Sickness and death - but not in that order...

Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier
Though it won popular and critical ('97 National Book Award) acclaim upon it's release this book was not one that I particularly enjoyed. It appears to have all the makings of a great story, the Homeric journey of a returning soldier plagued by gods and man, all set in the vastness of the 19th century's wilderness and brutality. I hesitate to use the term "romanticism", and it is entirely possible that I have misread the author's intention - however my enjoyment was hampered by the feeling that Frazier was trying to elicit a canned response by means of imagery that appears to be mere cliche to me. Perhaps I just don't like the Southern Americana idiom; this may be the case as I am not particularly fond of Faulkner. That being said the story can be moving, if you are only looking for a good story this would be fine, and it is probably good vacation reading. However, this is not a particularly weighty or thoughtful book about America's bloodiest war, but rather a love story... and perhaps that is why I didn't like it. The movie captures the tenor of the book close enough - despite casting a Brit and an Aussie as the star-crossed southern lovers.
Rating: B-
Related:
The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane
The Killer Angels - Michael Shaara (very highly recommended)



The Coming Plague - Laurie Garrett
If paranoia is your bag (and yes I liked V for Vendetta, and The Matrix - so yes paranoia and suspected Machiavellian plotting are right up my alley) this book is for you. It traces what we know about the most virulent plagues around today, and what we don't know that might get us. The author was a NPR reporter prior to this cheery jaunt into virology and bacteriology. Given this background in our modern oral (aural perhaps - why focus on only the mouth half of the tradition - isn't hearing it as important as speaking it? I digress.) tradition her story telling skills are well honed, and her background research is astounding. Despite the grim, and at times frightening subject matter, Garrett manages to present a well crafted story with a variety of plagues as the main characters. This is probably not the best book to read prior to long journeys overseas - or if you have hypochondriac tendencies.
Rating: B+
Related: (see also Machupo, Ebola, AIDS, Yambuku, Swine Flu, Influenza, Typhoid, Malaria, etc etc etc....)
The Hot Zone - Richard Preston (and also The Demon in the Freezer by the same)
Where There is No Doctor (for those hypocondriacs out there)