The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin;
Collision 2012 by Dan Balz;
Jefferson and Hamilton: The Rivalry That Forged a Nation by John Ferling;
The Unwinding by George Packer;
feel free to add your own suggestions.
Whoever it was in 1969 who named the very first Bob Dylan bootleg album “Great White Wonder” may have had a mischievous streak. There are any number of ways you can interpret the title — most boringly, the cover was blank, like the Beatles’ “White Album” — but I like to see a sly allusion to “Moby-Dick.” In the seven years since the release of his first commercial record, Dylan had become the white whale of 20th-century popular song, a wild, unconquerable and often baffling force of musical nature who drove fans and critics Ahab-mad in their efforts to spear him, lash him to the hull and render him merely comprehensible. --- Bruce Handy, NYTimes ____________________________________________ I figured we can start fresh with Bob Dylan. Couldn't resist this photo of him striking a Woody Guthrie pose. Looks like only yesterday. Here is a link to the comments building up to this reading group.
next possible read?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.goodreads.com/book/show/509359.What_Would_Jefferson_Do_
Jefferson seems to be much fought over these days. The Conservatives love to claim him as well. the Jefferson-Hamilton book looks interesting as it highlights the stark differences between them in terms of the direction a young America. Seems like Hamilton won out in the end, but at the time Jefferson and Jeffersonsian Democrats like Jackson got the upper hand.
ReplyDeleteI am re-reading Richard Hofstadter's Anti-Intellectualism in American Life and just finished the chapter "The Decline of the Gentleman" which begins with the smear campaign waged against Jefferson in 1800. It all sounds so familiar.
ReplyDeleteEqually familiar was a section in the previous chapter about Eisenhower and how some members of the extreme Right accused him of being an agent of international Communism. Maybe Obama should be glad he's only been labeled a Socialist.
I tried to post this yesterday but for some reason it did not post:
ReplyDeleteMy current reading is UNDISPUTED TRUTH by Iron Mike Tyson.
He and I are from the same neighborhood in Brooklyn. I met his legendary coach Cus D'Amato many years ago and the man was absolutely scary. Tough as heck but a darn good coach. Makes for very good reading.
I don't think I'm ready to to Tyson. It's interesting how this ultimate fighting has come to dominate the ring. You hardly hear anymore about boxing these days, although I saw that Klitschko is playing a big role in the Ukranian opposition movement.
ReplyDeleteI post on a pro boxing website and it seems we get more interested and more knowledgeable boxing fans from Europe than from the USA. Interestingly, many of our American posters are older guys like me. It seems the younger generation is more interested in mixed martial arts.
DeleteSome European fans have made a very interesting observation: that when a White boxer from the USA is boxing a European the crowd invariably shouts "USA! USA!". But when a Black or Hispanic American fights a European you do not hear such shouting. In fact, very often the crowd roots for the European. It comes as quite a shock to Europeans for them to openly see such a racial divide in the USA but it's no secret to those of us who have known this since time immemorial.