Tag Archives: book review

Reviews and Reflections on Books, Literature, and Writing: Volume Four Is Now Available!

My latest collection of book reviews, Reviews and Reflections on Books, Literature, and Writing: Volume Four, is now available in paperback and as an ebook at various online outlets. Links to these are below. As I wrote recently in my … Continue reading

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Book Reviews as Autobiography

A recent comment on one of my past book reviews points out, somewhat critically, that in the review I talk about myself as much as I do the book. By way of explanation, I offer this essay, which appeared in … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Edge of Maine by Geoffrey Wolff

I recently took a trip to Orono, a small town near Bangor where the University of Maine is located, to visit one of my sons, and soon I’ll be returning for a couple of weeks to dog-sit while my son … Continue reading

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Book Review: Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller by Mary V. Dearborn

Although Henry Miller is notorious for the explicit sex in his novels, I was drawn to his work because of his literary exuberance, the celebration of his life despite his poverty and hard circumstances, and his use of his own … Continue reading

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Book Review: Stranger in a Strange Land: The Original Uncut Version by Robert A. Heinlein

“Stranger in a Strange Land” is among those books that were life-changing and profound literary experiences when I was growing up.  It was a tremendously significant tradition-shattering revelation when I first read it, and coincided smoothly with the loose, iconoclastic … Continue reading

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Book Review: 1776 by David McCullough

Too often we associate history with obligatory lessons at school:  boring, petty, meaningless.  We memorize names and dates without affixing humanity to them, without realizing the inexorable bond that links us to those people and events in the past.  Not … Continue reading

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Book Review: The Powers That Be by David Halberstam; Part One

“The Powers That Be” is the story of how media became an important shaper of events in the mid-twentieth century.  It was first published in 1975, when it was contemporary.  Now, of course, it is history.  It deals with newspapers, … Continue reading

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Book Review: Rewrites: A Memoir by Neil Simon

This is another book I found at the yearly Seattle Public Library book sale.  Before finding it in the rows, stacks, and piles of books scattered on the long tables, I never even knew it existed.  Neil Simon is a … Continue reading

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Book Review: Little, Big by John Crowley

You should not approach “Little, Big” with any preconceptions.  It is an unusual work of fantasy.  I have been wanting to read it for years and never got around to it.  Recently I came across it on a list of … Continue reading

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On Rereading “Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice” by James Branch Cabell

It’s not my fault that I reread “Jurgen” at this time; it is the fault of one of my characters.  I was typing away on the new novel I am working on, and one of my characters made a reference … Continue reading

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