These aren't the most famous fifty moments, but Posnanski does a great job giving you the stories behind a mix of famous and obscure stories from baseThese aren't the most famous fifty moments, but Posnanski does a great job giving you the stories behind a mix of famous and obscure stories from baseball's (not just MLB) history. And the framework he uses for each moment isn't always what you'd expect. He comes to each moment looking for the most interesting story.
My favorite chapters: 41 - Ponderous Joe Goes Deep 40 - The Pine Tar Homer 39 - Striking Out Sadaharu Oh 36 - Nolan and the Table Leg 26 - Alexander Strikes Out Lazzeri 24 - Mr. October 16 - The Shot Heard Round the World 11 - Don Larsen's Perfect Game 10 - Satch vs. Josh...more
This is a book that I would highly recommend you give to your teenage daughter. McLaughlin pulls back the curtain on her fears and insecurities as a yThis is a book that I would highly recommend you give to your teenage daughter. McLaughlin pulls back the curtain on her fears and insecurities as a young woman in the world of track and field, and how she finally found the peace, purpose, and satisfaction she was looking for through a relationship with Jesus.
As other reviewers have said, McLaughlin's "trials" are maybe not what many of us would think of as true life difficulties. But that's not really the point. This is a great lesson of A) how even the most successful people can never be satisfied in the world, and B) the transformation that real Christianity can have on someone.
Looking forward to seeing McLaughlin compete this summer in Paris....more
This is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave. Like Finn, this book takes a bit to get rollThis is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave. Like Finn, this book takes a bit to get rolling, but once it does it's a really good story.
I read these back-to-back. In reading Finn you get the story of the trip down the river from the eyes of a free person, James is the same story from the perspective of slavery. From one viewpoint it’s a story of adventure, from the other it’s a story of survival.
But it’s just as big a contrast to hear the story from the contrast of a child vs an adult. Small things in Huck become much more grave in James, while some of things most interesting things to Huck barely seem to register with James at all.
I haven’t seen this talked about much in the reviews, but it’s kind of weird to find big chunks of the famous story missing completely from James. Is the insinuation that Huck was mostly spinning yarns in his version?
Both stories sweep you up. Everett has done a great job here of keeping the spirit of the original story while doing something completely different. He grounds this story in reality while managing to keep all the magic....more
This summer I have a list of six classics to read - five I've never read before, and this one that I haven't read since I was in elementary school. ThThis summer I have a list of six classics to read - five I've never read before, and this one that I haven't read since I was in elementary school. This is the first book I read from the list, and I really enjoyed it. Very funny, as is usual with Twain.
Connecticut Yankee is my favorite Twain book, but I rank this one ahead of Tom Sawyer....more
Went into this not really remembering anything about Hanssen's story. Thought this was well-written, very interesting. I did this on audio and Wiehl dWent into this not really remembering anything about Hanssen's story. Thought this was well-written, very interesting. I did this on audio and Wiehl does the narration herself which is perfect for her very conversational writing style here. Didn't necessarily care for chapter 24 on the analysis of Hanssen. Everything else was very interesting....more
This is probably a must-read for Kentucky basketball fans. Very interesting look inside the Sutton era, plus some great Cal and Pitino stories and theThis is probably a must-read for Kentucky basketball fans. Very interesting look inside the Sutton era, plus some great Cal and Pitino stories and the story behind the famous “Cal to the Lakers” tweet.
Chapman tells his own story with honesty and humility. ...more
Great history of the ten years leading up to Pearl Harbor on the Japanese side through the eyes of our ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew.
Grew is one ofGreat history of the ten years leading up to Pearl Harbor on the Japanese side through the eyes of our ambassador to Japan, Joseph Grew.
Grew is one of the unsung heroes of World War 2. He worked tirelessly for the interests of both the United States and the citizens of Japan who were being drug into a war they were being prevented from understanding.
The main story arch of the book is Grew trying to get the Roosevelt administration to understand that there were two Japans - 1) the people, the emperor, and the civilian government who all wanted peace, and 2) some military hardliners who were determined to conquer East Asia.
But the hardliners had the power (how they got it and kept it is an interesting story but what it boils down to is situations that couldn’t be undone because of “saving face,” and a whole lot of assassinations) and they were the ones causing the trouble the US couldn’t see past.
All the way up until 12/6/41 Grew and the sane members of the Japanese government were trying to make peace happen.
Ultimately though, it seems like it was probably better for Japan to end up going full bore into war so that they could lose completely four years later. It was the only way to unwind a devastatingly terrible system of government. They had to start from scratch as a democracy. And today the country is thriving.
A lot of history here I wasn’t aware of. Excellent writing. You will fall in love with Grew.
This is the book I’d hoped In the Garden of Beasts would be. If you were disappointed in that one, try this one. If you liked ITGOB, you’ll really love this one....more
This book is a set of connected short stories about Alpha Company - a group of young men making their way through the Vietnam war. These stories are mThis book is a set of connected short stories about Alpha Company - a group of young men making their way through the Vietnam war. These stories are mostly horrifying. They are very human. Through these stories, O'Brien gives you an incredible sense of place. You can see and feel these things happening. It is a powerful book about the Vietnam war, and it puts you inside the lives of the people who were sent there to fight it.
The three stories that are going to stick with me for a very long time - "On the Rainy River," one of a few times in the book that O'Brien deals with the nature of courage and the reasons people make the decisions they do. "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is riveting. Also the story of the death of Kaiwa, told across several of the short stories from varying perspectives.
This is considered a classic Vietnam work, but the book itself is as much about storytelling as it is war. O'Brien wants you to understand the way story conveys truth. It's hard to read this book without wondering how much of it is factual and how much isn't, but his aim isn't facts, but truth - what the war was like, what combat is like, what death is like, what people are like....more
Pretty good book, great themes throughout and a good ending. But for Gillom to be such an important character in how things play out I thought he was Pretty good book, great themes throughout and a good ending. But for Gillom to be such an important character in how things play out I thought he was written pretty unevenly.
The movie version with John Wayne tracks very faithfully to the storyline of the book, but it’s a Disney version of the story which is pretty wild considering how dark the book is. Some of the scenes are played almost completely opposite from the book. What makes the book good is the theme of the death of an era, the inevitable crash of Books’ attempt to have control over how things play out. The movie drops all of that.
On the other hand the movie has an all-star cast - Wayne (in his last role), Lauren Bacall, Jimmy Stewart, Ron Howard, and Harry Morgan....more
A bear attack in a library. - Harvilla describing the quiet yet powerful way Celine Dion sings.
Mariah's 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, is bA bear attack in a library. - Harvilla describing the quiet yet powerful way Celine Dion sings.
Mariah's 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, is bleak, man. It is Dickensian. It's like if Oliver Twist had a five-octave range. - Harvilla on Mariah Carey's memoir.
Maybe with "Just a Girl," it's best to imagine No Doubt as a space shuttle, where the rocket boosters burn out and detach once it achieves true superstar orbit, and in this case these abandoned rocket boosters just happen to be labeled "Ska" and "Everybody In The Band Other Than Gwen." That's not really selling out. That's a little something called "personal growth." - Harvilla on the way No Doubt changed after "Just a Girl."
Really enjoyed listening to this book after having listened to and enjoying a few episodes of the podcast. Harvilla does a great job mixing history, analysis, and his own very talented writing. A great example is the perfect way he described what made Aaliyah great.
The best parts for me were the ones that triggered Elder Millennial nostalgia - "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" on Tiny Toons, dancing to "The End of the Road" at junior high school dances, etc....more
I enjoyed this story. Always glad to get a look into a time and a story I know nothing about. The story of the ship and crew was good but the best parI enjoyed this story. Always glad to get a look into a time and a story I know nothing about. The story of the ship and crew was good but the best part was just being in the world of the 18th century navy.
If you like disaster and survival stories the best one I’ve read is Hampton Sides’ In the Kingdom of Ice....more
Growing up, when you read somebody's work of nostalgia for the era of their childhood it usually meant you were reading a book set in the 1960s. As soGrowing up, when you read somebody's work of nostalgia for the era of their childhood it usually meant you were reading a book set in the 1960s. As someone born in the 80s I'm glad that we have now moved through time enough that there are more nostalgia-fueled books like this one, set in the 1990s (and also Wilson's previous book Nothing To See Here).
One of the themes of this book that really spoke to me is the idea of nostalgia for a moment - how a moment in time can shape the rest of your life, and the frustration caused when others who shared that moment don't carry it with them in the same way.
Cooper tells the story of the last several generations of his family - the Vanderbilts.
The first half of this book is fantastic. Great history, very wCooper tells the story of the last several generations of his family - the Vanderbilts.
The first half of this book is fantastic. Great history, very well written, couldn’t hardly put it down.
In the second half the story gets closer to Cooper’s own life, mostly revolving around his mother, Gloria. This causes the book to lose some of the outsider’s objectivity that made the first half of the book so good. Which is fine! It’s Cooper’s story to tell however he wants. It just isn’t as interesting.
But the book ends well. One thing Cooper never loses sight of is the destructive effect money had on his family’s story, and the futility of using it to find happiness.
Overall five stars, maybe 4.5. Enjoyable. Thanks for the book Courtney!...more
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