Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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“If we have money, we shall have friends.” – Menander

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

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When I think of thrill-a-minute page turners, I do NOT think of historical fiction about obscure 1930s tax attorneys. And yet, here we are! Graham Moore’s The Wealth of Shadows is easily my favorite read of 2024. Are you as skeptical as I was? It shouldn’t be a surprise that Moore is adept at either the historical setting or dialogue – he won an Academy Award as the screenwriter of The Imitation Game. The Wealth of Shadows explores the economic arena of World War II, […]

A jury that made the wrong call. OR DID THEY.

The Holdout by Graham Moore

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I must have read this entire book in about four or five hours. I was expecting to spend about three days with it, because my reading has slowed down ever since lockdown/quarantine/whatever started. I can still read, but for less stretches of time, and at a slower pace than normal. Several books I’ve just absolutely crawled through. But not this one! This one broke through for some reason, and I did not want to put it down. (ETA: This was written back in late April […]

What really happens in the jury room?

The Holdout by Graham Moore

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What happens when a young black teacher is on trial for the murder of a wealthy LA businessman’s daughter (who was his student) and there isn’t a body?  You end up with a very long, very publicized trial, and a jury who can’t reach a decision.  Or can they?  In a similar fashion to Twelve Angry Men, can one women change the minds of the rest of the jury to vote not guilty? The Holdout is a brilliant mystery by Graham Moore, a great writer […]

Patent Wars

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I really wanted to like this book, and there were definitely some great moments in it with visceral setting and interesting factoids, but it all fell a bit flat for me. “The Last Days of Night” is a fictional retelling of the patent wars between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse during the hey-day of America’s invention period. Moore chooses to tell this story from the Point of View of Westinghouse’s lawyer, Paul Cravath. It’s an ingenious way to tell a story riddled with scientific specifics and […]



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