AltWeeklies Wire
'A New Deal for Native Art' Explains How the Gov't Undermined Indigenous Art During the New Dealnew
Jennifer McLerran makes the case that administrators of New Deal Indian policy, particularly John Collier, then-commissioner of Indian Affairs, insisted on romanticizing pre-industrial forms of indigenous art rather than pushing native artists toward self-sufficiency.
Tucson Weekly |
Jarret Keene |
10-29-2009 |
Nonfiction
'A Rebel Life' Remembers Molly Ivinsnew
In First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family, Bill Minutaglio deciphered Dubya's career as a campaign of filial devotion and rebellion. Turning now to Bush's spunkiest critic, Minutaglio interprets Ivins as similarly driven by resentment toward her overbearing, overachieving father.
San Antonio Current |
Steven G. Kellman |
10-21-2009 |
Nonfiction
In 'Shop Class as Soulcraft,' Matthew B. Crawford Says: Get Off Your Assnew
Ex-Bush think-tank dynamo-turned-vintage motorcycle shop owner Crawford calls out the trend in America's displacement of values pertaining to manual trades while questioning the misguided future of would-be knowledge workers (a dirty word as far as Crawford's concerned).
Metro Times |
Travis R. Wright |
10-20-2009 |
Nonfiction
Barbara Ehrenreich's Latest Book Tackles Our Oppressive Optimismnew
Rather than focus on some particular tool of oppression that's misled the masses into believing they're happy, in Bright-Sided Ehrenreich trains her ire on happiness itself.
Chicago Reader |
Noah Berlatsky |
10-19-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Massacred For Gold' Rises Above the Usual History Book Formulanew
R. Gregory Nokes' investigation of the 1887 mass murder of more than 30 Chinese gold miners is a chronicle within a chronicle, explaining not only how and why the murders occurred but how the author had to sift through scant and often contradictory evidence to make sense of a crime.
Willamette Week |
Matt Buckingham |
10-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
Johnny Rico's Second Book Uses the Border Reality as its Shticknew
Border Crosser is the account of Rico's attempt to illegally cross from Mexico into the United States in the summer of 2007. Physically and mentally, Rico is woefully unprepared for the task he has assigned himself. Nevertheless, he sets out with testosterone-fueled arrogance and a naive, fetishized view of the border-crossing experience.
The Texas Observer |
Kirk Forrester |
10-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
'The Architecture of Community' Advocates a Return to More Conscientious Urban Developmentnew
Leon Krier contends that modernism, whatever its virtues in small scale, has been nothing but a disaster in larger scales -- a force that has managed to sterilize cities aesthetically, ruin years of expertise in building trades, and lead planners and developers to compose cities in unsustainable ways.
Baltimore City Paper |
Scott Carlson |
10-06-2009 |
Nonfiction
'A Paradise Built in Hell' Explores the Utopic Possibilities Glimpsed in Disasternew
Perhaps the primary virtue of Rebecca Solnit's clear-headed new book is that it does not simply swap one interpretation of disaster -- as anticonsumerist reckoning, for instance -- for another, such as Jerry Falwell-style damnation. Solnit is interested in how people act in the aftermath, for better and for worse.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Max Goldberg |
09-30-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Cheap' Tackles the Fraught Practice of Buying and Selling Cheap Goodsnew
For its catchy title and relatively few pages, Cheap is a weighty book. Shell reveals the dizzying connections between price and poverty, using statistics, historical accounts, and scientific and sociological explanations. She spent two years doing research, traveling to Sweden, the birthplace of IKEA, and China, "factory to the world."
The Texas Observer |
C.B. Evans |
09-23-2009 |
Nonfiction
Rod Blagojevich's Book: Think Socrates, Not Icarusnew
The Governor isn't mythological material, though it contains plenty of myth. But it's a fine warning on the pitfalls of democracy.
Chicago Reader |
Mick Dumke |
09-21-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Our Noise' Tells the Story of Merge Records, and Tells it Wellnew
The book is remarkably candid; it thoroughly examines interpersonal and financial problems, not just triumphs. Because of the candor, we believe the portrayal of Merge as a genuinely noble label, with an uncommon blend of ethics, frugality and business savvy.
INDY Week |
Brian Howe |
09-18-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Poorly Made' Looks at China's Export Manufacturing Industrynew
Hired as a middleman for Western importers and Chinese manufacturers, Paul Midler unveils the schemes concocted by China's factory owners to make a profit from inferior goods in this investigative travelogue.
NOW Magazine |
David Silverberg |
09-14-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Ad Nauseam' Questions Happy Consumerismnew
For anyone who's read much about consumerism, there's not a lot of new ground covered here -- unsurprising, perhaps, since many of the book's articles date back to the mid '90s. The theme throughout is this: what makes advertising so powerful is its slippery method of using suggestive imagery instead of intellectual argument to associate products with positive emotions.
The Georgia Straight |
Jennifer Croll |
09-11-2009 |
Nonfiction
So-Called Manifesto for Sustainable Cities is a Far Cry from Global Vision it Claims to Espousenew
A new book called Albert Speer & Partner: A Manifesto for Sustainable Cities aims to address the urban-planning end of the spectrum and clarify best practices in the field. Unfortunately, despite its grandiose title (a manifesto!), the book is a simple monograph on the work of one architecture and planning firm, and a platform only for its views.
Santa Fe Reporter |
Zane Fischer |
09-10-2009 |
Nonfiction
'Localist Movements in a Global Economy' Explores Localism's Meaning, Potential and Challengesnew
David Hess has marshaled the intellectual arguments for localism using history, present success stories, and economic arguments. It is precisely in answering questions from friends and enemies that Hess' book is important.
East Bay Express |
Jay Youngdahl |
09-09-2009 |
Nonfiction
