Eliot Spitzer Double Feature: Client 9 v. Inside Job

The erstwhile “Love Gov” has a new gig: movie star! Maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but Spitzer has been featured prominently in two recent documentaries.

First up is Client 9, which briefly covers Spitzer’s meteoric rise in New York politics, then drones on an on about his fall. As attorney general, Spitzer earned the nickname "The Sheriff of Wall Street” as he actually managed to fine, imprison, and otherwise unsettle captains of industry for their misdeeds. His work earned him both popular support and powerful enemies; the former electing him governor in 2006 with nearly seventy per cent of the vote, and the latter--the film alleges--leading to his undoing. Spitzer is an incisive, candid interview subject, but he is used sparingly here. The film focuses on the tawdriest elements of the escort scandal and most ridiculous peripheral players instead. Why? I have no idea.

Next is Inside Job, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary in February. Here, director Charles Ferguson’s surveys the logistics of the global financial near-collapse. The film has a definite, fire-breathing perspective, as Ferguson, Spitzer, and a coterie of others squarely pin the crisis on the shoulders of the world’s financial elite and their governmental enablers.

Inside Job admirably distills the mechanics of the derivatives market, and the revolving door between big banks, the plushest business schools, and government. Ferguson is a fearless interviewer, and most of his interactions end with disdainful glares, embarrassed laughter, or I-wish-I-were-kidding ingenuousness. The result is a suspenseful, darkly comic ride through a subject that people used to think was boring.

-Megan

Science Fair Season by Judy Dutton

Lately, news regarding the state of American education has been decidedly less than rosy. While much of the rest of the world has adjusted to the realities of the twenty-first century with determination and brio, the United States has generally responded with what seems like bewildered complacency. As Bill Gates said, “When I compare our high schools to what I see when I’m traveling abroad, I’m terrified for our workplace of tomorrow.”

Refreshingly, this book explores the stories behind the wildly impressive entries at the Intel Science Talent Search, a sort of American Idol for high school scientists. The entrants come from disparate backgrounds--small-town Texas, the Navajo Indian Reservation, affluent Connecticut, and a juvenile detention center. The projects are just as varied, and include a solar water heater fashioned from the radiator of a 1967 Pontiac, a nanotechnology discovery that led to even smaller and more powerful microchips, a methodology for predicting water tables on Mars which was later proven by NASA, training cockroaches to do the work of drug-sniffing dogs, and pioneering work on the worldwide collapse of bee colonies.

While some of the entrants were science fair veterans, most of them just encountered an interesting problem and then had supportive teachers to foster their curiosity and dedication. Dutton does a great job with the scientific and humanistic aspects of each story. I highly recommend this book to any adult or teen reader looking for an inspiring read.

-Megan

The Beer Trials by Seamus Campbell and Robin Goldstein

Most of this book is devoted to reviews of 250 different beers, using the results from semi-scientific blind-tasting panels. This book is something of a sequel to Goldstein’s The Wine Trials, and the fact that beer is now seen as worthy of the same treatment as wine is an interesting sign of how much perceptions of beer have changed in the past, say, ten years.

The reviews cover beers of all types, from the cheapest mass-produced lager to the most intense craft-brewed India Pale Ale, including brands from Belgium, Britain, Germany, Japan, and more. Each entry is generally concise, informative and witty. While they certainly can’t cover every beer out there, and while they try to stick to nationally distributed beers (thus meaning you won’t find local favorites like Old Style or Alpha King), they still do a good job at covering all the bases.

There’s also about fifty pages of introductory material on beer styles and flavors. All in all, this is an immensely rewarding book for anyone interested in the world of beer.

-Eric

Attention All Movie Fans!

Cinephiles: rejoice! Ebert Presents: At the Movies just got a new, very spirited reboot. Your excellent hosts are now Christy Lemire of the Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com. Each week, they review high-profile theatrical releases, under the radar indies, and their favorite new DVDs and Blu-Rays; and patriarch Roger Ebert drops by to lend his inimitable style to a select film.

Following in the proud footsteps of yin/yang, Hepburn/Tracy, and Jagger/Richards, Lemire and Vishnevetsky’s differences make a potent, delectable brew. While Lemire is an animated, highly knowledgeable movie fan, Vishnevetsky is an encyclopedic, unsparing connoisseur. The result is many zingy, thoughtful discussions and sharply humorous insights. Like this one, on which Vishnevetsky weighs in on the je ne sais quoi of Keanu Reeves (of whom I am a passionate defender, but that will have to wait for another post): “He has this air like he’s an amnesiac who doesn't really remember who he is, but he doesn’t want anybody else to know.”

The show is on WTTW on Friday nights at 8:30, and you can watch all of their reviews here.

-Megan

Recent Staff Picks

We admit it; we have our favorites. Find your next great read with these staff recommendations!

You Are Not a Gadget by Jaron Lanier (Nonfiction)

Lanier is one of the pioneers of the Internet and a contributor to the creation of virtual reality. He passionately argues against online collectivism and the lasting implications it will have on our creativity. He attacks social networking sites, Wikipedia, Creative Commons, and Web 2.0 as a whole.

-Mike, Youth Services

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (Fiction)

Fingersmith is a Victorian novel of orphans, thieves, bizarre aristocrats, and spiraling betrayals. In short, it's the perfect complement to a cold day and a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

-Megan, Reference

Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky (Nonfiction)

This book, at first, seems as if it is just a simple idea elegantly executed: an atlas of fifty tiny islands in the middle nowhere. However, this book is much more than a pleasant novelty. Schalansky has taken the history of these islands and turned each one into a beautiful, disarming gem of a story.

-Eric, Reference

The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier (Nonfiction)

Nicolas Bouvier's account of his journey in an unreliable Fiat from Geneva, Switzerland, to Afghanistan expresses the joy of travel. Bouvier deserves a place with Patrick Leigh Fermor, V.S. Naipaul, and Jack Kerouac at the top of the travel writing genre.

-Mike, Youth Services

Freedarko Presents: The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac (Nonfiction)

Freedarko is a zany, brainy, basketball-obsessed collective; and their book is full of eclectic portraits of the NBA’s stars and villains, as well as odd and delightful stats and insights.

-Megan, Reference

The 150th Anniversary of the Civil War

150 years ago today, the shots that started the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Delving into the history of the people, places and events of the war is a great way to commemorate this important anniversary-- and the Acorn, of course, has plenty of books to help you out!

Take a look at some of them in SWAN, our online catalog. There's also plenty of great information on the web describing the best Civil War books. And remember, there are plenty of great novels about the war as well!

-Eric

Q&A with Pat Kucher, Head of Technical Services

Pat Kucher, the Head of Technical Services, will retire on August 1 after twenty-four years of service. Pat is responsible for processing and cataloging Acorn’s materials, as well as selecting movies, television shows, and paperback books. Here, she shares her Acorn experiences, and tells us about her favorite books, movies, and destinations.

Q: You’ve worked at Acorn for twenty-four years. What an accomplishment! How has your job changed during that time?

A: I started before we were computerized. The computer has certainly made the biggest impact on my job. Also, the types of media the Library offers have really changed. We used to have books on cassette, now we have digital books.

Q: What’s your favorite part of your job?

A: Opening the boxes of new books.

Q: You’re a voracious reader. Who are some of your favorite authors?

A: I love Michael Connelly for the terrific police and courtroom drama. I also love the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich for laughs. Jodi Picoult is another hands-down favorite. She handles controversial subjects thoughtfully and without bias.

Q: You choose the Library’s feature films and television series. What are some of your favorites?

A: My favorite movies are Gone with the Wind, The Notebook, and The English Patient. The last good movie I saw was Inception.

I really enjoy the some of our television series—especially Mad Men and The Tudors.

Q: I know you love traveling as well. What’s your favorite vacation spot (so far)?

A: Nassau in the Bahamas. I’m planning another visit there in June. Jamaica is great, too! Really, I’m happy anywhere there’s a Sandals Resort.

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself or your time at Acorn?

A: I love to read and started coming to Acorn when it was just a small A-frame building. When I decided to get back into the workforce after my children were old enough, I thought it would be the perfect place to work…and it was. I plan to retire this summer, but I’ll never retire from reading!

Thank you for your many years of dedicated service, Pat! You will be greatly missed.

-Megan