Saturday, July 28, 2007
'Boston Reading List'
Finally got around to finishing a vain little project: Compiling a 'Boston Reading List,' something I've wanted to do since Dan got the ball rolling a year ago and since I redesigned Hub Blog at about the same time. ... I'm open to suggestions. I know I've forgotten some books -- and know there are plenty more I haven't read and should. ... By coincidence (I finished and then beta posted the list last weekend), I stumbled upon Matthew Yglesias's recent post on Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neil. He says they have a 'hell of a story' to tell but don't tell it well. I think he's being too harsh. But I'm from Boston. I loved the book and devoured it in days. That's why it's on my list. ... There are also some comments on Matt's site about Howie's Brothers Bulger, another 'Boston Reading List' recommendation. Also a mention of George V. Higgins's Friends of Eddie Coyle, also on the big list. ...
P.S. -- Among other fill-in-the-gap things about Boston I'd like to know and read more about: 1.) How and why Puritan Congregationalists liberalized in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Don't ask me why. I just think it's an important transformation that helps explain the current Boston character. 2.) The industrialization of the Boston area and New England. ...
P.S.P.S. -- I didn't include on the list books by Robert Parker and Dennis Lehane, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. But I do highly recommend them in general. .. Also: No books by a female. Sorry. Not proud. Recommendations are welcome. But remember: My list is based on whether a book tells us something about Boston, not that it was set in Boston or written by a Bostonian. ...
Finally got around to finishing a vain little project: Compiling a 'Boston Reading List,' something I've wanted to do since Dan got the ball rolling a year ago and since I redesigned Hub Blog at about the same time. ... I'm open to suggestions. I know I've forgotten some books -- and know there are plenty more I haven't read and should. ... By coincidence (I finished and then beta posted the list last weekend), I stumbled upon Matthew Yglesias's recent post on Black Mass by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neil. He says they have a 'hell of a story' to tell but don't tell it well. I think he's being too harsh. But I'm from Boston. I loved the book and devoured it in days. That's why it's on my list. ... There are also some comments on Matt's site about Howie's Brothers Bulger, another 'Boston Reading List' recommendation. Also a mention of George V. Higgins's Friends of Eddie Coyle, also on the big list. ...
P.S. -- Among other fill-in-the-gap things about Boston I'd like to know and read more about: 1.) How and why Puritan Congregationalists liberalized in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Don't ask me why. I just think it's an important transformation that helps explain the current Boston character. 2.) The industrialization of the Boston area and New England. ...
P.S.P.S. -- I didn't include on the list books by Robert Parker and Dennis Lehane, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. But I do highly recommend them in general. .. Also: No books by a female. Sorry. Not proud. Recommendations are welcome. But remember: My list is based on whether a book tells us something about Boston, not that it was set in Boston or written by a Bostonian. ...
