Author Archives: Mike

The Real All Americans

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Mike

Sally Jenkins tells the interesting, but ultimately sad, story of the Carlisle Indian School in The Real All Americans (2007). Thoroughly researched and told well, the book tells of how a small school for young Indians played against — and … Continue reading →

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Bad Sports

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Mike

Dave Zirin’s Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love is 188 pages of trashing egotistical and wealthy sports franchise owners.  What’s not to like? (Other than the sad reality of what professional sports has become in the … Continue reading →

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Big Leagues

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Mike

I first heard of Big Leagues: Professional Baseball, Football & Basketball in National Memory by Stephen Fox when I was reading this New York Times story about the development of the jump shot in basketball.  Figuring that this was right in … Continue reading →

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Playing with the Enemy

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Mike

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home by Gary Moore is a bookend to something I read last fall, A Measureless Peril. Written by his son, it tells the story of small-town … Continue reading →

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Client 9

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Mike

Having worked in the Spitzer Administration and lived through much of this story, I was somewhat reluctant to watch this film.  I ended up getting it out of library and popping it into the DVD player. The first two-thirds are … Continue reading →

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Fortune’s Fool

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Mike

Fortune’s Fool by Fred Goodman tells the story of the recording industry through the tale of Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and his gamble on Warner Music Group (and the recording industry in general). While interesting at times, it’s tough to recommend … Continue reading →

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The Price of Everything

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Mike

Perhaps not everything, but a Eduardo Porter provides some fascinating insights about why we value the things we value, and what that means in our lives.  Recommended for the behavioral economist in your life. Reviews from the NY Times and … Continue reading →

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The Poisoner’s Handbook

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Mike

The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum is well described by its subtitle, Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. But I probably would have gone with CSI: New York (Prohibition Era).  If you know what … Continue reading →

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The Gun

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Mike

The title of C.J. Chivers Pulitzer Prize winning book refers to the AK-47 (and its lethally improved successors, the AK-74 and AKM).  The book provides a fascinating history of human combat since the American Civil War, largely through the view … Continue reading →

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Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Mike

What really blew me away about this book was the following realization:  even given the thousands of hours I’ve wasted in my life playing video games, I have never played a single game Tom Bissell covers in this entire book. … Continue reading →

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