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  <id>454832</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Modern Library)]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[0679640266]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9780679640264]]></isbn13>
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  <description><![CDATA[Upon its publication in 1968, <strong>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</strong> confirmed Joan Didion as one of the most prominent writers on the literary scene. Her unblinking vision and deadpan tone have influenced subsequent generations of reporters and essayists, changing our expectations of style, voice, and the artistic possibilities of nonfiction. <br/>        <br/>&quot;In her portraits of people,&quot; <em>The New York Times Book Review</em> wrote, &quot;Didion is not out to expose but to understand, and she shows us actors and millionaires, doomed brides and naïve acid-trippers, left-wing ideologues and snobs of the Hawaiian aristocracy in a way that makes them neither villainous nor glamorous, but alive and botched and often mournfully beautiful. . . . A rare display of some of the best prose written today in this country.&quot;<br/>        <br/>In essay after essay, Didion captures the dislocation of the 1960s, the disorientation of a country shredding itself apart with social change. Her essays not only describe the subject at hand--the murderous housewife, the little girl trailing the rock group, the millionaire bunkered in his mansion--but also offer a broader vision of America, one that is both terrifying and tender, ominous and uniquely her own.<br/>        <br/>Joyce Carol Oates has written, &quot;Joan Didion is one of the very few writers of our time who approaches her terrible subject with absolute seriousness, with fear and humility and awe. Her powerful irony is often sorrowful rather than clever. . . . She has been an articulate witness to the most stubborn and intractable truths of our time, a memorable voice, partly eulogistic, partly despairing; always in control.&quot;]]></description>
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        <name><![CDATA[Joan Didion]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
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  <average_rating>4.31</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <date_added>Thu Jul 12 10:42:58 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 00:23:10 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It would be interesting to track precisely when Didion went from an essayist of surprise and guts and instinct to a useless &quot;journalist&quot;, a neurotic upper-upper-middle-class self-chronicler and collector of the obvious--when she lost heart and became her own problems. <br/><br/>But I rea...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2986475">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
  <id>5552495</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Quinn]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
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  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
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    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <read_at>Tue Sep 04 08:24:35 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Sep 02 18:52:57 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Sep 02 18:52:57 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I realize what is disturbing about these essays and what leaves the acrid aftertaste on the leftist tongue about Didion.  And I don't think it has much to do with her relatively measured take on the drug-addled Haight-Ashbury scene.  For better, but admittedly and sadly often for worse, the radical ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5552495">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Ryan]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[Megan]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Mar 27 20:05:35 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 23 21:36:59 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Mar 27 20:05:11 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This woman writes like I think. When I'm at my most lucid and firing all of my synapses. The essay  &quot;Slouching Toward Bethlehem&quot; was as great as I'd heard. &quot;On Self-Respect&quot; was shattering in its clarity--Didion doesn't write about things, the <em>writes them wholly</em>. And the last pie...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18480695">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18480695]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18480695]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27571004</id>
    <user>
    <id>1269639</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jill]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Spokane, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1269639-jill-malone]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
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  <date_added>Thu Jul 17 16:53:42 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Jul 17 16:55:42 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A collection of essays that changed the way I look at writing--tone and syntax particularly.  A tough, beautiful book.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27571004]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27571004]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>31501943</id>
    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Patrick]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 28 23:32:10 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Aug 28 23:36:09 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Everyone I know who reads a lot or considers themselves writers has told me to read Joan Didion. I always cringe and go the other way when too many people tell me to do the same thing. I’m not sure where, or when, this resistance to Didion started. But it has somehow manifested itself in my psyche...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31501943">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31501943]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/31501943]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
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    <name><![CDATA[Dar...Nola]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/635646-dar-nola]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="have-read--then-given-away-for-othe" />
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[essayists, activists, those who are tired of careless writing]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1983</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 25 16:46:57 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 26 14:02:37 -0800 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Can I tell you I am shocked by those who do not know Joan Didion's writing? And there are lots of these types, I can tell you. Almost no young person under 28 has read her, and I blame the teachers who think (I assume) that she has been over praised, and yet these same teachers struggle with explain...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11003530">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11003530]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11003530]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4614414</id>
    <user>
    <id>279256</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Diane]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kansas City, MO]]></location>
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  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Aug 15 18:21:58 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Mar 12 14:35:28 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Joan Didion, where have you been all my life? My husband has been trying to get me to read her books for years, and I see now how blindly stupid I've been in not reading her sooner. <br/><br/>Most of the essays in &quot;Slouching Towards Bethlethem&quot; are wondrous; there were only a few that di...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4614414">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4614414]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4614414]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>4361591</id>
    <user>
    <id>165188</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Benjamin]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Brooklyn, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/165188-benjamin-church]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Aug 10 09:16:01 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Jan 08 10:50:14 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[&quot;In retrospect it seems to me that those days before I knew the names of all the bridges were happier than the ones that came later, but perhaps you will see that as we go along.  Part of what I want to tell you is what it is like to be young in New York, how six months can become eight years w...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4361591">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4361591]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4361591]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>17432421</id>
    <user>
    <id>921077</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Alice]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Denver, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/921077-alice]]></link>
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    <book>
  <id type="integer">424</id>
  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="short-stories-and-essays" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 09 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Mar 10 07:24:24 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Mar 10 07:54:25 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Really?  People like Joan Didion?  Really? The best thing about this book is the fact that she includes William Butler Yeats' &quot;The Second Coming.&quot;  I'd never read Yeats before and he is amazing!<br/><br/>I always felt like Joan Didion was one of those authors I should read, and she does ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17432421">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17432421]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/17432421]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23691048</id>
    <user>
    <id>130065</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Josie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/130065-josie]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1181788721p3/130065.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">424</id>
  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Jul 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 04 10:50:10 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Jul 12 10:25:49 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So the question is, &quot;If I read enough San Francisco books, will I start to like San Francisco?&quot;  If they're all about hippies, the answer is &quot;no.&quot;<br/><br/>I like Joan Didion but sometimes the way in which everything is heightened and so personal is a little juvenile.  Like, I ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23691048">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23691048]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23691048]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>979886</id>
    <user>
    <id>74454</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Christopher]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Birmingham, AL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/74454-christopher]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">424</id>
  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Everyone]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1998</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue May 01 20:39:32 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon May 07 16:22:56 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book has meant more to me than almost any other book I have read. I give it four stars only because it is a collection of essays, and not all of them are 5-star. The ones that are though (in particularly &quot;On Keeping a Notebook&quot; and &quot;Goodbye to All That&quot;) penetrate and reveal...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/979886">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/979886]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/979886]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>51467700</id>
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    <id>788353</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Keonaona]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
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  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1983</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 04 06:36:58 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 04 07:20:01 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this collection many, many years before I first set foot in California. It was something I dipped into now and again to kind of remind myself about that time period, that 1960s mind-set: the Haight was still happening; Woodstock was not yet on the horizon; Apollo 11 had not yet gone to the Mo...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51467700">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51467700]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>49960375</id>
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    <id>336555</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Annie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
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  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Mar 21 10:01:58 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Mar 24 16:31:09 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[My writing teacher assigned the essay &quot;On Keeping a Notebook&quot; to us, and instead of just reading that I read the entire collection cover to cover. Joan Didion is a writer's writer, someone whose very word choice conjures envy. The way she weaves so many different narratives, moments, and v...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/49960375">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>45940628</id>
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    <id>252843</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Eric]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[New York, NY]]></location>
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  <isbn>0374531382</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374531386</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/40/199/4073199-m-1255621680.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/40/199/4073199-s-1255621680.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4073199.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.14</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>44</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem </em>remains, forty years after its first publication, the essential portrait of America&#8212; particularly California&#8212;in the sixties. It focuses on such subjects as John Wayne and Howard Hughes, growing up a girl in California, ruminating on the nature of good and evil in a Death Valley motel room, and, especially, the essence of San Francisco&#8217;s Haight-Ashbury, the heart of the counterculture.&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Feb 13 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 10 10:38:26 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Feb 13 13:30:41 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<em>Slouching Toward Bethlehem</em> features Didion's snarky but self-effacing prose slashing through vapid hippie rhetoric, swooning over John Wayne, and, often, turning inward to reflect on her searching twenties. What emerges from the essays as a whole is a personality, steady and powerful, a logical plac...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45940628">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45940628]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45940628]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2268480</id>
    <user>
    <id>145303</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kate]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Washington, DC]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/145303-kate]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">424</id>
  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 22 13:47:31 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Sep 09 19:45:11 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this last year and recently re-read (and re-read) several of the essays.  I can't recommend the essay &quot;Goodbye to All That&quot; enough: particularly for friends who experienced some shift in their lives in their late-twenties, early-thirties.  It's beautifully written.<br/><br/>The ot...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2268480">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2268480]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2268480]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>67554098</id>
    <user>
    <id>623295</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Nora]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
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  <isbn>0374531382</isbn>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/40/199/4073199-m-1255621680.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/books/40/199/4073199-s-1255621680.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4073199.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[&lt;DIV&gt;&lt;DIV&gt;The first nonfiction work by one of the most distinctive prose stylists of our era, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem </em>remains, forty years after its first publication, the essential portrait of America&#8212; particularly California&#8212;in the sixties. It focuses on such subjects as John Wayne and Howard Hughes, growing up a girl in California, ruminating on the nature of good and evil in a Death Valley motel room, and, especially, the essence of San Francisco&#8217;s Haight-Ashbury, the heart of the counterculture.&lt;/DIV&gt;&lt;/DIV&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Aug 15 19:25:02 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 22 15:04:16 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I like Joan Didion... and now I want to leave Oregon and move to California, though wonder if my staunch New Englandness can truly make such a move with comfort or a modicum of ease or will I simply feel like a foreigner, like a spy sent from a far to see how the other side lives and to debunk the m...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67554098">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67554098]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/67554098]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56983994</id>
    <user>
    <id>733957</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Greg]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/733957-greg]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">424</id>
  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed May 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 22 12:53:36 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri May 22 12:58:34 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I never would have thought that I would voluntarily read a collection of essays on any subject other than maybe sports or popular music, but I really enjoyed this.  Didion writes with grace and skill, and she offers a perceptive eye into a wide range of interesting topics--from suburban murders to H...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56983994">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56983994]]></url>
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</review>
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  <isbn>0374521727</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
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    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
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  <read_at>Sat Jan 31 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
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    <body><![CDATA[Joan Didion can <em>write</em>. It's a little intimidating reading her, since not only is she a master stylist, but she's great at finding the appropriate nugget that represents the ideas or the subjects she's writing about.<br/><br/>Didion writes about dreams, both aborted and realized, and how those drea...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44514591">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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      <review>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
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  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
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  <read_at>Wed Sep 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Oct 18 14:03:33 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Oct 18 14:27:39 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Joan Didion's collection of 1960's essays.  In her clear, incisive writing style, she views a California -- and an America -- that, in her eyes, often teeter on the brink of madness.  The deserted prison on Alcatraz; the dying world in which she grew up, ranching in and around Sacramento, replaced b...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74943156">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/74943156]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>80789202</id>
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    <id>1821338</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jake]]></name>
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  <isbn13>9780374521721</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">343</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/424.Slouching_Towards_Bethlehem_Essays</link>
  <average_rating>4.30</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>3109</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Universally acclaimed when it was first published in 1968, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has become a modern classic. More than any other book of its time, this collection captures the mood of 1960s America, especially the center of its counterculture, California. These essays, keynoted by an extraordinary report on San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury, all reflect that, in one way or another, things are falling apart, &quot;the center cannot hold.&quot; An incisive look at contemporary American life, <em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em> has been admired for several decades as a stylistic masterpiece.<br/><br/><strong>Contents:</strong><br/><br/><strong>I. LIFE STYLES IN THE GOLDEN LAND	</strong><br/><em>Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream</em><br/><em>John Wayne: A Love Song</em><br/><em>Where the Kissing Never Stops</em><br/><em>Comrade Laski, C.P.U.S.A. (M.-L.)</em><br/><em>7000 Romaine, Los Angeles 38</em><br/><em>California Dreaming</em><br/><em>Marrying Absurd</em><br/><em>Slouching Towards Bethlehem</em><br/><br/><strong>II. PERSONALS</strong><br/><em>On Keeping a Notebook</em><br/><em>On Self-Respect</em><br/><em>I Can't Get That Monster out of My Mind</em><br/><em>On Morality</em><br/><em>On Going Home</em><br/><br/><strong>III. SEVEN PLACES OF THE MIND</strong><br/><em>Notes from a Native Daughter</em><br/><em>Letter from Paradise, 21° 19' N., 157° 52' W</em><br/><em>Rock of Ages</em><br/><em>The Seacoast of Despair</em><br/><em>Guaymas, Sonora</em><br/><em>Los Angeles Notebook</em><br/><em>Goodbye to All That</em><br/>&lt;/div&gt;]]>
  </description>
  <published>1968</published>
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  <read_at>Mon Dec 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Dec 12 15:24:51 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Dec 23 14:15:06 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Joan Didion is at her best when she's forced to deal with specific, real world events and people.  Here, her strongest essays are about a murder trial, the 60s counter-culture in California, and her life growing up in Sacramento.  She turns each of those accounts into a lyrical exegesis on the Ameri...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80789202">more...</a>]]></body>
    
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