Books
My current book is a new biography: Alexis de Tocqueville, A Life, by Hugh Brogan. I can't say I'm wild about it. It is very long and very complete, so someone who knew nothing about Tocqueville would learn a great deal about the man and about France -- more than he is likely to want, in fact. But it moves slowly, and the interpretation of the writings is very conventional. The biography by Andre Jardin may be a better one, not least because it sticks to the life and inserts fewer of the author's opinions.
posted by Papa, aka Don at 10:40 PM
2 Comments:
I imagine that you are the most capable to judge books on this subject and have a more sharply critical eye, similar to Grandpa on WWII books. I try to keep one non-fiction and one fiction book going at the same time. My current non-fiction is A History of the American People, which I really enjoy but am making slow progress through.
My book group is reading Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. Generally I have found the classics to be more interesting and satisfying than the more current works. Some of the current works, such as Thirteen Moons, I never finished. Mary Davis is the most knowledgeable member, and if she is present, the discussion is much more structured.
Andrew, the Tulsa World noted today that Oprah recently aired an interview with Cormac McCarthy, even though he normally doesn't do interviews. She had chosen The Road as a book club selection in March. He commented that in his own life, "Just when things were really, really bleak something would happen." He told a story of living in a "shack,"having so little money that he could not afford to buy toothpaste when he ran out, only to discover a free sample of toothpaste in his mailbox.
The article ended with this:
Winfrey also could not seem to get over hos little McCarthy cares about success, that it didn't matter to him that millions of people read his books now compared to a few thousand in years past. "You are a different kind of author, let me tell you,"she said, chuckling.
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