I was lucky to receive three solid works of nonfiction this past Christmas. At the same time, I was unlucky to receive three solid works of nonfiction this past Christmas. I’ve read two of them, both from my daughter, and am working through a third, that one from my wife. In the meantime, I’ve made scant progress on my current writing project.
The first of the three gifts was We Were Illegal: Uncovering a Texas Family’s Mythmaking and Migration, by Jessica Goudeau. Goudeau’s book is an unvarnished look at, among other things, the founding of Texas. She casts a critical, well-researched eye on the stories that underpin the myths of Texas independence and statehood. Her analysis is sharp, her logic is clear, and her conclusions are damning. Her scholarship is a model for anyone attempting to write compelling nonfiction.
Next in line was Willie Mays: The Life, The Legend, by James S. Hirsch. This exhaustive authorized biography is a remarkable portrait of arguably the greatest baseball player of all time. I have a love of baseball that started when I was a child. And while from time to time I lost contact with the sport, I always came back to it. Hirsch’s book reminds me why baseball’s accurate history is such an important mirror for the larger story of the U.S.
Having finished those two excellent works, I turned my attention to Grant by Ron Chernow. This massive tome (959 pages of text) feels like it will never be surpassed in terms of its thorough reporting about every aspect of Grant’s life. I’ve read The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Chernow’s biography, not surprisingly, gives a third-person account that is unburdened by the usual issues associated with memoirs. I’ve also read Bruce Catton’s Grant Takes Command and several of his other Civil War histories some of which naturally include a great deal of information about Grant. Chernow’s work goes well beyond Catton’s scope as it traces Grant’s life from cradle to grave and more.
All of the above is on top of my continuing attempt to read Pushkin’s novella пиковая дама (The Queen of Spades) in the original Russian, a slow, daunting task. The result is that I’ve devoted plenty of time so far in 2026 to reading and little to writing. Some time ago I started putting together what I hope will be the seventh title in the Nick Temple Files series. I fully intend to finish it, but reading has captured most of my active thinking time lately. The good news is, as far as I’m concerned, that reading others’ excellent prose is always of value to my attempts to create prose of my own. At some point, perhaps after another 600 pages of exposition about U.S. Grant, I’ll get back to doing just that.
