Here is the promised review of my vacation reading list:
Listening to America (Bill Moyers). Yeah he’s endlessly annoying on television, but the book is worth reading for an insight into how people across America were thinking in the late 1960’s (for those of you, like me, who weren’t there). I suggest renting it from the library to avoid enriching him further. Rank: B.
Before the Dawn (Gerry Adams). Poorly written. Dull. Confusing. Slangy in an eye rolling way. One sided (shocking). Don’t waste your time. Rank: D-. It rises above an F because I managed to get through it when I had nothing left to read and I couldn’t stand any more of the kids ipod games.
Basic Brown (Willie Brown). Interesting… obviously written for a broader audience than political insiders. It’s a quick read and pretty much anything Brown writes is worth reading in my opinion. Rank: B.
The Maltese Falcon/The Thin Man (Dashiell Hammett). I’m not a huge fan of fiction. Got most of that out of my system 20 years ago. However, and not to put too fine a point on it, these are two of the best fiction books I’ve read. Beautiful English. Rank: A/A.
All the Kings Men (Robert Warren). Well… you pretty much have to read this. For those of us in politics it’s insightful, for those who are not it’s an entertaining story. I’m no editor but I think they could have knocked 100 pages off it. Wish the main character would stop listening to The Cure and buck up. Rank: B-.