Non Fiction Archive |
Down from Basswood: Voices of the Boundary Waters - In the decade I’ve been publishing this site, I’ve never run a piece about a book that carried the byline of the author. And I’ve never published a piece with
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet - If you want to debate whether global warming is real, or, if it’s real, whether it’s a natural phenomenon or something we did, or if “drill, baby, drill” can bring
Earthrise: How Man First Saw the Earth - Christmas Eve, 1968. Apollo 8 was making history. The American astronauts had left Earth's orbit. They'd seen the dark side of the Moon. Now, on their fourth
Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock - Steve Jobs (1955-2011): A few years ago, at the D Conference, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were interviewed together for first time in two decades. Afterward, I got
Elsie de Wolfe’s Paris: Frivolity Before the Storm - Once, for a week, I filled in as the co-host of a television talk show. Charlie Scheips was one of the guests, there to chat about Andy Warhol and the
Esther Perel: The State of Affairs: Rethinking Adultery - It sometimes happens that I praise a writer and then we meet and discover we like one another. That’s how a couples therapist and I became friends. And then, later,
Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman - I first read Sam Wasson's charming, original take on “Breakfast at Tiffany’'s," reviewed below. My favorite movie from the ‘70s is “Chinatown.” I inhaled The Big Goodbye. An oral history
Five Minds for the Future - Five Minds for the
Friends & Family: Unreal Estate; Love at First Bark; Yossarian Slept Here - The mail brings a ton of books. Inevitably, some are by former colleagues, real friends and Facebook friends. Often letters are attached, reminding me of good times passed and not
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee - I can’t think of another book that is two books in one --- and both are sensationally good. The first book in “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of
Garner’s Quotations: A Modern Miscellany - One of the perks of editing this site is the friends you make. At some point in our middle-middle age, I made the acquaintance of Bill Novak, the most distinguished
George Orwell: The Orwell Reader - SUPPORTING BUTLER: Since the start of 2023, Amazon seems to have gone on a quiet campaign to rid itself of small sites that, collectively, generate revenue worth noticing — and
Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans - Americans like to think that baseball and football rule the world of sport. Soccer, anyone? Americans like to believe that the Indianapolis 500 --- it’s called The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, and
God’s Hotel: A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine - It almost always annoys me when someone who isn’t a professional writer produces a great book, but Victoria Sweet wrote one of the most addictive books I’ve read in years,
Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America - One reason we don’t discuss politics here is that I have trouble seeing much difference between America’s two political parties. Oh, I know that one has less respect for women
Here, There and Everywhere - Here's a way of getting the 'real' story that I tend to favor: Ask the help. "No man is a hero to his valet," Boswell said of Samuel
Hollywood Babylon — It’s Back - Here's the ultimate host or hostess present. Assuming, that is, your host or hostess has no problem with full-frontal nudity and NC-17-rated, reputation-shattering revelations. If that's the case, stay clear. And
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets - I keep hearing that The Wire is the greatest series in the history of television. I missed it. And, rather than do remedial viewing, I thought I'd catch up
Hotel Florida: Truth, Love, and Death in the Spanish Civil War - The Hotel Florida, like the mythical Hotel California in the song by The Eagles, is one of those places where “you can check in but you can never leave.” Or
