The Best Books of 2010 – by Bill Dahl
Category Archives: Book Reviews
These are books I have read that I review for the benefit of others who don’t enjoy reading as much as I do. Perhaps this section will assist you in selecting your next book. I hope so. I read EVERY word on EVERY page of the books I review. If I don’t particularly care for a book, I don’t review the book publicly, unless I make a unique exception. I read around a hundred book a year. Most of my reviews are here and on Amazon.
Bill reviews pre-publication manuscripts, and early release books for a variety of publishers and authors in the U.S. and abroad, literary PR firms and at the request of certain authors. He performs this service gratis, without any compensation whatsoever (he knows….he’s really stupid). Notable authors whose work Bill has reviewed include William P. (Paul) Young, Donald Miller, George Barna, Samantha Power, Parker Palmer, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, John Wasik, Roger Lowenstein, Taylor Branch, Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Jim Palmer, David Kinnaman, Irshad Manji, Eboo Patel, Mark Scandrette, and Erwin McManus. Bill has a policy of not publishing reviews of books he reads that he doesn’t particularly care for and is uncomfortable recommending to others ( “Literature is like ice cream….there’s a whole bunch of flavors and I have my own tastes that differ from others…some people adore chocolate while others prefer pecan nut”).
The Invention of Air – A Story of Science, Faith, Revolution, And The Birth of America by Steven Johnson
A Magnificent work!
The Ghost Map – The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic – and How It Changed Science, Cities and the Modern World – by Steven Johnson
This is a fascinating story with plenty of current day application.
The Global Achievement Gap – Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach The New Survival Skills Our Children Need – And What We Can Do About It – by Tony Wagner
One of the BEST books you will ever read about the pathway for the reform and improvement of U.S. public education. PERIOD!
Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry – yet you cannot deny – Michael Lewis remains on of America’s literary greats. Again, Liar’s Poker is a “classic must-read!”
This Time is Different – Eight Centuries of Financial Folly by Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff
LOVED IT.