‘Lost Maya Cities’ Digs into the Nitty-Gritty of Archaeology
Slovenian archeologist Ivan Sprajc's memoir, Lost Maya Cities, is a pleasant read but it could have dug deeper.
memoir
The Master’s Tools Won’t Dismantle the ‘Women’s Media’ House
As Gabrielle Korn addresses in her memoir, Everybody (Else) Is Perfect, much of so-called "women's media" is merely a cynical marketing strategy at the expense of a thoughtful discussion of cultural values.
Bowie Buddie Dana Gillespie Ain’t No Man
The London-based singer-songwriter Dana Gillespie, whose memoir is just out, tells PopMatters about her convivial, free-spirited youth, her adventures with Bowie, Dylan, and Princess Margaret, and the spiritual path that changed her life.
‘Odd Woman Out’ Is a Comedy Sketch-Like Memoir About What’s-Her-Name
We can never have too many Jewish Atheists from Brooklyn publishing essays about life as they see it. Actress Melanie Chartoff's 'Odd Woman Out' has me wanting more.
Truths Overlap in Jenny Erpenbeck’s Memoir of German Reunification, ‘Not a Novel’
Living under the repressive East German regime taught its citizens to distrust their government and read through the lines of its proclamations to glean the reality of a situation, Jenny Erpenbeck explains in Not a Novel.
Megan Rapinoe’s ‘One Life’ Is Pitch-Perfect
In Megan Rapinoe's memoir One Life, her training, hard work, and competitive spirit are coupled with an impassioned account of her political awakening.
Memoir ‘Kiss Myself Goodbye’ Dims the Brightest Subject
Ferdinand Mount's gripping family memoir, Kiss Myself Goodbye, paints a calamitous picture of one of its supporting characters, Georgie. But I knew her closely for over 40 years. She not only transcended tragedy but helped me do the same.
‘I Just Wanted to Save My Family’, or, How European Institutions Profit from the Refugee Crisis
It's not just gun-toting crooks who abuse refugees, we learn from memoir I Just Wanted to Save My Family, it's also politicians and legal officers filling their personal and national coffers with fines and extortion who profit from criminal human trafficking.
‘Run-Out Groove’ Shows the Dark Side of Capitol Records
Music promoter Dave Morrell's memoir, Run Out Groove, recalls the underbelly of the mainstream music industry.
Unorthodox Storytelling
Deborah Feldman's memoir, Unorthodox, is more than a depiction, or even indictment, of the Satmar. It's an indictment of any patriarchal social system that shrinks young women's dreams to the size of a kitchen, and then blames them for it.