Overlooked books of the decade
Peter Hoskin 4:28pmAs I say in the intro to my selection of the decade's "overlooked" books for The Daily Beast, this kind of list is a tricky little customer. Not only will you omit some title which really, really oughta be in there – but just what makes a book overlooked in the first place? Do you include a Martin Amis (as I did) because it feels overlooked in comparison to his other work? Or is any Amis, by definition, not overlooked? Anyway, to see how I, erm, wrestled with these problems – and to see which books I picked – just click here.
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michaelmph
December 29th, 2009 5:39pm Report this commentThe first book I saw on your list was 'The Lake' by John McGahern. Why you chose that title is beyond me. It was published in the UK in 2002 under the title 'That they may face the rising sun'. It was only published under the unbelievably boring title of 'The Lake' in the USA. That says much about the US publishing sector. But I agree, it was one of the very best books of the decade.
Fergus Pickering
December 29th, 2009 5:43pm Report this commentYou're right about Martin Amis's 'Experience'. It's the only one of his books that is as good as any one of twenty of his father's books. And, of course, it's a book primrily about his dad.
Pete Hoskin
December 29th, 2009 6:24pm Report this commentmichaelmph: I used 'That They May Face the Rising Sun,' but my editors at the Daily Beast changed it to 'The Lake'. It is an American website, after all...
wrinkled weasel
December 29th, 2009 7:18pm Report this commentDare I say I have read none of them? Each generation makes its own reality and frankly, I am still trying to come to terms with the 1950s and 1960s.
I gave my 23 year-old son "Travels with Charlie" for Christmas. He did not immediately suspect it was the memoir of an itinerant Cocaine user, but did say, "This Steinbeck guy, he's well known, isn't he?"
Sigh.
The Laughing Cavalier
December 30th, 2009 9:52am Report this commentSurely the best book of the decade, sadly under-appreciated, is the late Professor Charles Arnold Baker's "The Companion to British History", the Third Edition of which was published recently and reviewed in this magazine in January 2009. Every library,whether public or private, should have a copy.
Chuck Unsworth
December 30th, 2009 2:43pm Report this commentGalbraith - New Industrial State, Richard Holmes' Oxford Companion to Military History, and naturally, Machiavelli - The Prince.
mars
December 31st, 2009 3:46am Report this commentExcited to see this list, but sad it included so few books by women.
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