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A terrific international review of cities becoming more cycling friendly; this book may have changed my life. There were several key insights for me: 1) Requiring helmets significantly reduces usage of bikes; people are robbed of the terrific health benefits of biking if usage is reduced; and helmet may or may not help most folks […]
Grann brings to life a period of American history about which I knew nothing: the 1920s oil boom in Osage County, Oklahoma and the murders of wealthy Osage Indians. The book reads almost like a suspense novel as Grann tells the story of how prejudice and greed on the part of whites led them to […]
If you’re planning a trip to Paris, you might enjoy this entertaining description of what life is like living in France’s capital city. This is neither a travelogue nor travel guide but Lebowitz, a pastry chef who once worked at Chez Panisse, provides plenty of useful information for those planning a visit. While Lebowitz agrees […]
The Folded Clock is a diary of sorts, but not one that follows standard chronology. Like memory itself it jumps around in time but with so much wit and insight that it makes no difference. The experience of reading it is like peering into the mind of a funny, insightful, honest friend who shares her […]
This gripping memoir tells the tale of a young Canadian woman, a budding journalist, who was kidnapped and held for ransom by Muslim insurgents in Somalia in 2008. It’s a harrowing story of survival that had me biting my fingernails as she and her photographer friend escaped but were recaptured; as they strove to survive […]
Ito and coauthor Jeff Howe use stories of recent scientific and technological developments to demonstrate nine principles that they see driving innovation now and into the future — principles like “emergent systems” dominating over those with authoritarian rule-making, and “compasses” being better guides than maps. The principles are clear and well-illustrated, drawn largely from examples they’ve encountered […]
Funny, witty and at times shocking, TROUBLEMAKER: SURVIVING HOLLYWOOD AND SCIENTOLOGY is part life story, part stunning expose on the inner workings of Scientology. Remini tells of her childhood in Brooklyn, her parent’s divorce, and her transition from Roman Catholicism to Scientology at the age of nine. When she was thirteen, she and her family […]
You already know much of what Kolbert presents here. Life is both tenacious and tenuous. At least five times in the last half-billion years much of Earth’s life has been wiped out by a change in global conditions, the most recent probably caused by an asteroid impact during the Late Cretaceous epoch. Die-offs cascade as […]
I knew I was not the only one who loves serial killers…and this book proves it. Detailing the collections of 17 individuals, this book gives you a peek into the macabre. From shrunken heads and mummified hands to John Wayne Gacy Clown paintings and a hangman’s noose, these collectors don’t shy away from what makes […]
Here at the EPL Reader’s Services desk, a good day might include cheerful exchanges with patrons buoyed by a Cubs victory. A very good day requires only a visit from Joe Epstein. When Mr. Epstein approaches the desk, you’re in for an amusing story or three. The humor is wry, the manner puckish, the delivery […]
