5 comments about Apple of My Eye.

1. I read this book in hardback more than 20 years ago, when I was a wee tot (comparatively speaking). I had spent one day in New York, and I brought the book back as a souvenir. It immediately gave me ideas for what to see when I returned. The book is especially poignant after 9/11, but the city is as great as ever. A great way to taste the excitement of New York--and not just its big public spaces, but its smaller, more intimate ones too.



2. This book could be considered out of date in some circles but major landmarks have changed and with all of the changes in NYC since the destruction of the WTC, it is also now a look into NYC's history.

   Helene Hanff wrote this book in 1976 when the WTC was still coming up, still being developed. The Top of the Tower Restuarant was "The Talk of the Town!" Over the past 28 years or so it has not only a wonderful tour guide; but for those of us who have never walked the streets of NYC or took the elevator to the 115th floor of the WTC to see the City this a book of pure vision.

   Helene Hanff reminds you to never look back at NYC when you are going out to the Statute of Liberty, you'll have plenty enough time to see it on the way back. It seems Her Majesty's beauty should be gazed upon until you etch every detail of her graceful,nurturing, beauty into your mind.

   A must read for anyone going to New York City for site seeing, or thinking about writing a book about your own hometown. Helene Hanff's flow of words are perfection and her use of adjectives second to none. A must read for young writers. You are bound to learn something; even if it is where to find the best local hangouts for lunch on a Sunday 12:00 NOON!




3. In 1976, Hanff got a job to write copy for a book of photographs of New York City. Beginning her research, she made a list of "Must See" sights, and realized that she'd missed most of them! She'd never been to the Statue of Liberty, or Wall Street, or the Stock Exchange. She'd been to the Cloisters once, many years before, never toured Rockefeller Center, never been to Grant's Tomb. So she enlisted her friend, Patsy Gibbs, and the two of them spent two months doing the things tourists do in New York City.
   
   However, this is not a guidebook. It's written from the point of view of a longtime resident, and is as much about the people as the sights. Hanff minces no words when she disapproves of something (the loss of Central Park land for additions to the Metropolitan Museum, the soullessness of theTrump Tower), but you'll be in no doubt about the things she loves, either (the Statue of Liberty, the skyline and so much else). The East Side/West Side split is analyzed and explained ("East Siders are conventional and proper, part of the Establishment and in awe of it -- which God knows, and God be thanked, West Siders are not."). She revels in the city's diversity ("And you won't believe it, but on Allen Street there's a Kosher Chinese restaurant where the Chinese waiters wear yarmulkas.") She acknowledges the bloody history behind the fortunes (Frick, Morgan, Rockefeller) that nevertheless contributed so much to the ordinary people of the city, those whom John D. Rockefeller III called "the many".
   
   Times change and cities change, though, and it's amusing to read about the shocking "suggested contribution" at the Cloisters: $1.75. The Met and the Cloisters are now charging $15 (though one payment will get you in to both if you're crazy enough to try to see them on the same day), and the Museum of Modern Art wants $20 from you if you want to enter its lovely new building. The edition I read is, in fact, a later one, published in 1988, and Hanff notes a number of changes in several "P.S." chapters. (Sadly, Gibbs had died of breast cancer several years before this edition.)
   
   Hanff admits it when she's wrong about something, too. She had gloomily predicted that damage to Central Park from a subway excavation would never be repaired. It was, with no scars.
   
   Even if you can walk to Zabar's in your sleep, you'll find something you didn't know about NYC in Hanff's book.



4. A pleasant little read providing delicious tidbits of information on the city that never sleeps. A native New Yorker, Helene Hanff sets out to rediscover her city so to write a tour book. Her love for the city is renewed as was mine. Sadly, Helene Hanff passed away in 1997. The book was last updated in 1980 so its still a bit outdated. Nevertheless very lovely, reminiscent, and timeless. It is easy to read and will provide you with a little bit of lore not found in guide books. It is not a comprehensive or indepth look at the city. In fact it is quite fragmented and simplistic. It reads more like an adventure story than a guide book. It is fun to read, full of dry humor, and it gives the reader enough taste of the apple to satisfy. Besides, NY city is much too big of a place to cover it all in one book. For those who are madly in love with NY, whether as a visitor or a native, this book is a must.



5. I am first of all a bit surprised by how many Amazon readers were so highly enthusiastic about this book. I found it O.K. a kind of mild, and light look at some of the City's great sites, and a kind of informative set of observations about some of the city's denizens.
   I did not find in it the drive, the excitement, the power of the City, nor a true reflection of its wild craziness. I think of something like Saul Bellow's meditation near the forty- second street Library on the passing crowd, of every type and kind Mankind has managed to produce. I think of the deli corners of Damon Runyan, or the Upper West Side cafeterias of I.B. Singer.
   Hanff knows parts of the city I have never really understood, like Sutton Place and Murry Hill .She does inform and I learned something about the Frick a museum which seems to most fully exemplify the meaning of the word ' quality'. But the City is so vast, so rich, so intricate ( Think of Melville at the Custom 's House, or Whitman's Manhatta, or James' Washington Square) both in Literature and Life that this small taste could not really fully satisfy.

2 comments about Touring Colorado Hot Springs.

1. As a Colorado resident I have been fortunate to have visited several of the larger, more popular area hot springs. My search for new hot springs experiences led me to Wambach's "Touring Colorado Hot Springs." This book is well organized and lists the springs according to the region of Colorado where they are found. The included maps are clear and easy to read. Especially helpful information I found to be the "Best Secluded Locations", "Best Family Locations" and "Best Character Locations" section of the book. I found this book so good that I have now ordered 4 more copies to give as gifts.



2. This book was exactly the same as the other book by George, only George's book included more springs. It was somewhat informative, even though all the information is 10 years old. Unfortunately for me, I found a website that has all the same information included in the book, so there really is no need to buy it unless you want all that information in a binding. The most disappointing thing was that no pricing information was included. Mr. Wambach should have realized that the price is one of the most important factors for most people, especially since some springs are $10/day and others cost hundreds. The book was useful in finding things to do in the area, if you can pull yourself away from the pools long enough to do something else. Sure would like to see a guide with the prices included. It would also be fantastic if a newer guide were written.

5 comments about Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway.

1. Having just returned with my wife from a fabulous trip along the entire 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway I can highly recommend this book. "Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway" by F. Lynne Bachleda is an excellent resource both for planning and enjoying your trip. Having traveled widely in all 50 states and many countries, and having read countless guidebooks, I can say that this one is definitely better than most. It is accurate, easy to read, and chock full of information that is both practical and interesting. The descriptions of historical and natural features along the Parkway greatly enhanced our enjoyment of the trip. Even the printing and binding of the book are superior.
   
   I would recommend that those traveling the Parkway do so from South to North if possible. Following the Trace in either direction would be fun, however most travel during the heyday of the Natchez Trace was from South to North and the guidebook also follows it in that direction.
   
   A person could drive the entire Parkway in one day, but he/she would miss a lot. We took three days, and five would not have been too much time to fully explore all the many fascinating natural and historical points of interest along the way.
   
   Both the Guidebook and the Parkway itself surpassed our high expectations.



2. One of my favorite pass times is to take a Saturday or Sunday and get on the Natchez Trace. Where I end up isn't important. It's what I find while I'm going. This book is a great companion to bring along and I highly recommend it. Simple as that.



3. It was like traveling with our own expert! We started in Nasvhille and stopped at virtually all of the recommended top 20, either on the way down or the way back, and each was worth the stop. We stayed at a B&B in Natchez, toured some of the awesome antebellum mansions and had a delightful time.
   The book had useful lists of places to stay along the trace - we stayed in Tupelo on the way down and Jackson on the way back at places Lynne listed. We even had occasion to need the emergency phone number for the Trace when we came upon 4 horses, in the dark, also traveling towards Natchez. The number was easy to find in the index.
   I am so glad that we waited until this book came out for our trip. We learned so much about the history of the region and it made the experience much more rich. This book really made the trip special for us - I HIGHLY recommend it! Thank you Lynne.



4. I really enjoyed this book. The layout was easy to follow and made me anxious to take a trip on the natchez trace. Detail was written great and historical information was well described. The book was solid, not to large so you can easily take it with you as a great guide book.



5. If you are a fan of the Natchez Trace, you are probably gratified (as I am) when a new book becomes available. Based on the favorable reviews I ordered it and was not disappointed.
   
   The first physical property you notice about the book is that, though it is a soft-cover, the cover is stiffer than most paperback books and looks to be coated with a material that is water-resistant. This makes it an excellent book to take along with you as you travel, as opposed to a book that may be damaged easily by the elements.
   
   The author quotes other works extensively thoughout, which I consider a strength for the simple reason that is allows you to sample the works of other authors, therefore appraising what other books you may wish to read. Additionally, the pictures are among the best of those that I have found of any book on the Trace. Finally, I found the organization of the book to be very user-friendly, and it accomodates the reader whether your purpose is to use it on-site as a guide or as a tool to learn more about the Trace.
   
   The one flaw that this book has (and it is significant) IMHO, is in the choice of fonts and printing backgrounds. In some areas (Such as the chapter that outlines the chronology of the Trace) you almost have to get out a magnifying glass to read the text. In still other passages (encompassing a significant portion of the book), the text is printed in black on a maroon background; these matching shades are unfortunate as they can cause an unneccesarily difficult time in reading these otherwise interesting sections of the book.
   
   All-told, I would buy this book again, but if it is reprinted I hope the above is corrected so that future readers will find this book even more enjoyable than it currently is.

5 comments about Blues City: A Walk in Oakland (Crown Journeys).

1. That famous quote "There is no THERE there" was in reference to her childhood home, which had burned down. It didn't have anything to do with oakland itself.
   Glad to see this book - looking forward to reading it.



2. While reading Mr. Reed's words, I was reminded why my husband and I keep choosing Oakland as our home, despite our overburndened and poorly run Oakland Unified School District and long work commutes to San Francisco and beyond. Reed reminds us that this city steeped in natural beauty stands alone as a gem--
   shadowed with distinct architecture, a progressive appreciation of (and engagement with) diversity, and a long and current history of civil rights efforts.

   I enjoyed Reed's references to San Francisco and Berkeley for context, but remind non-native readers that Oakland has its own distinct history and pulse. Oakland exists and thrives and is home to some of the most progressive and creative thinkers, students, artists and teachers I know. Is Oakland a Blues City or a cure from the blues of conformity, planned subdivisions and homogeneous communities? This is a good read, especially if you already find yourself lucky enough to live here.




3. Ishmael Reed's "Blues City" is a lot like Oakland itself: full of promise, but fraught with serious problems. To be sure, Reed is a provocative writer. His resume speaks volumes to his varied literary talents -- poet, novelist, essayist -- and large swaths of the boook reflect these skills. Reed tells it like it is in Oakland and he's surely developed a deep fondness for his adopted hometown. Sadly, though, the book frequently veers off course and morphs into political tirade. In other parts, Reed descends into bitter racism. This, in itself, doesn't make the book a disaster. But it certainly seems that the author taints what could have been a timeless memoir of Oakland with large dollops of political and racist invective. After all, Jerry Brown will some day leave office. But "Blues City" deserves to stay on our shelves for many years to come.



4. This book isn't a concise or in-depth discourse of Oakland history, but it covers enough of the city's past and present to inspire the reader to learn more. I am, for example, quite interested to learn more about the Black Panter movement, but I can't say that I got a clear view about what the movement was and who was involved from "Blues City." Additionally, the book covers some minor recent local events in Oakland, and the book may be a somewhat difficult read for somenone not familiar with the events or people involved.
   
   Reed has a somewhat muddled view of recent change in Oakland. He clearly despises Jerry Brown and his plans to move people downtown, build redevelopment projects, and bring businesses back to the city. However, Reed cherishes redevelopment projects of the 70s and 80s, such as Jack London Square, Preservation Park, and the Old Oakland district. (If you've been to downtown Oakland, you can judge for yourself whether Brown or Reed's vision of the city is correct.) I definitely get the feeling that if you came to the city after 1999, you are not welcomed or liked by Reed. The Oakland of the '60s, '70s, and '80s was Reed's city, and now that it has changed, Reed is clearly bitter about it.
   
   Altogether though, the book is a pleasant short read for anyone interested in Oakland. It is a fantastic place with lots of cultural and racial diversity. Reed celebrates the city's people in "Blues City," and I couldn't agree with him more.



5. Ishmael Reed takes a walking tour of parts of Oakland and attends some cultural events and reports his thoughts, feelings and experiences. The book is scattered, disorganized and Reed (deliberately?) misses entire parts of Oakland. I guess the idea of a table of contents, footnotes, a bibliography, or an index gave Reed the blues. Alas, the unprofessional format and omissions are the least of Reed's worries. Reed demonstrates a disinterest and disrespect for the city I call home.
   
   Reed, a black author and professor, does neither his nor Oakland's reputation any good by turning his celebration of the other city by the bay into a polemical race-baced rant. Indeed, if one were to remove all of the racist and race-based remarks from the double-spaced 190 5X8 pages of text, I doubt there would be 100 pages left. Again and again, Reed turns his attention away from what he likes about Oakland's vibrant cultural scene to indulge in a bitter, paranoid, and (quite frankly) false attack on all things white. Reed is astonishingly touchy as he dwells on perceived slight after perceived slight. By seeing racism everywhere, Reed makes Oakland into the subplot rather than the subject beneath the ceaseless ranting of a sad, deluded, racist little man. That Reed is intelligent, educated and knows better, only makes his remarks that much more regrettable and depressing. I wonder if calling George Will a "white supremacist" is libelous or just spiteful and ignorant.
   
   One can't help but wonder if Reed has lost his mind or lives in a parallel universe when he repeatedly praises Jack London's socialism (capitalism and economic growth bad, wealth redistribution good) and the violent, criminal organization The Black Panthers and its deluded, violent founder Huey P. Newton while incessantly slamming every white person from Joaquin Miller to then Oakland mayor Jerry Brown. Reed dwells on the criminality of Oakland's white founders (long since acknowledged) to the point of distraction. We get it Ishmael: white people are greedy and heartless and any faults on the part of any minorities can be directly attributed to mistreatment by white people. Got it. Thanks Ishmael.
   
   Reed can barely type the name "Jerry Brown" without registering condescension and contempt for then Mayor Brown and his economic revitalization plans for the city. He lays the exodus of the black middle class from Oakland directly at Brown's feet, never mind the fact it started before Brown's tenure and continues after it. Perhaps the middle class black flight has more to do with the deteriorating conditions of Oakland's ghettos (a process started in the 50's) than Brown's assumed hostility toward minorities and the poor. Reed would rather take potshots and score points than fairly address the issue.
   
   Oakland was known throughout America during the 70's and 80's as one of the most incompetently managed cities in America. Since Brown did not become the Mayor until the late 90's, the problems he inherited could not be his fault. By all appearences, Reed made no effort to interview Brown or any other white public official on any level of discourse. Probably wise of him not to. A reasoned response and defense from Brown would have been damning to Reed's polemic and defeat the point of incessantly slamming him. Easier to just attack someone without giving them a chance to respond within the format.
   
   Around the time Reed honestly refers to crack dealers as "outlaw capitalists" and compares them to gold rush miners, I was tempted to stop reading but the book is such a short, fast read, I plowed on to the end. Blues City is a compelling read for all the wrong reasons. Reed thinks he's being provocative but he's really just revealing himself as an ignorant, biased jerk.
   
   When he isn't ranting, Reed does a fairly good job discussing Oakland's fascinating architecture, landmarks, cultural events, musical and artistic heritage and vibrant minority neighborhoods. At several points, he transcribes entire speeches by interviewees from hispanic neighborhoods, Native Americans, Oakland's Chinatown and Oakland black neighborhoods. Ironically, the best parts of the book are when Reed shuts up and lets someone else talk. Hence the two stars. Sadly, in the end, I wish Reed hadn't bothered in the first place. I could have done the same "research" and conveyed it without the diatribe.
   
   Oakland desperately needs positive press and this is not it. Shame on Ishmael Reed.

4 comments about Motorcycling Across Michigan.

1. Great directions and descriptions of places in Michigan I'd never heard of before.



2. This book is a must for any motorcyclist in Michigan. William Murphy details different runs throughout Michigan down to hotels, where to eat, local history, even gives you mile markers for each city. If you are tired of the same local runs, this book highlights the best and scenic roads our state has. Also, In the back he highlights emergency numbers, hotels, bike shops, and many clubs. Thanks William!!!



3. I just received this for Christmas and think it's great. Nice maps and route descriptions, but much more than that also. You get a bit of history along with the route descriptions, and also recommendations for good (i.e. not McD's) restaurants and interesting places, events, and activities along the way.



4. I'm thrilled with this touring book. Not only does it give you routes and mileage, it give you a ton of information you'll need along the route. Fabulous for anyone who wants to ride the roads in this wonderful state. Includes the famous route around Lake Superior that goes through Minnesota, Ontario, the UP of Michigan and Wisconsin. We're doing a week long ride through from Mackinaw up to the Keewanaw Peninsula's Copper Harbor in 2 weeks. I'm so happy I decided to make this purchase before we went. It's got all the country road routes we're interested in riding. I see they have other "Motorcycling Across.( state name)......" books at Amazon, and If we ever travel in those states, I'll be buying them for sure. You wont be disappointed in this tour/guide/map book

No comments about Moon Florida Camping: The Complete Guide to Tent and RV Camping (Moon Outdoors).

3 comments about Ghosts of the Civil War (Harness' Ghost).

1. I read "Ghosts of the Civil War" as I am working my way through Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals," so the idea of being able to go back in time, as it were, to talk to these people when they were alive is appealing to me. Of course, I have been thinking of what could have been said to Abraham Lincoln, George B. McClellan, or anybody else who appears in these books that could have shortened the war and saved hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides. However, in her fascinating book, writer-artist Cheryl Harness sends her young surrogate Lindsey back to the past in the company of Willie Lincoln to find about what the Civil War was really about.
   
   The idea is that Lindsey has been dragged by her parents to a Civil War re-enactment (I have been to couple of those in Illinois and at one of them Abraham Lincoln showed up). Lindsey thinks the whole thing is dumb, that there is nothing civilized about a rotten war, and has no idea why the North fought the South. But then she sees a sad little boy who seems lost. He explains that he was just wondering why future folks were playing out the War of the Rebellion. When Lindsey wonders why people in the United States could be so dumb as to war against each other, the boy explains it was because the states where not united at all, and proceeds to show her. The next thing she knows, Lindsey is watching a beardless Abraham Lincoln giving his "House Divided" speech at the state capitol in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858. Harness provides a two-page spread that show the entire country divided into free states, slave states, and U.S. territories. Off to the side a list of key dates on the road to the Civil War are laid out, while Willie explains to Lindsey how the national was like two different countries, with factories in the North and farms in the South, a distinction emphasized by how Harness illustrates what is happening in each state.
   
   This sets up the basic approach of the book. Each two-spread spread shows a particular scene, from the Lincoln-Douglas debates and the First Battle of Manassas to Pickett's Charge and the Gettysburg Address. The people shown in the pictures make interesting comments (e.g., the old woman at Lincoln's inauguration who saw George Washington sworn-in 72 years earlier at New York and thinks it would break the first president's heart to see his nation breaking apart), while Willie explains key points and Lindsey responses to what she sees and hears. I was wondering why Harness picked Willie to be the guide rather than Tad, seeing as how the former died in 1862 and the latter did not die until 1871. But there is a point where Lindsey knows what is going to happen next and Willie warns her that things cannot be changed no matter how much they might want, and the conceit does off a chance for father and son to be reunited in the afterlife (it might be a bit much, but I can appreciate the sentiment).
   
   The key thing is that at the end Lindsey is able to tell her dad that the Civil War was about a whole lot more than cannons and flags and stuff. The back of the book provides a look at some of the key figures both North and South, paying attention to not only presidents and generals, like Jefferson Davis and Ulysses S. Grant, but also key figures in the slavery issue, such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, and some notable women who were battlefield nurses, spies, and tragic figures. This provides a nice cross section of people with less then half of them being military figures. A two-page map shows the major campaigns and battlefield sets, while another page is devoted to the flags of the two sides, a chart explaining how the soldiers were organized, and some of the key firsts that made the Civil War the First Modern War. Finally, there is a Glossary of key terms from "Abolitionist" to "Zouave," and a short Bibliography and list of Recommended Reading surrounded by a Look Around the World in the Time of the Civil War.
   
   Ultimately, I am not sure that "Ghosts of the Civil War" works as an introductory book for young readers, and that they really need to know a little something about the subject to get the most out of this interesting volume. Harness' goal is to make the people of the Civil War seem a bit more like real people, and to do this by filling the pages completely with artwork and information. If you start from scratch this onslaught of information and images could be a bit much, but once a young student understand the basics of the Civil War this book will expand their knowledge and be a lot more fun to read than a history textbook. Harness has written similar volumes, "Ghosts of the 20th Century" and "Ghosts of the White House," that take the same approach in presenting a wealth of information to her young readers.



2. This picture book for upper elementary has fascinating detailed pictures and printing. The book has a current narrative, which takes the reader into history. The learners may enjoy the fantastic images.



3. My 9yr old loves this book and wants to get another in the series. It has a lot of information in it, but can be difficult to navigate through it as the pages are so busy - both a plus and a minus.
   Great book and we will probably get the Ghosts of the Whitehouse too.

5 comments about The Biggest Boat I Could Afford: Sailing Up the U.S. Coast in a Dinghy.

1. This was a gift for my husband, & he loved it. He had a hard time putting it down, & finished it an a few days.



2. I found this to be a great read. It is a well written, and humorous story with just enough commentary to really see what was going on in the authors head. I highly recommend the book, and although I am a small boat Sailor, I see this as something that would be very entertaining to non-Sailors as well.



3. An interesting yarn, but not much technical or even practical info on solo sailing of small boats. I enjoyed the scathing criticism of the uptight Florida Marina Communities, but would have liked to see more details about his experiences in the Northeast Final leg of the voyage. If you're contemplating a long small boat voyage, don't bother reading this. Given the inexperience and naivite' of the author, it's a miracle he didn't get in more trouble or drown.



4. wish i hadnt bought the book it will end up being donated somewhere. The valuable information is that for beginners they should start with a small boat, preferably a dinghy and learn the craft. The author bought his boat fully equipped for crusing from frank dye whose books are well worth buying.
   Although the writing style is readable, I am convinced that the author really doesnt like sailing or the sea. There is a mechanical approach to getting from a to b and if it means breaking out the credit card or asking for a tow so be it. The final nail in the coffin is the authors cutting short the trip because?



5. It's refreshing to see that books are now being published about dinghy cruising. Throughout his trip Lee was very good at regularly updating the Canadian Wayfarer website about to his exciting trip and I had anticipated a really good book to be the end result. This was not the case though as I found his book to be of little merit from a "sailor's point of view" and falters to nothing more than a glorified log-book by a rookie sailor who quite frankly is lucky his inexperience on such an ambitious trip didn't kill him.
   
   This book is defintely NOT to be used as a reference guide for dinghy cruisers.

2 comments about Guide to the Magic of Walt Disney World Journal.

1. All catered toward a trip to Disney, with spots for what you did, what you ate, what characters you saw, etc. Expected it to be a little more colorful, though.



2. Our family likes to keep journals whenever we go to Disney, but this is the first journal we've found that lives up to the magic. It's filled with all kinds of things to fill out, including where we went, what we saw, what we had to eat, etc. We really liked the sections that asked what our favorite moments of the day were, we found that when we looked back on the day to think of our favorite moments that we were able to relive the magic all over again! The fact that there is so much to fill out is great, that way you won't forget a thing. Highly recommended!!

5 comments about The Call of the Weird: Travels in American Subcultures.

1. Perhaps I would have enjoyed this book more had I not read another similar, more comprehensive, and better book just a few months ago. If you like this book, or if you are considering this book, I strongly recommend you take a look at Them, by Jon Ronson in addition/instead. It's much better and covers a wider variety of extremists.



2. Louis Theroux is an Oxford graduate and former writer for the satirical magazine "Spy" and for Michael Moore's award-winning "TV Nation," as well as a former host of the BBC series "Weird Weekends" and son of American travel writer and novelist, Paul Theroux. The Call of the Weird is his first book, and it is a superlative work of journalistic effort.
   
   Ten years after hosting a BBC series on weird American subcultures, Theroux decided to follow up on and write a book about his interviewees.
   
   These are people most of us would want to avoid: Thor Templar, Lord Commander of the Earth Protectorate, who claims to have killed ten aliens (of the extraterrestrial rather than undocumented Latin American variety); April Gaede, a neo-Nazi mother bringing up twin daughters Lamb and Lynx, who form the "White Power" folk group Prussian Blue; Marshall Sylver, get-rich-quick guru, life coach and indicted fraudster; Oscody, nostalgic survivor of the suicidal Heaven's Gate cult and Jerry Gruidl, self-nominated fuhrer of the violently racist Aryan Nations organization - dreamers, schemers and outlaws all.
   
   Theroux attempts to discover what motivates people to believe outrageous things, what it means to be weird and to be oneself, and whether Americans have a peculiar propensity to believe in the unbelievable.
   
   Theroux's subjects include UFO enthusiasts, porn stars, white supremacists, brothel prostitutes, gangsta rappers, and, strangely, Ike Turner. Theroux gravitates to them because he believes - and attempts to document - their use of weirdness to feel "alive," and that's "more important than telling the truth."
   
   Theroux is pointedly (and poignantly) asked by one contact, "Have you ever argued with a member of the Flat Earth Society? ... it's completely futile, because fundamentally they don't care if something is true or false. To them, the measure of truth is how important it makes them feel. If telling the truth makes them feel important, then it's true. If telling the truth makes them feel ashamed and small, then it's false."
   
   Theroux's writing is clean, clear and tight and his interviewing style is wonderfuly textured and illustrative, bringing his subjects to life, keeping local dialects and cultural or socio-economic related slang in place to vivid effect.
   
   "Call of the Weird" is a wonderful psycho-social travel essay, a "Passport to Adventure" that allows us a peek at what's happening at the margins of civil society out between and beyond the boundaries of the inappropriate, the bizarre, the macabre and the truly grotesque.



3. He seems to write just like he makes documentaries. With that silly, selfconscious undertone and his ability to love people who are obviously not lovable. The book reads like a train.



4. Wonderful book! Though it is a good read on it's own, I'd recommend watching the t.v. episodes of Louis Theroux documentaries on google video before reading the book.



5. This book is little more than a rehash of a film produced by the author some 10 years earlier, as a BBC documentary. The people revisited by the author are more sad than weird, and it became apparent that the author has been unable to move beyond what he views as his "great" triumph. The only thing weird that called to me, was the Bush Bashing that he manages to work into every storyline in an odd and forced fashion. My advice is to wait for this book at your nearest garage sale for 50 cents...