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thePeorian.com
1
“
An American Betrayal: Cherokee
Patriots and the Trail of Tears”
Daniel Blake Smith
This book shows that no matter
how many treaties they made, the
American government was hell-bent
on removing the Native Americans
from their native lands one way or
another.
271
pg. (TP)
2
“
Solar”
Ian McEwan
Very few authors handle nasty main
characters as well as McEwan,
and “Solar” has a great/nasty main
character.
332
pg. (TP)
3
“
Letters to a Young Contrarian”
Christopher Hitchens
Because he was multi-talented,
many people might overlook the fact
that Hitchens was one of the great
essayists of the last 50 years, as this
book shows.
141
pg. (AR)
4
“
Journals: Early Fifties, Early
Sixties”
Allen Ginsberg
Ginzy really was a true, all-American
original and his journals show
an optimistic (and troubled) poet
discovering his own genius.
313
pg. (R)
5
“
Freedom Summer”
Sally Belfrage
A must-read, this is an incredible
account of the summer voting
drive in Mississippi in 1964 and the
violence that ensued.
246
pg.
6
“
Hitler Was My Friend”
Heinrich Hoffman
With what one might call a
provocative title, this book is
about the man who was Hitler’s
photographer before and after he
came to power.
250
pg.
7
“
Ghost on the Throne: The Death of
Alexander the Great”
James Romm
With Alexander’s demise, people
freaked and this intriguing book
takes a look at the years immediately
following his death and how the
empire he amassed quickly fell apart.
368
pg. (TP)
8
“
Vanished Kingdoms: The History
of Half-forgotten Europe”
Norman Davies
Holy crap, there are lots of long-lost
kingdoms in Europe and this book
covers them all, even the fall of the
Soviet Union.
789
pg.
9
“
Barbarians at the Gate”
J.M. Coetzee
My introduction to this great author
and he’s right there with Pamuk and
Rushdie in my book.
180
pg.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 52
The Grand National, Top Ranked,
All-American 2012 Book Review:
ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
By Kevin Kizer
As
a hardcore lit-nerd,
part of the appeal to
churning through
an ungodly number of books
every year is keeping track of
said books. It’s also an annual
reminder that I need to get out
more. Seriously, I’m pale as a
ghost.
So here is the list of books I read
in 2012 along with a one-sentence
review/recommendation of
each. Why only one sentence?
They won’t give me room for
more. I think it’s payback for
me absconding with eight
whole pages in a previous issue
to jabber on about Hunter S.
Thompson.
So be it. In many cases, I’ve
talked or written reviews about
many of these books in the
Literarea section of The Peorian
website. Go view and/or read
them there.
Now, ensconce yourself in one
year of my lit-nerdiness. It’s a
moral imperative.
(
R) denotes a book I had read previously
(
AR) denotes a book I read annually
(
TP) denotes a book I reviewed on The Peorian website