Author Archives: Mike

Billion Dollar Ball

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Mike

In Billion Dollar Ball: A Journey Through the Big-Money Culture of College Football, Gilbert Gaul shed slight on the $2.5 billion (and growing) entertainment business — a business that was once part of academia, but has now outgrown it. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in book, non-fiction, review Comments Off on Billion Dollar Ball

Soccer in Sun and Shadow

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Mike

Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow is a must read for anyone who loves the beautiful game. Read reviews from the Staten Island Advance, Publisher’s Weekly and World Soccer Talk.  Listen to a story about the book at NPR.

Posted in book, history, non-fiction, review Comments Off on Soccer in Sun and Shadow

@War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Mike

In ‘@War,’ Shane Harris explains tells the emerging world of cyber warfare. It is a world of blurred lines – there are no national borders in cyberspace, and the roles of the military, law enforcement, and intelligence services are much … Continue reading →

Posted in book, non-fiction, public policy, review Comments Off on @War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex

The Soccer Diaries

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Mike

The Soccer Diaries, by Michael Agovino, is a very readable personal soccer history by a passionate follower of the game. It begins in the Bronx when, as a child, Agovino finds himself captivated by ‘the beautiful game.’  (It’s a lso … Continue reading →

Posted in book, history, non-fiction, review Comments Off on The Soccer Diaries

Kill Your Friends

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Mike

‘Kill Your Friends’John Niven’s Kill Your Friends does for the music industry what The Player did for Hollywood. It’s chock full of duplicity and cynicism, with a healthy dollop of sex and drugs on top. A very funny read. Read … Continue reading →

Posted in book, review Comments Off on Kill Your Friends

The Hollywood Economist

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Mike

Edward Jay Epstein’s the Hollywood Economist is a must-read for anyone who remembers the not-too-distant age when television was known as “the boob tube” and movies were more than a series of car crashes and shoot-outs. The author provides some … Continue reading →

Posted in book, non-fiction, review Comments Off on The Hollywood Economist

The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Mike

I very much enjoyed Colson Whitehead’s Zone One when I read it a few years back. And since I enjoy reading about writers who travel to Las Vegas for poker tournaments (among other things), I figured I’d check this book … Continue reading →

Posted in book, review, road trip Comments Off on The Noble Hustle: Poker, Beef Jerky and Death

Tomorrow-Land

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Mike

With the recent 50th anniversary of the opening of the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair, this is obviously a timely work.  And growing up in the New York City area, and having been to Flushing Meadow-Corona Park many times, I … Continue reading →

Posted in book, history, review Comments Off on Tomorrow-Land

The Expats

Posted on April 1, 2014 by Mike

I haven’t read any “spy fiction” in quite some time, but I stumbled across of review of Chris Pavone’s “The Expats” which made it sound like an interesting read. The story takes a while to unfold — a former CIA … Continue reading →

Posted in book, con man, review Comments Off on The Expats

The Wolf of Wall Street

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Mike

I figured that I would see Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” at some point, and I like to read the book before I see the movie. So I took Jordan Belfort’s 2007 “memoir” out of the library.  A … Continue reading →

Posted in book, con man, non-fiction, review Comments Off on The Wolf of Wall Street