American Made: When FDR Put the Nation to War by Nick Taylor features a remarkable social worker and bureaucratic genius, Harry Hopkins, who headed the largest employment enterprise spearheaded by any government in modern history–the Works Project Administration (WPA). It was the most outstanding of the alphabet soup of agencies begun by the Roosevelt administration during the depression to relieve human misery. By discussing real people to illustrate each aspect of the WPA (theater arts, music, archeology, geology, public works, etc), the author presents an interesting and inclusive exploration of each aspect of the US government’s outreach. Very readable. (Softcover, $15.00). Customer recommendation by Martha.

THE GATHERING STORM by Robert Jordan is the 12th in a series, “The Wheel of Time” that I began reading about 15 years ago, following the recommendation of a KU student. It’s pure fantasy, taking you into a world that speaks of strange, frightening creatures, as well as telepathic abilities. The fate of the world rests in the hands of Ran, raised in a small town and discovered to be the “Dragon Reborn”, destined to fight the corruption causing the death of the planet.

The author, Robert Jordan, died about 2 years ago, leaving his followers anxious about the fate of this series. His widow found Brandon Sanderson to write THE GATHERING STORM, and he has done a superb job of continuing the series in Jordan’s original voice. (Hardcover, $29.99). Recommended by Julie.

Part travel book, part cultural critique, and part ode to the bicycle, David Byrne’s BICYCLE DIARIES is simply a pleasure to read. Singer, writer, filmmaker and renaissance man Byrne recounts equally joyous and harrowing experiences astraddle his bicycle, his vehicle of choice. David Byrne is how occasionally irreverent Christian writer Anne Lamott imagines God. If this is how God writes and lives, I’m a follower. (Hardcover, $25.95). Recommended by Kelly.

Though most of you have probably already seen the movie, Julia Child’s memoir MY LIFE IN FRANCE is well worth the read. It yields insights into the legend that can’t be captured on film. For instance, you wouldn’t know it from Streep’s bold portrayal that for the lion’s share of her life, Child lacked confidence and felt sad and frustrated that for years she had been sheltered from the larger world that France and her husband opened up to her. Also, her detailed, sumptuous descriptions and spot-on recall of long-past favorite meals are astounding. Don’t read this book hungry. (Softcover, $15.00). Recommended by Kelly.

November 10 Tuesday 7PM
@ THE RAVEN
Larry Baker
Reads from his new book
A GOOD MAN

Larry Baker’s A GOOD MAN updates the world of Flannery O’Connor’s characters through the Bush years and into the age of Obama. Fans of O’Connor’s fiction will be intrigued by Baker’s imaginative reunion, in the home of the fountain of youth, of Bevel Summers with a very grown-up Harry from O’Connor’s “The River.” Without imitating O’Connor, Baker does serious honor to her legacy.—Marshall Bruce Gentry, Editor, Flannery O’Connor Review, Georgia College & State University

In Harry Ducharme, the hero of A GOOD MAN, Larry Baker has created a main character as memorable and complex as John Updike’s Rabbit Angstrom or Richard Ford’s Frank Bascombe. Not since Robert Stone’s A Hall of Mirrors have we been this privy to the troubled soul of a disc jockey. Fans of Baker’s previous novels won’t be disappointed while readers new to his work will be bowled over.

—John McNally, author of Ghosts of Chicago and The Book of Ralph

Larry Baker is the author of The Flamingo Rising which was adapted by Hallmark for a television movie. He currently resides in Iowa City, Iowa. Read more about Larry Baker.