Charles L. DeFanti Jr.

Take back America  send the drunks back to Crawford, July 19 2004

Malachy McCourt and Michael Moore, both American-born Irishmen, share the outrage that a dry drunk from Texas is now the dangerous leader of the world's only superpower. Though a bit older (and more comely) than Mr. Moore, Malachy offers devastating evidence as to why George W. Bush should be denied re-election. Not only is Bush a drunk who never really sobered up (even if he no longer drinks), he is a religious zealot willing to inflict punishment on imagined enemies, even as Oliver Cromwell (a 17th Century Taliban) visited genocide on the tranquil Irish town of Drogheda, Ireland (on September 11, 1649, by an extraordinary coincidence).
Malachy's short, hard-hitting chapters… Read more

For Drinkers and Everyone Else, July 12 2004

I have shared "Harold Be Thy Name" with many, many friends, all of whom declare it one of the most beautiful books they own. If they have a complaint, it is that the subtitle ("Lighthearted Daily Reflections for People in Recovery") targets too small an audience. These 366 meditations (a quote, followed by a reflection, followed by a meditation), can provide spiritual and emotional balm for anyone in any sort of crisis (or even for someone in calm waters, wishing daily uplift).

For folks craving spirituality without piety, and warmth without sentimentality, Malachy is your man.

Morse Rediscovered, Oct 28 2003

As he did with Houdini, Poe and Cotton Mather, Silverman peels away the tired skin of his subjects and reveals a person hitherto unknown to history. Never one to catalog facts, Silverman redefines not only the person but the era in which he lived. Morse's Calvinism, his passionate pro-slavery views, and his profound frustrations can be comprehended only in the context of his age, which Silverman portrays through dazzling research and exquisite prose. Harrowing Nineteenth Century sea voyages and the Puritan's love/hate relationship with Rome provide two of the many fascinating vignettes that invigorate this portrait.
Once again, Kenneth Silverman has proven himself the Dean of… Read more