BOOKS THREAD

Love his "Rothstein", despite too many "quotes" made up out of whole cloth.

The new Cosell book is an excellent chronological blow-by-blow of the career of Mr. Pomposity.

 

I just finished "A Troubled Man", the last of Henning Mankell's "Wallander" series and am completely heartbroken.

 

I felt the same way. It seemed so sadly appropriate, though.

 

It felt like real life. But so sad.

 

Started "Rules of Civility," set in late 1930s as war approaches in NYC. It's about a woman who starts as a secretary and climbs the social ladder. It's the first novel by an investment banker. Pretty good so far.

 

I wasn't aware of the new Cosell book. I did read Dave Kindred's Ali/Cosell book last year and own Roone Arledge's memoirs as well as Jim McKay's.

 

Do tell about "Rothstein," Breaker of Leopold and Loeb. I saw that book and was intrigued -- if I didn't have about five other books in the pipeline.

And I skimmed the new Cosell book while killing time one weekend afternoon. Very poignant about how as brilliant as the man was, he just never Got. It.

 

Finished two recently:

Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer by Chris Salewicz an exhaustive look at the frontman for The Only Band That Matters. Truly a definitive look at his life and this should also stand as the best history of The Clash, edging out Marcus Grey's Return of the Last Gang In Town only because the author had such a long history with the band, particularly Strummer and Jones.

Mint Condition by Dave Jamieson about the history of baseball cards. Not a card-collecting junkie, but the book is a fascinating look at how that industry started, grew and then imploded. Highly recommended.

Now reading The Last Hero, A Life of Henry Aaron.

 

Took a little while, but I finally finished Street Gang, the history of Sesame Street. Interesting, a little slow at the beginning as it talks more about the rise of children's television, though that was interesting in itself. Didn't realize so many of the big players in Sesame Street died so relatively young.

 

Sorry, Moddy, don't mean to be a burden on your wallet! This thread is one of the best resources on this board, I have found tons of great books here and hope I have been able to point people in the direction of some good reads. (I get all mine through the library branch that is up the street!)

The jacket blurb on Mint Condition reminded me of another good one I read recently, Bigger Than the Game by Michael Weinreb, a great look at the rise of sports marketing in the mid-80s, fueled by, among others, the '85 Bears, Bo Jackson, Michael Jordan and yes, Brian Bosworth.

http://www.amazon.com/Bigger-Than-Game-Created-Athlete/dp/B004JZWKD2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323962401&sr=1-1

 

I have this on audio. I'm 85% through.

The first three discs (of ten) . . . utter bliss, and Novel of the Year, in my mind -- if you like this sort of thing.

I know Fitzgerald is dead.

But since Fitzgerald is dead, those who love Fitzgerald should push over old women to get to the counter to buy this thing.

The last 20% of the book contains a couple of the finest segments you'll read all year -- or any year.

BUT .. . . . .

SPOILER, AND WORST THING I'VE ENCOUNTERED, THUS FAR:














The portion devoted to Belmont Park is so full of vageries, misreads and broad inaccuracies, you barely know where to start.