The Longest Line on the Map: The United States, the Pan-American Highway, and the Quest to Link the Americas by Eric Rutkow

This was a very interesting topic, presented by a professor of history, with a very scholarly, and somewhat dry approach. The title was also somewhat deceptive, since getting to the Pan-American Highway itself took about 200 pages of back story. With these two factors against it, I could not rank it higher.

It started off with a bang, with a terrific introduction kicked off by a long quote from On the Road about driving into Mexico on the Pan-American Highway. How could I not be intrigued? And as one who loves road trips, and feels an affinity for Latin American cultures, I was also very interested.

Getting to the concept of a highway through the Americas was preceded by a good deal of history which centered on the development of railroads in the United States, Mexico, and the Central and South American countries. This is really a book in itself, and perhaps should have been the first of two volumes (or even three, with the middle one being the Panama Canal). As it was, I raced through it to get to the section which focused on the construction, such as it was, of the road.

There were some colorful characters along the way, and fascinating information about the effect United Fruit had on the Central American countries, good and bad. I was looking for more insights into the cultures and peoples of the regions, and how they were impacted, but there was not as much of this as I would have liked. History, in my opinion, is far more about people and concepts than about dollars and cents, though of course, knowing what the U.S. Congress appropriated for construction was interesting. The author should have added parentheticals to indicate what the amounts would be in current dollars to add context.

After reading the book, I had some conclusions that are relevant to today's economic, political and humanitarian crises centering on immigration. If the U.S. had pursued more thoughtful policies, and delivered further assistance and funding to the struggling countries in Central America and parts of South America, and more supportive trade agreements, I believe we would not be facing the issues we have today. We are directly and indirectly responsible for the drug trade, gang wars, political unrest and violence millions face in Central America and certain South American countries. With all of our might and power, we could have done a lot more good in the past, and should not be punishing people who come here now to escape some of what we created due to prejudice and shortsightedness.

Nice English Girl Conquers Hollywood – The Stylist by Rosie Nixon (Amber Green No.1)

Such fun! Late-twenties Londoner Amber Green is working in a high-end boutique in the West End and gets the plum job of assisting a renowned fashion stylist to the stars as she prepares her clients for the BAFTAs and the Oscars, which includes a trip to Hollywood. 

All sorts of unexpected challenges occur, wardrobe, personal and otherwise. It's quite a bit more than Amber expected (actually she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting), but of course things have a way of working out for the best.

If you enjoy fashion, intrigue and eavesdropping on the lifestyles of the rich and famous with a British twist, this is definitely a treat. I'm looking forward to the next installment!

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Off to London for a Bit of Fun: I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella

Sometimes light is just right, especially in the hands of the skilled Sophie Kinsella. I enjoyed listening to this London-based romance/family-focused/self-discovery novel that revolves around Fixi Farr, a late-20s woman who is trying to please everyone but herself.

All the elements and clichés are here, and we know it will all work out right in the end, but Kinsella's down-to-Earth but very British dialog makes it all more fun getting there, especially hearing it read on the audio book by a British actress.

Kinsella does throw in a few twists and a unique premise which makes the book all the more appealing. Cheers!

Actor not Writer: In Pieces by Sally Field

I had such high hopes for this memoir of the actress Sally Field, who has had an impressive career playing a textile factory worker who encourages her co-workers (Norma Rae), a Depression-era widow who keeps her family together in very tough circumstances (Places in the Heart), Mary Lincoln (Lincoln) and many more. I have always enjoyed her performances in both comedy and drama, and I thought listening to her read her memoir would be an exceptional experience.

After one disc, however, I took the audio book back to the library. Perhaps it gets more interesting later, but I found her account of her childhood whiny and boring. I just could not get past that, and while I still intend to watch her future movies and TV performances, she is just not a writer... or at least, not a good one. Maybe a good editor would have helped step up the pace and draw in the reader/listener.

I'll be interested in the comments of others, in agreement or otherwise.

New York, New York, circa 1958: Three-Martini Lunch by Suzanne Rindell

It's always fun to read a book in which you recognize places you've been... and this novel, set in 1958 Manhattan, was chock-full of scenes set in familiar restaurants and bars, some of which still survive. For a time, the lead female character, Eden Katz, even lived where I did when I first moved to the city (no, not in 1958) – the Barbizon Hotel for Women, which was located at Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street. The author has done a good job of capturing the nuances of Manhattan life, as it was back then and remained until around the mid-80s, when the city began to recover from its slide into the bankruptcy, crime and blackouts that marked the 70s.

The main characters are involved in the publishing world during the heart of the period that was chronicled so well in the eight seasons of Mad Men. There was not too much difference in the way that business was conducted in the big publishing houses and the leading ad agencies. Men, white Christian men, made the money and the decisions, and nearly all the women were secretaries. Jews were barely tolerated, and African-Americans hardly ever appeared in such rarified settings.

Eden Katz came to New York from Ft. Wayne, Indiana with dreams of becoming an editor. Cliff Nelson is the son of one of those very successful editors and is living a beatnik lifestyle in the Village while he tries to write but gets distracted by the temptations all around him. Miles Tillman grew up in Harlem, is a scholarship student at Columbia and a bicycle messenger, and is trying to find out more about his deceased father, a veteran of both World Wars and a member of an honored African-American troop. How these disparate people intersect is the story and it is quite the page-turner, very much in the tradition of mid-century chroniclers of New York, with a little Herman Wouk and John Cheever, and a lot of Rona Jaffe, and perhaps a few others thrown into the mix.

It kept my interest and the movie marquees started lighting up as I read. It's a good book for a rainy long weekend, a little old-fashioned yet still contemporary... since young people hoping to make it big in their chosen profession continue to come to New York. I hope they always will.

PS: one annoying anachronism that should have been caught by the editor – nobody addressed women as "Ms" in 1958. You were Miss or Mrs. and there were no other choices.