In this harrowing history of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, Paul Ham argues against the use of nuclear weapons, drawing on extensive research and hundreds of interviews to prove that the bombings had little impact on the eventual outcome of the Pacific War. More than 100,000 people were killed instantly by the atomic bombs, mostly women, children, and the elderly. Many hundreds of thousands more succumbed to their horrific injuries later, or slowly perished of radiation-related sickness.
Yet American leaders claimed the bombs were “our least abhorrent choice”—and still today most people believe they ended the Pacific War and saved millions of American and Japanese lives. In this gripping narrative, Ham demonstrates convincingly that misunderstandings and nationalist fury on both sides led to the use of the bombs. Ham also gives powerful witness to its destruction through the eyes of eighty survivors, from twelve-year-olds forced to work in war factories to wives and children who faced the holocaust alone.
Hiroshima Nagasaki presents the grizzly unadorned truth about the bombings, blurred for so long by postwar propaganda, and transforms our understanding of one of the defining events of the twentieth century.
Cowboys and Indies is nothing less than the first definitive history of the recording industry on both sides of the Atlantic.
From the invention of the earliest known sound-recording device in 1850s Paris to the CD crash and digital boom today, author and industry insider Gareth Murphy takes readers on an immensely entertaining and encyclopedic ride through the many cataclysmic musical, cultural, and technological changes that shaped a century and a half of the industry.
This invaluable narrative focuses especially on the game changers---the label founders, talent scouts, and legendary A&R men. Murphy highlights:
· Otto Heinemann’s pioneer label Okeh, which spread blues and jazz “race” records across America
· how one man, Henry Speir, discovered nearly all the Delta blues legends (Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Son House, Tommy Johnson)
· Sam Phillips’s seminal work with Chess and Sun Records
· John Hammond’s discoveries (Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen)
· the behind-the-scenes players of the British Invasion
· Clive Davis, Ahmet Ertegun, David Geffen, and the corporate music machine
· the Machiavellian moves of punk impresario Malcolm McLaren (Sex Pistols)
· Chris Blackwell’s triumphs for Island Records (Bob Marley, U2)
· Sylvia Robinson and Tom Silverman, the hip-hop explorers behind the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash, and Afrika Bambaataa
…and much, much more. Murphy also offers a provocative look at the future through the ruminations of such vanguard figures as Martin Mills (4AD, XL Recordings, Matador, Rough Trade) and genre-busting producer Rick Rubin (Run-D.M.C., Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Johnny Cash).
Drawing from memoirs, archives, and more than one hundred exclusive interviews with the legends of the record industry, including the founders and CEOs of Atlantic, Chrysalis, Virgin, A&M, Sub Pop, and Sire, this book reveals the secret history behind the hit-making craft. Remarkable in scope and impressive in depth, Cowboys and Indies chronicles the pioneers who set the stylus on the most important labels and musical discoveries in history.
…it always seems that something inevitably slips through the cracks when I'm writing a book. I'd wanted to include the story of the 1976 World Series of Rock concert at Comiskey in Stars and Strikes, but somehow completely forgot about it again until it was too late. So here, then, is a little "bonus track" on the topic:
The Great Chicago Stoner Fire of 1976
Given the inherent awfulness of the team that Bill Veeck and his gaggle of investors purchased in late 1975, the likelihood of the Chicago White Sox making it to the postseason in 1976 was slimmer than a coke straw. But the World Series still made it to Comiskey Park that year - the World Series of Rock, that is.
A series of day-long outdoor concerts that had proved immensely popular in Cleveland, where they'd been held at Cleveland Stadium since 1974, the World Series of Rock branched out westward to Chicago for 1976. With the help of local FM rock station WDAI, three WSOR shows were scheduled to be held at Comiskey Park that summer; the first one, on July 10, would be headlined by Aerosmith -- whose fourth and latest LP, Rocks, was the band's most successful yet, reaching #3 on the Billboard albums chart -- with supporting performances by Jeff Beck and the Jan Hammer Group, Derringer ("featuring Rick Derringer," as the ads helpfully noted) and NYC hard rocker Stu Daye.
General admission tickets were ten bucks in advance, $12.50 on the day of the show. The White Sox, obviously, would be out of town at the time.
As with all the WSOR shows, this one offered local rock fans the opportunity to get ripped and groove together in the sunshine to some dynamite sounds, and some 62,000 kids heeded the call -- many of them packing Midwestern dirt weed, pills, powders, firecrackers, and other festive contraband. (Hey, the ad just said no coolers, cans, bottles or alcoholic beverages, right?) The summer temperatures hovered at over 100 degrees, offering a welcome excuse for those who wanted to wear as little clothing as possible, and inspiring a lengthy queue for the Veeck-installed shower in the ballpark's centerfield bleachers. Despite the heat, the drugs, and the crush of people on the field, the afternoon proceeded without major incident -- at least until the middle of Jeff Beck's set, when black clouds of smoke began billowing up from the upper grandstand along the third base line. Shocked murmurs began to spread throughout the dazed and confused crowd: Comiskey was on fire!
The fans in the stands near the blaze began to slowly make their way to safety; many of those on the field tried to put as much distance between them and the conflagration as possible, but their progress was impeded by others who were pushing towards it in order to get a better look. "Everybody remain calm," implored a voice over the ballpark's P.A. system, while Jeff Beck and his band rocked on, oblivious to the chaos unfolding in front of them. "Please move from the area!"
Beck eventually noticed the black clouds hovering ominously over the field, and brought his set to a halt; for a few awkward moments, he and his fellow musicians seemed unsure whether or not to keep playing. Finally, after a spirited exchange with some fans at the front of the stage, Beck announced, "Fuck the fire!" and cranked up his guitar again -- only to be informed minutes later by ballpark security that he and his band had to leave the stage for "safety reasons".
The Chicago Fire Department moved in to battle the flames -- it turned out that there were two different fires going on simultaneously in the same seating area -- with hoses and axes. Once the fires were extinguished, they turned their hoses on the crowd below, which enthusiastically welcomed the cooling shower. Bill Veeck, who could be seen hobbling about on his peg leg as he inspected the damage, gave the go-ahead for the concert to continue, and Aerosmith took the stage about an hour later.
The origins of the fires were never fully determined. Some newspaper reports claimed that some cushions had caught fire in a storage room adjacent to the area, while other eyewitnesses reported seeing concertgoers whipping lit firecrackers around before the seats went up in flames. Thirteen people, including two firefighters, were injured in the incident -- a remarkably small percentage of the estimated 5,000 people who were sitting in the vicinity of the inferno, especially considering that the ballpark's old wooden seats surely made for some very effective kindling. If anything, the crowd's collectively stoned state might have contributed to its orderly retreat. "Nobody ran. Nobody pushed," an amazed Veeck told the press afterwards. "I have been in many crowds in my time, but never one that reacted and behaved so well."
Still, Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley wasn't ready to take a chance on another concert at Comiskey. The July 31 bill of KISS, Uriah Heep and Ted Nugent was cancelled -- due in part to KISS wanting to play at night so as to make full use of their explosive pyro, which Daley thought would disturb his Bridgeport community -- and the August 13 bill of Yes, Peter Frampton, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gary Wright was relocated to the Hawthorne Racetrack in Cicero, IL.
Ironically, WDAI -- the radio station that co-sponsored the show -- would inadvertently play a role in the next rock-related fiasco at Comiskey Park. In 1978, WDAI abruptly switched to an all-disco format, outraging and alienating their hard rock base, which followed fired WDAI disc jockey Steve Dahl over to his new gig at WLUP. To get back at his former employers, Dahl soon began staging "disco demolition" events around the city of Chicago, which attracted the attention of Bill Veeck's son Mike. The younger Veeck, who by 1979 was working as the White Sox promotions director, thought a "Disco Demolition Night" promotion at Comiskey just might bring a few thousand extra fans out to the ballpark. Little did he know.
--Dan Epstein
St. Martin's Press has graciously given me two finished copies of this book for a BookSpin giveaway. If you'd like to be entered to win, tweet me your favorite baseball team and player. My twitter name is @Book_Dude. U.S. entries only please. Good luck!
When I was a child, I was a huge Baltimore Orioles fan. My favorite player was "Boog" Powell, their first baseman. I knew Brooks Robinson as the guy whose errant throws were constantly having to be dug out of the dirt by Boog. Ahhh, the perspective of youth….
The first complete biography of Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, the greatest defensive third baseman of all time
Brooks Robinson is one of baseball’s most transcendent and revered players. He won a record sixteen straight Gold Gloves at third base, led one of the best teams of the era, and is often cited as the greatest fielder in baseball history. Credited with almost single-handedly winning the 1970 World Series, this MVP was immortalized in a Normal Rockwell painting. A wholesome player and role model, Brooks honored the game of baseball not only with his play but with his class and character off the field.
Author of The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych, Doug Wilson returnsto baseball’s Golden Age to detail the birth of a new franchise through the man who came to symbolize it as one of baseball’s most beloved players. Through numerous interviews with people from every part of the legendary player's life, Wilson reveals never-before-reported information to illuminate Brooks's remarkable skill and warm personality.
Brooks takes readers back to an era when players fought for low-paying yearly contracts, spanning the turbulent 60s and 70s and into the dawning of the free agent era. He was elected to the MLB All-Century Team and as president of the MLB Players Alumni, Brooks continues to influence today’s baseball players.
In the current climate of astronomic salaries, steroids, off-field troubles, and heroes who let down their fans, Brooks reminds baseball fans of the honor and glory at the heart of America’s favorite pastime.
Leigh Steinberg is renowned as one of the greatest sports agents in history, representing such All-Pro clients as Troy Aikman, Bruce Smith, and Ben Roethlisberger. Over one particular seven-year stretch, Steinberg represented the top NFL Draft pick an unheard of six times. Director Cameron Crowe credits Steinberg as a primary inspiration for the titular character in Jerry Maguire, even hiring Steinberg as a consultant on the film. Lightyears ahead of his contemporaries, he expanded his players' reach into entertainment. Already the bestselling author of a business book on negotiation, the original superagent is now taking readers behind the closed doors of professional sports, recounting priceless stories, like how he negotiated a $26.5 million package for Steve Young—the biggest ever at the time—and how he passed on the chance to represent Peyton Manning.
Beginning with his early days as a student leader at Berkeley, Steinberg details his illustrious rise into pro sports fame, his decades of industry dominance, and how he overcame a series of high-profile struggles to regain his sobriety and launch his comeback. This riveting story takes readers inside the inner circle of top-notch agents and players through the visionary career of Leigh Steinberg, the pre-eminent superagent of our time.
*On My Radar signifies a book that is not in my to-be-read stack, but looks very interesting.
The first biography of the eccentric pitcher, rookie All-Star starter, 70s pop icon, and first athlete on the cover of Rolling Stone For those who remember him, Mark Fidrych is still that player who brings a smile to your face, the irresistibly likable pitcher whose sudden rise brightened the star-spangled season of 1976 and reminded us of the pure joy of the game.
Lanky, mop-topped, and nicknamed for his resemblance to Big Bird on Sesame Street, Fidrych exploded onto the national stage during the Bicentennial summer as a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. He won over fans nationwide with his wildly endearing antics such as talking to the ball---and throwing back the ones that “had hits in them”; getting down on his knees to “manicure” the mound of any cleat marks; and shaking hands with just about everyone from teammates to groundskeepers to cops during and after games. Female fans tried to obtain locks of his hair from his barber and even named babies after him.
But The Bird was no mere sideshow. The non-roster invitee to spring training that year quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in the game. Meanwhile, his boyish enthusiasm, his famously modest lifestyle, and his refusal to sign with an agent during the days of labor disputes and free agency made him such a breath of fresh air for fans that not only did attendance in Detroit increase---by tens of thousands---for games he pitched, opposing teams would specifically ask the Tigers to shuffle their rotation so Fidrych would pitch in their cities, too. A rare player who transcended pop culture, Fidrych was named starting pitcher in the All-Star Game as a rookie (the first of his two All-Star nods) and became the first athlete to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
Baseball researcher Doug Wilson delivers the first biography of this once-in-a-lifetime player. Through extensive interviews and meticulous research, the author recounts Fidrych’s meteoric rise from Northborough, Massachusetts, to the big leagues, his heartbreaking fall after a torn knee ligament and then rotator cuff, his comeback attempts with the Tigers and in the Red Sox system, and one unforgettable night when The Bird pitched a swan song for the Pawtucket Red Sox against future star Dave Righetti in a game that remains part of local folklore. Finally, Wilson captures Fidrych’s post-baseball life and his roles in the community, tragically culminating with his death in a freak accident in 2009.
The Bird gives readers a long-overdue look into the life of a player whom baseball had never seen before---and has never seen since.
Thomas Dunne Books
