On My Radar:

Louder Than Hell: The Definitive Oral History of Metal
Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman
It Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

From Sabbath to Slipknot, Louder Than Hell is the definitive oral history of heavy metal, straight from the mouths of those who defined it. The book was crafted from more than four hundred interviews conducted over the past twenty-five years by music journalists Jon Wiederhorn and Katherine Turman. They have unearthed never-before-heard stories, eye-opening admissions, and the truth behind some of metal’s wildest moments, such as the industrial accident that forever changed the sound of Black Sabbath, the experiences that got Dave Mustaine booted from Metallica, and the bloodletting rituals of death metal bands Morbid Angel and Deicide. Louder Than Hell is packed with raw and unflinching commentary from icons of metal from its inception in the late 1960s to the current day, including Ozzy Osbourne, Bruce Dickinson, Eddie Van Halen, Tommy Lee, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kerry King, Vince Neil, Axl Rose, Jonathan Davis, Corey Taylor, Pete Steele, Dave Grohl, Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Dimebag Darrell, and hundreds of others.

From groundbreaking innovations such as the dawn of distortion and the birth of cookie monster vocals to amazing tales of destruction and wild sexual escapades,Louder Than Hell has it all, like the evolution of Judas Priest’s seminal powerchord sound and patented leather-and-studs look; the provocative exploits of the Sunset Strip scene; and the truth behind the Norwegian church burnings and murders that became synonymous with black metal. Discover how Faith No More accidentally created rap-metal and who invented the “devil horns”—and how most people do it wrong.

Louder Than Hell is the definitive look behind the curtain at one of our most dynamic and enduring musical genres. To paraphrase Spinal Tap, how much more metal can you get? None, none more metal.

In My TBR Stack:

Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian
Bob Saget
It Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role as the sweetly neurotic father on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host ofAmerica's Funniest Home Videos. And then there are the legions of fans who can't get enough of his scatological, out-of-his-mind stand-up routines, comedy specials, and outrageously profane performances in such shows as HBO's Entourage and the hit documentary The Aristocrats. In his bold and wildly entertaining publishing debut, Bob continues to embrace his dark side and gives readers the book they have long been waiting for—hilarious and often dirty yet warm and disarmingly sincere.

Bob talks about the connection between humor and pain, offering insights into his own life, including the deaths of his beloved sisters. He pays homage to the people who shaped and inspired him: his mom, Dolly; his father, Ben (the comedy influence who instilled his love of "sick silliness"); and the teacher who told him, "You need to make people laugh," as well as legendary comedians such as Richard Pryor, David Letterman, Billy Crystal, and Robin Williams.

Bob believes there's a time and a place for filth and immature humor—and for gentle family comedy. Dirty Daddy is packed with both, from his never-before-heard stories of what really went on behind the scenes of two of the most successful family shows of all times, with costars like John Stamos, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Ashley Olsen, to his liberating The Aristocrats, his Comedy Central roast, and his role of playing an extreme version of himself onEntourage. Bob opens up about his career, his reputation for sick humor, his pride and love for Full House, and how he's come to terms with the fame of being DT—"Danny Tanner." Throughout, he shares tales of close friends and colleagues like Rodney Dangerfield and Don Rickles, and recalls his experiences with show business legends, including Johnny Carson and George Carlin.

Told with his highly original blend of silliness, vulgarity, wit, and heart, Dirty Daddy reveals Bob Saget as never before—a man who loves being funny and making people laugh above all else.

On My Radar:

Nothin' to Lose: The Making of Kiss (1972-1975)
Ken Sharp with Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons
It Books
Trade Paperback

From the publisher's website:

Nothin' to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975) chronicles, for the first time, the crucial formative years of the legendary rock band KISS, culminating with the groundbreaking success of their classic 1975 album Alive! and the smash single "Rock and Roll All Nite," a song that nearly four decades later remains one of rock's most enduring anthems. Drawing on more than two hundred interviews, the book offers a captivating and intimate fly-on-the-wall account of their launch, charting the struggles and ultimate victories that led them to the threshold of superstardom.

Constructed as an oral history, the book includes original interviews with Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss, as well as with producers; engineers; management; record company personnel; roadies; club owners; booking agents; concert promoters; costume, stage, and art designers; rock photographers; publicists; and key music journalists.

Many of KISS's musical contemporaries from the time, most of whom shared concert bills with the band on their early tours, also lend their perspective via new interviews; these include Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, and Ted Nugent, as well as members of Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Rush, Slade, Blue Öyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Raspberries, The James Gang, The New York Dolls, Iggy & the Stooges, The Ramones, Suzi Quatro, Argent, and Uriah Heep, among others.

The result is an indelible and irresistible portrait of a band on the rise and of the music scene they changed forever.

In My TBR Stack:

Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain
Charles R. Cross
It Books
Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Kurt Cobain was the voice of a generation. Twenty years after his death, why does he still matter?

On April 5, 1994, twenty-seven-year-old Kurt Cobain took his own life. His desperation to kick drugs, his complicated relationship with fame, his tortured soul—all these elements came together in one terrible moment in Seattle, and the landscapes of music and pop culture were forever changed. Two decades have passed since Cross, a Seattle-based editor and writer and early supporter of Nirvana, lived the horror of that day on the front lines, fielding the phone calls as the media descended upon his city, desperately searching for an exclusive on the death of yet another young rock icon.

While the impact of a person's life is difficult to see fully on the day he dies, the long view provides a wider, and usually more accurate, vista. For the first time ever, Cross, author of the definitive Cobain biography, Heavier Than Heaven, explores how the haunting memory of Cobain—the life he led, the music he played, and the people he touched—lives on in innumerable, and sometimes surprising, ways. Here We Are Now attempts to answer where we—the fans, the music business and fashion industry, the addiction and recovery communities, Kurt's family—are, two decades later.

Cobain's life and work can be seen everywhere, from his indelible marks on music to his more subtle influence on gender and gay rights, the way we view suicide and drug addiction, and the very idea of Seattle as a cultural hub. Nirvana's music has touched multiple generations, and while the world has changed considerably sinceNevermind was first released in 1991, the status of that album only grows as years pass. Cobain and Nirvana are now part of a rite of passage through adolescence, and while "teen spirit" may have changed and evolved since the early nineties, the music remains authentic all the same. Simply stated, Kurt Cobain changed the cultural conversation, in his all too brief life, and even after his shattering death. With interviews and commentary from all corners of the pop culture universe, from the people who knew Cobain to those who continue to help his legend grow, Here We Are Now explores what a singular life meant, and how that meaning can be measured, when and if it can be.

On My Radar:

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works - A True Story
Dan Harris
It Books
Hardcover (available 3/11/14)

From the publisher's website:

Nightline anchor Dan Harris embarks on an unexpected, hilarious, and deeply skeptical odyssey through the strange worlds of spirituality and self-help, and discovers a way to get happier that is truly achievable.

After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure, involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had both propelled him through the ranks of a hyper-competitive business and also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.

We all have a voice in our head. It’s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we’re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us would assume we’re stuck with this voice – that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in – but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that. It’s a far cry from the miracle cures peddled by the self-help swamis he met; instead, it’s something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation. After learning about research that suggests meditation can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain, Harris took a deep dive into the underreported world of CEOs, scientists, and even marines who are now using it for increased calm, focus, and happiness.

10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.

In My TBR Stack:

Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend
Tony Fletcher
It Books
Trade Paperback
Original hardcover publication 1999; original paperback publication 2000

A biography of the brilliant and troubled drummer of the rock band The Who.



Publisher website

Author website

Author twitter

Author interview in the Village Voice

In Stores Now:

Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room 
by Jen Rudin
It Books
Trade Paperback


The phone call came out of the blue from a guy I knew from high school.  The guy and I had recently reconnected because he had opened a comic book store and was also writing/drawing his own comic book.  He asked me to edit the book for him and I did.

Teddy was a nice guy if a tad weird.  O.k. a lot weird.  But today I'm talking about the nice guy part.

So as I was saying, he called me one day and told me that there was a movie filming in town and they needed warm bodies.  He was not calling me because of any acting expertise on my part but because the filmmakers had put out the word that they needed extras for one day only.  They apparently were desperate and that's where I came in.  Teddy sweetened the pot by telling me I'd actually get paid and get a free meal.  Hell yeah! I would get to watch a movie get made and eat for free!  Not to mention, finally get discovered and become the huge movie star I was destined to be.

I was in two scenes, none of which made the final cut.  I refuse to claim any responsibility for the omission of these scenes, as I'm sure it was one of the other 50 guys who messed up the shot.

My brush with Hollywood fame and fortune was the movie Love Potion No. 9, starring BookDude.  Also in the movie was someone you've never heard of named Sandra Bullock.  Tate Donovan was also in the movie, and dating Bullock at the time.  A couple of the other extras and I were treated to an impromptu non-sexual invitation to Donovan's hotel room (my scenes were shot in a grand hotel in Chattanooga) for what amounted to a look at his own copy of the script and its annotations.  He was a nice guy.  My only interaction with Ms. Bullock was when she stepped over my outstretched legs as I lounged on the floor of the aforementioned grand Chattanooga hotel waiting for my next scene to chew.

If only this book had been available then....


From the publisher website:

Confessions of a Casting Director is a must-have for any aspiring actor or stage parent—the definitive guide to breaking into film, television, theater, and even YouTube from longtime casting director and studio executive Jen Rudin.

Packed with information that aspiring actors want, her up-to-the-minute expert advice is essential for anyone pursuing an acting career. Jen Rudin demystifies the often intimidating and constantly changing audition process, sharing insider tips on preparing for every type of audition: musical theater, television (including commercials and reality TV), and film to voiceovers, animated movies, and even web series.

In this comprehensive guide, Rudin covers everything today’s actor needs to succeed, including finding an agent or manager; using technology to your advantage; the demanding world of child acting; the pros and cons of New York vs. LA; turning a callback into an offer for the role, and much more.

Every actor should walk into an audition room feeling confident and prepared, and this book is full of the Dos and Don’ts, sure-fire tricks, and must-have information to help turn rejection into that first big break.

Complete with checklists, easy-to-follow game plans, and advice from real actors, agents, and entertainment industry professionals, Confessions of a Casting Director is like having your own private audition coach.

New Nonfiction Hardcovers This Week:

Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste
by Luke Barr

Clarkson Potter / Crown Publishing / Random House

Hardcover

Provence, 1970 is about a singular historic moment. In the winter of that year, more or less coincidentally, the iconic culinary figures James Beard, M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, Richard Olney, Simone Beck, and Judith Jones found themselves together in the South of France. They cooked and ate, talked and argued, about the future of food in America, the meaning of taste, and the limits of snobbery. Without quite realizing it, they were shaping today’s tastes and culture, the way we eat now. The conversations among this group were chronicled by M.F.K. Fisher in journals and letters—some of which were later discovered by Luke Barr, her great-nephew. In Provence, 1970, he captures this seminal season, set against a stunning backdrop in cinematic scope—complete with gossip, drama, and contemporary relevance.

Robert Plant: A Life
by Paul Rees
it Books / Harper Collins

Hardcover

Robert Plant by Paul Rees is the definitive biography of Led Zeppelin's legendary frontman. As lead singer for one of the biggest and most influential rock bands of all time—whose song "Stairway to Heaven" has been played more times on American radio than any other track—Robert Plant defined what it means to be a rock god. 

Over the course of his twenty-year career, British music journalist and editor Paul Rees has interviewed such greats as Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Bono, and AC/DC. Rees now offers a full portrait of Robert Plant for the first time, exploring the forces that shaped him, the ravaging highs and lows of the Zeppelin years—including his relationship with Jimmy Page and John Bonham—and his life as a solo artist today.

Illustrated with more than two dozen photographs, Robert Plant: A LIfe is the never-before-told story of a gifted, complicated music icon who changed the face of rock 'n' roll.  

Robert Plant is a living legend. The front man of Led Zeppelin, one of the biggest and most influential rock bands of all time, Plant defined the very notion of what it means to be a rock god. 

The sheer scale of Led Zeppelin's success is extraordinary. In the United States alone they have sold seventy million records—a figure surpassed only by the Beatles—while "Stairway to Heaven," the band's most famous song, has been played more times on American radio than any other track and is frequently referred to as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll songs ever. 

But Robert Plant's legacy stretches far beyond Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant: A Life is the story of the forces that shaped Plant: from his boyhood in England's Black Country to the ravaging highs and lows of the Zeppelin years; from his relationship with Jimmy Page and John Bonham to the solo career that today, at the age of sixty-two, has him producing some of the most acclaimed work of his career. Author Paul Rees, former editor of Q and Kerrang!, who has in the past interviewed Plant at length, paints a rich, complicated portrait of a man who was only nineteen when he changed the face of rock 'n' roll.

Told with tenacity, emotion, and the spark of brilliance that befits such an enigmatic front man, Robert Plant: A Life is the definitive story of a musical icon.

New Hardcover Nonfiction This Week:

Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind
by Gavin Edwards
It Books

Hardcover

In Last Night at the Viper Room, acclaimed author and journalist Gavin Edwards vividly recounts the life and tragic death of acclaimed actor River Phoenix—a teen idol on the fast track to Hollywood royalty who died of a drug overdose in front of West Hollywood’s storied club, the Viper Room, at the age of 23. 

Last Night at the Viper Room explores the young star’s life, including his childhood in Venezuela growing up under the aegis of the cultish Children of God. Putting him at the center of a new generation of leading men emerging in the early 1990s— including Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, and Leonardo DiCaprio—Gavin Edwards traces the Academy Award nominee’s meteoric rise, couches him in an examination of the 1990s, and illuminates his lasting legacy on Hollywood and popular culture itself. 

Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens. Hailed for their acting prowess and admired for choosing meaty roles, actors such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt were soon rocketing toward stardom while an unknown Leonardo DiCaprio prepared to make his acting debut. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. Blessed with natural talent and fueled by integrity, Phoenix was admired by his peers and adored by his fans. More than just a pinup on teenage girls' walls, Phoenix was also a fervent defender of the environment and a vocal proponent of a vegan lifestyle—well on his way to becoming a symbol of his generation. At age eighteen, he received his first Oscar nomination. But behind his beautiful public face, there was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, escaping into a maelstrom of drink and drugs. 

And then he was gone. After a dozen films, including Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho, and with a seemingly limitless future, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose. He was twenty-three years old. 

In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. Last Night at the Viper Roomis part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, Last Night at the Viper Room shows the role he played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today.

Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked
by Chris Matthews
Simon and Schuster

Hardcover

TIP AND THE GIPPER is a magnificent personal history of a time when two great political opponents served together for the benefit of the country. Chris Matthews was an eyewitness to this story as a top aide to Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill, who waged a principled war of political ideals with President Reagan from 1980 to 1986. Together, the two men forged compromises that shaped America’s future and became one of history’s most celebrated political pairings—the epitome of how ideological opposites can get things done.  

When Ronald Reagan was elected to the presidency in a landslide victory over Jimmy Carter (for whom Matthews had worked as a speechwriter), Speaker O’Neill realized Americans had voted for a change. For the first time in his career, O’Neill also found himself thrust into the national spotlight as the highest-ranking leader of the Democratic Party—the most visible and respected challenger to President Reagan’s agenda of shrinking the government and lowering taxes.  

At first, O’Neill doubted his ability to compete on the public stage with the charming Hollywood actor, whose polished speeches played well on TV, a medium O’Neill had never mastered. Over time, the burly Irishman learned how to fight the popular president on his key issues, relying on legislative craftiness, strong rhetoric, and even guerrilla theater. “An old dog can learn new tricks,” Tip told his staff. Of O’Neill, one of his colleagues said, “If Martians came into the House chamber, they’d know instantly who the leader was.” 

Meanwhile, President Reagan proved to be a much more effective and savvy leader than his rivals had ever expected, achieving major legislative victories on taxes and the federal budget. Reagan and his allies knew how to work the levers of power in Washington. After showing remarkable personal fortitude in the wake of the assassination attempt against him, Reagan never let his political differences with Democrats become personal. He was fond of the veteran Speaker’s motto that political battles ended at 6 p.m. So when he would phone O’Neill, he would say, “Hello, Tip, is it after six o’clock?”

Together, the two leaders fought over the major issues of the day—welfare, taxes, covert military operations, and Social Security—but found their way to agreements that reformed taxes, saved Social Security, and achieved their common cause of bringing peace to Northern Ireland. O’Neill’s quiet behind-the-scenes support helped Reagan forge his historic Cold War–ending bond with Mikhail Gor­bachev. They each won some and lost some, and through it all they maintained respect for each other’s positions and worked to advance the country rather than obstruct progress. 

As Matthews notes, “There is more than one sort of heroic behavior, and they don’t all look the same.” Tip and the Gipper is the story of the kind of heroism we need today.

On My Radar:

Turn Around Bright Eyes: The Rituals of Love and Karaoke
by Rob Sheffield
It Books / Harper Collins
Hardcover

From the publisher website:

Once upon a time I was falling apart. Now I'm always falling in love.

Pick up the microphone. 

When Rob Sheffield moved to New York City in the summer of 2001, he was a young widower trying to start a new life in a new town. Behind, in the past, was his life as a happily married rock critic, with a wife he adored, and a massive collection of mix tapes that captured their life together. And then, in a flash, all he had left were the tapes. 

Beyoncé , Bowie, Bon Jovi, Benatar . . .

 One night, some friends dragged him to a karaoke bar in the West Village. A night out was a rare occasion for Rob back then.

Turn around 

Somehow, that night in a karaoke bar turned into many nights, in many karaoke bars. Karaoke became a way out, a way to escape the past, a way to be someone else if only for the span of a three-minute song. Discovering the sublime ridiculousness of karaoke, despite the fact that he couldn't carry a tune, he began to find his voice. 

Turn around 

And then the unexpected happened. A voice on the radio got Rob's attention. The voice came attached to a woman who was unlike anyone he'd ever met before. A woman who could name every constellation in the sky, and every Depeche Mode B side. A woman who could belt out a mean Bonnie Tyler. 

Bright Eyes 

Turn Around Bright Eyes is an emotional journey of hilarity and heartbreak with a karaoke soundtrack. It's a story about finding the courage to move on, clearing your throat, and letting it rip. It's a story about navi- gating your way through adult romance. And it's a story about how songs get tangled up in our deepest emotions, evoking memories of the past while inspiring hope for the future.

Links 

Excerpt of Turn Around Bright Eyes / Time Magazine

Review of Turn Around Bright Eyes / Entertainment Weekly

Rob Sheffield's Twitter Feed

Rob Sheffield's Website

It Books Tumblr Page

It Books Twitter Feed

On My Radar:

Outlaw: Waylon, Willie, Kris, and the Renegades of Nashville
by Michael Streissguth
It Books / Harper Collins

Hardcover

From the publisher's website:

Outlaw by acclaimed author Michael Streissguth follows the stories of three legends as they redefined country music: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson.

Streissguth delves into the country music scene in the late '60s and early '70s, when these rebels found themselves in Music City writing songs and vying for record deals. Channeling the unrest of the times, all three Country Music Hall of Famers resisted the music industry’s unwritten rules and emerged as leaders of the outlaw movement that ultimately changed the recording industry.

Outlaw offers a broad portrait of the outlaw movement in Nashville that includes a diverse secondary cast of characters, such as Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Kinky Friedman, and Billy Joe Shaver, among others.

With archival photographs throughout, Outlaw is a comprehensive examination of a fascinating shift in country music, and the three unbelievably talented musicians who forged the way.

Book Description

Waylon Jennings. Willie Nelson. Kris Kristofferson. Three renegade musicians. Three unexpected stars. Three men who changed Nashville and country music forever.

By the late 1960s, Nashville, Tennessee, was firmly established as the center of the booming country music industry and home to what was known as the Nashville Sound, characterized by slick production and adherence to an increasingly overused formula. But the city was changing. Young people from all over the country were streaming into the bohemian West End and colliding with three trailblazing artists who would soon rock the foundations of Nashville's music business.

Surrounded by the street vibes of the West End's burgeoning underground scene and the outlaw protest tradition of Nashville's unlikely civil rights leaders and antiwar protestors, Waylon, Willie, and Kris began resisting the unspoken rules of Nashville's music-making machine and instead forged their own creative paths. Their music, personal and not easily categorized, was more in the vein of rock acts like the Allman Brothers and Bob Dylan, and it communi- cated a stark rawness and honesty that would influence artists of all genres for decades to come.

Studded with a diverse secondary cast including Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, Kinky Friedman, Billy Joe Shaver, and others, Streissguth's new book brings to life an incredible chapter in musical history and reveals for the first time a surprising outlaw zeitgeist in Nashville. Based on extensive research and probing interviews with key players, what emerges is a fascinating glimpse into three of the most legendary artists of our times and the definitive story of how they changed music in Nashville and everywhere.

On My Radar:

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories 2
by Joseph Gordon-Levitt & wirrow (editors)

It Books / Harper Collins
Hardcover

From the publisher website:

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Looper, 500 Days of Summer) made a big splash with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories—so now he’s back with volume 2! One of the most ingenious and successful projects to come out of Gordon-Levitt's online creative coalition hitRECord—an international collaboration of artists and writers—The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 2 offers more quirky, delightfully small, ingeniously illustrated haiku-like tales, proving once more that the universe isn’t made of atoms; it’s made of tiny stories. The best things do come in small packages.

The universe is not made of atoms; it's made of tiny stories.

Featuring 62 contributors from the 14,946 contributions to the Tiny Stories collaboration on HITRECORD.ORG

In My TBR Stack:

Undefeated: Inside the 1972 Miami Dolphins' Perfect Season
by Mike Freeman
It Books / Harper Collins
Hardcover

From the publisher website:

“[Freeman is] an excellent storyteller.”
—Sports Illustrated

The 1972 Miami Dolphins, under the expert leadership of legendary coach Don Shula, remain to this day the only team in the National Football League ever to enjoy a perfect season with no defeats and no ties. Now, 40 years after sports history was made, acclaimed sports writer Mike Freeman celebrates the Dolphins’ singular achievement in Undefeated. A riveting story filled with heartbreaking injuries, miraculous finishes, and tested relationships—featuring a roster of gridiron greats, including Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Mercury Morris, Nick Buoniconti and others—Undefeated follows a underdog team on its remarkable run: 14 regular season victories, 2 postseason wins, and a Super Bowl championship. It is a book no football fan will want to miss. 

Book Description

Each year, every football team sets out to play a perfect season. Only one has ever succeeded talk about beating the odds.

The Miami Dolphins of the late 1960s were a laughingstock, an expansion team, and a franchise where careers went to die. Then came Coach Don Shula. In just a few short years—through hard work, long practices, and his no-nonsense attitude toward the game—Shula transformed the team into a championship franchise. The Dolphins were by and large unseasoned players or rejects from other teams. Even so, they made it to Super Bowl VI. They suffered a humiliating loss to the Dallas Cowboys, becoming the first team in Super Bowl history not to score a single touchdown. But Shula closed the 1971 season by telling his players to remember this loss and make sure nothing like it ever happened again. And they listened.

The Miami team came back for the 1972 season determined to be winners this time, not losers. Through his tough-as-nails coaching, grueling preseason training, and inspiring message of redemption, Shula took the Dolphins, one game at a time, to their legendary Super Bowl victory. Led by such greats as Larry Csonka, Bob Griese, Nick Buoniconti, Larry Little, Mercury Morris, and Jake Scott—as well as players discarded from other franchises who were transformed into key contributors once they were indoctrinated into Shula's system—the team was undefeated 17-0 in the regular season and went on to win Super Bowl VII, in one of the greatest stories of toughness, perseverance, and skill the National Football League has ever seen.

Along the way, the Dolphins became the team of the 1970s, with Miami as a fascinating backdrop. The city emerged as an anti–Fidel Castro hub and morphed into the city made notorious on the television show Miami Vice. The cocaine began to flow as the Dolphins rose to prominence, and the team struggled with its own drug issues. Yet the Dolphins established themselves as one of the city's most trusted entities. While the city faced racially charged riots, Shula purposely built an integrated locker room in an NFL—and a city—that were still extremely hostile to blacks.

Based on years of research and interviews, Undefeated, by award-winning journalist and author Mike Freeman, examines what is perhaps the single greatest accomplishment in team sports history: the unforgettable NFL season in which the Dolphins didn't lose a single game. There has never been a football team like those Miami Dolphins, and there may never be again.

In My TBR Stack:

The Burning House: What Would You Take?
by Foster Huntington
It Books / Harper Collins

Trade Paperback

From the publisher website:

“Fascinating….Provocative.”
—New York Times

“Answering this question reveals a great deal about your personality, priorities and interests.”
—The Guardian (UK)

If your house were on fire, what would you take? Foster Huntington has collected answers to this telling question from thousands of responders all over the world to get to the heart of what it is that people truly value. The result is The Burning House, featuring the best of Huntington’s popular website, TheBurningHouse.com along with a wealth of all-new material. Fascinating and remarkably revealing, The Burning House provides a captivating keyhole into people’s lives, feelings, and innermost thoughts that will especially appeal to the many fans of PostSecret, Not Quite What I Was Planning, Found, and Awkward Family Photos. Illustrated with sometimes moving, often unusual photographs of people’s most prized possessions, The Burning House ingeniously celebrates the differences between human beings around the globe—and the surprising similarities that unite us all.

Your house is burning. You have to get out fast. Suddenly you are forced to prioritize, editing down a lifetime of possessions to a mere handful. Now you must decide: Of all the things you own, what is most important to you?

The practical? Your laptop, your smartphone, what you need to keep working and stay in touch?

The valuable? Your money, your jewelry, the limited edition signed poster in the living room?

The sentimental? The watch your late grandfather gave you, the diary you kept as a teenager?

What you choose to bring with you speaks volumes about who you are and what you believe in—your interests, your background, your view of life.

With contributions from all over the world, The Burning House is an eye-opening pictorial meditation on materialism; an in-depth, intensely personal interview contained in a single question; a revealing window into the human heart.

On My Radar

Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street
by Todd Gitlin
It Books / Harper Collins

Trade Paperback

From the publisher website:

“[A] much needed book…a compelling portrait of the Occupy movement…that capture[s] the spirit of the people involved, the crisis that gave Occupy birth, and the possibility of genuine change it represents.”
—Eric Foner, author of The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

The Occupy Wall Street movement arose out of a widespread desire of ordinary Americans to change a political system in which the moneyed “1%” of the nation controls the workings of the government. In Occupy Nation, social historian Todd Gitlin—a former leader of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) who stood at the forefront of the birth of the New Left and the student protests of the 1960s and ’70s—offers a unique overview of one of the most rapidly growing yet misunderstood social revolutions in modern history. Occupy Nation is a concise and incisive look at the Occupy movement at its pivotal moment, as it weighs its unexpected power and grapples with its future mission.

Occupy Wall Street is the most dynamic phenomenon in progressive politics in more than forty years. Its followers across the country transformed the national debate, galvanizing millions with its clarion call for economic justice: "We are the 99 percent." In Occupy Nation, bestselling social historian Todd Gitlin offers the first narrative survey of the movement—from its historic inspirations, to its inner tensions, to its prospects in the months and years to come. He offers a fascinating account of this remarkable phenomenon while casting an informed look at its continuing evolution—and how it needs to proceed to truly make an impact. Informed by Gitlin's own history in the '60 protest movement—but written with both eyes aimed at the future—Occupy Nation is the key book for anyone looking to understand the revolution playing out before our eyes.

What I'm Reading Now 6/15/12

I Suck at Girls
by Justin Halpern
It Books / Harper Collins

Hardcover

From the publisher website:

From the #1 New York Times bestseller author of Sh*t My Dad Says, Justin Halpern, comes a laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching collection of personal stories about relationships with the opposite sex, from a first kiss to getting engaged and all the awkward moments in between. With Sh*t My Dad Says, Halpern brought his brand of talented comedic writing to the world. Now, with this equally poignant, hilarious, and provocative memoir, he establishes himself as one of popular writing’s great humorists among the likes of David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, and David Rakoff. Fans of biting, honor-infused memoirs such as Me Talk Pretty One Day and Assassination Vacation will find Halpern’s I Suck at Girls an unforgettable journey into the best and worst moments of one man’s adventures in romance. 

Book Description

 

"Human beings fear the unknown. So, whatever's freaking you out, grab it by the balls and say hello. Then it ain't the unknown anymore and it ain't scary. Or I guess it could be a shitload scarier."

Fans of the #1 bestseller Sh*t My Dad Says will recognize the always-patient voice of Justin Halpern's dad as it crackles through the pages of this hysterical new book. The story begins when Justin takes his dad out to lunch to announce that he's decided to propose to his girlfriend.

"You've been dating her for four years," his dad replies. "It ain't like you found a parallel fucking universe."

But eventually he gives Justin some advice: that he should take a day off and think back over everything he's learned in life about women, relationships, and himself before making his decision. And that's just what Justin does—revisiting everything from his disastrous childhood crushes to the night he finally lost his virginity while working as a dishwasher at Hooters.

I Suck at Girls is full of his dad's patented brand of wisdom. But it's also full of new characters just as funny as his dad—from his brother, who provides insights into wedding night rituals ("You stand in one corner of the room, and she stands in the other. You each take off one piece of clothing at a time") to his first boss, who warns Justin to man up: "That's what a man does. He takes his shots and then he scrubs the shit out of some dishes." The result is a pilgrim's progress through the landscape of sex and love—by one of the funniest writers at work today.