a selective wallop. When the fanatical Rev. Adam Deacon Samuel was 10, he murdered his abusive prostitute mother by using his...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of December 8, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 8 Dec 2008 07:08:32 EST

Eco on Beauty and Ugliness, Rat Pack packs heat, Byrne has Secrets. Bios: Michael Phelps, Doyle, John Tyler. Plus Johansen, R.R. Martin, Sontag, Star Wars�
It's beginning to look a lot like your shopping days are numbered and there's not a lot of new releases left to hit the bookstore shelves. Here's a few stragglers, however:NON-FICTION:History of Beauty and On Ugliness Boxed SetBy Umberto Eco It’s a beguiling idea: Take eternal and irreconcilable theories of art and aesthetics --...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of December 1, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 1 Dec 2008 04:08:15 EST

Cornwell, Jance, Elizabeth Peters, Steve Berry, Beedle the Bard, Tila Tequila, Yes They Did, Rise of the Rich, Talkin' 'Bout Boys - Yea Yea Boys...
History and mystery, but not much more... FICTION: The Charlemagne Pursuit (Cotton Malone Series #4)By Steve Berry In his latest Cotton Malone adventure, Steve Berry integrates such elements as Charlemagne, Nazis, ancient manuscripts, historical puzzles, and scientific surprises into a plot that gets underway with Malone searching for answers about...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of November 24, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:23:44 EST

Calvin Trillin, Dean Koontz, Clive Cussler, Jim Butcher, Belva Plain, New Benet's, Tovey Cats, Dilgo Khyentse, Alison Goodman, Sheri Reynolds, End Of The World, Ma!
The Holidays are here, but there's at least one book here that might keep you from getting all warm and fuzzy about it. It's the one that reminds us, without a lot of nuance, that the end of the world is nigh. I think you'll know which one it is...The End: Natural Disasters, Manmade Catastrophes, and the Future of Human Survival By Marq...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of November 17, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:13:33 EST

Gladwell on how we succeed; Leary on Why We Suck. Also: Lincoln, Huckabee, "Magic" Johnson, Jonas Bros, James Patterson, Higgins Clark, P.D. James, Dickey...
After last week's feast, we're back to famine. But there are some treats... Outliers: The Story of SuccessBy Malcolm Gladwell In the fascinating Outliers: The Story of Success, New Yorker contributor Malcolm Gladwell, in analyzing and searching for a common thread among our developmental patterns, dismantles the myth of individual merit to...

Book Review: Taking On The System - Rules For Radical Change in a Digital Era by Markos Moulitsas Z�niga

Heloise — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:18:18 EST

A clarion call for this �Why Generation,� Taking On The System is a well-written how-to tome about grabbing political power.
Kos may be the longest name among politicos both left and right who use the Internet as their medium to network with like-minded individuals. In his third book Taking On The System, Markos Moulitsas Zúniga flexes his political muscle for a book that might also be titled How To Take On The System. In 272 pages Kos, a moniker he acquired from...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of November 10, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:34:54 EST

Stephen King, Lincoln, Toni Morrison, Glenn Beck, Artie Lange, Wally Lamb, Paul Simon, Churchill, Evel Knievel, Sinatra, Card, Deaver, Bola�o, Watchmen, Andrew Jackson...
"Shake and shake / the catsup bottle / first none'll come / and then a lot'll." Make a few metaphoric leaps and Richard Armour's quatrain about condiments might apply to book release schedules, too. Compare and contrast to previous weeks, or just do the math: FICTION: Just After SunsetStephen King In the introduction to this...

The Early Word: New Books for the Week of November 3, 2008

Gordon Hauptfleisch — Mon, 3 Nov 2008 10:03:52 EST

Send out for some pillars and Cecil B. DeMille: Ackroyd covers the waterfront, Brands on FDR. Also: Foxworthy, Naipaul, Bond, Brando, Baldacci, Robb, Warrick Dunn...
This Early Word comes with a promise to spread a wealth of information around, just in time for Election Day...Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano RooseveltBy H. W. Brands Delving into considerable archival materials, personal letters, public speeches, and familial and professional accounts, prolific...