As a history buff and an daily visitor of the Onion’s A.V. Club website, I was very excited to hear that a contributor to the A.V. Club had written a book about former president William Howard Taft traveling through time to participate in the 2012 election.   Sadly, I felt this book was a big letdown.  The characters all seem rather flat (ironic – since Taft was our heaviest president), there’s no interesting conflict in the book (Taft leads a boring campaign against processed food), and the humor is typical time-travel fare (Taft loves “the Google” and is amazed that we can play golf on a videogame console).  References to facts and actual events from Taft’s life are shoehorned in every now and then.   I guess my expectations were set too high…

Rating: 2 out of 5 

A short and highly readable biography of William Henry Harrison, the man who was president for only 31 days before he succumbed to pneumonia.  Unlike some of the other books the American Presidents series, the author here does not feel the need to pass judgment on Harrison (the entries on Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Richard Nixon are all tainted by the fact that the authors clearly don’t like or respect their subjects).  

Rating: 4 out of 5

Full Disclosure: I’ve never read Moby Dick.  With that out of the way, I feel that a familiarity with the book by Herman Melville isn’t necessary to enjoy this.  As the title says, this book made up of one drawing for every page of Moby Dick.  Kish includes excerpts from each page he is drawing, which is helpful to people like me who haven’t read the original.  Some of the drawings are literal interpretations of the text, while many are more stylized and abstract.  This is an art book, and it really comes down to whether you enjoy Kish’s artwork or not.  I enjoyed it, and will recommend it.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This is a very good book about the legendary session musicians that performed (often unaccredited) on many of the classic hits of the 60s.  The Crew, featuring notable musicians like Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, and future superstar Glen Campbell, were the go-to musicians for pop power players like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson.   Also included are behind-the-scenes stories of the making of songs like “Strangers in the Night,” “Classical Gas,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” and many more.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This book gives insight into the lives and accomplishments of losers from all the presidential elections in the history of our country.  The author offers extensive profiles on twelve of these men, while the rest are relegated to two pages each in the appendix.  Recommended for anyone that is into presidential history.

Rating: 4 out of 5

This was perfect for me.  I’m a folk musician and a lover of history, so I found plenty to enjoy in this book about the evolution of “psychedelic” folk music in both the UK and America.  Big name acts such as The Fairport Convention, Pentangle, The Incredible String Band, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Steeleye Span, and The Animal Collective are given the same amount of coverage as much more obscure and “out there” acts like Simon Finn, Skip Spence, Comus, The Holy Modal Rounders, Perry Leopold, and (a personal favorite of mine) Jan Dukes de Grey.  I enjoyed the heck out of this book, but I’m not sure if many others will.    

Rating: 5 out of 5

Evaluation; 5 out of 5

An employee of Disney tells his stories about the things that go on behind the scenes.

Evaluation: 3 out of 5

This book is about the trial of Amanda Knox, the girl who was arrested for murdering her college roommate in Italy.

Evaluation: 5 out of 5

A little boy’s account of his trip to heaven and back.

Evaluation: 5 out of 5