Books Recommended to Eric Pallant Home Fiction Reviews Nonfiction Reviews Jewish Books Mystery Recommendations Links Recommendations The Alchemist by Paul Coelho Paulo Coelho's "fable about following your dreams" weaves a magical tale.  One boy's search for treasure leads him to explore his "personal legend" and more fully realize what it means to truly live.  Encounters with merchants, warriors, scholars, and an alchemist show him that he must follow his dreams.  This novel is truly inspirational; it makes you believe that your goals are attainable and that anything is possible if you work hard and strive for your target.  This book doesn't just fill you with hope that you forget once you are finished; it teaches valuable lessons that you will carry with you throughout life. Review submitted by Sam Rigotti, September 2008 All for Love, by Ved Mehta I loved reading his early biography when it was serialized in the old New Yorker. All over creation by Ruth Ozeki recommended by Jenny Bogo - it's a novel with a huge quirky cast of characters that includes frustrated potato farmers, seed savers, eco-activisits, and the Big Bad Genetic Engineering Industry. she blends fiction and environmental issues well. Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott A book about teaching writers to be writers recommended by Rachel O'Brien who knows her good books. Buffalo Spirit by Elizabeth Black Recommended by LEP. Winner of the Three Oaks Prize. The Boat by Nam Le Short stories recommended by LEP. The Boat That Wouldn't Float, by Farley Mowat is great fun according to Dave Lansky Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour This book presents the issue of the Israeli/Palestinian struggle through the eyes of a Christian Palestinian (Chacour). At the time of the establishment of the state of Israel, Chacour is merely a child, and we watch as he grows and matures amidst a world of cultural and ethnic strife. This is a story to really make you think; his perspective on this issue is one that often goes ignored at the international level. Throughout his life, Chacour works tirelessly for peace between his Palestinian people and his "blood brothers;" his Jewish neighbors. This is an inspirational story, one that makes you believe that there truly might be hope for reconciliation in this troubled area of the world. Reviewed by Sam Rigotti, December 2007. Brick Lane by Monica Ali Bangladeshi Muslims in London recommended by LEP Chasing Shakespeares by Sarah Smith. Lorrie Pallant says it is well written for the intelligent reader about a woman doing her thesis trying to prove the existence of Shakespeare. It's a mystery with humor with some nice British history thrown in. Cod by Mark Kurlansky Recommended by Stanley Kondrot and by Chuck Welsh who says, It is a great ecological story as well as a brief history of commerce and the development of the New World. Informative and engaging! Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux Terry Bensel loved this book. The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson Death as a way of Life by David Grossman a series of essays about life in Israel over last decade Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee About Brahmin Indian women recommended by LEP Evidence of Things Unseen by Marianne Wiggins About Tennessee and the atomic bomb. Recommended by LEP. The Feather Quest: A North American Birder's Year by Peter Dunne An excellent book about birding in the North America recommended by LEP Generation Kill by Evan Wright A first hand account of soldiers in current Iraq War. Excellent review in New York Times. Gettysburg by Stephen W. Sears According to the Times, Jay Winik, "Sears's reconstruction is "The Civil War equivalent of a modern spy satellite photograph. He hovers above the action, giving us a panoramic view." Get Fuzzy Comic Books by Darby Conley Sarah Lashley writes, "It's the classic cat, dog, and single guy comic but I love it.  I laugh out loud.  Of course, I should mention that I have a cat that is exactly like the main character cat, Bucky, so I may be biased.  Olivia looks and acts just like Bucky. Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll Recommended by LEP The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Hundley, recommended by LEP The History of Love by Nicole Krauss Recommended by Lloyd Michaels who is using the book to open his class on modern Jewish literature. Hope's Edge by Frances Moore Lappe and her daughter Anna Lappe She Frances is the author of the 1970s best seller A diet for a small planet on the fact that there is enough food in the world to provide for every hungry and famished person, but it isn’t distributed to them now.  Jolted by Sep. 11 ’01 and yearning to go back to the inspiration and material from her first book, she decided to travel to five continents with her daughter, observe and think about the world anew.  They tell of their journeys and the innovation and positive change occurring at the “edge” of the planet- in little known villages.  Within these global stories they discuss personal choice and perception.  They affirm that the ability, “…to perceive crisis as an opportunity requires clear perception: We must grasp the nature of the crisis and what each of us can do to address it.”   That’s my spiel…it’s an easy, intelligent, uplifting read. Submitted by Megan Zeune, March 2006. The Invisible Wall by Harry Bernstein. The author, now in his 90s, recalls his impoverished boyhood in a British mill town, on a street where Jews lived on one side and Christians on the other. I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson Recommended by Alyssa Mack The Known World by Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Award Winner, National Book Award Finalist, LEP recommends Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner. A timely, compelling and prodigiously researched hisotry of the CIA by a reporter for tThe New York Times that chronicles an alarming litany of intelligence blunders and bungled opersations, from the agency's creation after World War II through the cold war to its recent failures in teh prelude to Iraq War.; Living on the Wind:  Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds, by Scott Weidensaul Recommended by LEP for its outstanding writing Master of the Senate by Robert Caro Analysis of Lyndon Johnson's presidency. Got huge reviews. My parents loved it. The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Ranier by Bruce Barcott Mount Rainier is the largest and most dangerous volcano in the country, both an awesome natural monument and a formidable presence of peril. In The Measure of a Mountain, Barcott sets out to grasp the spirit of Rainier through a journey along its massive flanks. From forest to precipice, thinning air to fractured glaciers, he explores not only the physique of Rainier but the psychology and meaning of all mountains, and the deep connection that exists between humans and landscape. The Metaphysical Club about Civil War and philosophy recommended by Diane Mayerfeld Murder in Jerusalem by Batya Gur News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck A love story in nineteenth century Paraguay. Recommended by LEP. Ordinary Wolves by Seth Kantner An Alsaskan novel, highly recommended by Ann Areson, a reader of high standards. Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson In this quiet but compelling novel, Trond Sander, a widower nearing seventy, moves to a bare house in remote eastern Norway, seeking the life of quiet contemplation that he has always longed for. A chance encounter with a neighbor—the brother, as it happens, of his childhood friend Jon—causes him to ruminate on the summer of 1948, the last he spent with his adored father, who abandoned the family soon afterward. Recommended by LEP. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth Reporting: Writings from the New Yorker by David Remnick I've always found Remnick's articles in the New Yorker readable and incomparably informative. Pete Hamill's review of the times says about Remnick, "he treats the reader as an informed, intelligent equal." This book contains 23 pieces from the magazine, many of which I've read, the rest of which I'd like to. The Russian Debutante's Ball by Gary Shteyngart Part of the new generation of young Jewish writers Schlepping Through the Alps: My Search for Austria's Jewish Past with Its Last Wandering Shepherd by Sam Apple A journalist who traveled from childhood memories to adult memories from urban NY to Austria's highest peaks in search of Hans Breuer, Yiddish folk singer and "last wandering shepherd of Austria." Apple manages to seamlessly tie shepherding and Yiddish into his questions about post-war Austria and contemporary anti-semitism in Europe suspensefully and full with satisfaction. Should You Leave, by Farley Mowat. According to Dave Lansky, the author includes some discussion of his own process in deciding to leave a good academic job to become a full time writer and some hints at how hard he has worked to become so skilled at the craft of writing. Sirens of Baghdad by Yasmin Khadra LEP says a story of fundamentalism and terrorism in Iraq. Like the others by Khadra, Attack, it is a slim volume that raises your awareness with fairness. Soldier's Heart: Reading Literature Through Peace and War at West Point by Elizabeth D. Samet A civilian teacher at the Military Academy offers a significant persperctive on a curical social and political force: honor. Song of the Dodo by David Quammen Recommended by Megan Terebus: Full of facts and dry humor and a really good story Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian, Nobel Prize in Literature And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-city High School Students by Miles Corwin Sarah Lashley writes, "It follows an AP English class in a South Central LA high school.  Absolutely fabulous account of the lives and challenges of the students and teachers.  While life carries some of the students far, others get caught in the poverty, gangs, drugs, etc. that surround them.  Josh's mom, a retired high school English teacher and current Episcopalian minister, loved it too." Tilting at Mills by Lis Harris about the failed Banana Kelley paper recycling project in the Bronx. She's one of my favorite writers in the New Yorker. Three Cups of Tea by By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin “Three Cups of Tea is one of the most remarkable adventure stories of our time. Greg Mortenson’s dangerous and difficult quest to build schools in the wildest parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan is not only a thrilling read, it’s proof that one ordinary person, with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world.” -Tom Brokaw The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers Recommended by LEP. This is a long and not so easy read, but the writing is gorgeously outstanding and I couldn't put down 630 pages.   It is a family and United States drama about racial problems in the 1960's.  Black woman marries white German Jewish physicist (a la Einstein) and what happens to their talented (singing and piano playing virtuoso) offspring  with a lot of musical references and more.    However, the writing is wonderful.  His descriptions of such things as Marion Anderson's being allowed to sing on the National Mall , etc. stand by themselves.   Also, his book Echo Power won this year's National Book Award. Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpa Lahiri Rave reviews in Times and Slate for the latest book by one of my favorite authors. When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsaka highly recommended by LEP about Japanese internment camps** Who Killed Daniel Pearl? By Bernard-Henri Levy According to Times, "This sharply observed account-which our critic, Robert D. Kaplan, called "a gripping synthesis of philosophy and reportage"-follows kidnappers trails to the highest reaches of Al Qaeda and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. The World to Come: A Novel by Dara Horn Recommended by Lloyd Michaels as a great book about the lost era of Yiddish speakers. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks About the plague in 1666 England recommended by Linda Gradstein and LEP. Eric Pallant, Department of Environmental Science, Allegheny College/updated 25 September 2008.