By Steve Rhodes
Books on my table that I’ve recently read and/or re-read and/or have been meaning to write about for a long time.
1. Drunkard. Neil Steinberg’s memoir of his battle with alcoholism.
2. Five Ring Circus. An account (and cautionary tale) of Vancouver’s successful 2010 Olympic bid by a University of British Columbia professor who led the opposition.
3. Moneyball. The Michael Lewis classic about how the sabermetricians have revolutionized the way thinking people look at baseball, using the Oakland A’s and their general manager, Billy Beane, as his case study.
4. Clinton in Exile. The unauthorized (and sleazy) biography of Bill Clinton’s post-presidential life.
5. See You In Court. Subtitle: How the Right Made America a Lawsuit Nation. A counterintuitive yet persuasive account by Thomas Geoghegan.
6. Victims of Justice Revisited. Thomas Frisbie and Randy Garrett plumb the Rolando Cruz case.
7. Splendid Solution. The story of Jonas Salk and his polio vaccine.
8. Free Lunch. David Cay Johnston examines how the wealthy use the tax code to screw the rest of us.
9. The Third Coast. Ted McClelland takes a trip around the Great Lakes in search of weirdness.
10. Millennium Park. Timothy Gilfoyle’s coffee-table history of the park that is millennium.
11. Chicago Cubs: Yesterday and Today. The Cubs in all their glory, old and new.
12. Chicago: A City on the Move. A thoroughly engaging history of the CTA as seen in part through photos from the agency’s archives.
13. What It Takes. Richard Ben Cramer’s amazingly deep and through examination of the candidates for president in 1988. A must-read for every citizen. Really.
14. The Dark Side of Camelot. Seymour Hersh fills out the portait of JFK and it’s not pretty. Truthfully, one of the worst presidents ever. Deal with it.
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Previously in Booklist:
* Amazon Recommends
* The Walgreens Discount Shelf
* Kinko’s Kiosk
* The Last 10 Books I Read And Why
* The Beachwood Inn Bookshelf
* Five Best Books Ever (For Now)
* A Beachwood Gift Guide
* Have A Right-Wing Christmas
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Posted on September 10, 2008