The following list was decided after much consultation between California Review of Books co-editors David Starkey and Brian Tanguay and the journals’ most frequent reviewers, Walter Cummins and George Yatchisin.…
Tag: Review by George Yatchisin
Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski
Dutton Review by George Yatchisin There’s that terrific anticipatory rush you can get when attending a classic movie in a theater and a beloved scene is about to happen. Think…
Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s by Gary Gulman
Flatiron Review by George Yatchisin Gary Gulman is the kind of comedian you figured had a book in him, given his love of words and language that helped him craft…
Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility, edited by Rebecca Solnit & Thelma Young Lutunatabua
Haymarket Review by George Yatchisin It’s not lost on me that I’m reading Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility as I take a fuel-guzzling flight…
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann
Doubleday Review by George Yatchisin A study of skullduggery and heroism, vainglory and stiff-upper lips, the unbelievable odyssey that is David Gann’s latest nonfiction work The Wager also manages to…
Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House by Alex Prud’homme
Knopf Review by George Yatchisin Freedom Fries—the bogus re-naming bestowed by right-wingers requiring simple-minded revenge during the Iraq War when France was a hesitant ally to the US—weren’t the first…
The Wonder Paradox: Embracing the Weirdness of Existence and the Poetry of Our Lives by Jennifer Michael Hecht
Farrar, Straus & Giroux Review by George Yatchisin It’s not every self-helpish book that asks you to create your own poetry anthology, but The Wonder Paradox is sui generis. As…
Six California Kitchens: A Collection of Recipes, Stories, and Cooking Lessons from a Pioneer of California CuisineSix California Kitchens by Sally Schmitt
Chronicle Books Review by George Yatchisin Sally Schmitt’s posthumous publication Six California Kitchens proves you can write a powerful memoir one recipe at a time. Whether the book will become…
No Machos or Pop Stars: When the Leeds Art Experiment Went Punk by Gavin Butt
Duke Review by George Yatchisin Polymath producer-musician Brian Eno has this great theory about “scenius” as the corrective to “‘genius,’ which exemplifies what I call the ‘Big Man’ theory of…