This TV series was a disappointment, which is a shame because Walker, a 19thC self-made, African American millionaire, is such an interesting character. Born in 1867 on a plantation in Louisiana, Walker was the only one of her parents’ numerous children who was born free. Walker married three ... [Continue Reading]
Madame Fourcade’s Secret War by Lynne Olson
I have read almost all of Lynne Olson’s World War II era nonfiction books. Although I have my favorites, Citizens of London and Troublesome Young Men, they are all excellent. Her latest, Madam Fourcade’s Secret War, is a welcome addition to the lineup. It may not topple my current favorites, but ... [Continue Reading]
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson
Given the enormous number of Churchill biographies, especially of the war years, one might wonder about the necessity of yet another. Eric Larson, author of narrative nonfiction bestsellers, The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of the Beasts, takes the vast mountain of Churchill material ... [Continue Reading]
The Cut-Out Girl by Bart van Es
In 2014, Bart van Es, a professor of English Literature at Oxford University, visits his father’s foster sister, Lien, in Amsterdam. Lien is one of the Holocaust’s “hideaway” children, and the Van Es family sheltered her during the war years. After the war, Lien joined the Van Es family ... [Continue Reading]
Still Here, The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch by Alexandra Jacobs
The talented Broadway singer, actress, and comedian Elaine Stritch was the definition of her own worst enemy. Due to a decades long drinking problem and a sharp tongue, she lost out on many plum theatrical roles, having to settle for the understudy or a lesser role. Over the years, she auditioned ... [Continue Reading]
NCN Book Club Reading List 2020
The members of the NCN Book Club are serious readers, and our reading selections lean heavily to gritty, often lengthy nonfiction! This year at our annual book selection gathering, several members agitated for more fiction choices! So, for 2020- seven fiction selections, four nonfiction, among ... [Continue Reading]
by Bryan Stevenson
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson Before the feature film Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan, before the HBO documentary True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality, before the TED talk that has more than seven million views, before the five successful arguments before the Supreme Court, ... [Continue Reading]
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
The Second Mountain, The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks The Second Mountain is a worthy read, if you can get past the cliché of a middle-aged man who experiences a life-changing epiphany on the back of a midlife crisis. The fact that Brooks’ journey to personal fulfillment also meant ... [Continue Reading]
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
No surprise--I loved The Library by Susan Orlean. But it is not a typical narrative non-fiction like Orlean’s earlier books. The book’s chapters are only loosely connected around the history of the Los Angeles Public Library, and the fire that destroyed the flagship Central Library building in ... [Continue Reading]
Save Me the Plums, My Gourmet Memoir by Ruth Reichl
I hate to cook, but I would gladly have worked at Gourmet magazine under the editorial leadership of Ruth Reichl. It sounds like such fun—the exotic travel, the best restaurants, the top-notch writers, and of course, the test kitchen that was always turning out something yummy. Even the gossipy, ... [Continue Reading]