Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It is 8:30 in the morning, and I am standing at a gas station in a silk suit with an unusual fashion accessory dangling from..." (more)
Key Phrases: reality programming, New York, Supreme Court, White House (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Goodman's new anthology of columns reads like a much more personal and slightly more literary Andy Rooney script. The 25-year veteran newspaper columnist expertly breaks our complex world into digestible food for thought. Further, she treats all of her wide-ranging subjects with a refreshing sense of humility and conviction. Goodman, a writer unafraid to acknowledge the nuances involved in politics, technology and culture, doesn't write beautifully, but perhaps she does something even rarer: she writes like she means it. In this collection spanning the early 1990s to today, she addresses most of our times' seminal controversies, such as the Clintons, September 11 and Viagra. She shines when calling the media to task, revealing what she sees as exaggerations and misconceptions involved in reporting on the Middle East, child abduction, welfare and the disintegrating nuclear family. Goodman recalls a telling moment: she was "up to my elbows in Thanksgiving prep" when a reporter called and asked her to comment on the "decline and fall of the American family." She writes, "Standing in my kitchen, covered in homebaked proof of my holiday excess, I wonder if those of us who are connected by bonds of DNA, marriage, affection and above all else, commitment, can forget for awhile that we're supposed to be falling apart." Dedicated fans will find it fascinating, and a little eerie, to revisit some of Goodman's columns from the 1990s, like "The Hidden Women of Afghanistan," where she all but predicts the breakdown of that society. For those who don't know Goodman's work, here is the chance to learn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Goodman, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist, offers a collection of essays reflecting her thoughts and observations on seminal events and people of contemporary American life over the past decade. A common thread is the speed of change in our society, usually technologically driven, which has affected everything from child care to news gathering. Her brief, insightful, and often amusing essays chronicle the era of the Clinton scandal and the "am-Bushing" of the nation after a controversial election. She features corporate misdeeds from the rise and fall of the dot-coms and the ethics of cloning, the frenzied news flashes of Elian Gonzalez and the more enduring cultural icon of Jackie Kennedy, and the sensational crime stories of O. J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant. She also chronicles gender issues (from abortion to menopause to marriage), civil liberties, the media, and 9/11 and the subsequent war on terrorism. Goodman's fans and readers interested in a broad span of political and cultural issues will enjoy this look back over the past decade from Goodman's perch on the op-ed page, "the designated thoughtful corner of the newspaper." Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416578307
• ISBN-13: 978-1416578307
• Product Dimensions: 13.3 x 12.8 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,220,391 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars captivating catch-up, February 27, 2004

By	baileycat (boston,ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times (Hardcover)

Goodman's brilliant insights are as fresh and needed now as the day they were written. This collection of her columns provides a captivating review of the major events of the past years that makes it hard to put down before reading just one more column. The topics chosen recognize that events have changed us in the past decade, yet many fundamental questions concerning our country, our families and our lives remain "unanswered." These questions require the kind of careful, humourful reflection that Goodman offers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will be your best friend, February 26, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times (Hardcover)

I loved this book.
Ellen Goodman is smart, funny, wise, centered and totally in this world -- which makes her the perfect person to help us through the maze of modern life. If you already know and adore her column, this new collection will once again make you laugh and cry and nod your head in agreement. She understands us, and our world, and makes it all make sense.
If you don't know her columns, this is a perfect introduction to her very sensible take on everything from babies to bombs, from political candidates to sexual stimulants. I bet you'll feel exactly the way I did: that someone very close was sitting in my living room and talking just to me.
A must-read for everyone -- especially women.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a extra special treat, April 28, 2004

By	Debbie Farmer,author: Don'tPutLipstickontheCat! (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Paper Trail: Common Sense in Uncommon Times (Hardcover)

I love Ellen Goodman's columns so this book is an extra special treat for me. It's so nice to have them all in one place other than cut out of the newspaper and stuck to the refrigerator door.
A must read! Debbie Farmer, parenting columnist and author of 'Don't put Lipstick on the Cat!'