John Jiler

I read this for the same book club that earlier read "The Central Park Five." Altho the two topics were different, both explained a lot of NYC background which was worth learning about. However, both books share the same weakness -- far too much detail about trivialities. Sometimes less is more.

What I found particularly annoying about this book was that it represents itself as an oral history but claims to know what happened when key actors were either alone or in one-on-one relationship conversations. Obviously that material was extrapolated rather than known.

Since I wasn't in NYC for Mayor Koch's terms in office, this was a nice complement to the recent documentary about him. Certain other characters who still participate in NYC politics also showed up. Felt like a voyeur.

Both books eventually lost my attention. Had I not been preparing for a book discussion,, doubt I would have finished either.… (mere)

John Jiler's literary Dark Wind, ostensibly an account of Hurricane Gloria's landfall across Fire Island in September 1985, is actually more a series of elegant in-depth character studies of the ten people who stayed to face the brunt of the storm rather than evacuate. The approaching storm, however, provides a perfect backdrop for Jiler intriguing construct, and along the way he delves into the history and sociology of the diverse nature of Fire Island. The author's attempts to weave in some nature writing though have mixed results: his descriptions of the local birds fit reasonably well into the narrative, but the rather odd meandering wildlife tale of the buck and doe seems wildly misplaced.… (mere)