The Emerald Mile
The Emerald Mile – Kevin Fedarko’s pitch-perfect prose describes the 1983 fastest white-water run down the Grand Canyon. A must-read for white-water enthusiasts. I wish I had read “A Conversation with Kevin Fedarko” before I read The Emerald Mile, rather than afterward, because it explains how and why he was able to write such pitch-perfect […]
On The First Day of Holiday Giving – Neal’s Books For The Guys in Your Life
ON THE FIRST DAY OF HOLIDAY GIVING NEAL’S BOOKS FOR THE GUYS IN YOUR LIFE What follows is a list, in no particular order, of twelve books I’ve read or re-read in the past year that I recommend to others, particularly those of the male persuasion. You might want to give one as a gift. […]
The Noble Hustle
THE NOBLE HUSTLE, POKER, BEEF JERKY AND DEATH Pulitzer Prize Winner (“The Underground Railroad”) Colson Whitehead has done it again, written a book unlike any other that I’ve read. “The Noble Hustle,” a be-all and end-all of serious poker playing, caught my eye not only because I so trust his writing, but mostly because after […]
If I Never Get Back
If I Never Get Back How perfect for this baseball-deficient reviewer to have finished Darryl Brock’s absolutely smashing novel, If I Never Get Back, before baseball’s 2016 opening day, April 3rd. I’m ahead of the game on one level, behind on another in that this novel was new in its 2003 Plume edition. Though I’m […]
The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics The Boys in the Boat is the most impressive piece of narrative nonfiction I’ve read in quite some time. The author, Daniel James Brown, recounts the rowing successes of a group of student athletes from the […]