Second Drafts of History: Essays - Hardcover

Lance Morrow, twice winner of the National Magazine Award, is a longtime essayist for TIME magazine. He contributes essays and articles to other publications and is the author of eight books, including Evil: An Investigation and The Best Year of Their Lives: Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon in 1948 . He lives in Chatham, New York.

*Starred Review* In 40 years as a journalist and essayist, Morrow has earned a reputation for both perspicacity and pith. His meditations here--culled from Time, Civilization, and other print and online publications--are divided into six consistently engaging sections. In "Moments," he examines the promotional prowess of Napoleon ("the great-grandfather of spin") and the feats of farmhouse mice. (When they opened the Skippy peanut butter jar with their "tiny, humanish hands," writes Morrow, it was "as if they had gotten 800s on their SATS.") "Images" explores gravitas, gay marriage, and the controversy over the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. "People" features ponderings on the recklessness of JFK Jr and the genius of Bugs Bunny animator Chuck Jones, whose work is "a bridge that carries Isaac Newton across into chaos theory." A sardonic take on tourism and a startling commentary on rape in wartime are included in "Dilemmas." "Metaphysics" addresses, among other things, stem cells, sin, and the solace found in books. "Outrages" contains Morrow's fervent essay, written on the afternoon of the September 11 attack, which earned him his second National Magazine Award. A professor at Boston University and the author of seven previous books, Morrow continues his reign as a writer of remarkable boldness and breadth. Allison Block
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