Isabel Allende: Zorro: A Novel (P.S.)
A great book from a great author. Fascinating detail on life in early California, the transition from hierarchy to democracy... and not your usual swashbuckler tale.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Memories of My Melancholy Whores
Much shorter and more accessible that "100 Years of Solitude". A fascinating and unusual love story.
Maxwell Taylor Kennedy: Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her
Provides insights into the purpose and mechanics of Japan's kamikaze attacks, the suffering and heroics of the Bunker Hill's crew, and the rise of the carrier-based Navy. The book also ties together the heretofore unconnected series of island battles in the Pacific.
William Alexander: The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden
My birthday present and acknowledgment of my gardening obsession. Tone is like "Father of the Bride" but is still pretty funny. It's reassuring to know others are more obsessed than I am!
Chris Matthews: Hardball : How Politics Is Played Told By One Who Knows The Game
A very interesting read, both for followers of politics and politicians, and for those trying to understand "office politics".
Sandra Benitez: A Place Where the Sea Remembers (Scribner's Paperback Fiction)
I really liked this book. It's similar to The Hummingbird's Daughter in that it describes the same Mexican peasant population. But it ties together the seemingly disparate lives and loves of a number of characters, and celebrates the triumph of love.
Luis Alberto Urrea: The Hummingbird's Daughter
This is a wonderful book on many levels. It's the story Teresita Urrea, a healer and hero to indigenous Mexicans. Urrea weaves a beautiful story of his great-aunt, exposing us to the history and culture of the time as well.
Doris Kearns Goodwin: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
It may feel like assigned reading from a college class (and probably is), but don't despair. It's an engrossing story of how Lincoln managed his rivals in the cabinet as they fought to preserve the union and end slavery.
Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
A great book about the history and meaning of comic books, the impact of World War II on families, and the evolution of a boyhood friendship.