Pick of the Lit 

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Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons (Putnam). Gibbons continues her longtime theme of resourceful women struggling against repressive Southern mores and the men who enforce them. During World War I in rural NC, two women fight for their sanity and their lives by learning to resist one of the women's pathologically controlling husband. Gibbons has a blast undermining the gothic role of the "helpless female" and allowing her women to work between the cracks in the system and find their strength.

Human Amusements by Wayne Johnston (Anchor). A Toronto family is caught up in the unpredictable nature of 1950s television in this alternately funny and revealing novel. Johnston is particularly good at mixing pop culture history and commentary with a hard look at the realities behind our obsession with entertainment.

NON-FICTION

Chronicles: Volume One by Bob Dylan (Simon & Schuster). Following no particular chronological order, Dylan provides detailed reflections on his musical and intellectual development in Minnesota and New York, artistic crises associated with two albums, and verbal sketches of people who have mattered to him. His prose here has news-hound punch, tossed off in a clipped, conversational style. While most celebrity autobiographies are self-serving and/or sensationalistic, Dylan took the high road.

Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke (Free Press). Clarke shook the White House by lifting the veil on much Bush administration bumbling, while exuding an authority that made his accusations hard to counterspin. He confirms what other insiders said about the Bush clique: they swaggered into office, full of themselves and locked in a Cold War mindset; not to mention that they were fatally obsessed with Iraq. And now look where we are.

Chattooga: Descending into the Myth of Deliverance River by John Lane. (Univ. of Georgia Press). Spartanburg, SC, writer Lane kayaks down the Chattooga River, exploring the impact of the book and film Deliverance on the river and its residents, many of whom appeared in the movie. He meets the banjo boy, now a middle-aged dishwasher, and details the struggles among residents, developers and environmentalists over the river's future, while offering lyrical, insightful descriptions that make the river itself the central character.

Banana Republic: A Year In the Heart of Myrtle Beach by Will Moredock (Frontline Press). Former CL writer Moredock fully explores, from economic, political, environmental and personal standpoints, what happened in Myrtle Beach that led it to grow from a relatively quiet family vacation destination to a bloated, tawdry Vegas-by-the-Sea in a matter of three or four decades. Bottom line: money begets more money, the local political establishment saw a fortune in their future and worked hand in hand with businesses to rape the landscape. Moredock tells this lurid but important story in a conversational style that makes for captivating reading.

The Last Best League by Jim Collins (Da Capo Press). Set in the bucolic summer haven of Cape Cod, this book examines life in the 10-team amateur league regarded as the best of its kind, the Cape Cod Baseball League, where players sign autographs and gladly participate in kids' clinics, and tickets are free. Players live with host families and work for local businesses and the towns rally around them. Classic Americana and, better yet, it's true.

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book by Gerard Jones (Basic). An expansive and compelling look at the birth of comic books, Men of Tomorrow tells a classic American tale of exuberant, talented kids who met "the right people" at the right time and launched what, at the time, was considered a sordid business. Beginning as novelty items, comics grew in popularity until, in their heyday, they sold at a rate of nearly 15 million copies a month in the US alone.

Where We Stand: Voices of Southern Dissent edited by Anthony Dunbar (NewSouth). A stinging collection of essays by 12 leading Southern progressives on such issues as religion, the environment, militarism, the Patriot Act, and others. Collectively, they're dismayed at seeing the rest of the nation appropriating some of our region's worst aspects (e.g., racism, fundamentalism, intolerance) while eschewing the South's sense of community and generosity.

Cradle of Freedom by Frye Gaillard (Univ. of Alabama Press). Charlotte writer and longtime CL contributor Gaillard wrote an engaging history of the Civil Rights movement in his native state of Alabama, where many of the essential battles, from Montgomery to Birmingham to Selma, took place. Gaillard weaves together personal stories and introduces readers to the famous crusaders as well as many less familiar battlers whose stories are equally compelling.