Search

Search only in certain items:

"This is another terrific piece of journalism written years ago about an even earlier time. It’s a portrait of the city of Boston during the racial strife of the ‘60’s and ‘70s. Lucas tracks the lives of three families — African-American, Irish, and upwardly mobile Yankee — to bring the struggles of that era back to life."

Source
  
The Collected Works of Billy the Kid
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is a unique hybrid of poetry and prose, mixed with both historical fact and fiction based on the true life story of the famous American outlaw William Bonney, who was better known as "Billy the Kid". You can read my full review here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2014/11/15/so-fascinating-it-should-be-outlawed/
  
Gimme Shelter (2014)
Gimme Shelter (2014)
2014 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Another one of my five favorite films would be Gimme Shelter, by the Maysles brothers. I spent many years making documentary films between my first film and my second film, Blue Valentine, and I learned to really embrace, and be humbled by life, and by telling a story where you’re telling someone else’s story. And there’s something about the Maysles brothers, and especially that movie, where they were able to witness these moments. Especially with Gimme Shelter, you know, these moments of American history — this concert at Altamont that turned into kind of the bad trip of Woodstock. And I love how they frame it with the band, the Stones, watching the footage, watching their memories; this document, this witness to this incredible time in American life — and this crime, this real crime in America. Also, for nothing else than the moment where Mick Jagger has to watch Tina Turner. Again, like watching the Scorsese movie — and the Pasolini movie — their use of music, you know, is to watch a real rock and roll movie in the theater, with that sound. It’s great."

Source
  
A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1960)
A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1960)
1960 | Crime, Drama
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Breathless is a film very much about passion and life lived solely by the fuel of passion, which is very French. I like the pacing of it, and I like that the lead actress is an American speaking French. It was nice to hear a character speaking French who still has an American accent. Generally it’s an American actor trying to do a French accent as though they were a French person speaking English, which is ridiculous. So it was kind of nice to see and hear this terrible French accent, which is only because she’s not a native speaker. The remaster is stunning—it looks so good on Blu-ray. It looks almost like it’s a modern film."

Source
  
AA
Across a War-Tossed Sea
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book talks about thing on the WWII. Though it mostly though the eyes of two children that are British. You hear their account about how WWII started. You getting from two children that were sent to America to escape the war that Germany and Great Britain.


You read about what the Nazi are doing and POW's and war effort and the allies. You also see what it like for British children learning to fit into the American life style and how to learn to make friends. You also learn about American Americans they used the word "Negro". You learn what life is like in 1940's and segregation's and things that were going on back then.
  
I was sent [Americanisation] by the author [Angus Woodward] since I had read and reviewed another book of his. This one was much different but just as good. I loved the tone of snarkiness that the author uses to portray "typical" American life from the eyes of a new immigrant. Sadly I don't think it was far from the truth.
  
I found this to be an interesting and balance biography of Walt Disney. The author played media critic a bit too much, which bothered me, but in the end I walked away with a clearer picture of a true American success story.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-animated-man-life-of-walt.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders
Tessa Arlen | 2019 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Strangler in the Village
Poppy Redfern is the new air-raid warden for her village in England in 1942. This has become an important job since an American Air Force base as recently moved into the area. Some of the young women have started dating Americans, but when two of them turn up dead, it sets up a divide in the village. Even though an American has been arrested for the murders, Poppy doesn’t think he is guilty. She sets out with one of the American pilots to figure out what really happened. But has she just made herself a target?

I’ve been trying to read more historical mysteries this year, and this one was already sitting on my shelf. The author clearly did her research as the details of life at the time came to life. Unfortunately, they tended to overshadow the plot, so the pacing was uneven. Poppy was an interesting main character, and I can easily see her growing as the series continues, but much of the rest of the cast never really came alive for me. While the book wasn’t bad, it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be.
  
American Stranger: A Novel
American Stranger: A Novel
David Plante | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
American Stranger was timeless and beautifully written. The main character, Nancy Green, is the daughter of Holocaust survivors and it followers her struggle to navigate in American life and to find her own identity. I loved the rich culture and backgrounds of those Green encounters and the internal conflict she tries to overcome. The plot was consistent and evenly paced, but I think I would have wanted more action or more active participation from Green, at least. As a main character, I loved her flaws and her sentimentality. I loved the psychology behind it all, but felt life was happening to her - as if she were a leaf to the wind.

That aside, however, I really liked this book and would definitely recommend it.
  
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Jesmyn Ward | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
While it is excellent work, this is not really an entertainment read. Ward lays out so much in story far more powerfully than any essay on American race relations, trauma, privilege, and rural southern life ever could. It was chilling, moving, eyeopening for me. I definitely want to read Ward's other books.

The audiobook is very well done as well, read by a talented cast.