Books Archive

Brandi Carlile: Broken Horses - This is how “Broken Horses,” Brandi Carlile’s memoir, begins: The Carliles are nail-biters. I started biting my nails at three years old. Everyone told me that if I didn’t keep my

Breakfast, Lunch, Tea - If I were in Paris now, you could find me having lunch at Rose Bakery, 46 rue des Martyrs. It's my favorite restaurant in Paris --- and I've never been there. But

Breaking the Slump: How Great Players Survived Their Darkest Moments in Golf — and What You Can Learn from Them - The most fun I had involving golf occurred half a century ago, when I watched John Sebastian start to remove a red dress from his prom date on the putting

Bright’s Passage - My grandmother, as ignorant a woman as ever fled the Czar, believed that “Mr. Ed” really was a talking horse --- here you have to imagine a thick Russian accent

Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag - Jane Birkin was flying from London to Paris in 1981 when she reached into her bag for her datebook and everything fell out. “I’d love a bag with pockets,” the

Broken Birds - Since I launched HeadButler.com in 2004, most of the reviews I've written are about books. In those six years, I've received many self-published books. I've never reviewed one. Today is

Broken: A Love Story - It's two for one in "Broken: A Love Story" --- biography and autobiography merge in the dusty horse corrals of Wyoming's Wind River Reservation. Take one student, give her one

Brother, I’m Dying - In October of 2004, Rev. Joseph Dantica fled Haiti. The 81-year-old preacher carried a valid U.S. visa. But he was a truthful man --- he knew his

Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, and Hope on a Reservation in Montana - If I can’t identify the players, I can’t watch the game. So… no football. If I can read a book in the time it takes to watch a complete game,

Bruce Springsteen on Broadway - The audience is white and aging. And well-heeled; tickets on StubHub for "Bruce Springsteen on Broadway" sell for as much as $3,000. As my friend and I settled ourselves in

Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture - GUEST BUTLER JANE CHAFIN has been an artist, writer and editor. She began her career as a painter and museum registrar in Los Angeles, then moved to New York in

Bryson’s Dictionary of Troublesome Words: A Writer’s Guide to Getting It Right - Bill Bryson is a writer who can do anything. A Walk in the Woods is the sidesplitting adventure of Bryson and his out-of-shape pal Katz as they walk the Appalachian Trail.

Buck Brannaman, the Horse Whisperer - Buck Brannaman specializes in the improbable. Got a skittish, poorly trained horse? A bucking bronco? A steed who seems not to care about anything? When an owner brings that uncooperative

Buckminster Fuller - For a genius, he's not very well known. In the 1930s, he invented the Dymaxion Car, a three-wheeled, teardrop-shaped vehicle that carried 11 passengers, got 30 miles per gallon

Bully Market: My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs - A few years ago, I lectured at the Rutgers Writers’ Conference. My topic: Writing Non-Fiction as Fiction. The participants were middle-aged, non-professionals who liked to write. They were pleasant, and

Bunker Spreckels: Surfing’s Divine Prince of Decadence - When it comes to books as gifts, I vote for anything about surfing. For one thing, it's a perverse choice. You can be pretty much assured that the recipient has

Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin - Everybody knows about Janis Joplin. She had that raspy Texas voice and those hippie clothes and she drank and swore like a guy. She was famous for being

Buying the Farm: Peace and War on a Sixties Commune - In the fall of 1968, I was sick of writing, sick of Cambridge, sick of the war, sick of myself.  I wanted clean air and a fresh start. An invitation

Buzz - Press the photo of a mosquito on the cover, and there's that annoying whine. Press the bee, hear a buzz. The cricket chirps. Yes, I'd say

By Heart: Poetry, Prison, and Two Lives - What a pleasure to welcome a new Guest Butler, Ruth Gendler. She’s both writer and artist, equally admired in each field. In l984, she self-published The Book of Qualities. It