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debz57a52's review
4.0
As with any anthology, some of the entries in this collection were strong and others were not, but I have to say that most were enjoyable reading, even the ones I did not anticipate reading.
1. "Prisoners of War" - Scott Anderson: I felt this was a bold choice to start of the book with, since it's fairly violent subject matter, but I was hooked within a page or two, and didn't feel like I could look away once I realized what horrible things it was revealing to me. I've known Anderson has a way with words, though, and I particularly liked the way he drew parallels between the various stories he was retelling.
2. "To Seem Is Not to Be" - Mary Kay Blakely: This was a wonderful story about Blakely's on-going friendship (?) with a women who is on the autism spectrum. The things Blakely did to make Donna Williams comfortable in her presence spoke volumes to me about the way the author feels about each individual's humanity. I added several of Donna Williams's books to my TBR thanks to this essay.
3. "A Day at the Dogfights" - Harry Crews: I don't know why, but I thought this essay was originally about a figurative dogfight, like in Top Gun or something. Nope, it's about people who do illegal dogfighting matches. Given Crews background, he didn't seem to phased, but the detail he provided to explain how damaged or injured dogs can get in these fights made me mad. I understand one person can feel love, appreciate, pride, and something a little more sinister all at the same time, but I can't understand why people who get a rise out of watching animals kill each other. I got to the end, and I was grateful there was no explicit description of that, but I don't think I would have intentionally selected this essay for myself ever.
4. "Missing Alice" - Pete Earley: This story of Earley going back to his hometown to reconnect with his dead sister of nearly two decades was touching. Given everything surrounding her death, I was not surprised to discover that the family didn't talk about it much afterward. Earley's bravery in talking to people who were there at the time was on full show here, and these conversations were his research. I have all kinds of feelings about this essay, many of which I have not really sorted through.
5. "The Endless Hunt" - Gretel Ehrlich: I don't know a lot about communities who still live so removed from city centers and venture to live off the land, much less those in punishingly cold climates. This was a wonderfully-written, although frustrating, glimpse into the experience of winter hunting for animals for food and other products.
6. "Journey to the Center of my Mind" - Stephen S. Hall: As the titles suggests, this is mostly a vanity essay about what Hall discovers when he offers his brain for research scans. He does offer some interesting research that's already been done and offers super-tentative theories that were just being developed at the time, but there didn't feel to be as many definites for me here, and that made it less interesting and engaging.
7. "A Family Portrait in Black and White" - Walt Harrington: This is an essay written by a white man who has married a black woman, and he is reflecting on the interviews he conducted about her family's history in their mostly-black community going back generations. Harrington's wife's family has always been pretty well-off, with generations who were motivated and upwardly-mobile, and he mentions a few times that his wife never felt/noticed the kind of racism that other might have felt. I have trouble believing that but, without her writing a rebuttal, I have to take it at face value. Consequently, this essay was a very different experience of the black family in the South.
8. "My Dinner with Ali" - Davis Miller: Miller was once a boxer who actually had a fight with Muhammad Ali, but is now a writer. Consequently, he is able to get close to Ali and enjoy a relationship that some journalists cannot. Millers drives up to Ali's mom's house and is immediately allowed to visit Ali in his RV, have dinner with Ali and his family, and stay up to watch the old fights on tape with him. Despite Ali's failing health, he still seems to be the man everyone admired in this essay of Miller's and I enjoyed reading it.
9. "Resurrecting the Champ" - J. R. Moehringer: I don't want to give anything away, but this essay has some twists and turns that the others don't, and they're well worth reading. It is, again, about a fighter who was not quite Ali's contemporary, but who has fallen on hard times now, living out of a grocery cart and crashing at the men's shelter in town. In solving the mystery of how he fell so far, when so many people remember and love his public persona, Moehringer interviews his rivals, his manager, his family, and other people's family members to get to the bottom of the situation.
10. "Her Blue Heaven" - Bill Plaschke: What a story, of Sarah Morris, who is developmentally unable to hold a job, but somehow hosts the most thorough and accurate blog about the L.A. Dodgers that sports writer Plaschke has ever seen. The essay turns into a story about his visit to Morris in her home in Arizona, his correspondence with her before and after the meeting, and an exploration into fandom and ableism. I wish I was as passionate about something as Morris is for the Dodgers.
11. "The Passions of Mario Cuomo" - Ron Rosenbaum: In light of the troubles the Cuomos have had in recent years, I decided to just skip this essay.
12. "Last Tango in Tahiti" - Mike Sager: I am not a huge fan of Marlon Brando, but I was amused by the way Sager was something of a superfan for this essay, watching all Brando's movies, talking to his family, traveling to his island and meeting the people who take care of him when he's there. Sager never actually meets Brando - that is mentioned in the book's forward, so I don't mind saying it here - but living vicariously through Sager as he learns more about the man was interesting. It was also a fun last essay for the collection.
1. "Prisoners of War" - Scott Anderson: I felt this was a bold choice to start of the book with, since it's fairly violent subject matter, but I was hooked within a page or two, and didn't feel like I could look away once I realized what horrible things it was revealing to me. I've known Anderson has a way with words, though, and I particularly liked the way he drew parallels between the various stories he was retelling.
2. "To Seem Is Not to Be" - Mary Kay Blakely: This was a wonderful story about Blakely's on-going friendship (?) with a women who is on the autism spectrum. The things Blakely did to make Donna Williams comfortable in her presence spoke volumes to me about the way the author feels about each individual's humanity. I added several of Donna Williams's books to my TBR thanks to this essay.
3. "A Day at the Dogfights" - Harry Crews: I don't know why, but I thought this essay was originally about a figurative dogfight, like in Top Gun or something. Nope, it's about people who do illegal dogfighting matches. Given Crews background, he didn't seem to phased, but the detail he provided to explain how damaged or injured dogs can get in these fights made me mad. I understand one person can feel love, appreciate, pride, and something a little more sinister all at the same time, but I can't understand why people who get a rise out of watching animals kill each other. I got to the end, and I was grateful there was no explicit description of that, but I don't think I would have intentionally selected this essay for myself ever.
4. "Missing Alice" - Pete Earley: This story of Earley going back to his hometown to reconnect with his dead sister of nearly two decades was touching. Given everything surrounding her death, I was not surprised to discover that the family didn't talk about it much afterward. Earley's bravery in talking to people who were there at the time was on full show here, and these conversations were his research. I have all kinds of feelings about this essay, many of which I have not really sorted through.
5. "The Endless Hunt" - Gretel Ehrlich: I don't know a lot about communities who still live so removed from city centers and venture to live off the land, much less those in punishingly cold climates. This was a wonderfully-written, although frustrating, glimpse into the experience of winter hunting for animals for food and other products.
6. "Journey to the Center of my Mind" - Stephen S. Hall: As the titles suggests, this is mostly a vanity essay about what Hall discovers when he offers his brain for research scans. He does offer some interesting research that's already been done and offers super-tentative theories that were just being developed at the time, but there didn't feel to be as many definites for me here, and that made it less interesting and engaging.
7. "A Family Portrait in Black and White" - Walt Harrington: This is an essay written by a white man who has married a black woman, and he is reflecting on the interviews he conducted about her family's history in their mostly-black community going back generations. Harrington's wife's family has always been pretty well-off, with generations who were motivated and upwardly-mobile, and he mentions a few times that his wife never felt/noticed the kind of racism that other might have felt. I have trouble believing that but, without her writing a rebuttal, I have to take it at face value. Consequently, this essay was a very different experience of the black family in the South.
8. "My Dinner with Ali" - Davis Miller: Miller was once a boxer who actually had a fight with Muhammad Ali, but is now a writer. Consequently, he is able to get close to Ali and enjoy a relationship that some journalists cannot. Millers drives up to Ali's mom's house and is immediately allowed to visit Ali in his RV, have dinner with Ali and his family, and stay up to watch the old fights on tape with him. Despite Ali's failing health, he still seems to be the man everyone admired in this essay of Miller's and I enjoyed reading it.
9. "Resurrecting the Champ" - J. R. Moehringer: I don't want to give anything away, but this essay has some twists and turns that the others don't, and they're well worth reading. It is, again, about a fighter who was not quite Ali's contemporary, but who has fallen on hard times now, living out of a grocery cart and crashing at the men's shelter in town. In solving the mystery of how he fell so far, when so many people remember and love his public persona, Moehringer interviews his rivals, his manager, his family, and other people's family members to get to the bottom of the situation.
10. "Her Blue Heaven" - Bill Plaschke: What a story, of Sarah Morris, who is developmentally unable to hold a job, but somehow hosts the most thorough and accurate blog about the L.A. Dodgers that sports writer Plaschke has ever seen. The essay turns into a story about his visit to Morris in her home in Arizona, his correspondence with her before and after the meeting, and an exploration into fandom and ableism. I wish I was as passionate about something as Morris is for the Dodgers.
11. "The Passions of Mario Cuomo" - Ron Rosenbaum: In light of the troubles the Cuomos have had in recent years, I decided to just skip this essay.
12. "Last Tango in Tahiti" - Mike Sager: I am not a huge fan of Marlon Brando, but I was amused by the way Sager was something of a superfan for this essay, watching all Brando's movies, talking to his family, traveling to his island and meeting the people who take care of him when he's there. Sager never actually meets Brando - that is mentioned in the book's forward, so I don't mind saying it here - but living vicariously through Sager as he learns more about the man was interesting. It was also a fun last essay for the collection.
satyridae's review
4.0
This collection has it all- Pit bulls, Ali the boxer, death, war, love. Some essays are more immediately gripping than others, but all are solid.
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