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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
Timothy Egan
Mariner Books, 2006
The American dust bowl and the grit and gumption of those who will never forget
+ Choked Up
+ A must read for history buffs!
+ 80 million acres stripped of their topsoil, end of agricultural free market economics, and birth of the welfare state
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Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl (Vintage)
Steven Bach
Vintage, 2008
Fascinating portrait of twisted genius
+ Entertaining but somewhat narrow in viewpoint
+ Riefenstahl biography: a multi-faceted conundrum
+ Good Intro to Leni
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The Ox-Bow Incident (Modern Library Classics)
Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Modern Library, 2004
An American classic and a classic Western
+ Classic novel about mob justice
+ Tink-tink-a-link went the meadow lark
+ Shows the Dangers of Mob Justice
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Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West
Hampton Sides
Anchor, 2007
great choice for history buffs & western fans
+ Excellent
+ Blood and Thunder recommended for non-history buffs
+ Great Book
+ An amazing epic of American History
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Nicholas And Alexandra
Robert K. Massie
Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 2005
The Tragedy of The Twentieth Century
+ A Heartbreaking History
+ A Transformative Reading Experience
+ best book on royal couple
+ Among my Top 20 Books
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The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
Barack Obama
Three Rivers Press, 2007
Wow!
+ Well written
+ Don't Worry
We are so luckly that Barack Obama cares enough about this country to run for President. After reading this book it is easy to see why he is so popular today. To me, his message is simple. America should be the envy of the world and lead by example. It's time to practice what we preach.
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The Road (Oprah's Book Club)
Cormac McCarthy
Vintage Books, 2007
Bleak, Bewitching and Remarkable
+ Just got the book today
+ what a journey!
+ The post-apocolyptic genre
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The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir
Bill Bryson
Broadway, 2007
Couldn't stop laughing...
+ Very...well, Bryson
+ The Thunderbird Kid
+ Heart-warming
+ A Must Read for Anyone Who even touched the 50's
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Casino Royale (James Bond Novels)
Ian Fleming
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2002
BOND BEGINS
+ Awesome Book!
+ Great read!
It's always interesting reading the first book dealing with a popular character, whether it be Conan, Tarzan or Sherlock Holmes.
The same is true with James Bond.
Two things strike me as really fascinating about this book.
First of all, the first half of the book deals with the card game ...
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The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero
William Kalush, Larry Sloman
Atria, 2007
Superb Biography Filled With Intrigue
+ A good biography once you skip the hype
+ A Great Human Being
+ The Handcuff King
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Collected Stories of Carson McCullers, including The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
Carson McCullers
Mariner Books, 1998
Interesting...
+ Extraordinary writer
+ A master of characterization and setting
+ Fine, neglected writer, on her way back!
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Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
Stephen J. Dubner
William Morrow, 2006
Quick, Interesting Read -- more like Sociology than Economics
+ An engaging read
+ Great and funny book
Very interesting. I expected to hunker down and "learn something" with this book, but found that I read through it as fast as a mindless fiction novel. Topics and thoughts put forth by the author are controversial for sure. His theory about abortion and crime rates is certain to ruffle feathers. ...
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Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus)
Bart D. Ehrman
HarperOne, 2007
Clear & Concise Explanation of New Testament Origins
+ Eye opening
+ Misquoting Jesus: The Book Everyone Influenced By Christianity Must Read!
+ Well written, objective review of early Christian writings - recommended to anyone interested in the topic
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The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel
Michael Chabon
HarperCollins, 2007
Deliciously Multi-Layered
+ Bittersweet like woodsmoke
+ Really, really good
Prior to U.S. involvement in World War II President Roosevelt proposed establishing a temporary Jewish settlement on the Alaskan panhandle. In The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay Michael Chabon takes that premise and creates an ...
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The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America
David Hajdu
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
OH! DO BEWARE OF MRS. GRUNDY!
+ A real-life horror story
+ As engrossing as any four-star comic-book
+ An American Tragedy
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