The New Kings of Nonfiction edited and introduced by Ira Glass
Featuring writing by Michael Lewis, Mark Bowden, Dan Savage et. Al.
Review by Andrew Fersch
Ira Glass is a radio show host by profession, not a writer. His radio show though, This American Life, is, many could argue, the radio equivalent of a well-written TV show. As such, it’s hard to figure out why exactly he would be qualified to decide who the “kings” of nonfiction are these days. His shows are true tales on a variety of subjects (babysitting, camp, drugs, phone companies, and so much more), and they range from wildly entertaining to mildly annoying. His popularity on NPR and his talent at choosing and sharing stories for his radio show have clearly afforded him opportunities to release things such as this collection of nonfiction stories, whether or not he is the most logical person to.
On This American Life, Glass relies on others to share what makes his show so beloved, great stories. With his show though, and with The New Kings, it is clear that Glass is not flawless in his choice of stories (and with this collection, his timeliness comes into question as well, with some stories having been released over fifteen years ago).
Of the fourteen stories in this 464-page collection, there are a handful which truly do shine as clear examples of, as said on the jacket, are “the best storytelling of this golden age of nonfiction”. Beginning with Michael Lewis’ tale of teenage stock manipulator Jonathan Lebed in “Jonathan Lebed’s Extracurricular Stories”, Glass manages to pull in the reader with an amazing tale of the absurdity of America’s stock market. The story of a boy in his early teens who manages to make nearly a million dollars by manipulating the stock market is both humorous and shocking in its absurdity. As would any story of a fourteen year old who manages to swindle money, much in the same fashion that professional investors do, only to be punished for it (although he still manages to come out of it pretty much unscathed).
“Among the Thugs” by Bill Buford and “Tales of the Tyrant” by Mark Bowden are similarly interesting stories. Buford’s take on English football hooligans is a great first person narrative of his trip to Italy with a large group of Manchester United supporters. The lack of any real moral and purpose in his story can only be overlooked based on his ability to keep it interesting and engaging. Bowden takes on Saddam’s life (pre-Iraq War) and in a series of short, not particularly connected stories, manages to paint a picture of Saddam as being a fairly insane and intricate man (nothing new there), yet adds very little other than a few interesting facts that weren’t previously known about him. In both cases, the stories are enjoyable enough, yet the reader comes away from it hoping that there was a little more focus, a little more purpose in their writing.
With writers such as Chuck Closterman (“Crazy Things Seem Normal, Normal Things Seem Crazy”) and Jack Hitt (“Toxic Dreams: A California Town Finds Meaning”), the stories chosen are just not particularly enthralling when it comes down to it, Hitt’s writing far surpassing Closterman’s yet not having a great enough deal of substance to make it truly worthwhile.
In the case of Malcolm Gladwell (“Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg”) and Lawrence Weschler (“Shapinsky’s Karma), and especially Coco Henson Scales’ abomination, “The Hostess Diaries”, it’s hard to imagine anyone reading it and believing it is even a decent piece of nonfiction writing, let alone a celebrated radio journalist such as Glass. The stories are boring, sluggish, and in Scales’ case just plain obnoxious.
It is Lee Sandlin’s account of people’s perceptions of war in “Losing the War” and Dan Savage’s terrifically humorous account of his foray as a gay sex-advice columnist into the Republican Party in “My Republican Journey,” that should be used as benchmarks for truly excellent nonfiction writing. Interesting topics, intelligent delivery, and at least some sort of underlying theme, if not a purpose, are what sets these pieces apart from the others and makes me second guess my questioning of Glass’ credentials.
Glass is an above-average radio show host for people who enjoy his style of storytelling, and if more often than not, one enjoys NPR, chances are this book would be a great investment. In reality, there are only a few writers in here who could be considered true kings, and this collection only scratches the surface of what they are capable of doing. Chances are if Glass decides to publish another collection of stories, I, like Dan Savage, will return, with the hopes of discovering at least a few more writers out there who warrant reading.