In Fakers: Hoaxers, Con Artists, Counterfeiters and Other Great Pretenders (2008), Paul Maliszewski draws on his own experiences as a frustrated newspaper reporter who wrote fictitious letters to the editor and other submissions as a lens for viewing other liars, fakers and frauds.
The result is an interesting meditation on the truth, and our complex relationship with it.
Wow. Not the best zombie apocalypse novel I’ve ever read, but certainly a good one. This book is much more than that; a meditation on America in the 21st century and whether it matters.
I was very impressed with Whitehead’s writing, and I look forward to checking out some of his other work.
Read reviews from the New York Times and Esquire.
In The Big Roads, Earl Swift tells the history of the conception and creation of the Interstate Highway System. For those of us who have lived only in the age of super highways, it is an interesting and well-told story of how (and why) they came to be.
Read reviews at the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.
“The definitive guide to courtly violence.”
A fascinating history of (sanctioned) male violence throughout western history.
Seymour Lachman and Robert Polner’s The Man Who Saved New York (2010) tells the story of New York City’s near financial meltdown in 1975, and how newly-elected New York Governor (the “man” of the title) and his aides were able to avert what could have precipitated a national fiscal crisis.
This is a very interesting read, despite the authors’ (at times) hagiographic treatment of Hugh Carey. Unfortunately, the lessons of the 1975 New York City fiscal crisis seemed to have been forgotten fairly quickly after the crisis passed. This back-story of this dark period of the state’s history should be better understood in Albany, making this book “required reading” for anyone who deals with state and local budgeting in New York.
My favorite tidbit relates to then-President Ford’s chief of staff (and former Illinois congressman) Donald Rumsfeld, who told Chicago Mayor Richard Daly to oppose any federal effort to bail out New York City because “when New York City collapses, Chicago may become the financial center of the U.S.”
Read more from the publisher (SUNY Press) and the New York Times.
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton MA
(Read about Parts 1 and 2 of our trip.)
I was blown away by the Smith College Museum of Art. We could have easily spent two hours on just the top two floors of this museum alone.
They have a tremendous collection of 19th-century French paintings (including Monet, Seurat, Renoir, Gauguin, Cézanne) and some excellent American art as well.
Patrick explains the finer points of a Thomas Eakins painting to his sister
All in all, this museum offered much more than I was expecting to find on the campus of a small western Massachusetts liberal arts college.
If you go, make sure you use the bathrooms in the basement. They alone are worth the (very modest) price of admission.
Edward Hopper's painting of Pretty Penny, Nyack NY
Tom Perrotta’s The Leftovers (2011) is an interesting exploration of suburban life interrupted by a mass disappearance that many believe is the Rapture. It’s not clear from the book how many people have been removed from the face of the Earth, but everyone seems to know someone who is gone.
What does it all mean for those of us who are left behind? Let’s just say it gets pretty weird. (In the Times, Steven King calls it “the best Twilight Zone episode you never saw.”) I highly recommend this thoughtful, interesting novel.
I’ve also enjoyed Perrotta’s earlier work, including Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies, Election, The Wishbones, Little Children and Joe College.
Check out reviews of The Leftovers at the New York Times, the L.A. Times and the Washington Post.
Or, just save your breath and join Guilty Remnant.
In An Ideal Wine, David Darlington tells the story of the California wine industry since the early 1970’s — at times in numbing detail.
There is a very interesting story in here, but it’s tougher than it should be to find.
I found the contrast between biodynamics (essentially ecological self-sufficiency) and the use of chemical analysis and alteration to improve Wine Spectator (and other similar scoring systems) to be fascinating.
I am looking forward to a similar “behind the scenes” story of the American craft brewing industry coming out some time soon…
Read the L.A. Times review.
Northampton, MA
(The first part of our trip is here.)
Northampton, MA was the next stop on our trip. It’s a funky little college town about 15 miles north of Springfield.
On the way, we learned that Holyoke, MA is where volleyball was invented. Who knew?
We took a stroll around town, eventually stopping at Mimmo’s Pizza for lunch. Their sign boasted of having the biggest slices in town. They were not joking. The pizza was OK, but the atmosphere not so much. It’s probably a great place to stop after the bars have closed.
Academy of Music
I caught a show at the Academy of Music a few years ago (She & Him in support of their first album). It’s a great venue.
After lunch we walked through town a bit before heading over to the Smith College Museum of Art.
What a better way to end the summer than with a trip to Western Massachusetts?
The Blue Steps at Naumkeag
We managed to check out Naumkeg, grabbed a nosh and a stroll around Northampton, and visited the Smith College Museum of Art and the Eric Carle Museum.
Naumkeag is a 26-room gabled mansion designed by Stanford White in 1885. It was the summer home of Joseph Hodges Choate, a prominent 19th-century attorney who also served as U.S. Ambassador to England.
Naumkeag
The Blue Steps is a a series of deep blue fountain pools. It is just one of the impressive (and interesting) features of this fairly incredible “home,” which is located just outside of Stockbridge, MA.
The views from the home were pretty nice as well, with impressive views of nearby Monument Mountain.
View from Naumkeag