American Oasis

American Oasis: Finding the Future in the Cities of the Southwest by Kyle Paoletta

This is an extensive history of the populating of the SW US. Going back to Coronodo and Spain and Mexico trying to administer the region, up through the US taking over the region and the founding the major cities; Albaquerque, Tucson, Las Vegas and so on. A great description of the creation of the Colorado Compact that divided up the Colorado river among the states. Many of the things we live with today and their origins.

The Studio

The Studio by John Gregory Dunne

In 1967 Dunne was given complete access to Twentieth Century Fox by Richard Zanuck. This was the year that the movies "Dr. Dolittle," "Planet of the Apes," "Funy Girl" and "The Boston Strangler" were all being filmed and the author had access to the filming and meetings of executives and writers of these. He saw how the publicity machines in the studio worked and all the expectations around these films, some that worked, some that did not. A nice tale if insights into how things worked in the movie industry at the time.

Box Office Poison

Box Office Poison: A Hilarious and Revealing Journey Through Hollywood's Biggest Blunders with a Surprising Lesson, Discover the Untold Stories of the Film Industry's Most Memorable Failures by Tim Robey

This book tells the story of movies that were flops at the box office, and that cost a fortune. It goes from the silent film era to the present. These are of course not every movie that bombed, but the highlights of the ones have the best stories. Entertaining but does get a bit bogged down at times. Also interesting how the movie industry has changed and how the pandemic has affected movie going. Seems that there will be less expensive flops in the future and the corporations that run the movie business become less risk averse. (Also see 'The Future Was Now' previous post)

Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer

This chronicles Pico's 30 years of going to the catholic monistary in northern California. (see also Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire by Colleen Morton Busch)

The Tiger Slam

The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story of the Greatest Golf Ever Played (Tiger Woods in 2000–2001) by Kevin Cook

This biography/Tribute to Tiger Woods concentrates on his amazing wins in 2002-2001. His upbringing and later issues with health problems and scandals is mentioned, but this really is a love letter to Tiger. In some ways very diservingly, he was an amazing athlete and arguably the best golfer of all time, having changed the game and revitalized interest in golf during his run.

Empress of the Nile

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

This history/biogrpahy of egypt and egyptology tells the fascinating story of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt and her lifelong involvement with egyptian antiquities, her amazing effort to save monuments and her tireless ability to share the stories of the Pharoahs.

Obelisk Odyssey

Obelisk Odyssey: 26 Ancient Monoliths, 4 Continents, and 1 Man's Monumental Search for Meaning by Mark Ciccone

Part travelogue, journal, history. This rambling but fun 'odyssey' follows the travels of Egyptian oblelisks from their origin to where they and up in cities all over the world. This is very entertaining and allows the author to describe his travels as he tracks down the oblelisks and describes the history of each one along with the travails that followed the monuments to their present resting places.