It was very interesting to me to read this book of essays immediately after reading Ann Patchett's book of essays. Such a different style; both excellent. Didion's writing is bright, clear, and very intelligent. Her subjects are often political, and seem "grittier" than Patchett's. Most of these essays were from the 80's and 90's, so an interesting look back.

reaaaaally liked this. all of this. i am insanely jealous of how she weaves sentences together and manages to hide disgust or amusement between the lines so well that you cannot accuse her of anything you know she is doing.

Still schlepping through Didion’s work. Sometimes the topics are too niche for me, and seemingly irrelevant. Did I really care to learn the history of LA, especially the LA times newspaper?! No. Was I enthralled by the last piece on NYC, the portrayal of crime… yes! The politics sections were not my fav - I don’t know the players, the context is 50 years removed.. but echoes of the narratives still apply in the 2024 presidential race. So I think she will always be relevant and a touch point for culture.

Of course you rate Didion with five stars, even when the essays are dated. Style and seeing how her mind works are chief reasons. At this point the essays have become history, perhaps, more than anything else, at least in terms of content. They are all 30 years old.

Joan is incredible, but I will say it is difficult to read news stories on characters and institutions that I don’t have context for. The New York essay was insightful. The California fires essay gave a lot of clarity on why the fires shouldn’t feel so unprecedented today. The DC essays really I could’ve skipped.

i wish i could rate in halves because i would be giving this book 4.5/5 stars. this is my third didion book and was gifted to me. it’s another heartbreaking recount of americans moods towards race, economics, politics and education from 1979-1990. it is basically a series of essays and covers a vast variety of different topics. the saddest part of this book is the fact that so little has changed, specifically the ending chapter talks of Racial Inequalities in the Law.

After Henry displays a more “journalistic” and political side of Didion than in her earlier, perhaps more well-known works. For the modern reader, eerie look-backs on the topic of race in America (seems not a whole lot has changed yet ~30 years later) explored through the Central Park Five case and Tom Bradley’s Los Angeles.

Always a great read, Didion cuts to the core of any matter. Comparing New York to Third World cities she comments: cities are arranged primarily not to improve the lives of its citizens but to be labor-intensive, to accommodate at a subsistence level, a third world population.
Still on the bookshelves after all these years.

Joan Didion is a fascinating creature, I think, who has a magical way of writing. Here she shares her experience of politics, California, and general social commentary. Where Didion is concerned, words are indeed weapons and her knife is razor sharp.

so enjoy an essayist...and Didion is among the best the literary world has to offer....do enjoy her shorter essays more (evidence of the short attention span we all have in the Twitter era).....but will continue to excavate her work....her questions and race and urban development as relevant now as they were at the time of publication....

This is my least favourite of Didion’s essay collections purely because the subject matter just wasn’t of interest to me (Reagan, presidential elections etc) the saving grace were the New York essays which I found more interesting and captures the disorder of NY in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

A laconic insight into Didion's professional journalism, interspersed with American insight that is no less clinical in its prose. Notable writing on Nancy Reagan, the 1988 writers guild strike, the writers time teaching at Berkeley and finally the inimitable final 3 chapters on the municipal, judicial and social functionality (or lack thereof) in New York; dense with Didion’s own dissatisfaction and skepticism surrounding the Central Park 5 court proceedings.