The first reading of To Belém & Back west of the Mississippi was a success, with over 20 people attending. My black Lab Zeno stole the show, of course, and the 20′ video “Tiradentes2Belém” was well received. The author wishes to thank all his dear old (and new) friends who attended, […]
“An insightful and poignant account… As in the very best travelogues, the author seamlessly combines the personal, the political, and the cultural…[along with] the philosophical, via thought-provoking reflections…” See the full review at Publishers Weekly booklife page; and, if you’re fast, see the book’s positioning in their weekly reviews here. […]
You’re invited to a reading & discussion of To Belém & Back at one of Miami’s top museums, the Wolfsonian, on Friday, March 4th, 7pm. The Wolf Book Club, on the heels of the museum’s tropical Philodendron show, selected my Brazilian adventure for this month’s selection, as announced here. Free […]
The final large event of 2015, To Belém & Back’s Mineiro launch, with the film debut and photo exhibit that attended it, is drawing to a close. Last week’s re-screening of “Tiradentes2Belém” was a wonderful way to wind things down, as 43 people attended, with many good questions and kind […]
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin My rating: 1 of 5 stars Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species” promises a lot. A back cover blurb says, “Next to the Bible no work has been quite as influential….” I’m not a scientist, but with a build up like that I […]
The last big event of the year was a delight. I’ve been working on it since February, and it turned out to be a great way to finish up a full year of book-related events, eleven all told. This one returned To Belém & Back to its roots, in the […]
You are cordially invited to a photo exhibit opening, a book launch and signing, and a short film debut with a Q & A afterwards. Or: quite a night. (Para a convite em português, favor olhar em baixo o gráfico da convite imprimida.) The photo exhibit, named Tiradentes: Becos e […]
The Cloud Forest: A Chronicle of the South American Wilderness by Peter Matthiessen My rating: 2 of 5 stars The Cloud Forest is a classic of its genre, perhaps undeservedly so. A young Peter Matthiessen, after a few books of fiction, his first divorce, and one wildlife book, sets […]
I love roadside attractions built by roadside people. Usually it is an obsession, fueled by many years of patient work, to built these temples to quirkiness. Shangri-La Stone Village, in Prospect Hill, NC, is one such place. The retired tobacco farmer Henry L. Warren began his quest in 1968, using […]
Continuing the U.S. launch of To Belém & Back, there were three book events in mid-September on the Upper East Coast: a book club reading in Winchester, MA, followed by an open book launch event in Brookline, MA, followed by one in New York’s West Village. Among the innovations for […]
The US launch of To Belém & Back in Coral Gables last month was great fun. Apparently 62 people attended and, thanks to generous sponsors, we were able to give away 50 books for free. I am deeply honored that over 30 friends came by. After introductions – first by […]
You’re invited to the US launch of “To Belém & Back: Backroads Brazil with my Black Lab” during a gala event at the Coral Gables Museum on June 15th, including a photo exhibit of images from the journey, a reading, Q&A, and reception. Please register via the AS/COA site here. ———————————————————
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner My rating: 5 of 5 stars As I suggested the book to my book club, the least I could do was to moderate the discussion. Faulkner, as everyone knows, is a challenge. When I told my step-mother, she joked that if she went […]
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford My rating: 1 of 5 stars This book is vastly overrated. It pioneered, if that is the right word, the untrustworthy narrator, which may have seemed an innovation a century ago, but now looks worn, disconsolate, like a ramshackle back alley. It also […]
Updike by Adam Begley My rating: 4 of 5 stars Let me say upfront: I’m not usually a fan of biographies. They always end badly. Especially in today’s morally unanchored world, the towering ambition of most lives worthy of a biography leaves a path of destruction on the way to […]
The Sant’Ana Museum opened last September in Tiradentes, in our old colonial prison. Saint Anne is believed to be Mary’s mother, or Christ’s grandmother, and entered the Roman Catholic liturgy in the 12th c. Brought to Brazil by the Portuguese, the mythology around Sant’Ana flourished in the verdant tropics, where […]
To escape the I-95 corridor, more and more often I go inland and travel along the East Coast’s long inland range. What beauties, both natural and man-made, to encounter! Recently I revisited the Blue Ridge Parkway (speed limit 45mph) and the Skyline Drive (speed limit 35mph), far more enticing drives […]
Between the first climb to the Skyline Drive and the intersection with the amazing transcontinental US-50, can be found this pre-historic and engrossing tourist trap, along US-340 near White Post, where I have stopped in wonder over the years. The extensive knick-knack shop has a good selection of US flags, […]
Right off the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Roanoke, VA, can be found a mini-wonder also called Elvis City, a back- and front yard extravaganza built by the deceased Don Epperly. His son Mike has taken up the mantle, though upkeep conditions, like the legend, appear to be long in the […]
During the month I’m launching my new book, Borderlands USA, about a journey motivated by Sept. 11th, it seemed appropriate to visit NYC and see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum for the first time. It was moving, beautifully done outside and in. Here’s an overview, which starts outside and descends […]
