04.16.09
When Skateboards Will Be Free
Title: When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood
Author: Said Sayrafiezadeh
Summary: In his debut memoir, Sayrafiezadeh describes his childhood in the Socialist Workers Party. Even after her husband leaves her to foment revolution in his native Iran, Said’s mom, Martha, remains steadfast to him, and to the Party. Self-inflicted poverty is not only a constant, it is perceived as a guiding value - a way to identify with the struggle of the workers and a thumb to the eye of the bosses and their materialistic society. Martha tells young Said that he can have a skateboard after the revolution in an episode that supplies the title of the book.
While young Said hurtles through adulthood, attending SWP conferences, fearing for his father’s life in Iran, and taking a trip to Cuba to see the socialist dream in action, his mother’s psyche slowly unravels. This bracingly funny and shocking memoir is a revelation; a unique look into the world of people still waiting for the revolution to come from a powerful and promising new writer.
Who will like this book?: People who enjoy memoirs, particularly by people with interesting (and damaged) childhoods. Readers looking for insight into outsider and fringe politics.
If you like this, try this: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. For more on the politics, try Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism by Joshua Muravchik.
Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian
10.16.08
The Dark Side
Title: The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals
Author: Jane Mayer
Publisher: Doubleday, July 2008
Summary: In The Dark Side, Jane Mayer, a staff writer for the New Yorker, documents some of the ugliest allegations of wrongdoing charged against the Bush administration. There are facts, which Mayer substantiates in persuasive detail.
Essential reading for those who think they can stand the truth.
Who will like this book?: Those interested in the subject of the ‘Imperial Presidency.’
If you like this, try this: The Way of the Worldby Ron Suskind. The Limits of Powerby A.J. Bacevich. The War Within by Bob Woodward.
Recommended by: Cliff, Reference.
07.01.08
The Nine
Title: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
Author: Jeffrey Toobin
Summary: Best-selling author Jeffrey Toobin takes the reader into the chambers of the Supreme Court to reveal the character and thinking of the nine people who decide the law of the land. This is a remarkable and riveting book – lucid and probing.
Also, author Jeffery Toobin will be appearing on Sunday, September 24th at 8 PM for the Open Visions Forum at the Quick Center of Fairfield University.
Who will like this book?: Those interested in the workings of the third branch of our government.
If you like this, try this: The Brethren by Bob Woodward. Supreme Injustice by Alan Dershowitz. Harry Blackmun: The Outsider Justice by Tinsley Yarbrough.
Recommended by: Cliff, Reference Librarian
06.24.08
A People’s History of American Empire
Title: A People’s History of American Empire: A Graphic Adaptation
Author: Howard Zinn, with Paul Buhle, and illustrations by Mike Konopacki
Summary: It is hard to believe that the groundbreaking A People’s History of the United States is almost 30 years old! Historian Howard Zinn’s classic ’history from the bottom up’ retold familiar episodes from the point of view of workers, women, minorities and others who were traditionally left out of the American story. In this graphic novel, Zinn, fellow historian Buhle and illustrator Konopacki describe the evolution of what they call the American Empire – the U.S. interactions with and policies towards other nations, beginning with Native Americans and ending with the current war in Iraq.
The story is well-suited to the graphic format, and with it’s haunting vignettes of atrocities and injustice, it is a devastating critique of the American government. It is a serious book, but there are moments of levity and humor. Particularly charming is Zinn’s own story of growing up in Brooklyn during the Depression and how serving in World War II transformed him into a radical thinker.
Who will like this book?: Fans of Zinn and Kenneth C. Davis. Any history buff who likes to find out ‘what really happened.’ Conservatives be advised: This book has a decidedly socialistic/progressive bent.
If you like this, try this: A People’s History of the United Statesby Howard Zinn. A Cartoon History of the Modern World by Larry Gonick.
Recommended by: Nicole, Teen Librarian
06.17.08
America’s Hidden History
Title: America’s Hidden History
Author: Kenneth C. Davis
Summary: In his new book, Kenneth Davis has highlighted 6 episodes in American history that have been somewhat overlooked but were very important in the development of our nation. All 6 episodes took place before 1790. The first chapter starts with the voyage of Christopher Columbus and other explorers who reached the new world. An interesting fact: Did you know that it is now believed that many of the diseases that devestated the native people of the America’s were spread by the pigs that Columbus brought with him to the New World? They were allowed to forage in the woods, passing diseases on to deer and turkeys…and humans.
In Chapter 3, Washington’s Confession,we learn that George Washington, as a young officer made a fateful decision to attack a group of French soldiers he happened upon during a mission as an emissary for Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia. After the ambush he realized it was a French diplomat’s party that he attacked and he was essentially responsible for the murder of an ambassador. This caused an even greater strain on the relationship between France and England.
Davis does not present an in-depth look at all of these episodes. He does, however, give the reader enough information to understand the significance of the events and perhaps pique the reader’s interest to find and read a more thorough account of these tales from our nation’s past.
Who will like this book?: Anyone interested in early American history.
If you like this, try this: Don’t Know Much About History by Kenneth C. Davis
Recommended by: Sue, Circulation Coordinator
06.13.08
Imperial Life in the Emerald City
Title: Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Summary: A shocking account of life in Baghdad’s Green Zone, a walled-off enclave of posh villas and sparkling swimming pools that was the headquarters for the American occupation of Iraq. This bubble, cut off from wartime realities had a half-dozen bars stocked with cold beer, a movie theater that screened shoot-em-up films, an all you could eat buffet piled high with pork and a parking lot filled with shiny new SUVs – much of it run by Halliburton. Most Iraqis were barred from entering the Emerald City for fear they would blow it up.
A startling portrait of an Oz-like place.
Who will like this book?: All interested in American foreign policy.
If you like this, try this: Fiasco by Thomas Ricks. Assassin’s Gate by George Packer
Recommended by: Cliff, Reference Librarian.
06.10.08
Nixonland
Title: Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America
Author: Rick Pearlstein
Summary: Great historical epic. Not jut a fascinating account of the rise of Richard Nixon, but also the best account of the decade of the 1960s. Full of detail and great characters.
Who will like this book?: Anyone interested in this period of our recent history.
If you like this, try this: Bush’s Law by Eric Lichtblau
Recommended by: Cliff, Reference Librarian
