Rick Bragg

Advantages: Accessible writing, touching, er... it won a Pulitzer
Disadvantages: Journalese style and slow pace may not appeal to all.

...Oh, how long have you got? Why is it so hard to squash a lovely book into a little review? And why is it so especially hard when the book itself isn't squashed, but beautifully relaxed and unhurried and nice to read? Redbirds is like that and I'll try to tell you about so that you go and read it, because you should. Rick Bragg was born in the deep South of the United States, in Alabama. His father was a violent, hard-drinking man who regularly beat his wife; once as a small child, Bragg saw his mother tip away his fathers 'likker' and watched when his father returned and she simply stood there, took off her glasses and said, "Don't hurt my teeth." His mother was a determined, strong-willed, loving woman, who spent her entire life struggling to protect her sons from their father, the effects of poverty and the ignorance that had... Read review

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Advantages: Cooking with confidence.
Disadvantages: Sure to pile on the pounds.

...Sometimes ,when I have a little time to myself I will sit and watch a cookery programme on the television, but rarely am I inspired to rush off to the kitchen and begin experimenting myself. There is however an exception to every rule. Rick Stein has a way of tempting tastebuds that is unequaled. Just hearing him describe the food he is cooking is guaranteed to make my mouth water.....and yeah...I liked it so much I bought the book Rick Steins food heroes .......................................... 'There is a new buzz word in assessing the quality of food:tracability.This is the information that should come with all food, such as who caught it, raised it or grew it;where, how and when.I wish I didnt need such assurance.' This book was written to compliment Rick Steins excellent TV programme of the same name. Watching... Read review

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Advantages: Well written and compelling, interesting stories
Disadvantages: -

...Thomas Ricks' 'Making the Corps' is one of the best books on today’s Marine Corps available. The book looks at the Corps from the perspective of following a cohort of recruits through boot camp on Parris Island. As the subtitle, one of the longest I have ever seen on a non-academic book (and longer, indeed, than many of those), boot camp is difficult, but is also reflective of America in general. 'Sixty-three men came to Parris Island to become Marines. Not all of them made it. This is the story of boot camp Platoon 3086, the Marine Corps, and America.' There is a lot in that statement, ‘not all of them made it’. Boot camp in most military services has an element of winnowing and removing those unable to work and cope in the military environment. Often this is a matter of mental strength and maturity more than it is a physical... Read review

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