AAUSTIN, Texas -- Fellow procrastinators of the world, unite! Now
is the time to begin thinking about Christmas shopping. We still have a few
days left, so there's no rush for those who have been known to do it all on
Christmas morning at the Jiffy Mart (everyone appreciates a nice can of
WD-40).
For those who consider it wussy to begin shopping before the
24th, here's the annual Christmas book list -- the best one-stop shopping in
town, items to suit all ages and personalities.
We prefer, of course, to shop at independent bookstores, but if
a chain store is all that's available, it will do. Though there are no
guarantees on the quality of the Christmas help: I once heard a woman ask
for "The Odyssey" by Homer, to which the high-school honey hired for the
holidays replied, "Uh, Homer Who?"
A fun book for almost anyone on you list is "Seabiscuit, An
American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand (Random House, $24.95). Unless you're
a horse person, you probably think you don't want to read the biography of a
racehorse, but you do want to read this one. It's a love of a book about a
love of a horse.
Seabiscuit was the best-known athlete in America back in the
late '30s, a homely, Western horse with a strong resemblance to a
cinderblock and a gait that looked as though adjustments to the carburetor
were needed. After a tough start in life, Seabiscuit wound up with an owner,
jockey and trainer who had all come up the hard way themselves.
The four of them campaigned across the country and took on the
great racing swells of the East with their gorgeous, high-bred stock -- and
Seabiscuit beat them all, culminating in what is considered the greatest
match-race of all time against the superb War Admiral. Then he was injured,
made a comeback -- oh, it's just a wonderful story, and you'll wind up
cheering him on as madly as people did back then.
On the topics du jour, there's excellent overall background in
"Islam and the West" by Bernard Lewis (published in 1993, Oxford University
Press). It's a series of essays, which makes it easier to read one at a
time. Lewis has tremendous erudition and scholarship. But there is a lively
quarrel among Arabists, and one should also read from the other side. The
excellent Arabist Edward Said revised "Covering Islam: How the Media and the
Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World" in 1997, and it was
published by Vintage Books. This is also a remarkably knowledgeable look at
how our perceptions of Islam are shaped. Between the two, you'll be
well-informed.
It seems to me Said might be the better pick if only because we'
ve been getting an awful lot of "what wrong with them?" lately, and very
little about how our policies and attitudes have helped produce what
President Bush likes to call "the war against Evil."
On the domestic front, Seymour Melman's "After Capitalism: From
Managerialism to Workplace Democracy" (Alfred A. Knopf, $35) is a little
heavy on the sociology -- not a fast read, but chock full of good
information and good ideas. Joan Didion's new collection of essays, "
Political Fictions" (Knopf, $25), applies one of our country's most
observant and fastidious minds to one of its least appetizing aspects. If I
could write political commentary that holds up this well over time, I'd die
happy.
"Carry Me Home, Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of
the Civil Rights Revolution" by Diane McWhorter is an absorbing, complex
study of that city in its worst days. It is part history, part investigative
journalism and part memoir -- McWhorter being from prominent white
Birmingham family.
Couple of Texas guys and a gal having fun: "The Final Country"
by James Crumley (Warner Books, $24.95). Crumley, master of the hard-boiled
private-eye-cum-Texas-lunacy, brings back his man Milo Milodrogovitch in a
caper of such splendid complexity you might think it was all hopelessly
improbable -- unless, of course, you're a Texan and then recognize every
nutcase in the book.
For anyone interested in acting, or just a funny book, Marco
Perella's "Adventures of a No Name Actor" (Bloomsbury, $24.95) is priceless.
Perella makes a living as an actor in Texas, an achievement calling for
dedication, talent and the ability to handle absolutely anything with a
straight face. He's appeared in some of the worst movies of our time and is
often minced, diced and chopped in the name of his art. The wonderful thing
about Perella is that he perseveres no matter how improbable the role,
trying to make (SET ITAL) his (END ITAL) sleazoid, psychotic killer the best
sleazoid, psychotic killer ever.
Sarah Bird's "The Yokota Officers Club" (Knopf, $23) is a
beautifully written account of a young woman returning to her military
family after a year at college. Bird just keeps getting better. (All three
Texas writers are friends of mine, but I'm recommending them because I
enjoyed the books.)
To find out more about Molly Ivins and read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web
page at
www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2001 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.
