Land Mines and Punch Lines
Gallows humor is one thing, but at times Grunt succumbs to camp, which is to say it indulges in its own questionable taste.
Reviews
Sweet Home Chicago
Fine as Garb's book about African American Chicago is, it does not quite come to terms with a critical shift in political perspective, or the instances in which victory proved to be more a constriction than culmination.
Discovering Mexican Literature of the United States
A keystone of the Chicano literature revival, along with a more recent novel about Mexican American social mobility, form a grand legacy awaiting our discovery.
How My Art Zings!
In a country where art history is, at the earliest, taught in the high school AP level (and even then, rarely), this book series will prove invaluable for getting children excited about art.
“Take a Sad Song and Make It Better”
I should probably make it clear from the outset of this review that I am a Paul guy. In that most vexing of cultural divides, I would (begrudgingly) choose “I’ve Just Seen a Face” over “Tomorrow Never Knows,” Ram over Plastic Ono Band, a Höfner violin bass over a black Rickenbacker.
Beyond Dissidents
Age of Ambition is no doubt one of the best books about contemporary China in English.
It’s No Fad: I’m White and I’m Mad
Throughout White Rage Anderson demonstrates that discrimination and violence against African Americans was never just a Southern phenomenon and that Northern whites were equally implicated in undermining the civil rights of African Americans.
The Ferguson Files
Ferguson’s Fault Lines is, admittedly, difficult to read. To be sure, the prose is fine, and the organization is mostly sound. It does not employ much legal jargon or toil in overly complicated theories. Simply put, the book is hard to finish because it invokes memories of a low time in America.
An American Version of The Corn is Green
Hillbilly Elegyis a frank, autobiographical account from an actual, living representative. What makes it all the more credible is that its intimate portrait of the hillbilly world was being written well in advance of the Trump phenomenon.
The World According to Trump
Reading this book has much the same impact as listening to one of his free-wheeling speeches. Significantly, it is a conscious strategy by his own admission.