Q&A: Amanda Gorman talks UN poem, fame, future presidency
LOS ANGELES — When Amanda Gorman was invited to read a newly developed poem at the U.N. General Assembly, the young sensation took a deep look at how several societal issues — such as hunger and poverty — have impacted Earth’s preservation. Just like her stirring inauguration poem last year,...
Review: A war story, ‘Mosquito Bowl’ defines courage, duty
“The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II,” by Buzz Bissinger (Harper) U.S. Marines training for the invasion of the Japanese island of Okinawa didn’t know they would face the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II. The nearly three-month battle in...
Former Penn State president Graham Spanier defends himself in new book
Former Penn State University President Graham Spanier has written a book alleging that he, deceased Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and two other university administrators were falsely accused of — and unjustly punished for — covering up child abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. “The book is an...
Review: Ian McEwan returns with masterful book ‘Lessons’
“Lessons,” by Ian McEwan (Alfred A. Knopf) “Roland occasionally reflected on the events and accidents, personal and global, minuscule and momentous that had formed and determined his existence.” That one sentence in Ian McEwan’s new novel, “Lessons,” nicely sums up the book. When we first meet Roland Baines he is...
Review: Jann Wenner’s memoir looks at his rock, rolling role
“Like a Rolling Stone: A Memoir” (Little, Brown) Jann S. Wenner takes us on a long, strange trip with his accessible and entertaining rock ‘n’ roll memoir. As the founder, co-editor and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, Wenner had an unusual back stage pass to the rock ‘n’ roll revolution...
Art Spiegelman to receive honorary National Book Award
NEW YORK — This fall, Art Spiegelman will receive an honorary National Book Award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He feels honored, and a little worried. The unexpected pleasure of being cited by the National Book Foundation comes months after the jarring saga of his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Maus” being...
Peter Straub, influential horror author and Stephen King collaborator, dies at 79
Horror writer Peter Straub, who cemented his place in the genre with works including “Ghost Story,” “The Talisman” and “A Dark Matter,” has died. He was 79. Straub’s son, Benjamin, told the Los Angeles Times he died “surrounded by love ones” in Manhattan on Sunday from complications due to a...
Steph Curry aims to inspire with ‘I Have a Superpower’ book
NEW YORK — On nearly every basketball court around the world —from NBA arenas to elementary school gyms — you’ll see players of all sizes regularly attempting long 3-point shots. There’s one man largely credited with transforming basketball from a must-see above the rim game to box office-long range shooting:...
Barbara Ehrenreich, ‘myth busting’ writer and activist, dies
NEW YORK — Barbara Ehrenreich, the author, activist and self-described “myth buster” who in such notable works as “Nickel and Dimed” and “Bait and Switch” challenged conventional thinking about class, religion and the very idea of an American dream, has died at age 81. Ehrenreich died Thursday morning in Alexandria,...
Review: ‘Black Snow’ delivers an uncomfortable, important World War II history lesson
In 1940, Seattle-based Boeing engineers designed a massive beast of an aircraft. The B-29 Superfortress — composed of 55,000 parts — had a tail three-stories high, enormous propellers and a 5,500-mile range. The aircraft, one of which is on display at Seattle’s Museum of Flight, would play a key role...
Review: Terrified woman tracked through Western wilderness
“Fox Creek” by William Kent Krueger (Atria) Retired sheriff and part time private detective Cork O’Connor is working the grill in his Aurora, Minnesota, restaurant when a stranger wanders in looking for help finding his wife, Delores, who has run off to have an affair with a Native American named...
Author Salman Rushdie attacked on lecture stage in New York
CHAUTAUQUA, N.Y. — Salman Rushdie, whose novel “The Satanic Verses” drew death threats from Iran’s leader in the 1980s, was stabbed in the neck and abdomen Friday by a man who rushed the stage as the author was about to give a lecture in western New York. A bloodied Rushdie,...
Kyle Petty, born into NASCAR royalty, writes about life with ‘The King,’ son’s death
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “We’ll never get outta here alive.” That’s what was running through Kyle Petty’s mind one day at a dirt track in Pender County, N.C. As Kyle remembers it, he was 18 at the time and had just started racing — and being the grandson of racing legend,...
Pittsburgh native David McCullough remembered as ‘guiding light’ for preserving Western Pa. history
Local historians and government leaders on Monday celebrated the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and Pittsburgh native David McCullough and said he played a pivotal role in helping to preserve Southwestern Pennsylvania history. McCullough, who grew up in Point Breeze, died Sunday at 89. Two local history organizations — the...
Jennette McCurdy rises above childhood trauma with new book
Jennette McCurdy is well-aware the title of her new book, “I’m Glad My Mom Died,” (Simon & Schuster) is attention-grabbing. She also readily admits that she means every word. “It’s something that I mean sincerely, I’m not saying it to be flippant.” McCurdy, who co-starred in Nickelodeon shows “iCarly” with...
Review: Mohsin Hamid’s 5th novel is a fever dream of a story
“The Last White Man” by Mohsin Hamid (Riverhead) Anders wakes up to find he’s no longer white. After confiding in his friend, Oona, the two discover this is not an isolated case; all over town and beyond, white people are finding their skin suddenly turning dark. “The Last White Man,”...
‘Heat’-ing up: Michael Mann writes sequel-prequel ‘Heat 2’
NEW YORK — Decades after the release of Michael Mann’s “Heat,” the classic crime thriller has endured in the minds of fans, critics, peers and the director himself. He had so much left to say. “There’s always the sense of being shortchanged,” Mann said during a Zoom interview from his...
Book review: ‘Winter Work’ an engrossing spy thriller
“Winter Work” by Dan Fesperman; Alfred A. Knopf (352 pages, $28) Many a Berlin-set spy novel comprises a tale of two cities which plays out during the heated tensions of the Cold War. Dan Fesperman’s latest spy thriller, “Winter Work,” offers a refreshing variant on this by immersing its reader...
Review: Barbara Bourland autopsies the princess myth with precision
“The Force of Such Beauty” by Barbara Bourland (Dutton) It’s about time someone took the princess story that’s normalized to girls and autopsy it with absolute precision. “The Force of Such Beauty” opens on the night of Caroline’s second attempt at escaping Lucomo, the small European country in which she...
‘The Doomsday Clock at 75′ explores how the cultural icon keeps tick, tick, ticking away
CHICAGO — The Doomsday Clock was born in 1947 in Chicago, a Cold War baby delivered as the illustration for the first cover of a new magazine, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. It was set at 7 minutes to midnight, an indication of how close a team of revered...
George Michael spent his career singing about freedom. But he never quite found it
In 1984, George Michael released a song called “Freedom” with his pop duo Wham! Six years later, he put out one of his own called “Freedom! ‘90.” And six years after that? A song called “Free” closed his third solo album, “Older.” The specifics of the liberation he’s describing in...
Review: ‘Hatchet Island’ a mystery with contrived solution
“Hatchet Island” by Paul Doiron (Minotaur) Stacey Stevens’ old college roommate, now working at a bird sanctuary off the Maine coast, is in a panic. Lobstermen who have made a habit of harassing the facility’s staff are growing more aggressive, and now her boss has gone missing. “Can you please...
Review: ‘Bull Durham’ fans, rejoice at ‘Church of Baseball’
“The Church of Baseball: The Making of ‘Bull Durham’: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings and a Hit” by Ron Shelton (Knopf) Former minor-league ballplayer Ron Shelton has written and directed a host of sports-themed movies, but it’s doubtful anyone has told him they’ve named their children after...
Ibram X. Kendi on preparing children for the realities of racism
LOS ANGELES — Ibram X. Kendi has spent years studying racism’s history, and he is intimately familiar with its violence, horrors and brutalities. So when he became a father six years ago, the thought of exposing his daughter to the legacy and realities of racism deeply troubled him. The issue...
Book review: ‘Elsewhere’ ponders the meaning of motherhood
“Elsewhere” by Alexis Schaitkin (Celadon Books) Sometimes it’s fun to read something that doesn’t fit in any particular category. “Elsewhere,” the new novel from Alexis Schaitkin (“Saint X,” 2020), is best described as a dark fairy tale, with elements of the supernatural, but with something very real to say about...
