LISA'S REVIEW: There's A House In The Land (Shaun D. Mullen)

There's a House in the Land: (Where a Band Can Take a Stand)

by Shaun D. Mullen

A character in the "Doonesbury" comic strip once called the 1970s "A kidney stone of a decade, ' and compared to the 1960s and 1970s it was. It also was a time of bad hair and bad music, but none of this mattered to the mutant tribe who lived on a farm in Philadelphia's far western suburbs that at first glance would seem to have been one of the communes ubiquitous during that era but most definitely was not. "There's a House In The Land" is the story of that tribe, that farm and an extraordinarily magical time.

Review:

This is quite different from the memoirs I have read in the past. Mullen put a new spin on this type of writing. I found this easy to put down. Not because it was lacking in interest but because I felt like each chapter was a new short story. I could read one chapter rather quickly and get back to my day, then when I found some more free time I could easily pick up the next chapter. I often hate a book I can put down but, that is not the case here. I also often find memoirs to be a bit boring at times in the stories. Also, not the case here. So much happens with so many different characters. So many interesting stories and I loved seeing the world in this era. Being young and loving history, this book is a winner for me! A real Blast from the Past for me and I enjoyed it a lot.

Rating:

  

Shaun D. Mullen is an award-winning journalist, blogger and author of two highly acclaimed books.

Over a long career with newspapers, this award-winning editor and reporter covered the Vietnam War, O.J. Simpson trials, Clinton impeachment circus and coming of Osama bin Laden, among many other big stories. Mullen also mentored reporters who went on to be the best in the newspaper and television business, including several who won Pulitzer Prizes.

Five of the stories and investigative series that Mullen supervised were nominated for Pulitzer Prizes, including exposes on the infiltration of organized crime into Atlantic City building trades and casino unions, the malfeasance of the Pennsylvania State Medical Board, and "The Six Hundred Thirty: The Stories of Philadelphia's Vietnam War Dead."

He is the author of "The Bottom of the Fox: A True Story of Love, Devotion & Cold-Blooded Murder" (2010) and "There's A House In The Land: A Tale of the 1970s" (2014).

Much of Mullen's work is archived in the Shaun D. Mullen Journalism Papers in Special Collections at the University of Delaware Library.

Mullen blogs at Kiko's House and is a guest columnist at The Moderate Voice.