The reader will not need to agree with Gioia to enjoy this book. It constitutes by the nature of its subject a wandering into both the unknown and the unknowable. But Gioia seldom goes so far into speculation that he…
Tag: nonfiction
A review of Making Effective Media Happen by Michael Brown
In this media oriented world, almost everybody has something to sell or wants to create a public image. The book takes an insider perspective and provides information on exactly what a journalist will be looking for when interviewing you or…
A review of Step Across This Line by Salman Rushdie
The essays in this collection are, without exception, witty, intelligent, acerbic, moving, thoughtful and above all, truthful. Celebrating secular freedom of thought and speech, personal responsibility and courage, together they form a thesis. The book reads quickly, and all of…
A review of The Online Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert Bly
Bly is probably one of the world’s most famous and experienced copywriters, and he not only has more than 20 years experience, worked for over 100 clients and authored 50 books, he is also a noted authority on the creation…
A Review of Portraits in Fiction by A S Byatt
It is likely that, as an writer who works solely with words, however visually descriptive these words may be, Byatt is naturally biased. Portraits in Fiction is nevertheless, exactly what literary criticism should be, provocative, well researched, well written, enjoyable to read,…
A Review of Writer’s Guide by Irina Dunn
While the book suffers from trying to cover too much and therefore being a jack of all trades and master of none, there is still plenty of material here for both the beginner and the experienced writer, much of it…
A Review of Successful Nonfiction by Dan Poynter
Successful Nonfiction is a much quicker, and simpler read than Poynter’s other writing books. Rather than the detailed and specific instructions that his other writing books contain, Successful Nonfiction is a series of 109 “soundbites,” or inspirational tips for writers, each a couple…
A Review of The Plot Thickens by Noah Lukeman
The book is so well written–so tight and polished–that it provides a perfect example of its own principles. Lukeman’s prose is so lucid that it manages to render even complex concepts like “transcendency” clear, and provides practical ways of incorporating…
A Review of Platypus by Ann Moyal
Moyal writes clearly and arranges difficult material with crisp authority. This is a perspicacious book. Moyal cares about her subject and has used it to express more than a simple chapter of zoology. She sees the platypus within a very…
A Review of Eat First –You Don’t Know What They’ll Give You
The memoir was written as a book of remembrance for the author’s parents and for her daughter. Its readers will react to it in many ways. First it is a family document. It depicts the immigrant experience, specifically a Jewish…