Jamie Todd Rubin

A hodge-podge of never-before-collected pieces

Revisado: 11-14-18

The Patch is a deliberate hodge-podge of pieces never before collected in book form. The book is divided into two parts, the first centered around sports, and the second a patchwork of writing over the decades. What I loved about the book is the diversity of pieces contained within. From fishing for pickerel, to the best techniques for finding golf balls on or near golf courses; from bears roaming New Jersey to a profile of Cary Grant. There is a little of everything here.

#Clever #Witty

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An inside look at the demands of the Presidency

Revisado: 08-06-18

Carter's WHITE HOUSE DIARY pulls back the curtain on the day-to-day activities of the President in a way that I have not seen in other presidential memoirs. It is an honest assessment of the daily successes and failures, as well as the very human frustrations and frills of the job. The book contains chronological excerpts from Carter's diary. What I liked most about the book was that Carter (in his voice) provided a modern (c.a. 2010) analysis of many of the entries, casting them in a historical light, admitting mistakes, celebrating successes, making this a kind of annotated diary.

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The memoir of a seasoned writer, traveler, and spy

Revisado: 11-18-16

I’d never read anything by Le Carré, a.k.a. David John Moore Cornwell before. I’d seen the movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but beyond that I knew nothing of Le Carré. The description of this memoir caught my attention, and that, plus the fact that Le Carré himself narrated the audiobook version convinced me to give it a try. I’m glad I did.

The book reads like a dinner conversation with the author. He spins stories of his life that are fascinating, regardless of the subject. And the subjects vary widely, from his days working in MI6, to meetings with famous world leaders, and celebrities, to his search for understanding his father’s behaviors. Some of the stories are laugh-out-loud funny, but all of them were interesting. It was also interesting how Le Carré often tied the stories he told to the novels he wrote, or the characters in the novels he wrote.

In many ways, The Pigeon Tunnel reminded me of a British version of James Michener’s Tales From the South Pacific, the stories taking place Europe, Asia, the Mideast, and Africa, instead of the South Pacific. But the flavor of the stories had a similar feel.

That Le Carré narrated the book himself lent it an authority and authenticity that made the book all the more enjoyable. I was surprised and delighted by this one.

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