Long and involved autobiography by the very influential French Enlightenment figure. Paul Johnson's evaluation of the man is on target in his book Intellectuals: How could anyone have ever taken him seriously? He certainly could write well, and had some original and unorthodox ideas, but they really don't ultimately make sense and the man himself was vain, paranoid and childish.
It's a testament to the gullibility of modern man that this man had the influence he did.
A neighborhood thriller along the lines of Big Little Lies. Pretty good.
Re-read of an all-time classic, and one of those books that is a companion book with which you dialog over a lifetime. Every time I read it, I come away with new insights, and also perhaps new places where I would disagree or at least qualify the ideas of Bloom.
Tom Wolfe takes on the Theory of Evolution and specifically the evolution of language with his usual engaging style and human insight. I quick and excellent read.
I read this back in 2023 and just reread it. It's an excellent, short book about the philosophical roots of our current "madness." This is a book I will reread every few years.
I've been hoping Gruley would write some more fiction. I enjoyed his Starvation Lake series that I read more than 10 years ago. This novel is a good story about a former hockey player accused of murder.
Another good "popcorn" book by Donlea. Donlea loves the time-shift plot, where events in the past interact with contemporary events to drive the plot. In this one, a woman who was under indictment for murder dies (supposedly) in the twin towers on 9/11. Twenty years later, her story becomes enmeshed with that of a TV true crime reporter whose father also happens to be a much wanted white collar criminal. An easy and fun read.
