Best Books of 2007
I know I'm about a month late on putting out this year's best books list, but I had a few that I had to finish reading in January.
Fiction -- Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson
Nothing else even came close this year. It was translated into English from Norwegian this year. It is the kind of book that you will be thinking about days after you finish reading it. I am confident that it will be assigned reading in 11th grade English classes within a few years. It is that kind of classic.
Non-Fiction- Legacy of Ashes
The reporter that wrote this history of the CIA used only public records and on the record interviews, which makes it even more powerful to learn how disasterous the CIA has been in almost every thing they have ever tried. It is a stunning condemnation of a government agency run amok. Certainly a lot more realistic and believable than the spy novels and movies that we have come to associate with the CIA. The real story is just simply sad and depressing.
Even though I think Legacy of Ashes is Number 1, I also have to mention two other non-fiction books.
The Nine - Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court - Jeffrey Toobin
Mr. Toobin is masterful at relating hard to understand cases into layman's terms and to make a somewhat dry subject flow like a good novel.
The Center Cannot Hold - Elyn Saks
Elyn Saks is a law professor who describes her journey through mental illness and getting through law school and going on to a very successful legal career.
Biographies -- I read quite a few biographies this past year and none of them impressed me. Cheney's biography was boring. It was simply a calendar of events that he was at supposedly. It was a little interesting to see some of the Jackson Hole references. As for autobiographies, Joe Biden had the best this year. He has had an intersting life as a U.S. Senator and I enjoyed that one. Alan Greenspan's book was awful. After finishing it, you realize that the federal reserve chairman's control on the economy is a myth. They have almost nothing to do with our economy.
What were your favorite books this year?