04-26-2004 Ron
Nobody questions the importance of reading. But what books should everybody read in order to better understand society, enhance communication skills, and improve the ability to ponder and criticize?
In 1999, the 100 best nonfiction books written in English during the 20th century were selected by a 13-member panel put together by Random House. The top ten:
The Education of Henry Adams, Henry Adams
The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James
Up From Slavery, Booker T. Washington
A Room of One's Own, Virginia Wolf
Silent Spring, Rachel Carson
Selected Essays, 1917-1932, T. S. Elliot
The Double Helix, James D. Watson
Speak, Memory, Vladimir Nabokov
The American Language, H. L. Mencken
The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money, John Maynard Keynes
I've read other nonfiction publications that may not be as important as the ones above but are wonderful readings as well. I recommend three of them:
- Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, a compelling true story about a drifter searching for answers, in my opinion more powerful than Into Thin Air, by the same author;
- Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston, a history of the anthrax and the extremely dangerous smallpox viruses, more important than The Hot Zone, also by the same writer; and
- Vincent Bugliosi's The Betrayal of America in which he denounces the United States' Supreme Court's decision to "elect" George W. Bush president.
Question of the month of May: what book originally written in English you believe everyone should read? Please write to english@lynnandron.com.
11-26 Ron
The Betrayal of America: how the Supreme Court undermined the constitution and chose our president, written by Vincent Bugliosi and published in 2001 is a very important history book. It describes how the republicans were able to seize power in a "coup", during the 2000 presidential elections.
Vincent Bugliosi was a prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, including 21 murder convictions without a single loss. His most famous trial was the Charles Manson case, which became the basis of his true crime classic, Helter Skelter, the biggest selling true crime book in publishing history.
11-17 Ron
My fact-finding book of choice is The World Almanac and Book of Facts, which is published yearly. It is approximately 1,000 pages long crammed with useful information about the United States government, economics, environment, arts and media, disasters, education, personalites, world history, religion, health, crime, sports, etc.
"So many books, so little time."
10-13-2003 Ron
Nowadays there are few great books to read, compared to the number of publications. If there are not many first-rate writers overall, imagine comedy authors.
It is a difficult genre but there's a book that gave me more than a few laughs. Released in 1993 Private Parts is an amusing autobiography by Howard Stern, who adores talking about sex and celebrities during his radio program broadcasted from New York City.
Opening paragraph:
"Writing a book just might be the hardest thing I've ever done, besides trying to get laid in college. I had no idea I could write a book when I signed on for this project, because quite honestly, I've only read about three books in my life. Anything longer than MAD magazine has always been a problem."
