MixedThe Wall Street JournalOne of Us ultimately finds its footing and delivers, although Mr. Chaon’s good taste and well-meaning sympathy sometimes threaten, paradoxically, to get in the way ... Mr. Chaon knows how to unsettle a reader ... It is puzzling that Mr. Chaon seems to pull his punches for the first third of this book ... Wet-blanket Eleanor obstinately resists every interesting plot development ...
This pays off horrifyingly in the final chapter, but along the way it’s a drag to spend time with a character who dislikes being in her own story ... Nevertheless, One of Us triumphs ... Uncle Charlie is written with exuberant gusto ... He is a compelling, bloodcurdling, often funny delight.
PositiveThe Wall Street JournalUnderstands the assignment ... The story smoothly switches among four narrators...and their cumulative perspectives on Alex’s death click together with the satisfying pacing of a murder mystery ... Mr. Greene grounds the premise in knotty emotion and authentic humanity. Many scenes hold their own as realistic literary fiction ... Unworld also nails how once-alienating technology can swiftly become banal and even comfy ... Not everything in the novel works. The tidy ending hustles Anna into an overheated epiphany, and even though everyone in the book mourns Alex, the kid is tedious ... Yet Mr. Greene takes interesting risks that pay off more often than not.
Jeffry D. Wert
PositiveThe Military ReviewWert categorizes the \'barons\' as visionaries, inventors, dreamers, etc., for each chapter. This organization aids the reader to draw connections between the similar actions of the persons he is discussing. This book is not an overview of how many pounds of meat were produced or miles of rail tracks built, but a much deeper look into the lives and the social and political connections of the men behind the companies that contributed significantly to the war effort ... Wert provides opposing points of view of these men. While he provides praise for these giants from many sources at the time, he also presents information on the baron’s controversies with the public and the government about excess profits, contract disputes, and corruption ... His writing style is very easy to follow and a quick read. The book is intended for an audience familiar with the Civil War. This would be a good book for those interested in the U.S. strategic-industrial base as some of the same characteristics and needs arose during World War I.
