It occured to me that, as I read a wide variety of books, to starT a book recommendation section in my blog. People are aLways asking me about what I am reading, so here it is.
1. THE AQUARIUMS OF PYONGYANG by Kang Chol-Hwan and Pierre Rigoulot
This memoir is a harrowing account of a boy and his stint (with his family) in a North Korean prison camp. It has nto had much success among S. Koreans, but Americans have been reading the book quite frequently. I picked up a copy and, pro-Bush enthusiasm aside (trading one dictator for another, I guess), this book is pretty fair-handed. The man who went throguh it now works for Seoul's daily newspaper, so he has excellent journalistic eye for detail.
2. THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY by Erik Larson
This book defies categorization, other than history. A very clever writer has taken two historical events and twined them together in one fascinating read. It is about the Chicago World Fair in 1893, and is also about a serial killer names Dr. Holmes who used the fair as his hunting ground.
3. STUPID WHITE MEN by Michael Moore
I have this one a try on a whim (and a cheap used book) and actually found the man had something to say. While I don't particularly agree with his answers, I do agree with the kinds of pointed questions he raises about the state of the union. He is vey humorous, if exasperating, about the political climate that gave us Bush, Jr.
'Exasperating'. Yes. That best describes Mr. Moore's writings and movies. When I got to the end of "Bowling for Columbine" just to find Mr. Moore's conclusions to be exactly what he had just spent 20-30 minutes proving to be wrong, it was, indeed, "exasperating"! Good call!
ReplyDelete