NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND: THE MOST OUTRAGEOUS STORIES FROM THE ALTERNATIVE PRESS
Chamberlain Bros. -- tpb
New York -- ©2005 -- 238pp
ISBN: 1-59609-008-1
A collection of non-traditional newspaper stories. Stories collected from 'alternative' newspapers.
Introduction -- Steve Almond
"The Hobohemians" -- Ben Ehrenreich LA Weekly
"Evil Eyes" -- Glenna Whitley Dallas Observer
"Bound By Fear: Polygamy in Arizona" -- John Dougherty Phoenix New Times
"I Was Queen for a Day" -- Chris Wright The Boston Phoenix
"Academia Under Siege" -- Barbara Solow The Independent (Durham, NC)
"Spray It, Don't Say It" -- Andrew Kiraly Las Vegas Mercury
"An Unresolved Death" -- Mike Keefe-Feldman Missoula Independent
"Blue Lines, Steel, and the Hour of Myth" -- Celeste Fraser Delgado Miami New Times
"Dead Wrong" -- Wendy Grossman Houston Press
"Good-bye to All That" -- David Ritchie New York Press
"What About the Kids?" -- Jessica Rae Patton The Fairfield County Weekly
"A Village Transformed" -- Brita Brundage The Fairfield County Weekly
"Soul of the Brute" -- Kevin Hoffman Cleveland Scene
"Quitting the Business" -- Eileen Loh Harrist Gambit Weekly (New Orleans)
"Haidl Your Daughters / Unreasonable Doubts?" -- R. Scott Moxley OC Weekly
"Dope" -- Dan Savage The Stranger (Seattle)
"Out of The World" -- Mara Shalhoup Creative Loafing (Atlanta)
"Stalking the Bogeyman" -- David Holthouse Westword (Denver)
"When Girls Go Wild" -- Geri L. Dreiling Riverfront Times (St. Louis)
"Vanishing Act" -- Carlton Smith Willamette Week
"Hip-Hop Turns 30" -- Greg Tate The Village Voice (New York)
"The Last Executioner" -- Jennifer Gonnerman The Village Voice (New York)
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Journalism, the way it was intended.
Today's newspapers are little more than twitteresque reports and media splash -- hook 'em, tell them something dramatic, move on.
This collection of newspaper stories from "alternative" newspaper -- generally those free papers with lots of ads and night-club listings -- break the rules by actually going a little in-depth, reporting, interviewing, AND ... personalizing and offering opinions.
Not all of these stories grabbed me. Some still felt incomplete. Yet overall, these were much more interesting, and in many ways, still relevant, than most daily newspaper stories.
Ben Ehrenreich teaches us that riding the rails as a 'hobo' is still something that happens, though the days of the transient worker is a fading memory. Today's hobos treat it as an extreme sport, or a fun dare.
Glenna Whitley scars us with the in-depth exploration of a serial killer who manages to escape true punishment, and who threatens, again and again, to continue killing.
Although the television media had a field day with the polygamy and compound marriages to teens not too long ago, John Dougherty goes deeper into how a town and a state can keep polygamy on the fast track, and how hard it is for anyone to escape from the beliefs.
Not every story moved. "I Was Queen For A Day" didn't do a thing for me. Perhaps I've just never even considered dressing like a woman and going out on the town. Perhaps the writing just wasn't strong enough. either way, it was my first let-down in the book.
A number of stories seemed interesting, but I'd like a follow-up -- they didn't resolve it. Okay...not all stories get resolved, but newspaper stories, collected and published in a book...could we get just a little more, please? Some of those stories, for me, where..."Academia Under Siege" "What About the Kids?" "Quitting the Business" "Vanishing Act" and "The Last Executioner". All of these were interesting and I just wanted to read more.
Those that really didn't touch me include: "Blue Lines, Steel, and the Hour of Myth" "Good-bye to All That" and "A Village Transformed".
Even so, this is a collection worth reading. No collection will please 100%, but this is a nice way to start.
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