On the surface the two books I chose for my first BOOKSPIN review couldn't be more different. However, upon further review, Adam Shepard's Scratch Beginnings and Ruben "Doc" Cavazos' Honor Few, Fear None share one important theme -- each book is an answer to a book that they each felt were untrue, or at best, misleading.
First up, Shepard gives us his response to Barbara Ehrenreich's famous titles Nickel and Dimed and Bait and Switch. The copy on the back of the book intimates that Shepard was "incensed" by Ehrenreich's work. To be honest, I don't recall those two books being mentioned by Shepard in the pages, but that is moot. I was prepared to dislike Scratch because I very much enjoyed and agreed with Ms. Ehrenreich's books.
But, in fairness, Shepard provides an easy-to-read narrative of his journey. Beginning with $25 and a rough plan, he travels to Charleston, South Carolina to prove to himself that the American Dream is still alive. Shepard has a good voice for describing the characters he met in the shelter and at the jobs he took along the way.
Somehow Shepard presents himself as a sympathetic character. I did find him likable and was pulling for him to succeed. And, I suppose, the biggest compliment I can give him is that I think he and Ms. Ehrenreich are both right. The problem of homelessness and poverty is too large to be solved by the words of any writer, no matter how erudite.
I reccommend Scratch Beginnings to anyone who wants to be reminded that the heartbeat of the American Dream is still alive and cannot be stilled.
On the other hand, Honor Few, Fear None is a scathing attack on a previous book by law enforcement agent Billy Queen, Under and Alone. The subtitle of Honor is "The Life & Times of a Mongol". The Mongols are one of the most infamous motorcyle gangs in America. Cavazos had been asked before to write a book about his life, but not until Queen's lie-filled book (according to Cavazos) came out, did he decide to tell his story and the story of the gang he leads.
I previously read Under and Alone because I find myself mesmerized by inside accounts of modern-day "outlaws". I never expected that just a few years later I would be able to read the rebuttal. Cavazos justifies many of the activities of the Mongols with somewhat self-serving reasoning, but it makes sense. From his childhood in southern California street gangs, he was destined to be marginalized by the system.
Reading this book, I cannot help but see similarities to the (also self-serving) autobiographies which spill forth from the minds of business and political leaders. But, I have to admit, I personally come down on the side of Cavazos rather than Queen. His management style and leadership techniques have brought the Mongols to where they are today...whether you like it or not. Ruben "Doc" Cavazos is truly a self-made man. Of course, he would tell you that he couldn't have done it without his brothers, the Mongols.
In summary, I enjoyed both of these books. They both tell of triumph over adversity -- one on the east coast and the other out west -- yet worlds apart.
HONOR FEW, FEAR NONE The Life & Times of a Mongol by Ruben "Doc" Cavazos
Harper Collins
ISBN 9780061137891
Hardcover only -- paperback releases on May 19, 2009
Author website: http://www.Mongolsmc.com
Publisher website: http://www.harpercollins.com
SCRATCH BEGINNINGS Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream by Adam Shepard
Harper Collins
ISBN 9780061714368
Hardcover only
Author website: http://www.scratchbeginnings.com
Publisher website: http://www.harpercollins.com
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Thank you. :)
ReplyDelete- Adam