Featured Reviews

The Turn (essay) (1993) - William Langewiesche  (Grade:A)

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Machines of Loving Grace: How AI Could Transform the World for the Better (essay) (2024) - Dario Amodei  (Grade:B+)

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Reading the Rocks (essay) (2024) - Jenny Odell  (Grade:B+)

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Pure Heart: The thrilling life and emotional death of Secretariat (essay) (1990) - William Nack  (Grade:A+)

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Dover One (1964) - Joyce Porter  (Grade:A)

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Patsy & the Princes (1935) - Archibald Rutledge  (Grade:B+)

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Reservoir 13 (2017) - Jon McGregor  (Grade:A-)

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Dash Akol (story) (1932) - Sadegh Hedayat  (Grade:A+)

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Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game?: The Improbable Saga of the New York Mets’ First Year (1963) - Jimmy Breslin  (Grade:A-)

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The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red (2017) - Martha Wells  (Grade:B+)

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The Killer Angels (1974) - Michael Shaara  (Grade:A+)

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MOVIE REVIEWS:

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The Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam Peckinpah  (Grade:B-)

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Life on Mars (2006) - S. J. Clarkson  (Grade:A+)

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The Passion () - Mel Gibson  (Grade:B)

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Brothers Judd Daily

Brothers Judd QuasiDaily Bookmarks:
07/09/25:

Alec Waugh (1898-1981) was born in Hampstead, ENG on July 8, 1898.

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (1906?-1982) was theoretically born in Mobile, AL on July 7, 1906. A Negro League legend, he pitched effectively in the Major Leagues in his late 40's & even in his 50's.

John Paul Jones (1747-92) was born in Arbigland, Kirkbean, Kirkcudbright, Scotland on July 6, 1747. He is best remembered for the immortal line: I have not yet begun to fight!

Nancy Davis Reagan (1923-) was born in New York, NY on July 6, 1923. Our prayers are with her as she nurses the great man down the home stretch.

David Farragut (1801-70) was born near Knoxville, TN on July 5, 1801. He is best remembered for the cry: "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"

Cecil John Rhodes (1853-1902) was born on July 5, 1853. Not everyone gets a country named after them.

Phineas T. Barnum (1810-91), the world's greatest showman, was born in Bethel, CT on July 5, 1810.

In a divine irony, both John Adams (1735-1826) and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) died on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1826. Read Orrin's reviews of American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence (1997)(Pauline Maier) (Grade: B-) and American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson (1996)(Joseph J. Ellis) (Grade: A-)

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought over several days, including July 4th, 1863. Read Orrin's review ofThe Killer Angels (1974)(Michael Shaara 1929-1988) (Grade: A+)

Lionel Trilling (1905-75) was born in New York, NY on July 4, 1905.

Independence Day

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), was born in Salem, MA on July 4, 1804. His Scarlet Letter (1848) is one of the first American classics.

Stephen Foster (1826-1864) was born in Lawrenceville, PA on July 4, 1826.

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), the 30th President of the United States (1923-1929), was born in Plymouth, VT on July 4, 1872. He understood, perhaps better than any other President of this century, that the best thing the government can do is stay out of the way of the citizenry.

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815) the great American portrait painter, was born in Boston, MA on July 3, 1738

M. F. K. Fisher (1908-)  was born in Albion, MI on July 3, 1908.

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was born in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in the Czech Republic] on July 3, 1883.  Read Orrin's review of  The Metamorphosis; and other stories  (1915) (Grade: C+)

Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was born on July 2, 1877, in the town of Calw, Switzerland.  See Orrin's review of  The Journey to the East (1956)   (Grade: C)

Thurgood Marshall   (1908-93) , was born in Baltimore, MD on July 2, 1908.  One of the great legal advocates in US History, his most important case was Brown v. Board of Ed.  He later served a well earned retirement on the Supreme Court.

Richard Petty , the unchallenged King of stockcar racing, was born on July 2, 1937.

James M. Cain (1892-1977) was born in Annapolis, MD on July 1, 1892.  One of the creators of the hard-boiled noir genre, his best works are The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) (read Orrin's review, Grade: A+)  & Double Indemnity

John Gay (1685-1732) was born in Devon, ENG on June 30, 1685. Read Orrin's review of The Beggar's Opera (1728) (Grade: A)