Floating Off the Page : The Best Stories from The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column" (Wall Street Journal Book)

Rating:
Summary: Informative and Funny
Review: Admittedly, I knew very little about the Middle Column of the Wall Street Journal before reading this book. Now, I might just have to get a subscription to WSJ! The stories unfold as if they are the creation of some short story writer. Would you ever think that getting a hole-in-one in golf could be a bad thing? Well, in Japan, it is....in a way. And if you think that Stephen King writes a lot of books, wait until you hear about the man who holds the world record. A lot of the stuff you will learn from this book is mainly to entertain friends, but it's just as entertaining as reading a novel. Plus, you will get a perspective of how people thought 25 years ago and just how right they were. The only thing preventing the book from getting 5 stars is that it might be a tad bit on the "long" side and the editor attempts to group the stories by content. Personally, I would have rather had it completely mixed up because one of the chapters is a bit "dry." All in all, a great read that will have you smiling quite a bit.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing Heavy
Review: For those who enjoy good journalistic writing, these stories are like eating a box of chocolates. Reading one or two a day can be a real treat. Reading a half dozen at a time may leave a saccharine aftertaste.

Editorial arrangement of the stories in topical groups is reasonable enough, but the editor plays coy with the date of composition, putting it at the end of the essay. It's as if the topics are so airy, it makes little difference whether they're true in the recent past or forty years ago. Enjoy the writing, chuckle over the odd characters profiled, don't take the book too seriously.

Rating:
Summary: Middle, but Not Mediocre
Review: Like many readers checking out this book, I've read the "middle column" for years. I'm bemused to learn everyone else calls it the same thing. What else could it be called? "That funky human interest article in the WSJ that has no direct relationship to anything else in the paper"? Maybe, but that would take too long to say.

"Floating off the Page: The Best Stories from The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column"" covers all those stories you missed. On one hand, it is just a collection of articles from a well-read newspaper column. On the other, it is a peek into the unusual world we live in. As bizarre as some of these stories are, as much as you'll look and tell the other person with you, "listen to this, there's this guy in New York who...", these are real life.

It isn't all humor, but you'll find many a chuckle in the book. You'll wonder where and how they found these people, but you'll be drawn into every page. The middle column isn't one of those selection of odd newswire stories, but a fully-researched look into one story, and all its oddities. They are written with as much erudite literary prowess as the rest of the WSJ, but without the MBA-level knowledge required.

Coffeehouses should stock this one, as well as waiting rooms at dentists' office everywhere.

I fully recommend "Floating off the Page: The Best Stories from The Wall Street Journal's "Middle Column""

Anthony Trendl

Rating:
Summary: Great Writing, Bright Thinking
Review: This collection of mostly humorous, occasionally tragic, but always clever stories is a pleasure to read and to consider stealing from. The "middle column" of the Wall Street Journal is where you'll find all kinds of quirky, off-beat pieces on people or issues you thought you might not care about. But the writing draws you in and makes you care about the eccentric Englishman who's built a medieval siege engine, or the doomsday group, or the guy who tests aircraft viability by hurling dead chickens through the air, or the Laotian navy, and the more than 60 other characters presented in this book. While the quirkiness of finding these stories surrounded by the much more serious reporting of financial stories might catch your eye, the content of the material will hold it.
This is a great book for people looking for another view of the world and what's important. And journalists take note: there's a goldmine of story possibilities in this book.