Some Books

Yes, I am still reading, so I thought I should catch up on talking about a couple of them...

• The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin.

I have always been intrigued by law and legal stories and legal decisions. I was a government major in college and my favorite Gov. course was Constitutional Law. (My Strong's Interest Inventory always showed me on the same interest level as lawyers, musicians, pastors, and writers/journalists.) This insightful book by Jeffrey Toobin is a Supreme Court voyeur's delight. Its coverage of the Court over the past 20 years is rich with detail and tidbits of gossip. It argues, with much merit, that even though she wasn't Chief Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor was the leading justice in many ways and the court deserves to be called "The O'Connor Court."

Abortion plays a major role in the book as part of the conservative revolution that the court has struggled with. But perhaps the saddest is the review of Bush v. Gore that decided the 2000 presidential election. Throughout the book the views of the different justices and the workings of the court make for enjoyable reading- even if it gets one angry at the closed views that so often get more calcified as time moves on.

• Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Chabon is a unique author and storyteller. He has gone from comic book writers in WW II to a parallel universe in Alaska as a Jewish nation to the 10th-century nation of Khazaria. It is not a heavy story, or even all that long. Yet it is a swashbuckling adventure yarn that pulls you along into a fantastic adventure. Chabon shows his chops as a storyteller in this book and that great writers can write in many formats and make it interesting. No, it is not his "Next Great Book" but it is just plain fun.

• Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury

Sci-fi author and American treasure Bradbury puts two novellas together. The first Somewhere a Band is Playing finds a place where life is forever while saving the best of the world. The second, Leviathan '99 pays homage to Melville as the Great White Whale becomes a Great White Comet chased through space. Again, fun and interesting work. The first makes you ponder mortality; the second leads you into a space-age Ishmael and the fact that perhaps we will always have someone chasing a Great Something or Other. It may be in the genes. As always Bradbury takes us to new places in his own special way.