Warning. If you are someone with a love of the open spaces, of Native American culture, history and story then this book will consume you. But this is a quiet book. “Simple.” It gives you the recipe but then it’s … Read More
Read: Basin and Range
Here we are again. John McPhee. Sick of me yet? Sick of him? Hope not. Okay, in short, if you aren’t into geology and things like plate tectonics, continental drift and zeolites then don’t bother with this book. Or if … Read More
Read: Table of Contents
Once again. See John McPhee, buy John McPhee, read John McPhee. Not sure what else I need to say. This guy can write, turning subjects and timeframe into easily digestible, funny, concise prose. I don’t even like short stories, and … Read More
Read: The Road
This is an old school book. Written in 1907. Jack London’s “The Road” is about his life as a hobo. Jumping trains, begging for food, escaping the railroad “Bulls” and enduring the rough aspects of life on the rail. It … Read More
Read: The Survival of the Bark Canoe
So, am I going to build a bark canoe? Probably not. Would I like to? Yes, I would actually. Working with my hands isn’t something I’ve done since my youth, and even then it was mostly manual labor jobs. But … Read More
Read: Patagonian Road
My singular question about this book is the title. I’m not entirely sure why the title is what it is because the author travels solo from Guatemala to Argentina with the ghost of Paul Theroux as her only guide, so … Read More
Read: Draft #4
I love John McPhee. I’ve posted a few of his books on this site, and can promise I’ll be posting more in the future. He’s intelligent, funny and his writing is so honed it makes me sick to think of … Read More
Read: The Razor’s Edge
I know. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. I’ve read this book about a hundred times. And I will read it again. One of my all time favorites. Not only do I like the period and … Read More
Read: Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman
This book is a bit deceiving in the sense that I thought I would be reading about three individuals but the fishing chapter is actually broken out into several people including a riverman, shrimpers on the gulf and a fisherman … Read More
Read: Unbelieveable
This book is a train wreck, which is why I read it. You know going in what you are about to find, most of which has already been well played out over the past year, but the small behind-the-scenes details … Read More
Read: The Hour of Land
Okay, The Hour of Land is rocketing to the top of my “books of the year,” list. I’m not entirely sure what year this book was written, but seeing as I just found it…it’s going on my 2018 short list. … Read More
Read: Icefall
The world is a dangerous place. For John All the danger comes in falling into a crevasse, alone in the high mountains near Everest. And on top of Everest and in the sticky Central American jungle among other places, and … Read More
Read: The Time in Between
So I have mixed feelings about this book. I have no idea where I got this book or how it ended up in my house, but it was there, so I read it. This book received a lot of recognition … Read More
Read: Food of the Gods
This book blew me away. Nine pages of notes from this baby. So, Terence McKenna is well known in the literally world, especially the branch of this world that deals with drugs. I think there are different categories of McKenna … Read More
Read: American Wolf
Okay, Nate Blakeslee’s “American Wolf” made my blood boil. I’m guessing you are familiar with the wolf situation in the American West, but I know there are more than a few Euro types who read this site, so let me … Read More
Read: Inside the Company, CIA Diary
Okay, “Inside the Company, CIA Diary” is dense. Really dense. A detailed nearly day-by-day, play-by-play diary of Phil Agee’s time inside the CIA. The content is fascinating but you have to want to read this. Within a few short pages … Read More
Read: The Reluctant Fundamentalist
This is a beautiful book. So smoothly written it felt EFFORTLESS. The entire book is based on one conversation, in one cafe in Pakistan. In short, The Reluctant Fundamentalist is about the changing shape of humanity and the global, interconnected … Read More
Read: The Mediterranean Caper
FIRST POST OF NEW YEAR. PLEASE ALERT THE MEDIA Yes I read a Clive Cussler. Damnit there are 150,000,000 copies of his books in print, so what the Hell. I had to do it. I know what you literary snobs … Read More