Summary Derick Lugo had never been hiking. He didn’t even know if he liked being outside all that much. He certainly couldn’t imagine going more than a day without manicuring his goatee. But with a job overseas cut short and no immediate plans, this fixture of the greater New York comedy circuit began to think about what he might do with months of free time and no commitments. He had heard of the Appalachian Trail and… Review I feel like I’m one of the very few people who read this book and didn’t feel the urge to rave about it. I read a lot of hiking memoirs, and I just don’t feel like this was one of the better ones. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t stand out either. Admittedly, I have a pretty high bar for the genre. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods was not only my introduction to the subject, but it was the book that essentially fueled my passion for non-fiction. I try very hard not to compare anything too closely to this favorite of mine–writing styles and narrative focus differ from writer to writer, after all–but even so, I didn’t find anything in this book to elevate it above the crowd. My issues with this memoir boil down to two things. The first is a minor gripe: the dialogue sometimes comes across as stilted. Much of this book focuses on the interactions Lugo had with various people during his hike, so there are lots of conversations. I felt that there were several instances where the dialogue didn’t flow like a normal exchange would. My larger issue has to do with the pacing. As I said, I’ve read lots of hiking memoirs, and one thing that they have in common is best described as a sense of the time taken during the hike. This is especially true–and especially important–for thru-hikes, in which the hiker does the entirety of a long-distance trail (like the Appalachian Trail ) in a single summer. It usually takes anywhere from six to eight months and is done between March and October. Lugo’s book comes across as more of a series of vignettes seen in the course of a bunch of unconnected outings. I didn’t really get a feeling of the whole scope of the hike over the arc of the book’s narrative. There is one thing for which I want to commend the author, though. Hiking is most often a pastime undertaken by white people (for various reasons that I’ve read about but do not feel qualified to discuss at any length), and Lugo notes that he was the only Black person thru-hiking the trail that year. He also notes how far outside his comfort zone it was to do the hike. The fact that he did so, and the fact that he wrote about it and was able to give his voice to the experience, should be taken into consideration. Any shortcomings that I perceive in the actual writing…
Category: Non-Fiction
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff
Summary The Only Plane in the Sky is the historic narrative of how ordinary people grappled with extraordinary events in real time: the father and son caught on different ends of the impact zone; the firefighter searching for his wife who works at the World Trade Center; the operator of in-flight telephone calls who promises to share a passenger’s last words with his family; the beloved FDNY chaplain who bravely performs last rites for the dying,… Review I have to wonder if people who were not old enough to remember 9/11 can have any concept of what it felt like to live through that day. I am extraordinarily lucky that I was not personally touched by the events of that day, and yet I doubt that anybody in America can truly say that they were not touched at all. Even if we didn’t lose someone to the horrible terrorist attacks, I think that we all felt something of the fear and anguish brought about by the crashing of four planes and the massive loss of life. As it is, even those of us cognizant of what was happening that day have little idea of the experiences of the first responders and government officials tasked with dealing with 9/11’s events. This book admirably fills in that story by telling the history of that day through interview snippets with those who were involved. Until reading this book, I had no idea of what was going on aboard Air Force One, or the state of affairs at the Pentagon, or how it felt to breathe the air after the Twin Towers collapsed. Now I do, and I have such an appreciation for everyone who helped the victims of the attack. This book is tough to read due to the subject matter, but I think it’s important to understand all of the moving parts on that day and appreciate the many men and women who risked their lives–or gave them–to keep America safe.
In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson
Summary Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. His previous excursion along the Appalachian Trail resulted in the sublime national bestseller A Walk in the Woods. In A Sunburned Country is his report on what he found in an entirely different place: Australia, the country that doubles as a continent, and a place with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, and the most peculiar and lethal wildlife… Review This year I started re-reading some old favorite books, and I had to include Bryson’s works in that category. His narrative A Walk in the Woods was the book that truly got me interested in non-fiction and sent me down the rabbit hole of learning about subjects that I never would have imagined being interested in. In the case of this book, it’s not that I was never interested in Australia, but more that I never really saw anything about it. The most that I thought I knew was that it is home to tons of things that can kill you. In a Sunburned Country doesn’t gloss over the murderous capacity of the continent and its resident critters, but it also conveys the stark beauty of the place. From Uluru, the massive rock formation sacred to the Aboriginal people, to the beach where a former Australian prime minister was swept out to sea and vanished, Bryson’s wanderings take him to both large cities and isolated hamlets, to sweeping vistas and small forgotten corners. What it turned out that I appreciated the most was Bryson’s commitment to learning about Australia’s history, politics, people, and culture. During his narrative, he writes about the books that he reads along the way, the newspapers he picks up, and the people that he talks to. He doesn’t shy away from touching on the plight of the Aboriginal people or the uncomfortable reactions of white Australians when the subject is raised. He delves into scientific discoveries and foolhardy ventures. All in all, Australia is a much more interesting place than its lack of prominence in the nightly news would lead you to believe. And of course, being Bryson, he infused his narrative with his own signature brand of humor, that dry combination of American sarcasm and British absurdity. I always laugh out loud when reading about his attempts to body board with friends, or hearing his observations on some of that lethal wildlife. Learning and laughter–that’s what Bryson excels at. Curious about the land of kangaroos and koalas? I wholeheartedly recommend this book as an excellent starting point. This book was a personal purchase. (Description nicked from Goodreads.com.)
Everything Trump Touches Dies by Rick Wilson
“In Everything Trump Touches Dies, political campaign strategist and commentator Rick Wilson brings his darkly funny humor and biting analysis to the absurdity of American politics in the age of Trump. Wilson mercilessly exposes the damage Trump has done to the country, to the Republican Party he served for decades, and to the conservative movement…
Monkey Mind by Daniel B. Smith
“Daniel Smith’s Monkey Mind is the stunning articulation of what it is like to live with anxiety. As he travels through anxiety’s demonic layers, Smith defangs the disorder with great humor and evocatively expresses its self-destructive absurdities and painful internal coherence. Aaron Beck, the most influential doctor in modern psychotherapy, says that “Monkey Mind does…
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger
“October 1991. It was “the perfect storm”–a tempest that may happen only once in a century–a nor’easter created by so rare a combination of factors that it could not possibly have been worse. Creating waves ten stories high and winds of 120 miles an hour, the storm whipped the sea to inconceivable levels few people…
Because I Said So! by Ken Jennings
“’Ken Jennings reveals the truth behind all those things you tell your children’ (Parade) in this entertaining and useful New York Times bestseller ‘armed with case histories, scientific finds, and experiments on himself and his own children’ (Los Angeles Times). Is any of it true? If so, how true? Ken Jennings wants to find out…
Born to Walk by Dan Rubinstein
“The humble act of putting one foot in front of the other transcends age, geography, culture, and class, and is one of the most economical and environmentally responsible modes of transit. Yet with our modern fixation on speed, this healthy pedestrian activity has been largely left behind. At a personal and professional crossroads, writer, editor,…