James Tidwell’s Summer Reading List

To say that James Tidwell is an avid reader would be an understatement. The Master Sommelier and beverage manager of the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Dallas suburb Las Colinas is well known among his friends and peers as a polymath—with a home library to prove it.

For our July/August 2016 issue, Jessica Dupuy profiles Tidwell, who offers an inside look at his epic book collection. Stacked along the multiple floor-to-ceiling shelves are expected topics of wine and culinary relevance, alongside tomes of anthropology, geography, philosophy, poetry and an illustrated overview of the films of Wes Anderson. With our interest piqued, we asked Tidwell to recommend a little summer reading—here are his suggestions:

The Tummy Trilogy by Calvin Trillin. “Another era in food as related by one of America’s great humorists.”

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. “A classic of humor about the rapture.”

Kraken by China Miéville. “Another surreal and crazy view of the possible end of the world that defies description.”

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. “Because it’s summer, and it’s Kerouac.”

Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese. “A classic of New Journalism and possibly the classic story from Esquire’s golden age. Groundbreaking for telling the story through interviews with everyone except Sinatra and using techniques that at the time were reserved for fiction. A compelling view of an icon written by another icon.”