"This journalistic documentary of sharecroppers in depression-era Alabama has a polarizing effect on readers: is this a deadpan just-the facts-ma’am account of the lives of these families, or a voyeuristic, dehumanizing invasion? To me it’s arresting, highly emotional, and brilliant."

"Denounced as tabloid trash when first published, this 1981 bio is anything but. Goldman has a brilliant eye for detail and larger-than-what-you-see analysis. And the descriptions of the way this hillbilly lived are just laugh-out-loud funny."

"Well, I mean, come on. This is a masterpiece. I don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said by many people way smarter than me, but it set a very high bar for brilliant satire, acting, cinematography, production design, everything."

"Spinal Tap — I think you could make an easy argument that that’s the funniest movie ever. It’s just top to bottom quotable and brilliant, and I guess improvised? I’m curious to know how much of it was improvised. But it’s a tremendous movie."

"The way that Gillo Pontecorvo makes his political points without resorting to propaganda—while always being truthful to the characters—is utterly brilliant. It’s a true-life thriller that doesn’t resort to a single cliché. The music is also unequaled in film."

"Set in the post-Civil War era, I was hooked from the first page on this tale of loss, and ultimately hope. The character development was incredible, and the story was inspiring. It’s a brilliant follow-up to Before We Were Yours."