I have become a big fan of Jon Ronson from listening to him on podcasts. He’s a nerdy effeminate British dude which is kind of my kryptonite. In my admittedly lazy fandom, I hadn’t realized that he was the author of this book. One of my personal goals is to read everything on my “to be read” shelf and review it for CBR. As a frequent browser of used book stores who also experiences poor impulse control, the unread pile is a little out of […]
America, You Great Unfinished Symphony
Losing Our Way is just about the saddest book I’ve ever read. It took me well over a month to read it, even though it’s great, because I had to keep stopping so I wouldn’t sink into a terrible depression. Losing Our Way is basically the story of everything that’s wrong with the United States today, from our failing infrastructure, to struggling schools, to wage stagnation and income inequality, to endless wars in the Middle East. Bob Herbert knows his stuff, and he doesn’t pull […]
A Search for Nuance Comes Up Dry
I read the first book in this series during the Cannonball two years ago, so I went back to read my review before writing this one. Sadly, it seems that in the years that have passed between these novels, Mr. Forstchen has gotten more hyper-militaristic in his writing and a bit more willing to express a few bigoted viewpoints as well. And he continues to either relegate women to periphery roles, or, when granting higher-profile roles (the President is apparently a woman, the former Secretary […]
Wars, treason and homosexuality in 18th century England
An offshoot of the original Outlander series, the Lord John novels deal with Lord John Grey, a British nobleman, a soldier and a patriot in the time of the Seven Years War in 18th century Europe. He is also a secret homosexual, at a time when coming out would not only destroy his career, his reputation and that of his family, but would very likely lead to his exile, jailing, or possibly even execution. Despite the fact that homosexuality is pervasive during these times, and […]