Wall Street Journal: Finding the Right Book to Give

Yesterday's Wall Street Journal has an article called "Literary Profiling" in which the paper created six profiles and various book experts suggested good titles for these types of readers. For example, one profile is a 28-year-old artist who likes to read since fiction. Another is an 81-year-old retired physician who likes tennis and politics, and reads biography and idea-driven books.

I think someone at the WSJ has been watching too many police programs on television. With the exception of children and teenagers, where paying attention to the reader's age makes sense, I don't agree with the assumptions about age and gender behind this article.

For example, two books from the story are in my current "to read" pile. First, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, which won the Man Booker Prize. In the WSJ article, this is a book recommended for an 81-year-old man. Now, I recently had a birthday, but am still well distanced from 81, thank you very much. The second was recommended for the artsy, 28-year-old, male science fiction reader: Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, a pair of novellas by Geoff Dyer. Am I interested in art? Yes, but there are a few years between me and 28.

Ah well, age is just a number and with respect to adults, age and gender have little correlation to taste in books, in my opinion. Check out the article, nonetheless. The online version is fun to play around with and you may find some titles in the various categories that appeal to you, or the folks on your holiday gift list.

Stalin Grandson Sues Russian Paper for Alleged Libel of Grandpa

This story has tiny link to Frank Lloyd Wright and Wisconsin. Read on.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, grandson of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, is suing a Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, for libeling Grandpa. The allegedly libelous statements appeared in an article published last April by a historian, Anatoly Yablokov, which said that Stalin signed “death lists” and committed “crimes against [his] own people.” The Novaya Gazeta reportedly stands by its story.

The Monitor's report is interesting not only for its coverage of the libel lawsuit, but also for covering the changing public opinion about Stalin (44 percent say he is not a state criminal), and current Russian government / media relations. On these issues, the Moscow Times reported on September 1st that:

Two significant events occurred last week. The first was the holding of the first session of the presidential commission “for counteracting attempts to falsify history to the detriment of Russia’s interests.”

The second was the opening of Moscow’s newly renovated Kurskaya metro station, whose walls once again bear a verse from the 1944 version of the Soviet anthem: “Stalin raised us to be loyal to the nation; He inspired us to work and be heroic.”

This phrase had been plastered over during Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s campaign against Stalin’s personality cult. . . It is telling that so far not a single official has taken personal responsibility for allowing the public praise of Stalin.

A "presidential commission 'for counteracting attempts to falsify history to the detriment of Russia’s interests'"? Well.

Returning to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Yevgeny, is the son of Yakov Dzhugashvili. Yakov, in turn, was the son of Stalin and his first wife, Ekaterina Svanidze.

Now, here is the Frank Lloyd Wright link:

Stalin's only remaining living child is Svetlana Alliluyeva. Svetlana is the daughter of Stalin and his second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva. Svetlana was for a time married to Mr. Wright's chief apprentice, William Wesley Peters. She lives in Wisconsin.

Small world.


(Via Wall Street Journal Law Blog)

Peggy Noonan on Sarah Palin

Peggy Noonan's column this week in the Wall Street Journal is about Sarah Palin.

Ms. Noonan, don't hold back; tell us what you really think about Palin:

In television interviews she [Palin] was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

Read the rest here.

USDOJ Files Victim Impact Statements in Madoff Case

Bernie Madoff, who entered a guilty plea to 11 felony counts last March, will be sentenced on June 29. In anticipation of that, the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York has filed 113 victim impact statements with Judge Denny Chin. See those documents here.

(Via the Wall Street Journal)


Related: Bitterness. The American Psychiatric Association debated recently whether bitterness should be listed in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as a bona fide mental disorder. Psychology Today, May 2009.

Crime Statistics on the Web

More web sites are tracking and mapping incidences of crime. Here are a few:

CrimeReports.com

CrimeMapping.com

EveryBlock.com

What do you think about these web sites?


(Via the Wall Street Journal)

Book Buzz: "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford, is described in the New York Times as a "beautiful little book about human excellence and the way it is undervalued in contemporary America." Mr. Crawford, who holds a Ph.D. in political philosophy, is also a mechanic and runs a motorcycle repair shop. The book concerns the joy and rewards in work that involves making things, as opposed to sitting in a cubical at a call center.

If you are interested in reading this book, you might also want to listen to an interview with Mr. Crawford that took place on the Diane Rehm Show from NPR.

Mr. Crawford - an author, philosopher, Ph.D., mechanic, and entrepreneur who apparently also has a strong streak of discipline and ambition - is the poster child for a liberal arts education, in my opinion. His various interests look to be unified by his ability to think critically, organize those thoughts coherently, and communicate clearly. Crawford seems to be living an interesting life. I look forward to reading his book to find out if it is equally as interesting.

Related: Raising Kids Who Can Thrive Amid Chaos in Their Careers by Sue Shellenbarger writing in the Wall Street Journal. Discusses job market skills to install in young people, including adaptability, exploration and entrepreneurial thinking.

Microsoft's New Search Engine: Bing.

Old-school portal.

If you haven't yet heard about Bing, you soon will. Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, will be promoted heavily by the company as it tries to chip into the Google-juggernaut. Recently, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about Bing:

WSJ: How much are you going to spend marketing [Bing]?

MR. BALLMER: We’re going to have to stay in the game. Depending on what you think of budgets in life, we’ll have what I would call a big budget. It was big enough that I had to gulp when I approved the budget.

Read more of the interview here.

WSJ: Crime Novels from Scandinavia

Tom Nolan has an interesting column in the Wall Street Journal today about crime novels produced by Scandinavian authors. The column was inspired by the running on PBS "Masterpiece Mystery!" of a three-episode series based upon the Inspector Kurt Wallander books by Swedish author Henning Mankell.

I've been a fan of Mystery! (now "Masterpiece Mystery!") on PBS ever since it was hosted by Vincent Price. The Wallander series is great. In addition to interesting plots and good acting, what is particularly striking about the series is how beautifully it has been filmed. If you have the chance to watch these programs on a big screen, HD television, do so. But it is also looks great on your computer. The Wallander programs can be watched on-line at pbs.org until Sunday, June 7, 2009.

Shuffle Off to Buffalo, Pt. 2

Coincidentally, yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the May 21 edition, featured an article about Frank Lloyd Wright's work in Buffalo, N.Y. The article, by Richard B. Woodward, discusses in detail the Martin House, pictured below. Mr. Wright designed the home between 1903 and 1905 for the Darwin D. Martin family. The house is comprised of a number of structures and was finished at 32,000 square feet. It's huge.

As Mr. Woodward notes in his article, in addition to the many projects by Frank Lloyd Wright in Buffalo, the city has a beautiful park system by Frederick Law Olmsted, credited as the founder of American landscape architecture; the Guaranty Building designed by Louis H. Sullivan, considered the "Dean of American Architects"; the Kleinhans Husic Hall, designed by Eero Saarinen; and the Albright-Knox Gallery and Burchfield-Penny Art Center.

As Thursday's post stated, there is a lot of cool stuff to see and do in Buffalo.

Madoff Bail Revoked After Guilty Plea

According to the United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2,293,157 prisoners were held in federal or state prisons or in local jails on December 31, 2007. Add one more to this staggering number, Bernie Madoff. After Madoff entered a guilty plea yesterday, he is being detained in custody until sentencing. (Lawyers, see 18 U.S.C. sec. 3143).

The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has, at this link, an interesting post about what life in prison will be like for Madoff.

In this matter, the justice system seems to have worked thus far. Still, the victims' money is lost. Madoff has ruined his life. Wouldn't it have been better to have an effective regulatory system, run by competent people with a sense of public duty, to police the industry before things snowballed to this point?

Food and Drink: Tips to Simplify Shopping for Wine

"How to Read a Wine Label" from the Wall Street Journal. This article has great tips on selecting a bottle of wine with no information to go on other than that which is provided on the label.

A few highlights:

Most wine at the store is to be consumed now, so you want to make sure the wine isn't too old.

Wines with too much alcohol taste unbalanced. When in doubt, select a wine with an alcohol content at about 14% and below.

On American wines, the word "reserve"doesn't mean anything, so ignore it.

New Books in 2009

The Wall Street Journal's Weekend Journal highlights a number of forthcoming books that retailer's hope will generate buzz in 2009.

You will likely not be shocked to learn that one of these is by James Patterson. Mr. Patterson's name appears on such an overwhelming number of book jackets that I have completely stopped paying any attention at all to his work. You may not feel this way. If that's the case, then in September look for James Patterson's The Murder of King Tut, a nonfiction investigation into the death of that young pharaoh. Let me know if you like it.

The Wall Street Journal notes also that this January, a new book from John Grisham is being published, The Associate. Mr. Grisham, like Mr. Patterson, is an author whose work I typically skip. I blame this on the movie versions of The Firm and The Pelican Brief, which somehow soured the whole of Mr. Grisham's work for me. Que lastima!

A number of forthcoming books that do look intriguing include:

Ape House by Sara Gruen. Ms. Gruen wrote the wonderful Water for Elephants. Her new book is scheduled for release in June.

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell. This March release, which won France's Prix Concourt in 2006, is a fictional memoir of a Nazi officer.

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler, which is scheduled for publication in September, according to the Wall Street Journal. Ms. Tyler's work is always engaging and beautifully written.

Check out the full story in the Wall Street Journal for additional titles.

The Maddoff Affair and Other Schemes

"In confusion there is opportunity," an up-and-coming, young professional told me one time. Years later, this same fellow was convicted on a federal felony charge and incarcerated. Apparently he had crossed the out-of-bounds line in the field of opportunity.

Nonetheless, that fellow's maxim is proving out as we see arising from the confusion of the Madoff Affair new opportunity for authors and publishers. Bernard Madoff, of course, was arrested last week on a charge of securities fraud. The alleged fraud may involve as much as $50 billion. The Wall Street Journal today reports that at least two publishers have acquired rights to a book about Mr. Madoff.

The other interesting fraud story today is that of Matthew C. Devlin. Devlin pleaded guilty to stealing confidential information from his wife, whose work involves deals concerning major Wall Street mergers and acquisitions. He used the stolen information to run a $5 million insider-trading scheme with a group of friends, including a former Playboy model. Devlin called his wife "the golden goose." I have this mental picture of Mr. Devlin: Caught by the SEC, public humiliation and punishment to come, contemplating the prospect of talking to his wife about it for the first time, and asking, "Do you think she'll be mad?"

The things that happen.

"Don't even think about saying 'things are going to the dogs,'" thought Daisy. "I am so not part of this."

Food and Drink: Beaujolais (The Real Stuff, Not Nouveau)

Tomorrow, November 20, is the third Thursday in November, the day Beaujolais Nouveau is released. Beaujolais Nouveau is a very young wine, light and fruity. According to Dr. Vino, Georges Duboeuf is the the largest shipper of Beaujolais Nouveau.

Critics of Beaujolais Nouveau contend that most of it tastes like grape juice. Forgetting about the Nouveau, and purchasing instead plain-old Beaujolais, is the recommendation of Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher in their Wall Street Journal column "Tastings".

Real Beaujolais, as they call it, arrives one year after the harvest and "is one of the most perfect wines around: easy to drink, versatile with food, and inexpensive." Purchase the 2007 vintage now. While there is some Beaujolais that can successfully age a bit, you need to do some research to find that product. What is essential is avoiding ". . . an old Beaujolais that has been sitting on a market shelf for two years because it would likely be a tired, bad example of an older Beaujolais," write Gaiter and Brecher. So when in doubt, stick with 2007.

Gaiter and Brecher's article has recommendations for putting together a case of Beaujolais, including white Beaujolais. Whether its a case or just a bottle or two, check out real Beaujolais.

Revolutionary Times

Jonathan Karl reviews Samuel Adams: A Life by Ira Stoll in today's Wall Street Journal. Mr. Adams led an exciting life as a "rabble-rouser, wordsmith, strategist and defender of liberty", agitating for colonial America's independence from Great Britain. For example, Mr. Adams coined the term Boston Massacre for the 1770 event, and in his capacity as spin doctor and strategist, penned over 20,000 words on the subject for various Boston newspapers. He was behind what ultimately became known as the Boston Tea Party.

In his review Mr. Karl writes, "[the author] makes a convincing case that Samuel Adams is not just the most underrated of the Founders but also one of the most admirable, down-to-earth and principled (he worked to abolish slavery)."

If Samuel Adams: A Life is as interesting a read as Mr. Karl's review of it, it will certainly be highly recommended reading.

New Links Added

Please note that at left, under Play, links to Buzzillions and Hulu have been added.

Hulu is, as described by the site, "an online video service that offers hit TV shows, movies and clips at Hulu.com and other online destination sites — all for free, anytime in the U.S."

Buzzillions is a product review web site. A recent article about the site in the Wall Street Journal describes Buzzillions as "a free Web site owned by San Francisco-based PowerReviews Inc. that mainly posts reviews from people who have verifiably purchased the product they are appraising, according to retailers’ records. It also organizes reviews in specific categories, allowing users to search according to how they categorize themselves."

So before buying that holiday gift, consider checking it out on Buzzillions. And after all your holiday spending is finished, watch free stuff on Hulu!

Special Section on the Environment in Today's Wall Street Journal

Today's Wall Street Journal has a special section on the environment. The print edition asks a number of environmentalists to identify useful reading. Couldn't find a link to the article on the WSJ web site, so here is a round-up of the titles:

An Inconvenient Truth, by Al Gore.

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan.

Global Warning: The Last Chance for Change by Paul Brown.

A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold. (Everyone should read this book sometime in their life).

The Rough Guide to Climate Change, by Robert Henson.

The Condor's Shadow: The Loss and Recovery of Wildlife in America by David Wilcove.

Wall Street Journal Reviews "For the Thrill of It" by Simon Baatz

The Wall Street Journal published a positive review of a new book about the chilling 1924 murder of a 14-year-old boy by the notorious Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr.

The book, For the Thrill of It, by Simon Baatz, is described by reviewer Joseph Epstein as ". . . impressive in its research, even-handed in its tone and immensely readable." Loeb and Leopold were defended from receiving the death penalty by Clarence Darrow.

The world is a mix of predators, like Leopold and Loeb, and butterflies, like the one pictured above, found hanging out in a street-side garden.

Books on the Olympics

From last weekend's Wall Street Journal, ESPN's Jeremy Schaap suggests five books on the Olympics. One book that jumps out from this list is The Amateurs by David Halberstam. The book is about the competition to crew on the men's 1984 U.S. Olympic team.



Halberstam, of course, was a great writer which is what makes this book one to consider reading.

Another book about rowing that is worth looking into is Red Rose Crew, A True Story of Women, Winning and Water by Daniel J. Boyne. It's an exciting story about women's athletics in which you will also learn about America's finest woman rower, Carie Graves. Click on this link to read a 1975 article from Time magazine about the famous Red Rose Crew.