Book Reviews

An uncomfortable night. Not horrible, just ... uncomfortable.

So, on to book reviews. I didn't read as much (or as well) as I thought I would over the last month, because painkillers will do that to you. You'll be reading a really interesting book, making mental notes, and the next thing you know, it's 16 hours later and your shoulder hurts like hell because the painkiller has worn off.

Still. I read a fair amount -- probably more than I would have without a decent public library at hand -- and here are some quickie reviews:

The United States of Arugula. Two stars. Meh. I think it's mostly that I like producing food almost as much as consuming it. Or maybe it's just that a lot of people who are really into the restaurant scene have started to seem just a tad pretentious to me. Whatever, this book just didn't do much for me. The book also is based on the assumption that everyone who reads it has as much of an interest in the subject as the author. Not always so true.

A Man's Life: Dispatches from Dangerous Places. Four stars. I really liked this one. Clear-headed writing about climbing, hiking and consequences. I was full of 'amens' to the parts on rehabbing after injury. Mark Jenkins, who wrote for Outdoor magazine, just nails it.

Encounters with the Archdruid. Five stars. John McPhee rules. Ever some friends introduced me to him (Coming into the Country), I've thought McPhee should be a controlled substance. I saw where he's recently been given a Polk for career achievement. Only question is, why it didn't happen sooner. And before I finish slobbering, the book is a series of profile sketches centering around David Brower, the legendary Sierra Club leader who got booted out for being too confrontational.

The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood. Four-and-a-half stars. It's not five only because it's not Charlotte's Web. But it's really close. Just a very sweet, well-written book.

A Year Without 'Made in China.' Three stars. It's an insanely creative idea for a book, and that's why it gets three stars. There's just some pretty gratuitous spousal bashing, and the author never makes it clear why it might be important to not buy anything from China for a year. And I felt really sorry for her child, in particular.

Guests of the Ayatollah. Four stars. Shouldn't have surprised me that Mark Bowden has another good book out. I cheated slightly -- I listed to this one a couple of years ago as part of a CD rental while driving through Montana. But it's pretty much the definitive account of the Iranian hostage crisis.

In Defense of Food. Three-and-a-half stars. The problem is, I already read The Omnivore's Dilemma. Michael Pollan set the bar so damn high with that book that anything else is going to be a bit of a letdown. If there was a part that annoys me about this book, it was the emphasis on the fats debate. Yawn.

Barnyard in Your Backyard. Three stars. Nothing I haven't read. Decent reference.

Pastured Poultry Profits. Four stars. In a much better world, Joel Salatin would be in charge of American agriculture. Only real criticisms of this book are that it's very much written for an audience in a semi-tropical (i.e., not New England) environment, and I might have really appreciated chicken tractor plans.

Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. Three-and-a-half stars. Very thorough and engaging. My only real beef with this book is that as badly as the CIA has screwed up some things, I'm sure there are other, untold things that weren't screwed up. Maybe not as many, but a success or two -- assuming there were a few -- would make for a much more balanced, nuanced story.

Five Acres and Independence. Four stars. I liked the tone of this book for some reason. It was written in the 1940s, so a lot of it is quite dated. On the other hand, it never hurts to read about how to get back on your feet after hard times, and the 1930s would've qualified as hard times. Again, I just really liked the tone -- there's no rah-rah, let's all go to the farm, and there's no my-way-or-the-highway advice.

The Lobster Chronicles. Four stars. It's a wonderful memoir, and Linda Greenlaw deserves major props for not getting caught up in the Gloucester storm hype. Only weakness was that it kind of leaves readers hanging at the end, and I wish there were a bit more devoted to the art of lobstering, rather than the politics of a small town.

The Northern Forest. Three-and-a-half stars. Mixed emotions. Some parts were really, really good; others seemed to get bogged down into land-use and administrative trivia. The Northern Forest (it's basically Maine, northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and the Adirondacks) should be a bigger issue than it is, but it needs more than this book to explain it.

The Bourne Identity. Two stars. I like reading these books for no apparent reason. The plot devices are insanely ridiculous and the dialogue can just plod along for years. But I still like the series. Why?

The Complete Guide to Beekeeping. I didn't get to do more than skim this. After doing some thinking, I've decided to hold off another year on getting bees. I've got enough on my one-armed plate as is, without having to worry about learning a new craft.

You Can Farm. Another Salatin screed. Three-and-a-half stars. Worth reading, although I wish he'd dwell a bit more on disasters that can happen on a farm. Which is half the fun of farming. But you'll never read (at least, I didn't) about anything like the time my little brother got the jeep stuck at my dad's ranch and tried to get it out with the pickup ... which then became stuck. Dad intercepted little brother as he was heading out to the field in Dad's Cadillac.

Seed to Seed. I've only skimmed this one. It looks like a phenomenally good resource, but maybe not so much for entertainment. We'll see; the reviews are good. Seed-saving strikes me as one of those things that's a royal pain in the ass but just essential to know about.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why. Two stars. I should've read the cover jacket a bit more closely. This is more about neurology (I think) than adventure. This book just bored the hell out of me, for no good reason.

Gardening When It Counts. I haven't read this one yet. Want to, but haven't. Maybe I'll be coherent enough this weekend to get through it. It's part of the Mother Earth series, so I'm certain it'll have good information (although has anyone besides me ever wondered why there are so many ads for heavy machinery in the monthly MEN?)

Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream. Four-and-a-half stars. So I was browsing the innernets and came across a review of this book by Adam Shepherd. He gave himself a year to start with nothing and build up to a place to live, car and save up some money. And did it, successfully, in Charleston, S.C. Kind of an optimistic version of Barbara Ehrenreich. It's very well written and reminds you that there's maybe some economic hope after all if you're willing to work hard and stick to a plan.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette. Four stars. So, some of this book is over the top. And some of it's just not do-able for some people. But you can't fault people for trying to save money, and so much of this is just common sense. Question yourself before you buy something not completely essential, don't drive somewhere if you don't have to drive, look at yard sales for some things, etc. The cooking tips alone are invaluable and worth the price of the book (even if we got it from the library). But I'll be buying our own copy just so I can put sticky notes in some parts.

So I guess the moral of the story is: I like to read.

Going to sleep now. This took about 45 minutes, and I am just beat.