Bestselling author Kyle (American Sniper) was putting the final touches on this discerning study of 10 firearms—completed by his widow and Doyle—that changed the course of warfare when he was killed at a gun range. Coupled with his goal of "talk[ing] history with the bullets flying," Kyle's picks—surefire debate fodder for gun enthusiasts—make for immersive reading as he recounts key battles during the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and WWII. Kyle's enthusiasm for his subject is infectious—even for professed doves—and his gift for narrative lends the stories the tension and drama they deserve. He brings to life the infamous shootout at the O.K. Corral and the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution, recounting close calls, colossal errors, and the weapons that gave one side a key advantage over another. Thanks to his experiences as a Navy SEAL, Kyle is intimately familiar with the construction, key features, and upkeep of all the featured weapons, which adds to his credibility and enables him to tell his stories in greater depth. Regardless of one's views on guns, readers will gain a deeper respect for weaponry and the people tasked with using them. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

The best of French philosopher Badiou's over 50 years' worth of writing on cinema is collected in this intriguing volume. It begins with an interview conducted by editor de Baecque in which Badiou considers the role of film in culture as a "school for everyone", his evolving relationship with the cinema, and the radical politics that often inform his work. His 1977 essay "Revisionist Cinema" lays out these politics, decrying the ideals of "new bourgeoisie" directors like Bergman and Kubrick. Badiou posits an "axiomatic" approach to film discussion in which we eschew judgment in favor of asking "how a particular film lets us travel with a particular idea in such a way that we might discover what nothing else could lead us to discover." Badiou describes film as "the seventh art", explaining how it interacts with other media, and provides brilliant, in-depth analyses on the techniques, styles, and themes of several films. His crucial essay is "Cinema as Philosophical Experimentation" in which he explores film as both a "mass art" and a subject worthy of serious philosophical thought. Badiou's writing style may be difficult to those unaccustomed to French philosophy, but the material is worth the effort. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

Judah's dynamic account of the rise (and fall-in-progress) of Russian President Vladimir Putin convincingly addresses just why and how Putin became so popular, and traces the decisions and realizations that seem to be leading to his undoing. The former Reuters Moscow reporter maps Putin's career and impact on modern Russia through wide-ranging research and has an eye for illuminating and devastating quotes, as when a reporter in dialogue with Putin says, "I lost the feeling that I lived in a free country. I have not started to feel fear." To which Putin responds, "Did you not think that this was what I was aiming for: that one feeling disappeared, but the other did not appear?" His style, however, feels hurried, an effect of which is occasional losses of narrative clarity. In some cases limited information is available, and his pace-maintaining reliance on euphemistic, metaphorical, and journalistic language can leave readers underserved and confused. Judah is at his best when being very specific, and perhaps the book's achievement is that it makes comprehensible how Putin got to where he is; those wondering how Putin became and remained so popular will benefit from this sober, well-researched case. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

Amidst many digressions, Rinzler provides a number of biological and anecdotal tidbits about human feet. The development of theories about how our bipedal stance affected human evolution is treated first, including some scientific missteps. Each chapter is an independent essay ostensibly on an aspect of the foot, but a discussion of clubfeet turns into a rambling, and not always accurate, appraisal of historical attitudes toward birth defects, infanticide, and euthanasia as well as the imbalance in health coverage between the first and third worlds. The book as a whole veers wildly in this manner—from interesting information to highly tangential opinion pieces. An interesting section about the importance of the big toe morphs into anecdotes on how gout changed the world and then a page on a history of dangerous medications. The chapter on desire discusses foot fetishism, Cinderella, which senses are predominant in other animals, Biblical references to feet, foot washing, and suddenly, dissection. Those who enjoy nonsequetorial conversations may find this book entertaining, but the lack of substantiation for many of her statements deprives the reader of solid facts. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

With its low cost of entry—only a typewriter, artwork, a mimeograph, and a point of view were required—underground newspapers flourished during the '60s and early '70s, covering a plethora of topics (sex, corruption, alternative lifestyles, etc.) mainstream media couldn't or wouldn't touch. Here, California College of Art instructor Kaplan examines the depth and breadth of these publications in a graphic-rich study. Instead of focusing on landmark articles, Kaplan's short bursts of narrative are broken up by lengthy reproductions of newspaper and magazine covers, articles, and inserts. Guest authors explore various concepts ("Design as a Social Movement") with varying degrees of success—though failure isn't always their fault; Kaplan frequently breaks up the narrative with lengthy spreads of images, forcing readers to flip back and forth in order to keep the story going. His typographical play doesn't help either, as he employs various period-inspired fonts, type sizes, and colors throughout the book that add little to the experience. Still, Kaplan deserves commendation for assembling a collection that manages to include viewpoints from all reaches of the underground; those who were there and students of the form will appreciate his efforts. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

Ramsey's second book (after Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop) aims to understand "one of jazz's greatest and indeed most mysterious stars" from a variety of perspectives. He takes in bebop—from East to west and back West again—with consideration given to the social, political, and economic contexts of its day, as well as the concept of the free-spirited, convention-defying "musical genius" (in Ramsey's view "the ultimate construction of the bourgeois subject"). It is a lot to take on in such a brief book and Ramsey doesn't quite pull it off. His tendency to quote in full—often unnecessarily—and his occasional isolation of mundane details drain energy from his subjects. For instance, the author makes fine observations on how "the jazz industry" of the '40s and '50s took advantage of Black musicians, but then goes into no further detail about just how Powell's life and work were affected. What starts as an engaging criticism winds down into a pedestrian biographical observation with admirable but unrealised ambitions; it's jarring, and by trying to say a lot, results, inversely, in not saying enough. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

Can the economic crisis have an effect on our health? Oxford Senior Research leader Stuckler and Stanford epidemiologist Basu offer insight into the economic crisis—including the Great Recession—and its effect on public health, arguing that countries attempt to fix recessions by balancing budgets, but have failed to protect public well-being. They demonstrate how maintaining a healthy populace is intimately entwined with the health of the social environment. Filled with graphs and charts, the book shows how government's investment in social welfare improves the public's health, due to the creation of unemployment programs, pensions, and housing support. Each chapter offers historical facts from the 1930s in United States, to Russia and Indonesia in the 1990s, to present-day Greece, Britain, Spain, and the U.S., revealing how the government's mismanagement of the economic crisis has resulted in the public's poor health and an epidemic of diseases. The authors argue that it is the politicians' job to ensure that people's health needs are met, rather than their ability to pay. Societies will prosper when they invest in people's health both in good times and in bad. The question remains: what steps need to be taken to prevent widespread suffering both now and in the future? (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

The trials and tribulations desperately poor Oqa, a hamlet in northern Afghanistan so remote that regional officials don't even know it exists, comes to life through the story of Thawra, a carpet weaver, and her family. Badkhen, a Russian-born war correspondent, charts the woman's work over a year of weddings, childbirth, Ramadan, and winter snowstorms. Amid the tedium and grinding poverty—made bearable by opium for the young and old alike—the local Turkoman women have over the centuries earned the distinction of producing some of the finest carpets in the world. It's an existence that Westerners can scarcely comprehend, Thawra's family surviving on less than a dollar a day, earned for an exquisite piece of craftsmanship that will command thousands in the US. Badkhen gains astonishing access to male-only gatherings, earning their lasting respect, and ably documents the infinitesimal though significant influence that Thawra has as breadwinner in this patriarchal society. More travelogue than reportage, her prose is rich and unhurried, evoking the harshness of the desolate landscape. Oqa's isolation means Osama bin Laden may be unknown, but the Taliban is not; their presence an inescapable fact of life, one that propels Badkhen's story to a simple yet chilling dénouement. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

UN special advisor Sachs (Price of Civilization) revisits the Cold War challenges facing the Kennedy administration during the Strangelove-ian era between October 1962 and September 1963. In this careful study, Sachs zeroes in on four key speeches Kennedy delivered in the months prior to his assassination in November 1963. Specifically, the book focuses on the American University commencement address known as the Peace Speech, also the theme of the author's Reith Lecture for the BBC six years ago. JFK, together with gifted speechwriter Ted Sorensen—his "intellectual alter ego"—set out a strategy for nations to live in "mutual tolerance", with ramifications that extend into the 21st century. Influenced by the writings of Winston Churchill and Pope John XXIII, the two collaborated to send a message of hope to the Class of 1963. Two weeks later Kennedy flew to Ireland where he delivered this message to members of the Irish Parliament. By July he announced a partial test ban treaty to the nation, and brought this news to the UN General Assembly. While sound bites of the Kennedy-Sorensen collaboration echo in modern classrooms—"Ask not what your country can do for you"—the messages in these four speeches seem all too pertinent today. (June)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink

Led by an anonymous blogger, Blog Del Narco has been chronicling the horrific violence that has become an integral part of Mexico's drug trade. Here, excerpts from the blog are presented in both Spanish and English alongside video stills and images from the blog. Squeamish readers are advised to heed the warning banner wrapped around the book, as the images consist solely of crime scenes: beheadings, gunshot victims, mass executions, dismembered bodies (one instance occurred at a children's museum), and other unforgettably gruesome sights, all accompanied by their respective backstories. The reason for the graphic images, the authors state in their introduction, is both to publish "the undistorted reality of the situation" as well as aid relatives of those killed in the hope that they can recognize and claim the body of a loved one. Perhaps most disturbing is the reactions of the police and military to all the carnage; is indifferent at best and complicit at worst. The book is horrifying, but the group's noble goals—to reveal the brutal acts committed in their country by the often glamorously-portrayed cartels—require a tremendous amount of bravery and resolve. (May)

Reviewed on 06/14/2013 | Details & Permalink