Recordpub.com - One for the Books: Politics Left and Right

There are political books a-plenty on both sides of the aisle this election season.

Starting on the left, "The Conscience of a Liberal" takes a look at the history of the United States, since the Civil War, through the eyes of leading economist Paul Krugman, who was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in economics. Krugman discusses how the middle class was actually created in the New Deal programs following the Great Depression, and how movement conservatism began in response to that, aiming to dismantle those programs. The 1960s, he says, brought "the best economy America has ever had. ... As a result more Americans than ever before considered themselves middle class." He notes that "Pre-New Deal America, like America in the early 21st century, was a land of vast inequality in wealth and power, in which a nominally democratic political system failed to represent the economic interest of the majority." And now he calls for "a new New Deal." This is a serious, documented work, but it's definitely not dull. The title doesn't fit, as it's really more history than moral reflection, and it would inform anyone, not just liberals. Although firmly partisan, he has much to say to all Americans.

Moving to the right, in "Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works," former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, writing with Vince Haley and Rick Tyler, finds fault with both sides. Once Gingrich was basically the head of the Republican Party. Now he stands back and looks at it with some clarity and says his party has lost some of its conservative principles, that the Republicans have failed to lead us into real change, and the Democrats haven't even tried: "Politicians are too busy looking for the best attack for their partisan advantage." He gives a political history of the United States since 1930, from a Republican viewpoint. He sets out a vision for the future, incorporating science and technology, and suggests a "Platform of the American People" to replace the partisan party platforms. Well, it's not so nonpartisan: "The death tax should be abolished." And he refers to an "out-of-touch and arrogant Democratic Party." But he presents some thought-provoking ideas worth reading, no matter what your party.

"Fire-Breathing Liberal: How I Learned to Survive (and Thrive) in the Contact Sport of Congress" was written by Rep. Robert Wexler with David Fisher. Says Wexler, "I am a liberal Democrat and proud of it." His mix of memoir and easy-to-understand civics lesson is written in a conversational style. He shows "how the system actually works, how a bill really becomes a law, and a bit of the human side of being a member of Congress." He discusses political maneuvering and manipulation, power and compromise. Wexler decries the conservatives' use of patriotism as a political weapon and how they tried to turn the word "liberal" into a synonym for "traitor." But, he says, "The House wasn't designed by the Founding Fathers to be a place of peace and harmony. It has always been a rough place to do political business." This is great for anyone interested in a behind-the-scenes look at government. His insider's view of the election of 2000 in Florida -- the butterfly ballot fiasco was in his own district -- is worth the price of the book.

"How Would Jesus Vote: A Christian Perspective on the Issues" by D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe purports to tell Christians how they should vote by looking at issues "from a biblical perspective." The authors don't mention candidates, but they discuss issues such as abortion, stem cells, the death penalty, war, education, health care, climate change, immigration, race, marriage and the courts. This is the popular right-wing line, but the basic premise is troublesome; for example, on health care, the authors oppose universal health care on the basis that the government will "force" abortions and euthanasia. And don't get me started on their bigoted views on women. The book is obviously partisan, but readers will know that going in, so they will get back exactly what they expect.

In an election year with an unpopular president, two seemingly endless wars and a disastrous economy, the Democrats should be winning easily, so why is the election so close? "One Party Country: The Republican Plan for Dominance in the 21st Century" by Tom Hamburger and Peter Wallsten offers some answers. "The Republican Party has put in place a series of structural and operational advantages that give the GOP a political edge for the foreseeable future," say the authors, who go on to describe precisely how this was done -- how conservatives worked in the background every day, using every level of American life to their advantage, bringing together divergent groups, and creating a plethora of think tanks to train young conservatives and to support the movement. One of their most consequential tools was extreme redistricting. And now, "the structural foundations built by the Republicans are so firmly planted that one dismal election cycle alone will not be enough to shake them loose." This is not an "I hate Republicans" book by any means, but rather an homage to the time, money, energy and planning that went into the brilliant strategy of conservatives such as Grover Norquist and Karl Rove.

Finally -- and I hate to do this -- let's look at "The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness" by Lyle H. Rossiter Jr., M.D. The other books I've listed here pretty much play fair: They are partisan, sure, but they have a certain amount of respect for independents and the opposition. This book does not. It's an example of how far people will go to promote their own agenda. This "psychological" case study reads like a scientific textbook. He pulls no punches about liberalism: "It is a genuine evil," he says. "The modern liberal mind ... suffers from systematic distortions. ... It is a mind afflicted with madness." Among other things, the liberal "rationalizes violence, excuses financial obligation, justifies theft, ignores rudeness. ..." Excuse me? And feminism is a "strikingly hateful, essentially paranoid posture." Oh, really? When was the last time, Mr. Rossiter, that you were a working single mother? This is so disturbing. I'm presenting it here only to demonstrate how far into the sewer we're heading with the divisiveness of party extremists. I will have more to say about this on my blog, "Shine a Light," at www.recordpub.com.

For book news, go to www.recordpub.com, click on "Lifetimes," and check out "One for the Books" online.

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BOOK NOTES, One for the Books Extra Online Exclusives:
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Check out my new blog on books, inspiration, fun and thought-provoking goodies! It's called "Shine A Light!"

http://blogs.dixcdn.com/shine_a_light/

If you lose that link, look for the blogs on the home page
of www.recordpub.com, about halfway down, on the right side.

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LOCAL BOOK CLUBS:

The Book Discussion Group at the Randolph Library meets the first Monday of the month, except August, at 6:30 p.m. in the Randolph Senior Center. The group is open to everyone, and new members are always welcome. The library will stock copies of the books each month. Call the library at 330-325-7003.

November 3: City of Fallen Angels by John Berendt
December 1: Manhunt by James Swanson

Pierce-Streetsboro Library's Book Discussion Group meets regularly on the second Monday of each month at 6:45 p.m. in the library's meeting room. New members are always welcome to attend and participate in the discussion. The library is located at 8990 Kirby Lane in Streetsboro, next to the administrative offices of the Streetsboro City Schools. For more information, call the library at 330-626-4458. Here is the schedule of meeting dates and books to be discussed:

Nov. 10: Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury (fiction)
Dec. 8: Where Angels Go by Debbie Macomber (fiction)
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The National Catholic Reporter reviews several recent books in its "Expanding the Catholic view on faith and politics." The books are

--CAN A CATHOLIC SUPPORT HIM? ASKING THE BIG QUESTION ABOUT BARACK OBAMA
By Douglas Kmiec
--RENDER UNTO CAESAR: SERVING THE NATION BY LIVING OUR CATHOLIC BELIEFS IN POLITICAL LIFE
By Archbishop Charles J. Chaput
--A NATION FOR ALL: HOW THE CATHOLIC VISION OF THE COMMON GOOD CAN SAVE AMERICA FROM THE POLITICS OF DIVISION
By Chris Korzen and Alexia Kelley

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2159

In addition, Liquori Publications has a whole series written by people of faith titled "In My Own Words."

http://www.liguori.org/productdetails.cfm?sku=817533&disccode=NCRO

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The Friends of Pierce-Streetsboro Library will host a book sale from noon to 5 p.m. Nov. 14 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 15 in the meeting room of the Pierce-Streetsboro Branch of the Portage County District Library, 8990 Kirby Lane.

A special preview sale for Friends members will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Nov. 13.

The library is located at 8990 Kirby Lane. For more information, call Ellen Poole at 330-626-3749.
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New reviews from the National Catholic Reporter:

--Holding Bishops Accountable: How Lawsuits Helped the Catholic Church Confront Clergy Sexual Abuse
--Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect its Children
--Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

http://ncronline3.org/drupal/?q=node/2254

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from Shelf Awareness -- New Books Out October 20 and 21:

The Longest Trip Home: A Memoir by John Grogan
Against Medical Advice: One Family's Struggle with an Agonizing Medical Mystery by James Patterson, Hal Friedman and Cory Friedman
Dark Summer by Iris Johansen
Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker
Testimony: A Novel by Anita Shreve
The Way I Am by Eminem
The Ten Roads to Riches: The Ways the Wealthy Got There (And How You Can Too!) by Kenneth L. Fisher and Lara Hoffmans
More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman

New Books Out October 27 and 28:

Burn Out by Marcia Muller
Flat Belly Diet by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass
The Memorist by M.J. Rose

Now in paperback:

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

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Publishers Weekly Religion Bestsellers October 2008
Hardcover

1. Before You Do.
T.D. Jakes. Atria
2. Sinner: A Paradise Novel.
Ted Dekker. Thomas Nelson
3. Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires, the Respect He Desperately Needs.
Emerson Eggerichs. Thomas Nelson
4. Jesus Calling: Seeking Peace in His Presence.
Sarah Young. Thomas Nelson
5. Have a New Kid by Friday.
Kevin Leman. Revell
6. Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.
Kathleen Norris. Riverhead
7. Become a Better You.
Joel Osteen. Free Press
8. Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations.
Alex Harris and Brett Harris. Multnomah Books
9. The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.
Timothy Keller. Dutton
10. Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life.
Charles J. Chaput. Doubleday

Paperback

1. The Shack.
William P. Young. Windblown Media
2. 90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life.
Don Piper with Cecil Murphey. Revell
3. Sunset
Karen Kingsbury. Tyndale House
4. The Five Love Languages.
Gary Chapman. Moody/Northfield
5. The Longing.
Beverly Lewis. Bethany/Baker
6. The Love Dare
Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick. B&H Books
7. The Purpose-Driven Life.
Rick Warren. Zondervan
8. The God Delusion.
Richard Dawkins. Mariner Books
9. Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul.
John and Stasi Eldredge. Thomas Nelson
10. Mere Christianity.
C.S. Lewis. HarperOne

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PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST-SELLERS
By The Associated Press

HARDCOVER FICTION
1. "The Brass Verdict" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
2. "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)
3. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)
4. "A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire (William Morrow)
5. "A Most Wanted Man" by John Le Carre (Scribner)
6. "The Pirate King" by R.A. Salvatore (Wizards Of The Coast)
7. "Heat Lightning" by John Sandford (Putnam Adult)
8. "One Fifth Avenue" by Candace Bushnell (Voice)
9. "A Wallflower Christmas" by Lisa Kleypas (St. Martin's Press)
10. "The Other Queen" by Philippa Gregory (Touchstone)
11. "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown)
12. "A Cedar Cove Christmas" by Debbie Macomber (Mira Books)
13. "The Given Day" by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
14. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
15. "The Fire: A Novel" by Katherine Neville (Ballantine)

NONFICTION/GENERAL
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway)
3. "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron, Brett Witter (Grand Central)
4. "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" by Alice Schroeder (Bantam)
5. "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
6. "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice" by Maureen McCormick (William Morrow)
7. "Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets" by Jon and Kate Gosselin, Beth Carson (Zondervan)
8. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria Books/Beyond Words)
9. "Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites" by Giada De Laurentiis (Clarkson Potter)
10. "Letter to My Daughter" by Maya Angelou (Random House)
11. "Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole" by Victoria Osteen (Free Press)
12. "The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008" by Bob Woodward (Simon & Schuster)
13. "Ted, White, and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto" by Ted Nugent (Regenry)
14. "Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man" by Dalton Fury (St. Martins Press)
15. "The Wordy Shipmates" by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead)

MASS MARKET PAPERBACKS
1. "Double Cross" by James Patterson (Vision)
2. "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
3. "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Vision)
4. "Dark of the Moon" by John Sandford (Berkley)
5. "First Impressions" by Nora Roberts (Silhouette)
6. "The Lost Tomb" by David Gibbins (Dell)
7. "Living Dead in Dallas" by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
8. "Amazing Grace" by Danielle Steel (Dell)
9. "Mr. Cavendish, I Presume" by Julia Quinn (Avon)
10. "Book of the Dead" by Patricia Cornwell (Berkley)
11. "Mercury's War" by Lora Leigh (Berkley)
12. "Seduce Me at Sunrise" by Lisa Kleypas (St. Martin's Paperbacks)
13. "Third Degree" by Greg Iles (Pocket)
14. "Now and Then" by Robert B. Parker (Berkley)
15. "Collateral Damage" by Fern Michaels (Zebra)

TRADE PAPERBACKS
1. "The Shack" by William P. Young (Windblown Media)
2. "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin)
3. "Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin)
4. "The Love Dare" by Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick (B&H)
5. "World Without End" by Ken Follett (NAL)
6. "Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia" by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin)
7. "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers)
8. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidi Murkoff, Sharon Mazel (Workman Publishing Group)
9. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz (Riverhead)
10. "Skinny B----" by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin (Running Press)
11. "Dreams from My Father" by Barack Obama (Three Rivers)
12. "Nights in Rodanthe" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner Vision)
13. "The Duchess" by Amanda Foreman (Random House Trade)
14. "The Choice" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)
15. "90 Minutes in Heaven" by Dan Piper and Cecil Murphey (Fleming H. Revell)

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Wall Street Journal Best-sellers Books
By The Associated Press

FICTION
1. "The Brass Verdict" by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
2. "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown)
3. "The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central Publishing)
4. "Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
5. "Breaking Dawn" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown)
6. "A Lion Among Men" by Gregory Maguire (William Morrow)
7. "The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel" by David Wroblewski (HarperCollins)
8. "A Most Wanted Man" by John Le Carre (Scribner)
9. "One Fifth Avenue" by Candace Bushnell (Voice)
10. "Heat Lightning" by John Sandford (Putnam Adult)
11. "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
12. "The Pirate King" by R.A. Salvatore, (Wizards Of The Coast)
13. "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (Little Brown for Young Readers)
14. "The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle" by Jim Butcher, Ardian Syaf (Del Rey)
15. "A Wallflower Christmas" by Lisa Kleypas (St. Martin's Press)

NONFICTION
1. "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion)
2. "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity" by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway)
3. "The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life" by Alice Schroeder (Bantam)
4. "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World" by Vicki Myron, Brett Witter (Grand Central)
5. "Hot, Flat and Crowded" by Thomas Friedman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
6. "Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets" by Jon and Kate Gosselin, Beth Carson (Zondervan)
7. "Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice" by Maureen McCormick (William Morrow)
8. "Who: The A Method for Hiring" by Geoff Smart, Randy Street (Ballantine)
9. "StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Tom Rath (Gallup Press)
10. "Letter to My Daughter" by Maya Angelou (Random House)
11. "Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole" by Victoria Osteen (Free Press)
12. "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne (Atria/Beyond Word)
13. "Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us" by Seth Godin (Portfolio)
14. "The Wordy Shipmates" by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead)
15. "Ted, White, and Blue: The Nugent Manifesto" by Ted Nugent (Regenry)
The Wall Street Journal's list reflects nationwide sales of hardcover books during the week ended last Saturday at more than 2,500 Barnes & Noble, B. Dalton, Bookland, Books-a-Million, Books & Co., Bookstar, Bookstop, Borders, Brentano's, Coles, Coopersmith, Doubleday, Scribners and Waldenbooks stores, as well as sales from online retailers Amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

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The following authors are making the media rounds, talking about their books:

--Bryan Caplan, author of The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies
--George Soros, author of The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means
--Joaquin Garcia, author of Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family
--George Hamilton, Don't Mind If I Do
--Paula Deen, Paula Deen's My First Cookbook
--Sir Richard Branson, author of Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur
--Jeff Henderson, author of Chef Jeff Cooks: In the Kitchen with America's Inspirational New Culinary Star
--Isaac Mizrahi, How to Have Style
--James Galbraith, author of The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too
--Peggy Noonan, author of Patriotic Grace: What It Is and Why We Need It Now
--Liza Mundy, author of Michelle: A Biography
--Cherie Blair, author of Speaking For Myself: My Life from Liverpool to Downing Street
--Jennet Conant, author of The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
--Nikki Giovanni, author ofHip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat
--David Boyle, author of Toward the Setting Sun: Columbus, Cabot, Vespucci, and the Race for America
--Amity Shlaes, author of The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
--Victoria Osteen, author of Love Your Life: Living Happy Healthy, and Whole
--David S. Kidder, author of The Intellectual Devotional Modern Culture
--Maureen McCormick, author of Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice
--Nobu Matsuhisa, co-author of Nobu Miami: The Party Cookbook
--James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America
--Jon Katz, author of Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me
--Martin Wolf, author of Fixing Global Finance
--Amy Sedaris, author of I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence
--Joseph Stiglitz, co-author of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict
--Joaquin "Jack" Garcia, author of Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family
--M. Gary Neuman, The Truth about Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do to Prevent It
--Owen Matthews, Stalin's Children: Three Generations of Love, War, and Survival
--Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
--Richard Belzer, I Am Not a Cop! A Novel
--Deborah Needleman, author of Domino: The Book of Decorating
--Mark Bittman, author of How to Cook Everything
--Steve Dublanica, author of Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
--Tony Curtis, author of American Prince: A Memoir
--Victoria Osteen, author of Love Your Life: Living Happy Healthy, and Whole
--Gary Andrew Poole, author of The Galloping Ghost: Red Grange, An American Football Legend
--Halima Bashir, Tears of the Desert: A Memoir of Survival in Darfur
--Tim Reid and Tom Dreesen, authors of Tim and Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White
--Rick Tramonto, author of Osteria: Hearty Italian Fare from Rick Tramonto's Kitchen
--Thomas Buckley, co-author of Nobu Miami: The Party Cookbook
--Pierre Alfri, author of Oxo
--Emmanuel Carrre, author of Class Trip & The Mustache
--Bob Schieffer, author of Bob Schieffer's America
--Robert Reich, author of Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life
--Christopher Lukas, author of Blue Genes: A Memoir of Loss and Survival
--Naomi Wolf, author of Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries
--Martin Wolf, author of Fixing Global Finance
--Matt Mason, author of The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism
--Alice Schroeder, author of The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life
--Robert Skidelsky, author of John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Freedom, 1937-1946
--Andrew Gelman, author of Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do
--James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory: The Ultra-Secret NSA from 9/11 to the Eavesdropping on America
--Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Science Fair
--John Siceloff, Your America: Democracy's Local Heroes
--Peter Manseau, Songs for the Butcher's Daughter
--Diahann Carroll, The Legs Are the Last to Go: Aging, Acting, Marrying, and Other Things I Learned the Hard Way
--Erin Prophet, author of Prophet's Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant
--Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
--Vince Flynn, author of Extreme Measures: A Thriller
--Tom Brokaw, author of Boom!: Talking About the Sixties: What Happened, How It Shaped Today, Lessons for Tomorrow
--Eugene Jarecki, author of The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men, and a Republic in Peril
--Robert Wagner, author of Pieces of My Heart: A Life
--Jill Bolte Taylor, author of My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
--John Lithgow, author of I Got Two Dogs
--Irene Pepperberg, author of Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence--and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process
--Christopher Buckley, author of Supreme Courtship
--Robert Kagan, author of The Return of History and the End of Dreams
--James Patterson, Against Medical Advice: One Family's Struggle with an Agonizing Medical Mystery
--Nicholas Katzenbach, Some of It was Fun: Working with RFK and LBJ
--Erin Prophet, author of Prophet's Daughter: My Life with Elizabeth Clare Prophet Inside the Church Universal and Triumphant
--Alaa al Aswany, Chicago
--Mary Buffett and David Clark, authors of Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements: The Search for the Company with a Durable Competitive Advantage
--Vince Flynn, whose thriller Extreme Measures
--Wynton Marsalis, Moving To Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life
--Cindy Jacobs, The Reformation Manifesto: Your Part in God's Plan to Change Nations Today
--Van Jones, author of The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems
--Paul Theroux, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star: On the Tracks of the Great Railway Bazaar
--Dr. Bernadine Cruz, author of The Secret Sex Life of Dogs and Cats
--Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, authors of Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
--Sarah Vowell, author of The Wordy Shipmates
--Mario Batali, co-author (with Gwyneth Paltrow) of Spain...A Culinary Road Trip
--Rose George, The Big Necessity: The Unmentionable World of Human Waste and Why It Matters
--Brian Michael Jenkins, Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?
--Steven Rosenfeld, author of Count My Vote: A Citizen's Guide to Voting
--Roy Blount, Jr., Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, . . . With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory
--James Wood, author of How Fiction Works
--Gurbaksh Chahal, author of The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions
--Marlo Thomas, Free to Be...You and Me
--Debra Mandel, Don't Call Me a Drama Queen! A Guide for the Overly Sensitive and Their Significant Others Who Need to Learn How to Lighten Up and Go with the Flow
--Bernadine Cruz, author of The Secret Sex Life of Dogs and Cats
--Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
--Bill O'Reilly, A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity
--Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
--David Frum, author of Comeback: Conservatism That Can Win Again
--Randee St. Nicholas, 21 Nights
--Whoopi Goldberg, author of Sugar Plum Ballerinas: Plum Fantastic
--Paul Krugman, The Conscience of a Liberal
--Naomi Wolf, author of Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries

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Here are links to other recent One for the Books columns:

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"One for the Books" appears the second, fourth, and fifth Fridays of the month in the Record-Courier. Extra columns may appear on occasion, especially preceding Christmas and Hanukkah.