Biography
Destinations: Monte Carlo, Paris, London Book: White Truffles in Winter (a novel) by N. M. Kelby This fictionalized biography of the great French chef, Auguste Escoffier– – is delicious, scandalous, lascivious, luscious… The writing is lush. The author, N. M. Kelby, paints the portrait of a man obsessed with luscious food and delicious women. But [...]
Destination: Peru Book: Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time (NEW: June 2011) by Mark Adams I’m celebrating the anniversary of the rediscovery of Machu Picchu this week, although for some reason the Peruvian government jumped the gun and celebrated early–on July 8. Sometimes I really love this job. [...]
Destination: The Western United States Book: Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the Wild West–One Meal at a Time by Stephen Fried (2010–New paperback edition in 2011) The reader gets more than his/her money’s worth with the fascinating book, Appetite for America. A biography, a history of the western expansion of [...]
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Destination: Mostly England Book: George Eliot in Love by Brenda Maddox (NEW September 28, 2010) Ugly. George Eliot (Mary Ann or Marian Evans) was beyond plain. Everyone noted her over-sized nose, prominent jaw and long chin. But her charm and brilliance saved the day. Furthermore, she is one of the best English novelists ever.
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Destination: New Orleans, LA, United States Book: Nine Lives, Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum Just in case you think this book has something to do with how a tourist survives a Sazerac hangover, forget it. The latest addition to my traveler’s library tells about the lives of real people who survived [...]
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(Since Robert Todd Felton’s computer decided it did not want to blog today—died on a train to New York– I’m filling in with more thoughts on Boston, the subject of our prize book. Felton will be back on Monday, and we will have the drawing for his travel book on Boston as scheduled, after midnight [...]
Book: Mozart, A Cultural Biography by Robert Gutman Destination: Salzburg Don’t take the Sound of Music tour. Don’t tell an Austrian how much you like the Sound of Music. For heavens’ sake, don’t walk down the Getreidegasse humming “Eidelweiss” from The Sound of Music. I had been warned before I went to Salzburg that Austrians [...]
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