Non-Fiction

Cheerful Money: Me, My Family and the Last Days of Wasp Splendor by Tad Friend.  "The author writes for the New Yorker. He's hilarious and brilliant.  From an old eastern WASP family with all the attendant history and idiosyncracies.  I elected NOT to keep track of the genealogy and just went for the ride and enjoyed the stories.  Oh, one thing ... he was in therapy for WAAAAAAAY too many years, and you get to feeling like he was kind of ripped off by his analyst (New York ... sigh) but it probbaly helped him with the narrative for the book, so that's good."

Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in Its Darkest, Finest Hourby Lynn Olson.  “The behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its wartime alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: Edward R. Murrow, the handsome, chain-smoking head of CBS News in Europe; Averell Harriman, the hard-driving millionaire who ran FDR’s Lend-Lease program in London; and John Gilbert Winant, the shy, idealistic U.S. ambassador to Britain. Each man formed close ties with Winston Churchill—so much so that all became romantically involved with members of the prime minister’s family. Drawing from a variety of primary sources, Lynne Olson skillfully depicts the dramatic personal journeys of these men who, determined to save Britain from Hitler, helped convince a cautious Franklin Roosevelt and reluctant American public to back the British at a critical time.”

The City of Falling Angels By John Berendt. He’s the author ofMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. This book traces the events surrounding the fire which destroyed an opera house in Venice. Some have told me that this was not as gripping as “midnight,” but the Amazon reviews were pretty good.

Clapton: The Autobiography "With striking intimacy and candor, Eric Clapton tells the story of his eventful and inspiring life in this poignant and honest autobiography. Clapton is the powerfully written story of a survivor, a man who has achieved the pinnacle of success despite extraordinary demons. It is one of the most compelling memoirs of our time."

Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady by Derek Blasberg "Gave to my college daughters - great advice books for girls."

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller.  “A continuation of her memoirDon't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, 'Cocktail Hour' shares more hilarious and sad stories of her larger that life mother.  Nicola Fuller and her husband were British colonialists who endured the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, the Rhodesian War, and losing three out of five children. Through all of this, she still found it important to take along her orange Le Creuset cookware as she reestablished the next homestead. Reminescent of Out of Africa and West with the Night. Nicola is still alive and well and living in Africa.”

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother By James McBride.

Columbine by Dave Cullen. "Wow! This book hooks you from page one and never lets go. The Columbine massacre is a fascinating story to start with but Dave Cullen does a fantastic job of putting you in the school on that horrible day and into the minds of the killers, the victims, and the town. It would be easy to write a sensational account of such an infamous day in history but this book does not read like sleazy tabloid reporting. Cullen is thoughtful and empathetic but also painfully honest about debunking some of the myths around the killers and even the victims. I could understand why someone may not feel up to tackling a book on this subject matter but if you are remotely interested in reading a book on Columbine I would highly recommend Cullen's."

Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels by Jill Jonnes.  “Modern Manhattan is a miracle in many ways, but all of its imports, commuters included, must traverse at least one river to get there. In 1900, the New York Central, owned by the Vanderbilts, already gave Manhattan a northern connection over the narrow Harlem River. A southern connection over the mile-wide Hudson would be a whole different story. Alexander Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, was the visionary on the project. But how to do it? A bridge plan fell through due to expense; a tunnel would lack the oxygen needed for steam engines. The breakthrough lay in the cutting-edge electrified locomotives developed in Paris. This is a vivid story of hardball Tammany Hall maneuvering and mind-boggling engineering. Once construction began, the two-track narrative settles on the daunting construction of the tunnels and Charles McKim's much-admired design of the terminus at Pennsylvania Station, prized by New Yorkers only after its ill-considered demise in 1963.”  (Barnard Book Club)

Conversations with Kennedy by Ben Bradlee "Ben Bradlee, who was then the White House correspondent for Newsweek, and his first wife and their young kids lived around the corner in Georgetown from Senator Jack Kennedy and his wife and young kids. Then Kennedy won the presidency. The two couples hung out a lot -- many private dinners at the WH just the four of them, often after the switchboard would call the Bradlees at 6 p.m. and ask if they’d be able to come over for a quick dinner. Bradlee kept a diary of every conversation he had with the president, with the promise that it wouldn’t be published until after he’d been out of office for many years. Some of the conversations were pretty unbelievable. The tension builds as the dates of the diary entries progress until November of 1963. Riveting. Plus, you can’t help but think: what would it be like if your friend got elected president?"