Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished [Paperback]

Steve Lopez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1995

The best of Steve Lopez's Inquirer columns are now together in a wonderful book. Now you can share Steve's refreshingly candid views in one volume. See for yourself why his readers love him and his targets wish he were almost anywhere else. One of the guiding principles of the column for Steve Lopez is: "H. L. Mencken once described his mission as a journalist this way: Confort the afflicted, afflict the confortable. Obviously, my goal hasn't been that noble, or even close to it. Sometimes the idea was just to tell a story, or have some fun. But the Mecken line has been something of a guiding principle for me. So has the idea that a column be a tool against ignorance and hyprocrisy, whether written from a street corner in Philadelphia, the halls of Congress, or a battlefield in Bosnia. Part of what a column should do, it seems to me, is hold people up to their potential. To remind them not just what it is, but what can be."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

STEVE LOPEZ received the H. L. Mencken Writing Award, the Ernie Pyle Award for human interest writing, and the National Headliners Award for column writing. He is also the author of several novels.

Product Details

• Paperback: 223 pages
• Publisher: Camino Books (June 15, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940159309
• ISBN-13: 978-0940159303
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Lopez is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of The Sunday Macaroni Club and Third and Indiana. He has been an editor-at-large for Time magazine and has also written for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He lives in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable snapshots of life in urban America., April 6, 1999

By 

Autumn Bell (Fresno, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Paperback)

Steve Lopez hits another home run with this non-fiction work: a collection of his best columns from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Reporter Steve Lopez left the sunny doldrums of CA to find real, old-fashioned greed and corruption worthy of his investigative writing. You can accompany this great writer through the streets of Philadelphia, the suburbs and beyond through his hilarious, touching, tragic and outrageous (but always true) stories. Even if you have no interest in exploring the unique culture of America's 3rd largest city, then read it for the human interest and the superb writing. It's a portrait of city life in the twilight years of 20th Century America - a must read for the end of the millennium!

PS: If you've read his other books (highly recommended), then this book will provide you with insights into the real people upon which his fictional tales are based.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lopez' best work (so far), April 1, 2001

By 

"colinbi" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Paperback)

"Land of Giants" is a collection of columns by Steve Lopez, an award-winning investigative reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer in the late 80s and early 90s. Lopez was a California native who moved to Philadelphia in 1985, and almost immediately established a reputation as one of the most entertaining and feared journalists in town.

Of course, Lopez had the benefit of good material. Some of Lopez's most famous columns are reprinted here. They include his dissection of the case against the city's actions in bombing the MOVE house on Osage Avenue in 1985. Despite 11 deaths, 61 destroyed houses, and 260 people left homeless, no indictments were issued against the police officers involved, and then-mayor W. Wilson Goode was re-elected the following year.

Lopez had particular fun with several characters with connections to the mob. Then-City Councilman Lee Beloff received special treatment in several columns during and after his trial on extortion charges. (At a reading a few years ago, Lopez told the story of a Philadelphia reading where Beloff, newly released from prison, showed up. According to Lopez, Beloff heckled Lopez throughout the reading, bought a large stack of Lopez's book "Sunday Macaroni Club," and had Lopez sign several copies.)

Lopez's best work shines through in these columns and in columns on life in and around Philadelphia. He has an eye for characters: Louie the barber; Marge Tartaglione and the Boom Boom sisters; Emanuel Johnson, the $40K/year supervisor at the Philadelphia Water Department who, by orders, showed up for work every morning and did absolutely nothing for 8 hours; and Sean Brennan, the pint-sized coxswain for Temple U.'s crew team.

Lopez has been pursuing a career as a novelist. "Sunday Macroni Club" is a fine tale of Philadelphia personalities and politics, marred only by the fact that his villains are far more interesting than his heroes. However, his journalism remains his best achievement. Anyone interested in Philadelphia culture and recent history should purchase this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's the Man!, September 20, 2011

By 

P. Kimmel - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished (Paperback)

Steve Lopez is a favorite. There isn't a journalist out there that has a better grip on life. His interpretations and evaluations of people are priceless!