A smart book of straight talk where laughter and logic meet.
An actor’s comedic exploration into America’s most gumption-exemplifying citizens.
Offerman (Paddle Your Own Canoe, 2013), best known as the hilarious Ron Swanson in Parks & Recreation, delivers 21 profiles of the men and women he admires most. “I am always hugely inspired (and personally relieved) to learn of the hard work that was required of any of my heroes before they could arrive at the level of mastery for which they ultimately garnered renown,” writes the author, an ethic reflected throughout his examples. From well-known historical figures (George Washington and James Madison) to more obscure men (boat builder Nat Benjamin, toolmaker Thomas Lie-Nielsen), Offerman smartly infuses history with humor, the result of which is an entertaining, educational reading experience. Though his tone may rile historians (“Young Theodore [Roosevelt] was, for lack of a better term, a wuss”), it’s a trespass easily forgivable for the comedic reward. Surprisingly, however, the author is at his best when he momentarily deviates from humor to reflect on society’s more serious problems. From partisanship to homophobia to the separation of church and state, Offerman utilizes his heroes as entry points to explore a range of subjects. The success of this tonal shift is exemplified in the chapter on writer and environmental activist Wendell Berry, a chapter that Offerman notes contains “less hyperbole than I would sophomorically like to apply to it.” Yet the risk pays off, proving to readers that the author is after much more than a chuckle, but concerted conversation as well. Though a bit bloated—the literary equivalent of Ron Swanson after a robust meal at Charles Mulligan's Steakhouse—Offerman’s book is nonetheless satisfying. His ability to vacillate between gruff history teacher and concerned citizen gives readers a reason to demonstrate their own gumption and follow him to the end.
A smart book of straight talk where laughter and logic meet.Pub Date: May 26, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-525-95467-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Novelist Nietzke (Windowlight, not reviewed) effectively brings the serious problem of homelessness to a comprehensible level in her sensitive account of a few months in the life of one woman who made her home on a Los Angeles sidewalk. As the preface notes, this is not a standard case study—names are changed, locations obscured, and conversations reconstructed- -yet one senses that the account is as honest as Nietzke can make it while still respecting the independence of the ``bag lady'' who lived on her street. Soon after Nietzke first approached 74-year-old Natalie, she began recording and trying to make sense of their encounters. In addition to facing the problems inherent in her lonely, homeless life (no toilet, no place to cook, bathe, or change clothes, no protection from the elements), Natalie displayed symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, which would make it difficult for her to adapt to life in a shelter for the homeless mentally ill, such as the one where Nietzke worked. Nietzke would bring Natalie food (e.g., bananas or a couple of boiled eggs), dispose of her packaged excrement, and occasionally try to coax her into taking a sponge bath, washing her hair, or changing some piece of her clothing. Equally important, Nietzke, with determined patience, conversed with this elderly, frightened woman—even though they couldn't always understand each other. Far from admonishing Natalie for her ways (or admonishing us for the part we play in this drama, if only by inaction), Nietzke looks at the person we want to label as different and sees similarity: ``It is terrifying to face the `givens' in life, both what we are given and what we are spared. I could be Natalie, she could be me.'' While literary style and sympathetic perspective make this book easy to read, it is the straightforward approach to Natalie herself that makes it well worth reading.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-934971-42-0
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Calyx Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
paper 0-8225-9680-6 A biography that highlights Ventura’s controversial gubernatorial campaign; unfortunately, the book spends too much time fawning over Jesse “the Body” and too little time analyzing what’s coming out of “the Mouth” for young readers to truly understand the man. Greenberg (The Haitian Family, 1998, etc.), who assisted Ventura with his column for World Wrestling Federation Magazine, chronicles his subject’s life from his working-class background in Minneapolis, through his career as a Navy SEAL, his wrestling stardom, and his political aspirations. The book fails to offer any opposing views of Ventura’s celebrity or policies, painting Ventura as an environmentalist for supporting Minnesota wetlands as mayor but omitting any mention of how he has weakened environmental prohibitions of jet skis (of which Ventura owns four). The book ends with Ventura’s election, so no mention is made of his comments on the Littleton, Colorado, shootings, nor—of course—of his recent remarks concerning organized religion, depression, etc. Researchers will be better served by current magazine and newspaper articles about the governor than by this unfettered bit of boosterism. (photos, source, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12-14)
Pub Date: Dec. 28, 1999
ISBN: 0-8225-4977-8
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1999
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