Julia R. Goldberg

A pretty good compilation of articles recognized by the association of alternative weeklies as being the best in their field. The topics range from arts to politics to film criticism to activism. There is a bit of everything for any reader here. And it is a very good book to browse. I particularly liked the essay about the band working as a State Department cultural ambassador in Burma. I learned a lot about that country and its issues by reading that. People don't give much credit to alternative weeklies, but in reality, a lot of good, well researched, solid writing is happening there. Also, they are a great source of investigative reporting, and they may well be the only source left that does good, solid, aggressive investigative reporting (you know, the kind of thing "mainstream" news probably should be doing if they were not beholden to their corporate overlords and the all mighty dollar). So, yea, go pick this up or borrow it from your local library. And, if your town has a local alternative weekly, pick it up and read it. You may find some good things there.… (meer)