The Lame 2011 “Best Of” List

December 25, 2011

Here are the books I enjoyed the most this year. This list is of books I read, not only published in 2011.

First and foremost – this is THE best book I’ve read this year. From some reason it didn’t get much attention in the US.

We, The Drowned by Carsten Jensen

“We, The Drowned” (Web­site) byCarsten Jensenis aspell­bind­ing, award win­ning(Danske Banks Lit­ter­atur­pris)fic­tionalbook which spans 100 years in the lives of the inhab­i­tants of the small Dan­ish coastal townMarstal. Jensen’s debut novel is already hailed as aninstant clas­sicand right­fully so.

We The Drowned Hres 198x300

Non-Fiction:

Auschwitz by Dr. Miklós Nyiszli

Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eye­wit­ness Accountby Dr. Mik­lós Nyis­zli is anon-fiction mem­oirof a Jew­ish Hun­gar­ian med­ical doc­tor who per­formed “research” on other Jews with the evil Dr. Josef Men­gele aka “Angel of Death”. This is not an easy book to read, but an impor­tant one.Auschwitz 200x300

Elizabeth and Hazel by David Margolick

Eliz­a­beth and Hazel: Two Women of Lit­tle Rockby David Mar­golick is anon fic­tionbook about two ladies who were made famous by the press. The booklooks his­tory square in the eyeand doesn’t flinch.

Elizabeth And Hazel 196x300

Gated Grief by Leila Levinson

“Gated Grief: The Daugh­ter of a GI Con­cen­tra­tion Camp Lib­er­a­tor Dis­cov­ers a Legacy of Trauma” by Leila Levin­son who started the char­ity Veteran’s Chil­dren (web­site|Face­book|Twit­ter) is anon-fictionbook about the author’s five year research to under­stand herfather’s traumafromlib­er­at­inga con­cen­tra­tion camp in World War II. The book is filled with graphic pic­tures which will stay with you for a long time.

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Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia by Michael Korda

“Hero: The Life and Leg­end of Lawrence of Ara­bia” by Michael Korda is abiog­ra­phyof Eng­lish­man Thomas Edward (T.E.) Lawrence bet­ter known by his nick­name. The biog­ra­phy fol­lows Lawrence from his birth to his early death.

HERO The Life Legend Of 199x300

The Jersey Sting By Ted Sherman and Josh Margolin

“The Jer­sey Sting: A True Story of Cor­rupt Pols, Money-Laundering Rab­bis, Black Mar­ket Kid­neys, and the Infor­mant Who Brought It All Down” By Ted Sher­man and Josh Mar­golin (web­site|Twit­ter|Face­book) is thetrue storyof the events lead­ing up to the arrest of 44 peo­ple in New Jer­sey. These 44 werecor­rupt local politi­cians,Rab­bis,money laun­der­ersand, strangest of all, ablack mar­ket kid­ney dealer.

9374737 Large 199x300

Lost in Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

“Lost in Shangri-La” by Mitchell Zuck­off (web­site) is anon-fictionbook about aplane crashin Dutch New Guinea dur­ing World War II. This book isnar­ra­tive his­toryat its best.

Lost In Shangri La 201x300

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

“The Lost City of Z” by David Grann (web­site) is anon-fictionaccount of the author’s trip to Brazilfol­low­ing the foot­stepsof pre­vi­ous explor­ers. The book is part char­ac­ter study, part his­tory, part archaeological and part adven­ture story.

Lost City Thumb 375xauto 10559 213x300

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

“Moon­walk­ing with Ein­stein: The Art and Sci­ence of Remem­ber­ing Every­thing” by Joshua Foer is amem­oirof the author’s attempted to win theU.S. mem­ory cham­pi­onship. Along the way Mr. Foer attempts toexplain some tricks, tech­niques and the sci­ence aroundmem­ory.

Moonwalking With Einstein 197x300

Turn Right at Machu Picchu by Mark Adams

“Turn Right at Machu Pic­chu: Redis­cov­er­ing the Lost City One Step at a Time” by Mark Adams is anon-fictionbook in which the author fol­lows the foot­steps of Hiram Bing­ham III.

Machu Picchu 212 198x300

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

“Unbro­ken” by Laura Hil­len­brand (Web­site|Face­book) is the amaz­ingnon-fictionstory of Loius Zam­perini (Web­site|Wikipedia) an Amer­i­canath­lete,World War IIAir Corp bom­bardier whosur­viveda crash and inter­ment in aJapan­ese POWcamp.

Unbroken Crjpg Ce0987f837463333 226x300

Fiction:

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

1Q84by Haruki Murakami is afic­tionalnovel which takes place betweentwo worlds. The book was orig­i­nally writ­ten inJapan­eseand became a best seller almost immediately.

1Q84 210x300

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

20,000 Leagues Under the Seaby Jules Verne is a clas­sicsci­ence fic­tionnovel pub­lished in 1870. The book’s orig­i­nal titleVingt mille lieues sous les mers, the lit­eral trans­la­tion would be “Seas” which might imply theseven seas.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under Sea Completely Restored Annotated Jules Verne Paperback Cover Art 196x300

The Attack by Yasmina Khadra

The Attackby Yas­mina Khadra is afic­tionalbook set inIsraeland theWest Bank. Yas­mina Khadra is the nom de plume of Mohammed Moulesse­houl, a for­mer Alger­ian mil­i­tary officer.

Attack 192x300

The Confessor by Daniel Silva

“The Con­fes­sorIr?t=httpwwwkalelc 20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0451211480” by Daniel Silva (web­site) is thethird install­mentin thefic­tionaladven­tures of thereluc­tant Israeli agentGabriel Allon.

N61194

The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandberg

The Emperor of Liesby Steve Sem-Sandberg is anaward win­ning his­tor­i­calfic­tion book. The book was trans­lated fromSwedishand tells about real life, as well as fic­tional characters.

Emperor Lies Novel Steve Sem Sandberg Hardcover Cover Art

The Fifth Servant by Kenneth Wishnia

“The Fifth Ser­vant” by Ken­neth Wish­nia (Web­site) is afic­tional mys­teryset in 1592 at Jew­ish Ghetto in the city ofPrague. The book is rich with Jew­ish cul­ture and the ten­sions between Jews and Christians.

9780061725371 198x300

Field Gray by Philip Kerr

“Field Gray” by Philip Kerr (web­site) is afic­tionalnovel tak­ing place alter­na­tively between the 1931 and mid 1954, mostly in Berlin. The book is 7th novel star­ring Bernie Gun­ther (fan web­site).

FieldGray 203x300

A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer

“A Fierce Radi­ance” by Lau­ren Belfer (web­site) is ahis­tor­i­cal fic­tionbook about the search forpeni­cillin. The push came dur­ing World War II when the need for this mir­a­cle drug became as impor­tant as any weapon.

A Fierce Radiance 198x300

The Final Storm: A Novel of World War II by Jeff Shaara

“The Final Storm: A Novel of the War in the Pacific” by Jeff Shaara (web­site) is ahis­tor­i­cal fic­tionnovel which focuses on America’swar in the Pacificinstead of Europe. Mr. Shaara points out that he didn’t intend to write this book but got many let­ters for fans and WWII vet­er­ans who fought there.
Good for us!

9866451 195x300

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Yes, I’ve read a magic book.Jonathan Strange & Mr. Nor­rellby Susanna Clarke is a fic­tional book about magi­cians set in 1800s England.

Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 199x300

Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

“Lion­heart” by Sharon Kay Pen­man is ahis­tor­i­cal fic­tionbook about Richard I and the Third cru­sade. This is a well researched book which is fas­ci­nat­ing and exciting.

9780399157851B 200x300

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli

The Lotus Eaters” by Tat­jana Soli (Web­site) is afic­tionalbook about theViet­nam War. Helen Adams is acom­bat pho­tog­ra­pher, a woman “in a young man’s pro­fes­sion” is drawn to Viet­nam after the loss of her brother in combat.

LOTUS EATERS 200x300

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

“Ordi­nary Thun­der­storms” by William Boyd (web­site) is afic­tionalbook withmany themes. The book takes place inLon­donand fol­lows a man whose life turned upside down.

Ordinary Thunderstorms 200x300

The Profession by Steven Pressfield

“The Pro­fes­sion” by Steven Press­field (web­site|Face­book) is a fic­tional book about the projectfutureof Amer­ica. The story is told from the per­spec­tive of a solider on the ground.

The Profession Cover 199x300

so much for that by Lionel Shriver

“so much for that” by Lionel Shriver is afic­tionalbook aboutseri­ous mat­ters. The book deals with thefrus­tra­tionand the unfair­ness of deal­ing with theUS health­care indus­try.

So Much For That 198x300

The Street Sweeper by Elliot Perlman

The Street SweeperbyAus­tralian his­to­rianElliot Perl­man is afic­tionalbook which deals with the Amer­i­can strug­gle forcivil rightsand theHolo­caust. The book beau­ti­fully ties together the idea that we are all human and touch each other’s lives.

The Street Sweeper

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

“Trea­sure Island” byRobert Louis Steven­sonis an 1883fic­tionaladven­tur­ous and clas­sicpirate story. The book fol­lows Jim Hawkins, a young man, who hasfound a trea­sure mapand with the help of friends hires a crew to find the trea­sure. But the crew has their own plans.

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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

“A Tree Grows in Brook­lyn” by Betty Smith is ahis­tor­i­cal fic­tionbook set in … Brook­lyn. The book was pub­lished in 1943 and became aninstant best sellerdespite crit­i­cism on its contentA Tree Grows In Brooklyn 198x300

Uncle Misha’s Partisans by Yuri Suhl

“Uncle Misha’s Par­ti­sans” by Yuri Suhl is afic­tionalbook fol­low­ing the adven­tures of aUkrain­ianboy dur­ingWorld War II. The book is meant for young adults (YA) and should be read as such.

Uncle Mishas Partisans 185x300

Winter in Wartime by Jan Terlouw

Win­ter in Wartimeby Jan Ter­louw is afic­tionalbook set inWorld War II. The book is aDutch clas­sicorig­i­nally calledOor­logswin­ter.Winter In Wartime

So tell me, what are your favorite books you’ve read in 2011? Also, why are you reading lame blog posts on Christmas instead of being with your family?

Zohar – Man of la Book

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5 Comments

  • 5447526322e9813d959b0b8716d56896
    RyanDecember 25, 2011 at 3:57 pm

    I loved Lost In Shangri-La, one of my favorite books this year.

  • 5a6a91e8eff10e94916c817f61fc5e42
    JudayeDecember 25, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    I’m really surprised that people had a problem with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Maybe it was just too realistic.

  • 5f3237f862f237eb048abd7b76904638
    kittyfondueDecember 27, 2011 at 4:44 am

    I just finished We, The Drowned. Absolutely epic book, wonderfully written, poignant, unsentimental. Brilliant.

  • 6e731209ad84c44a07e2316a81e2f59d
    BookQuoterDecember 27, 2011 at 11:48 pm

    Wow, what a list!!

    Happy New Year to you and your family Zohar!

  • B2342fc2c349a97299047d6843efda7e
    Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness)December 29, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    I have Elizabeth and Hazel on my list if books to read soon. I’m glad you enjoyed it!

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