Big, Hot, Cheap, and Right
by Erica Grieder (PublicAffairs, $27)
Discussion of the Lone Star State too often devolves into ridicule or blind praise, said Bryan Burrough in The New York Times. Journalist Erica Grieder’s “refreshing” book ignores blowhards on both sides as it seeks to explain how the state became an economic powerhouse. Grieder credits above all a resolutely independent people who, contrary to stereotype, tend to be tolerant and results-oriented. Alas, “it’s probably a lot easier to understand the successes of Texas than it would be to duplicate them.”
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Rhapsody in Black
by John Kruth (Backbeat, $28)
When John Kruth compares Roy Orbison to Job, “he is not stretching too far to make a point,” said Jim Higgins in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Tragedies including the untimely deaths of a wife and two sons plagued the Texas singer’s life even as his operatic trill was making a lasting imprint on pop. Kruth, a recording artist himself, proves to be “the rare musician who writes well about music for a popular audience.” His portrait of Orbison is both clear-eyed and sympathetic.
The Eye of the Mammoth
by Stephen Harrigan (Univ. of Texas, $30)
Stephen Harrigan “really scoots around,” said Jane Sumner in The Dallas Morning News. This book of 32 essays takes the novelist and Texas Monthly contributor as far afield as Monte Carlo and Alaska. Yet Harrigan writes best about his home state. Among the gems here: a “haunting” description of touring Texas’s fossil sites and an ode to a Texas dawn that’s “so heartwarming, so sparkling and deep, you can feel the sun’s rays spread like liquid gold across the state.”
The Prophets of Smoked Meat
by Daniel Vaughn (Ecco, $30)
“Texans take being Texan seriously, and there is nothing more Texan than barbecue,” said Travis Waddington in The Wall Street Journal. No one knows this better than food journalist Daniel Vaughn, who here chronicles a 10,343-mile journey he made to visit 186 of the state’s barbecue joints. Not all were up to snuff: “Some of Vaughn’s most evocative writing occurs in the negative reviews.” But when he finds and describes a winner in mouth-watering detail, “it’s hard not to drop everything and hit the road.”
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Weapons: Julia Garner stars in 'hyper-eerie' psychological thrillerThe Week Recommends Zach Cregger's 'top notch' new film opens with 17 children disappearing at exactly the same time
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Freakier Friday: Lohan and Curtis reunite for 'uneven' but 'endearing' sequelThe Week Recommends Mother-and-daughter comedy returns with four characters switching bodies
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Al fresco art: the UK's best sculpture parksThe Week Recommends Soak up the scenery with a stroll through these open-air galleries
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Also of interest...in picture books for grown-upsfeature How About Never—Is Never Good for You?; The Undertaking of Lily Chen; Meanwhile, in San Francisco; The Portlandia Activity Book
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Author of the week: Karen Russell
feature Karen Russell could use a rest.
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The Double Life of Paul de Man by Evelyn Barish
feature Evelyn Barish “has an amazing tale to tell” about the Belgian-born intellectual who enthralled a generation of students and academic colleagues.
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Book of the week: Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis
feature Michael Lewis's description of how high-frequency traders use lightning-fast computers to their advantage is “guaranteed to make blood boil.”
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Also of interest...in creative rebellion
feature A Man Called Destruction; Rebel Music; American Fun; The Scarlet Sisters
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Author of the week: Susanna Kaysen
feature For a famous memoirist, Susanna Kaysen is highly ambivalent about sharing details about her life.
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You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood’s Golden Age by Robert Wagner
feature Robert Wagner “seems to have known anybody who was anybody in Hollywood.”
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Book of the week: Astoria: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire by Peter Stark
feature The tale of Astoria’s rise and fall turns out to be “as exciting as anything in American history.”