After reading Amanda Knox’s book, I was curious about how Preston puts this mess of a case in perspective. He lays out
a clear case about the real killer and persuades that Knox was probably totally innocent. But I’m always leery when an author doesn’t offer any wiggle room on why some doubters exist.

We get two stories here. We get the real story of the capturing of white settlers by Indians and the efforts to get them back.
And we get the story of the making of The Searchers, using those historical events to make a movie. I thought the history
was interesting if a little thickly written and too long. I thought the making of the movie showed excellent research and smoother writing and had me almost offering a fourth star.

Here’s what’s smart about this book. Friedkin is an interesting guy who has had two blockbuster movie hits as a director,
French Connection and The Exorcist. Instead of measuring out a career that has had more misses than hits, he gives us
plenty of insights into the making of those two movies. They dominate the book. I think he tells an honest story, and while it
isn’t all that deep on what really makes him tick, the entertainment value is quite high.

I was curious about this book, being from St. Louis and following the Busch story for much of my life.
The writer tells the Busch story well, from arrival in America, and St. Louis, to how the family lived. And it is a juicy story.
I had thought the book was going to be focused on the sale of the brewery to InBev, but in reality while it builds to
that event, it is about the history of the Busch family and the beer business. I would highly recommend this book
to anyone interested in the inside story.

The writer really makes you feel like you are living in Berlin during World War II, and all the trials and tribulations
that includes. The suspense story itself is good, not great. But it does generate really strong passion in the characters
and it held my attention. I would recommend it for the depiction of daily life in Berlin alone.

Well done. You know where it is going but he builds the terror at just the right pace. The juxtaposition of
the commonplace with the absurd is very entertaining. Well worth the single price.

If you haven’t read the Reacher books, this movie works fine. It has the dialogue, adventure and plotting to make for
an enjoyable experience.
If you love Reacher as written in the books, the movie is an abomination.
From the physical size difference to the distortion of the quirks that make Reacher so fascinating in the books, the
movie is off and it is primarily because of Tom Cruise.
Cruise is fine if you don’t have any prior notion of the character he is playing.
In this case, watching the tiny Cruise make Reacher moves is almost laughable.
What a terrible choice for this franchise.

I would say these stories date from when Woodrell was trying to find himself as a writer. You can see glimpses
of what he has become. But the stories are a grind to get through. Wait until he gets to Missouri and then read everything.

An enjoyable read. Bourdain doesn’t hold back and he is interesting as always. At the Kindle Singles price, this
is easily worth the cost as well as the time.

I liked this book. I’ve read a lot of different books about France and the food and the culture.
The author smartly separates the book into regional dishes and then shares the history and reality
of those dishes while visiting that region. Very smart.
I learned some, enjoyed new insights, and even picked up some nice recipes.
Very well done.