Greg Aase
If you want to keep your Archer intake low and only want to read a few of his books, put this one on your list. His writing is sharp, the characters as well drawn as they can be in this genre, and the mystery (and its resolution) are as reasonable and thought out as one can be in this genre. It's one of the few books were Archer actually feels like a real person. This book is an example of one of the best mystery/hard boiled crime/modern noir authors at the top of his game.
I read Townsend's massive memoir and thought this would be a breezy memoir that told no tales and kept everything light. After all Pete is the brains, and Roger is the front man with the awesome hair and usually no shirt.
Wrong!
The book was great. It glossed over things, but Roger made no apologies for anything. Pete may be the brains (and Roger is clear about this), but there is no Who today without Daltrey, and I didn't know this.
Roger is very open about his life and is a great storyteller. It's a very much Pete and Roger story. There are Moon stories, but less than I thought there would be. Entwhistle doesn't get much time in the book at all.
It's an above average memoir and in the upper tier of big rock autobiographies. Recommended for casual and serious Who fans.
I've read all the Rapp books. This one is the worst. Mills has done a good job to date with the character, but this turned into an early Tom Clancey novel and not a good one at that. Rapp turned into a minor character in his own book. The whole book seemed like a rush job, with little of the wit or the come-and-go character development that made the originals fun. I hope this is a hiccup in the series and not a sign of things to come.
A quick read....because I've already it read it before. Post 1960, much of what is in this book has come from other books...Emerick's autobiography, Martin's autobiography, Lewisohn's epic first volume of the Beatles.....I've read them all so the road was very familiar. The early years was interesting. In the Beatles canon of books, this one is not essential, which is disappointing because I was looking forward to it. Hopefully volume 2 is better.
I thought it would be better. It starts off well enough, but Toobin tails the story and the big picture analysis off the further along the books goes. Part of it is Ms. Hearst. It turns out that the pool isn't that deep. Hard to work with something where nothing is there. It also kind of grinds along. I picked it up and put it down several time over the course of a summer.
I've read them all. This one rolls along. There isn't a lot of drama, there isn't a big whodunit, and the characters are all now fitting like a comfortable, worn, familiar shoe. I miss the days of the Minnesota observations and the higher stakes of the earlier books, but things change and characters have to evolve. This is a perfectly decent book that's an enjoyable read. It didn't feel like a contractual objection (some of the later books have had that feel), but it isn't the driving, top notch book like several of the early books were.
I sat on this book for a while. From what I heard from all the author's interviews, this was a personal recalling of his awkward youth. I haven't been in the mood to read semi-serious confessions about a weird family. Once I started reading it, I realized I looked at the book in the wrong light. Part of the book is stories about growing up in a unique family. And part of the stories are about the author's awkward youth. Turns out all the stories are hilarious
Mr. Hodgman is a particularly good writer and knows how to tell a good story. The book was a delight. I recommend it.
It's a return to form by King. Got the audio book. Highly recommended. Steven Morse did a great job reading the book. Have some patience on the first half for the book. It's sentimental (in a King way) and some may think it's drags the books down. I thought it just set everything up for the second half, which drives straight into familiar territory. I even liked the ending....which is a rare thing for this author. In the upper tier of the King libary.
Really good book, but unless you are very, very wealthy, it will upset you. The book does a good job proving one person, one vote just isn't true in American politics anymore. It actually made me more politically aware and active, especially since many of the people discussed in the book are now active in the current administration.
I, like many, have read them all. I was skeptical about Mills taking over the series, but there hasn't been much of a drop in overall quality. If anything, there is a consistency in the series now that wasn't always there when Flynn was writing.
Having said that, this book didn't do much for me. The plot wanders, the whole Rapp in disguise thing didn't work for me, and the climax seemed forced and under written. I couldn't see what was going on. The climax lacked any suspense.
The Survivor was above average Rapp...actually one of the best in the series. This one seemed like a placeholder. Fine if you are a fan of the series, but not a good stand alone book or an entry point for the work of Rapp.
I'm a completely biased reviewer - Mr Rushin graduated from a southern suburban school in Minnesota the same year I graduated from a school about 30 miles south of his. So I know of all the Bloomington landmarks (the Met, the Southtown theater, the Holiday Inn) he discusses in the book, but I was at most of them around the same time he was.
Having said that, I don't think you had to have grown up in a Minneapolis suburb in the 70's to appreciate the book. It's smartly written, it's honest and it's heartfelt. I think it's relatively universal story, but I think it helps if you grew up in the 70's.
Highly recommended.
If done right, these oral histories can be interesting if done right. The SNL one is the gold standard. However, if now done right, and the CAA one is a prime example, it can quickly turn into a mess. This one sits in the middle. I was a fan of the show from the beginning, so this was all interesting to me. If you're a casual fan, this book is going to be too much inside baseball for you.
A good, higher level, autobiography. If you have read any of the other Band member biographies (cough, cough....Levon Helm....cough, cough), the facts are shifted, perhaps a little (a lot) more towards Mr. Robertson. Having said that, I have a tendency to believe his version of events. There is a lot more regret in all this than I thought I would see. The author has led an amazing life, and this is only the first half. I'm waiting for the second volume.
I had no idea.....
Really....I had no clue that Dave Stewart has essentially been everywhere in popular music over the last 30 years. His list of friends are incredible.
My though of Dave was that he was tagging along with Annie Lennox in Eurthymics. I was wrong. According to this, it was a true partnership.
Others have commented that Stewart is a bit of a loon. This book doesn't dissuade you from that observation. But he is a creative loon, and an entertaining loon. And the book reflects all that.
I went into this with zero expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. It does run out of steam at the end, and there is a WHOLE LOT of name dropping. But it's a fun read. Worth picking up. Frankly, get the Audible version.....Dave does the narration and it's a hoot.
What you think of this book is going to be based somewhat on what side of the aisle you are on politically. A hard core “traditional” Republican is going to think the book is a hatchet job. The pro-Bush, pro-Cheney are going to think that certain individuals in the book (Rumsfeld, Powell) look far shinier than they should be. I did get the feeling that the author leaned pretty heavily on Rumsfeld's memoir for information. My takeaway from the book is that W. wasn't particularly serious about much of anything growing up, found faith and fitness to take the place of partying and booze (and good for him on that), but relied on his faith too much as a guide point to engage in foreign affairs. His dependency on his instincts and his faith-based beliefs regarding the Iraq war, even if 1/3 of this book is actually true, is disturbing for the most powerful man in the world. It is also telling that when the financial system started melting down, the “Decider” became completely dependent on outside sources (Treasury and the Fed) to make decisions.
If the author's goal was to present a man who at is his core is a good person but was a lousy president, they succeeded. A good, clear read.
Surprisingly good. Mr. Friedkin is an excellent storyteller, and he focuses on his movies, not the gossip surrounding his life. He discusses nearly all of his movies (interestingly, there is no discussion of the stinker Deal of the Century, which was weird because he discusses several other clunkers he directed). As it should be, there is a lot of discussion on The French Connection and The Exorcist, his two best known works, and a fair amount of discussion on one of his underrated sleepers - To Live and Die In LA. Well worth the time,
It was well researched and well written, but I felt a little duped. The book had an extensive and very detailed lead up to the start of the war, but the book ends abruptly with the beginning of the war. I was looking for more discussion on how the Vatican handled itself during the war, but it appears the documentation the author needed for that aspect of the book and the relationship between the fascist leaders and the Vatican must still be sealed.
Recommended only for historians (European on religious).
I thought Legacy of Ashes was a great book. It had a great narrative and was fact filled. For being a non-fiction book it read like a spy thriller. The writer obviously had a great deal of passion for the subject and that energy showed in the prose. Enemies was a really good book. The narrative was also solid, as following Hoover's life provided a solid basis to tell the story of the FBI. I was looking forward to One Man Against the World. I thought Weiner would tackle Nixon' life in the way he went through Hoover's. It doesn't. The exhaustive, thoughtful analysis found in Weiner's two previous books is missing here. The progression through Nixon's life is relatively routine. Supporting characters in Nixon's life come and go without much rhyme or reason. Pat Nixon barely appears. Watergate is discussed for several chapters, but a lot of information has been covered in other places in better detail. The whole book seems rushed.
Making matters worse is that Nixonland was released before this book. Even though that book doesn't get into Watergate, it tells the story of the rise and fall of Richard Nixon in the context of history in a highly superior way. The first two-thirds of this book goes over the same ground as Nixonland, but the latter book does it in a superior manner. I walked away from Nixonland and felt I understood why Nixon did what he did. I didn't get the same feeling with this book.
Went into this book with minor expectations but come out impressed. Mr. Hilburn, for the most part, sticks to the facts, and it works well for him. The tone is not gossipy, but there aren't many stones left unturned. It's clear that the author obtained the trust of the Cash family and received access not normally granted. I knew the broad strokes of Cash's life, but most of what I knew was part of the legend and not the facts. It's a very readable, enjoyable, informative book that is also very well written. One of the best books I read in 2014. Highly recommended.
A breezy read with plenty of good information. It's about the best the Billy Joel fan is going to get unless Billy changes his mind and writes his autobiography. It anything, it's a bit of a cautionary tale about the music industry and how the predators are everywhere, including in your bed. Worth the time
It would be King's best book, hands down, if it wasn't for that ending. I felt completely betrayed by the ending of the book. I know it's King's weak point (go read the reviews for the Watchtower series - there are a lot of crabby readers who felt that he had wasted years of their lives on how he ended that one), but this one really felt like “well, I've got all my characters to this point, I've really built this plot up, now what?” At least there weren't any giant spiders......