Review of Books I Have Reviewed 03

Continuing a review of books I have already reviewed with a brief statement of what I found interesting in them.

Bonfire of the Vanities. Tom Wolfe. 1988. Novel. Theme of the justice system: don't do what is right; do what is going to make you look good in the media.

Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, writing and the Power of Ideas. Ed. Brian Lamb. 1997. Interviews with nonfiction writers from C-Span. Gorbachev: "Books should not be replaced by anything, by TV or any such thing, because books make it possible to think more deeply."

Books on the Bookshelf. Henry Petroski. 1999. The many different ways to arrange books. We're running out of space.

The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Thornton Wilder. 1927. Novel. Five people died when a bridge over a chasm broke. Why did these five innocent people die? Was it God's plan?

The Brothers Karamazov. Fyodor Dostoevsky. 1879. Novel. Who killed the father, Fyodor Karamazov? In one way or another, all of his sons did.

Building of Christendom. Warren H. Carroll. 1987. Makes history read like a novel or a movie. Scene after [bloody] scene. Biased toward Catholicism.

Catch-22. Joseph Heller. 1955. Novel. If you fly the missions, you're crazy. If you don't fly the missions, you're sane--and you have to fly the missions. Catch-22.

Civilization: A Personal View. Kenneth Clark. 1969. Written based on a TV series. Defines civilization. Suggests what threatens it. Discusses the highlights of civilization.

A Collection of Essays. George Orwell. 1945-- 1953. Most famous essay is "Politics and the English Language." All of the essays are entertaining and provocative.

A Country Doctor. Sarah Orne Jewett. 1884. Novel. Jewett writes about coastal Maine. In her time, Nan could not be married and a professional at the same time. She chooses to be a doctor and therefore cannot marry. Society puts great pressure on her to marry, but she remains resolute. "And suddenly she reached her hands upward in an ecstasy of life and strength and gladness. 'Oh, God,' Nan said. 'I thank thee for my future.' "