The Eve of Destruction: How 1965 Transformed America James T. Patterson (Basic Books)
Here a distinguished historian chronicles a dramatic shift in American culture. Americans in 1964 "exuded a sense of consensus and optimism," so he tells us; by the end of 1965, the national mood had darkened dramatically. Somewhere in this account, a reader might suppose, the religious faith (and faiths) of Americans would have to be reckoned with. So you'd think, but no—though James Patterson does mention that the "Christian Anti-Communist Crusade, a right-wing student group," denounced Barry McGuire's hit song "Eve of Destruction." It was obviously intended to weaken morale, hastening "'surrender to atheistic international Communism.'" Those weird Christians!
The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us Francis Tapon (WanderLearn Press)
Russia isn't exactly "hidden," but we hear very little in the mainstream press about the rest of the 25 countries covered in this breezy, informative guidebook: part travelogue, part history, loaded with surprising facts, unbuttoned opinions, and shrewd observations. Some readers, I hope, will be provoked to give more attention to our brothers and sisters in Christ in the region Francis Tapon surveys.
Eliot Porter: In the Realm of Nature Paul Martineau (Getty Publications)
In the late 1960s, when I was in college, certain books were ubiquitous: J. R. R. Tolkien's trilogy, Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, and so on. One such book was Eliot Porter's In Wildness Is the Preservation of the World, coupling Porter's photos with snippets from Henry David Thoreau. I condescended to that book and its admirers (the title alone drove me nuts), but I have long since repented. Now comes this gorgeous book, resplendent with the irreducible particularity of creation, the gratuitous excess of it.
