Reader’s Diary

John Huddleston

I was expecting a “then and now” comparison of Civil War era battlefields to the same locations today. What I got was Civil War photographs paired with bad modern photos which may or may not have been taken in the same general vicinity. Some of the period photos are familiar and, to Huddleston’s credit, some are not, but the modern photos are not worth the paper they’re printed on. I mean really, a picture of a featureless blue sky (we’re told) coupled with some purple prose about this being what the wounded saw as they lay dying?

Avoid this book. Instead pick up any one of William Frassanito’s Civil War books.

Michael Putnam

This book consists of melancholy black-and-white photos of urban theaters that are closed, decaying, or put to new uses. These are small movie houses that aren’t glorious enough to be preserved; they were the second-run venues before TV and the suburban multiplex changed the economics of the movie industry.

The photos are good, but the book suffers from their being too much alike. The brief text describes what niche these theaters filled in the entertainment ecosystem and what lead to their extinction. Putnam tells several anecdotes about his search for and journeys to the book’s subjects. I wish this story would have told in more detail.

Colleen McCullough

McCullough’s Rome series picks up speed again in this volume, which spans the years 68 to 58 BC. These are the years leading up to the First Triumvirate and we see Caesar as husband, father, priest, military commander, and politician. Though Caesar’s life defines the main plot, other characters, such as Pompey, Crassus, Cato, and Cicero, are fully drawn and their flaws make them more interesting than Caesar, who is a bit too perfect. Rome, its politics, and, notably, its religious life are portrayed vividly and in great detail.

Edward Rutherfurd

This is a fat fictional history of London from ancient times to the Blitz told as a series of stories loosely connected by multi-generation family ties. Rutherford’s human characters aren’t especially notable, but his portrayal of the main character - London itself - is both broad and deep. Its sheer size makes it (the paperback version, anyway) an ideal book to take on a long trip. I read it on at trip to… France.

Peter Steinfels

This is a very mixed bag. Steinfels, a former NY Times religion reporter, ranges over a wide spectrum of issues and changes confronting the Catholic Church in America. His chapter on the sex abuse crisis is unusually fair and thoughtful. Inevitably, though, he comes to the conclusion that “celibacy must go” and that Church governance must change. He ignores signs of renewal in the Church; in fact, he seems to have started by assuming a “crisis” and reporting on it - evidence of what John Paul II has called the “new Springtime in the Church” does not fit Steinfels world view.

Despite its flaws, the book is thought-provoking and well worth reading.

Derek Robinson

This should have been an interesting book. It’s the tale of an RAF bomber unit in the early days of World War II and IIS full of detail that gives it a aura of authenticity. However, Robinson doesn’t succeed in making you care about his characters, all of whom speak in virtually the same voice.