We are seven handsome and charming* guys who meet at a different restaurant every month or so, having read a book in common, and discuss whatever we want--generally the assigned book, but usually many other timely topics as well. We rotate the responsibility to suggest titles, but the group has the final say. Our book club rules: 1) Anything goes, fiction or nonfiction; 2) paperbacks are preferred; and 3) staying under 300 pages is desirable (N.B., we violate this one all the time). We rate all books and restaurants on a 5-point scale.

* All other adjectives were vetoed.

April 20, 2016

James Madison and the Making of America by Kevin Gutzman (Merlin's)

Merlin's was a last minute choice and it turned out to be a fine British-themed pub, not at all fancy but perfectly good food served to us in a quiet corner.  There were only four of us so we could all hear the conversation about travel (mostly to India), the Masters' Golf Tournament, and a bit of politics.  We agreed that the book was a bit tedious and textbooky, a rehash of old political science courses about the formation of American political institutions, but there was plenty of material new to all of us that made up for it.  It would have been nice, however, for the author to have included more personal material about Madison and some overall analysis and conclusions about the job done by the founders.

The group decided that next month's book will be Patrick Leigh Fermor's 1930's travel book, A Time of Gifts.  Also considered were H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald, Destiny of the Republic by Candace Millard, Killing a King by Dan Ephron, The Map Thief by Michael Blanding, and As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning by Laurie Lee.  We'll meet on Tuesday May 31.  Don can suggest the next book.
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