My Mount Rushmore of Writers - Nonfiction

I was thinking the other day about who I would put on my Mount Rushmore of Writers. Quickly surveying all the books I have ever read, I decided I would have to do one for Non-Fiction and one for Fiction. Without further ado I present the four authors (plus alternates) I would place in my literary pantheon.

#1)

Robert Kurson may not be as familier as some of the authors who appear later in this post but he is a king among non-fiction writers. The best part - he's only written two books. This is a man with a long way to go. His second book, Crashing Through is so fascinating and well written he proved lightening did not strike once.

Best Work - Shadow Divers a book which would place him firmly on this list even if it was the only one he ever wrote. Simply put, the book is an absolute masterpiece and one of the best books I have ever read. Period.

#2)

Nathaniel Philbrick has also written some seminal, fantastic books about the oceans - one revealed the true story behind Moby Dick, another the greatest explorer America has ever seen. His connections to the large events of America past are incredibly illuminating. With each book he seems to ratchet up his game and the depth and readability of his prose is truly stunning.

Best Work: Sea of Glory a richly detailed portrait of a man who discovered and mapped much of the world, started the Smithsonian musuem and discovered Antarctica - yet was forgotten by history because he was a completely complex, absolute jerk.

#3)

Antony Beevor has written the second world war for a long time and each work serves to illuminate and solidify the great events of the war. He has covered Stalingrad, Crete, The Fall of Germany and most recently, "the definitive" book on D-Day. Beevor does not so much as touch on his topics as become completely immersed in the them. He makes even the most mundane of statistics gripping reading. Much of what he writes is powerful and new information, gleaned from incredible levels of research one can only guess at the depths of. If you are into history and World War Two at some point you will cross paths with Beevor, the master.

Best Work: The harrowing Stalingrad which takes the reader deeper into the infamous battle then they likely wanted to go. Did you know for example, more German prisoners were taken from Stalingrad then any other venue in the war? Or that most of them died in Russian POW camps far worse then we can even imagine? A powerful look and the most captivating in our history.

#4)

Any pantheon of non-fiction gods would not be complete without Jon Krakauer. A writer with the unique ability to get so deep inside his subject it literally consumes his work, he could make a book about dry toast thrilling. He has scaled mountains, gone to war, searched the extremes of religon and pushed beyond the outer limits of human struggle. There may not be a finer writer of non-fiction alive. We are all bearing witness to greatness, it is just really unfortunate he only puts out a book every four years or so.
Best Work: Under the Banner of Heaven which so powerfully examined the nature of organized religon in our world through the Mormon Church. Given how much importance extremists now play in our world view, Krakauer has written a chronicle which will stand the test of time. A truly one of a kind work.

The best of the rest:

Sebastian Junger - A Death in Belmont and The Perfect Storm were both incredible books. One more seminal work and he makes the list.

Erik Larson - Both The Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck were incredible works (The former in particular) and Larson's style of weaving a singular, history changing moment with a brutal true crime narrative works so well it is scary.

Mark Bowden - Killing Pablo was a fantastic book, but I have yet to read Black Hawk Down, if it as good as advertised, he may make the list.

Sanyika Shakur - His autobiography Monster remains one of the ten best non-fiction books I have ever read. I seriously debated this one, if one book could put someone on the list. In the end, it could not. He is also the inaguaral winner of my "James Patterson Award"...for worst book of the year (for his debut "novel").

Book #19

Jon Krakauer has written several books which rightly deserve consideration as the best of the best. He has explored the inner workings of humanity through the prism of extreme mountaineering (Into Thin Air) and a personal journey of self discovery (Into the Wild) but no book he has written is as powerful as his insightful look into extreme religion (Under the Banner of Heaven).

For thousands of years man has sought to redeem irredeemable actions through religious principles - Krakauer chooses to focus on the Mormon church in his book yet the text works to illuminate the base qualities of all religion. Essentially, as he boils it down, religon has dominated our world for so long it demands closer attention be paid to what we believe - it is our duty to examine the basic tenants of faith. Mormonism has two different doctorines (those who believe in Polygamy and those who do not) and is ripe for such a close, detailed look. The church was born from violent circumstances and Krakauer does not shy away from these bloody origins.

However, as most people know, a deep examination of the origins of any faith (especially one which started less than 200 years ago) reveals significant cracks in the foundation. This is true of Mormonism as everything believed by the faithful can be cut down to what the prophet Joseph Smith saw in a hat. At some points during reading the book, one may stop and nearly shout "How can people buy this?" but the simple fact is - more than twenty million people do. Mormonism is one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

The history of Mormonism is intersperced with the brutal murder of Brenda Lafferty and her daughter Erica by her husband Ron and his brother Dan. Ron would later claim God told him to murder her as she had been corrupted by the devil (both brothers are currently in prison for the forseeable future - Ron sits on death row). The use of faith to "justify" murder is just one black mark in the long and violent history of the religon which has been shrouded for the most part in darkness. Polygimist leaders have built communities and ridiculously guarded compounds to protect what they see as their fundamental rights.

Yet, while Krakauer's illuminating look at religion succeeds he also does what would have seemed impossible - he makes the history of the Mormon church ridiculously entertaining. You literally cannot put this book down. His writing, always one of his strongest suits, is on full display here. While he informs and enlightens he also creates a page turner. Not many authors could have succeeded in this regard.

Naturally, this book has been condemned in many religious circles rather unfairly. Krakauer portrays the facts in a straightforward and non-biased manner. Plus, if you believe in what your religious leaders tell you, why should it matter what other people think of your religion? Ultimately any close look at faith will inevitably cause the cracks to show but is this not a good thing? Questioning the workings of our world and not just blindly accepting what we have been told has made us great, and this book helps to remind us of the need to do just that.

Book #18

It by Stephen King is a monumental horror opus that rightfully deserves its handle as a classic of the genre. This is one deep rabbit hole to get lost in and once you plunge downward the book grips you and refuses to let go. The plot seems deceptively simple - seven children fight a shape-shifting, child-deviouring monster both when they are middle age and when they are twelve years old. Okay, maybe it is not as deceptively simple as advertised.

King wanted to write a book about a troll that lived under a bridge, yet in the author's universe a bridge is too small, so it quickly evolves into a town - his infamous haunted city of Derry, Maine (the setting of many of his best novels). The plot follows a monster which hunts and eats children for a period of two years out of every twenty-seven. A group of seven kids (Six boys and one girl) dubbed the "Losers", decide to make a stand against the evil destroying their town. King juxtaposes their decision to return to do battle as adults with the choices they made as children. This is a big book full of rich characters and details which pull you so deeply into the story you fell as if you have become one of the characters.

It is one of King's most ambitious novels and several cross-cutting themes weave through the twisty narrative. King is letting go of our deepest childhood fears and showing how we must face up to what is hiding in the darkness before it (metaphorically and literally) devours us.

Many scenes in the book are gut wrenching and emotionally charged, while others are blood chilling sequences best not read before bedtime. From the compelling open scene in which a child is sucked into the sewer by one of It's many guises - the clown Pennywise (why all children should be slightly terrified of clowns), to the thunderous climax which leaves the reader astounded and mind-blown, this book is a near perfect story.

The book is long, well over a thousand pages, and demands an insightful reading. In fact, it will take a stronger person than I not to open the first pages as soon as you have turned the last, as the deep contemplation truly begins. This is definitely not your stock horror story and showcases King at his thematic, metaphorical, metaphysical and philosophical best.

Book #17

I could have picked any one of the dozen awesome books by George Pelecanos (literally there are a ton, check it out) to review. After a long debate, I went with the one book he has written that has stuck with me longer than any other. If you are unfamiliar with Pelecanos, he writes crime novels set in and around Washington DC. He has written a trilogy about one character, and a DC Quartet (obstensibly about the decline of Washington's urban landscape) that rivals the best of James Ellroy.

His books are not subtle in their social commentary, or themes, yet they get under your skin. Pelecanos books are in many ways the literary equivelant of a twelve round streetfight. When you come away from one of his stories it seems as if you have been dragged through it with his characters, it is a powerful experience that gets you jacked up while still feeling as if you've taken a hard right to the jaw.

The reason I chose The Sweet Forever is because it represents the best of Pelecanos (who also wrote a bunch of The Wire) writing. His characters are gritty, flawed and headed toward an unavoidable chasm of destruction - Pelecanos pretty much writes urban westerns. This book follows a bag of money stolen from a brutal crack dealer, and details the devestation the drug had on the streets of DC. It is not a pretty picture, and the conclusion is forgone the moment you open the book. However, Pelecanos is a very talented writer and his ultimate avoidance of the showdown you expect shows how far above petty re-used plots he is. Nothing is simple in one of his books and The Sweet Forever is no exception. This book however, has an added spector of death hovering over it the entire time. One of the "characters" (spoken of, but never directly in the story) is Len Bias. The hope and promise of his career is on of the minds of all the DC natives and the reader, knowing the tragic end to his short story, is left waiting for the inevitable gut punch. It is an intense and bleak world Pelecanos has created and we are all the better off for having read it.

This book, like the rest of his DC Quartet - and all his books, rightfully deserves its spot at the top of the crime fiction heap.

Book #16

Open by Andre Agassi is a life changing book. Keep in mind, I am not one to throw around the phrase "life changing book" lightly and this masterpiece fits the criteria. It made me want to shave my head and rise to the top of the tennis world...kidding...or am I?

Seriously though, I was an Agassi fan back at the beginning and followed his miraculous career revival. I did not know all the facts, and I guess no one did - suffice it say, Agassi is so brutally honest he might just add Pulitzer Prize Winning Author to his already impressive shelf of accolades.

In the book Agassi is insightful about his career, marriages and opponents (including Pete Sampras) as well as his eventual fall to rock bottom. However, the real power of his book lies in his ability to look inside himself. Agassi constantly evaluates and evolves with the times and his reflections are potent and often so real the reader is truly touched. This is a long way from Chad Ochocinco's "I love me some me". The book inspires the reader to look deep inside themself in a new way in order to constantly challenge themselves to try and be better.

Let's face it, if an over the hill thirty year old tennis star can completely reinvent himself and rise to the top why can't you? Agassi pretty much throws down the gauntlet to his readers and there is no way you can step away from this book without being moved. It sticks with you long after you turn the final page. A definite - and surprising - early contender for book of the year.

The ball is back in your court Sampras, but I figure memoir writing ends with an indelible Agassi victory.

How "The Wire" Ruined Crime Novels

HBO's brilliant The Wire has effectively ruined an entire genre for me: crime books. Unless they have the same, brilliant, deeply textured plots I came to know and love on The Wire I simply have no patience for them. That is not to say of course I have not read some great crime books already this year, because I have (but more about that in a future post).
One of the reasons David Simon's series set the bar so high was it refused to dip into an predictable plot or stock character. Now, when I pick up a book that touts reviews calling it "an urban gem" (the exact review on "Thug Life") I know I will just be disappointed. My patience for terrible books has grown thin. More and more I find myself wanting to read something that gives me more than just a couple of hours of entertainment. Stieg Larsson's brilliant Millenium Trilogy is a good antidote, as is David Peace's dark and twisty Red Riding Quartet. A couple of Don Winslow books, most notably The Power of the Dog, showed what an intelligent narco thriller could be.
A Moment of Silence:
Since I am already talking about a brilliant show, I figured I would give a shout out to another one that ended: The Shield. If you've never watched, this show follows a detective in LA who is about as corrupt as you would expect. He dispenses his own brand of justice while managing to elude various factions looking to take him down. That is the story...on the surface anyways. The first three seasons were a rollicking ride through corruption as well as a twisted morality tale. The final four were claustrophobic and intense to the point where you could barely watch - yet could not turn away. One of the central questions asked through every season, episode, day was "do the ends justify the means?" Ultimately, a show as smart as The Shield allows viewers to make up their own mind. A stunning television achievement, if you have never watched the show, you are in for seven seasons of staggering entertainment. Enjoy.

Book #15

The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy does not quite attain the heights of its predecessor American Tabloid but it comes pretty close. This is a cannot-put-it-down; just.one.more.page...kind of reading experience. The plot picks up right after the breathless final seconds of Tabloid; it's Dallas - November 22, 1963. Once again Ellroy uses a triple character format to weave his taut, complex, Shakespearean tale and it works brilliantly. The narrators are connected and know each other but only appear together as a triumvirate at one, brilliantly searing point in the novel. This scene occurs at the jaw-dropping midpoint of the book and illustrates Ellory's achievement in his Underworld USA trilogy. Two of the characters, "Big" Pete Bondurant and Wayne Tedrow Jr. are hunting down one of their Vietnam Cadre companions who is responsible for a civil rights bombing. The other character Ward Littell, former Fed turned Mob lawyer and clandestine Civil Rights activist shows up at the last possible second, surprising his two allies. What happens in that hotel room with the three men sends the rest of the novel spinning towards its harrowing climax - and their ultimate fates. The fact all three characters converge at all and converge only once in the entire novel serves to separate the narrative theme and the links - and separations - of the main characters.

Plotwise, Ellroy bumps and slides through the dirt of the sixties, tying together Fed, Mob, CIA and Vegas conspiracies into a violent ride through subterranean American history. He concludes with the assassinations of RFK and Martin Luther King, as well as Howard Hughes takeover of Las Vegas. Vietnam, and particularly its heroin trade, loom over all.

The twists are shocking and delivered like a machine gun blast to the English language. This is a dark, hard book that stands not only as a linguistic achievement but also as the definitive "fictional" take on American history through its most turbulent times.