Ron Hansen

This work of historical fiction reads like a history book but a very entertaining one. This is a fair study of the foundations of our western culture, focusing on hero worship, and our propensity for violence. Jesse James is such a fascinating American figure - because he represents the dichotomy of the American experiment. Ron Hansen's writing is often illuminating and wonderful but sometimes gets bogged down by focusing on the historical accounts...Bob did this...Bod went here...and when he does this his writing gets a bit dry. However, overall, this book is a wonderful black and white portrait of time and a group of famous persons.… (altro)

I'm going through the painful, yet interesting process of downsizing my book shelves. I have hundreds to go, stacked all over the house, cluttering the place to the point that it's cluttering my mind. Now, that I've discovered this site, I thought it would be a good place to keep my discarded babies, so I could just visit with them from time to time without having them underfoot. Now I come to this one, and I can't decide if it stays on the shelf or not. I've read it twice, the 2nd time being 13 years ago. What bothers me is that I obviously I liked it, because of the re-read, but for the life of me, I don't remember anything about it. I just read a couple of pages, and the writing does have a style I found appealing. Perhaps I was just very interested in the subject matter at the time. I know our tastes often change as we grow older. I've re-read books that I loved when I was much younger, only to find that my older self thinks, "Why in the world did you like that"?! I generally read reviews to decide if I want to read a book. Sometimes it works out good, but most times, it doesn't. It all comes down to where we are in our lives and our own peculiar tastes. Of course there are books that transcend, like [b:To Kill A Mocking Bird|29008550|To Kill A Mocking Bird|Harper Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1582303449l/29008550._SX50_.jpg|3275794]. If you recommend such as that, you can be fairly certain that most people will thank you for it. But, for most books, I believe you just have give it a try if the writer or subject matter appeals to you. This book is no where near the quality of Mockingbird, but you might like it, or maybe not.… (altro)