another one, another zero

Simon Winchester: A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 (P.S.)
Lots o' trivia and some great information on the science of earthquakes. A bit pedantic....and a little scary if you live in the Bay Area. (***)

Ian Mcewan: Saturday
My favorite author did not disappoint. Mcewan's language is lyrical, and powerful as always...and his characters always stick with me long after the book is finished. Memorable read. (*****)

Lawrence Wright: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11
Expansive. Eye opening. Overall - a great piece of history. In a nutshell - the book tracks the roots of what is now Al-Queda from Eqypt in roughly the 1950s up to 9/11. The highlite is the in depth biograpohical detail on Osama bin Laden. After reading this book, I was left thinking that we'll never "win" a war on "terror". (****)

Jon Krakauer: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
This book (on CD) got me from about Massachusetts to Ohio on my road trip. A little disappointing, only because I have read numerous other books by Krakauer...I think he bites off a little more than he can chew here, and the subject matter is not as personal to him. In a nutshell - the book is about Morman fundamentalism and focuses on some interesting/scary/insane/influential charcters from throughout that religions history. I found Krakauer's quick history of the faith fascinating and slightly disturbing. Glad I did not read this while in Utah. (***)