The-Marriage-Go-Roundby Andrew J. Cherlin
Why do Americans jump in and out of relationships more than the rest of the world?
As the battle over same-sex marriage rages on in the U.S., some gays in Europe are asking why they would want to buy into an archaic, oppressive institution in the first place. In this new book, Andrew Cherlin, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University, writes that gay marriage is such a heated topic in America because marriage is still a prestigious and important institution. Couple that priority with the importance placed on individualism and you have the highest divorce rate in the world and a “marriage-go-round” of partners. Cherlin examines how that conflict plays out throughout people’s lives, with an emphasis on the effect it has on children as well. “We step on and off the carousel of marriages and partnerships faster than anywhere else,” Cherlin said in an author interview.
Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nationby Daniel Gross
Slate’s wry financial columnist blames the economic crisis on “smart money.”
Slate’s “Moneybox” columnist opens his new book with a chapter entitled, “WTF?” He then proceeds to sift through the economic mess and clearly lays it all out in 100 pages. The paperback edition is being released this week, but was originally published as an e-book in February. That same month, Gross summed up the central theme of his book in his Newsweek column: “Skeezy money managers and mobbed-up boiler rooms didn't create the economic catastrophe. It was visited on us by firms in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500—companies that trace their origins back to the 1800s, run by graduates of Yale and Harvard. The people who blew up the system weren't anarchists. They were members of the club: central bankers and private-equity honchos, hedge-fund geniuses and Ph.D. economists, CEOs and investment bankers.”
Everything Hurtsby Bill Scheft
A Letterman writer’s painfully funny novel of about a fake self-help guru.
In his third novel, Bill Scheft, the Emmy-nominated comedy writer for David Letterman, creates an anxious character who writes a fake self-help book, Where Can I Stow My Baggage, which becomes wildly popular. His main concern, however, is a chronic pain in his leg that leads him down a neurotic path of self-discovery. While the novel itself has been acclaimed by one of the kings of neurotic comedy, Larry David, Scheft’s blog about media coverage of the book is an homage to humor that makes you squirm—with posts titled, “Still waiting to get the word on whether or not there will be a review in tomorrow’s New York Times.”
Michelle Obama in Her Own Words: The Views and Values of America’s First Ladyby Michelle Obama and Lisa Rogak
The collected wisdom of America’s First Lady—so far.
The editor of In His Own Words: Colin Powell and Howard Dean In His Own Words has turned her attention to the insta-icon first lady. From affirmative action to the fashion sense that has earned Michelle Obama worldwide attention, this small book is a collection of her quotes from speeches, newspapers, and T.V. interviews. Some of them even go back to her past life as a corporate executive. Here’s an interesting one from the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004, “Sometimes politics is a waste of time.”
Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seasby John S. Burnett
A first-hand account of being captured by pirates off Borneo.
The days of one-eyed pirates with parrots on their shoulders are long gone, as the hijacking of yet another ship off the coast of Somalia last week proved. While most books are about swashbuckling in the days of yore, this one is a first-hand account of modern piracy. John Burnett, an author and former relief worker to Somalia, was hijacked while sailing near the coast of Borneo in 1992. Luckily, he did not have much more than a cup of coffee to steal and was quickly released. Still, the experience peaked his curiosity and he began to research modern piracy by hopping on a couple of British carriers as research for Dangerous Waters. Read an excerpt here.
