Greg Aase
Patrick Reusse is THE sportswriter of the Minnesota cynic. He has never been afraid to call out sports owners. executives, managers, and players for arrogance, incompetence, or self-inflected issues. On the other hand, he's the same sportswriter who loves to write about town baseball, or rags to success stories where the individual worked hard and excelled to get a chance to the next level, whatever it is. This book is a breezy recap of his life. It's a pretty quick read, with bunches of stories of his time covering a variety of sports.
I've been a fan of Mr. Reusse for over 30 years, so this was fun. A worthy read for Minnesota sports fans.
Came to it late, worth the time.
On a Hollywood run as of late, and this one had positive reviews. Those reviews were right. The book is a good read and worth your time. You need to go into the book with your eyes wide open. Mr Gruber and Mr. Peter's level of greed and utter lack of management skills are, at a minimum, off putting. The book makes it abundantly clear that the marketing men ran Hollywood in the late 80's and 90's. It also made it clear that Sony took their eye off the ball in the late 80's, losing their dominance in electronics while they expanded into “software”. The book is a gossipy cautionary tale for managers and business owners.
Interesting book for music fans, especially those of a certain age.
Although the book says it's about the rise of Warner Brothers Records, it's really about Mo Ostin, the longtime head of the company. The author was able to get the usually tight lipped Ostin to discuss his past, and the through line of the story runs parallel with Mr. Ostin's rise through the ranks. The heavy focus of the book is the 60's and 70's. Much of the 80's (Madonna, Prince (who grew to hate his record company) and REM get relatively short shift.
The author introduces a number of people who were early and/or central figures in the rise of Warner Brothers Records, but their storylines are abandoned. I was forced to hit Google to see what became of several of these individuals. An additional chapter or two tying off those stories and careers would have been helpful.
Carlin is a good writer - I've read his books on Simon, Springsteen and McCartney. The Springsteen book may have been the best one of the lot, but is unfortunately largely forgotten now that Bruce wrote his beast of an autobiography. Carlin's work here is solid - he can move between music criticism, business jargon, and biography with ease.
Recommended for music fans who wonder who the people were on the label or the liner notes of their favorite 70's albums. Other casual fans may want to pass this one by.
Interesting story of Casablanca Records viewed through one of the founders. It's detailed. VERY detailed. But not always in the right way. Lots of names and people that come and go in the proceedings. Surprisingly, not much about some of the label's stars. The author essentially discovered KISS, so there is a bunch of information regarding that band, which is pretty humorous at times. But it does go on a bit much.
Only for music business hardcore fans.
The definitive biography of a very interesting life. The book tails off toward the end - his later work gets a fraction of the attention of his first three films. However, we get a lot more backstory on his little discussed 70's work (Day of the Dolphin, The Fortune, the various Broadway shows) and a better perspective that the 70's were not a completely wasted decade from a creative standpoint. There was a lot of new information here - his secret work on Annie, which could have been the most profitable thing he ever did, was new to me. I enjoyed Mr. Harris' last book - Pictures at a Revolution - and a lot of his thoughtful discussion regarding The Graduate rightfully ends up in this book. I barely put this book down over the course of a week, and I promptly went out and starting watching his movies. Recommended.
Good-loses steam at the end
Great first half of the book-lots of history on how interstates came to be. The book loses steam in the back third. The author raises questions about where to go with the interstate system now that it's largely built, and he doesn't really have any opinions. The tight prose of the first half gives way to overwritten paragraphs in the back half.
A Kindle version note- the typos in the back 50 pages are bad. Possibly the worst I've seen in a Kindle version.
Better than anticipated. My bar is pretty low with this series since Mills took over. However, this one has an interesting premise, and the twists kept me guessing until the last section of the book. It did possess a bit of a “Mitch Rapp gets dropped into a generic book” vibe, but the story still works. Worth a read.
Oral histories can be a tricky thing. For every book that does it right (SNL, ESPN, MTV (I Want My MTV...the best oral history ever), there are several (there is a oral history of CAA that is brutal) that can turn into a mess. Put this one in the former category. Super informative. Detailed, but not bogged down in minutiae. Some of the big players in the AFL don't appear in the book (Al Davis...but not for lack of trying), but a lot of them do, and they have stories. Lots of stories, with a lot of characters. Even wonder why the Bengals seem have to the same colors as the Browns? How the Kansas City team got it's name? That there would be no Oakland Raiders if the original owners of the Minnesota Vikings hadn't defected to the NFL? It's hard to imagine today's teams playing in the conditions that some of these teams started with. Well written book Highly recommended for football historians or those in former AFL towns.
I'm really torn on this book -
1) It could have used a better editor. I can hear Woody's voice all the way through, but it jumps pretty abruptly in time and topic. It can be a slog.
2) He downplays all his good work, which is unfortunate. Annie Hall is a truly great movie, and he spends most of his time dismissing it. Sleeper (probably his best “funny” movie) is mentioned in passing. We get more discussion on September (which he admits isn't good) than we do on Hannah and Her Sisters.
3) The back half of the book is about the situation with Mia and Dylan. He builds a factual case. But he spends a lot, a lot of pages on it. So, if the purpose of the book was to muddy the waters around the situation even more, he succeeded. I read Ronan's book also, and that has a whole different story attached to it. BTW- Ronan doesn't get a pass in this. This book thrashes Ronan pretty hard, even go so far to questioning who Ronan's father is. I honestly don't know what to think anymore.
4) I personally struggle with the relationship with Stacey Nelkin and Soon Yi. Woody's approach to both - that dating significantly younger women (who were both of legal age...which he points out several times) is normal, just doesn't sit right in my head. He's not the first well known man to date/marry much younger, and he won't be the last. The casualness of it all just didn't sit right.
In all - maybe steer clear of this. I chuckled in a few spots - he can still turn a phrase - but it raised more questions than it probably should have or wanted to.
The first half of the book, which is focused on the Weinstein story, is great. The blow by blow accounts of what was going on around the two reporters is great reading.
The back half of the book, when it pivots and focuses on the Kavanaugh hearings, is a snooze. The authors are essentially along for the ride, and they are struggling to find a place. I set the book down for a while because I just lost interest. If you followed the hearings this is all old news to you.
The Farrow book, even with some of it's problems, is a better read.
Enjoyable oral history. Lots of great stories. As with many oral histories, it alternates from tiny details about productions that few have heard about from not have any insights from the one person that probably knew more about Nichols than anybody else (Elaine May). Great stories about The Graduate, Catch-22 and his later years. Totally worth the time, but go into it with your eyes open.
Well researched and well written book. Compelling narrative, with great insight on the titans of Detroit in the early 60's. I visited Detroit for the first time in 2019, and the discussion of how great and powerful the city was jarring given what I saw last year. Maraniss is a good writer and it was great to go along for the ride.
Good, but controlled, oral history of the Bond series. There are a lot of good stories, but there some major players (the Broccoli family, Connery) that are missing or severely lacking. The more current the movies get, the less juicy the stories get, as well as the criticism. A hardcore Bond fan will know a lot of the stories, but there is enough new material to make it worth the time. Other oral histories (ESPN, SNL) do it better.
Starts a bit slowly, but Farrow's passion for a good story, even if it's his, kicks in a third of the way through. The Lauer portion of the story is a bit of an afterthought, but Weinstein/NBC portion of the book is riveting reading. Farrow's actions helped blow open the #MeToo movement, and Farrow's excellent prose takes the reader along for the crazy, sad ride. He won the Pulitzer for this, and he deserved it.
It's not the best book on the Beatles. It's a great book on the author's relationship with the Beatles. He's a John guy and makes no bones about it, which hampers some of the perspective (especially if you are a Paul person). Sheffield is a good writer and writes with a lot of passion. The book isn't completely factually accurate, so the hard core Beatles will object (I'm a step or two under hard core fan, but even I cringed a few times when Sheffield dropped something that's been well documented at not true). It's an enjoyable read and it does remind you a) how great a band the Beatles were and b) how happy they can make you feel.
I am a loyal Sandford reader. I have been there since the beginning of the Davenport novels many moons ago. The Flowers books started as a nice distraction but now are, to me, more enjoyable than the Davenport books, while I feel like the author is playing out the string.
I will admit a bias to the Flowers book as I am a lifelong Minnesota resident, and I usually know the locations that Flowers visits. This book was a particular hoot, as I am also a U of M graduate and was familiar with the sites where most of the action takes place. This book also contained a pretty good mystery - it wasn't totally clear who the murderer was until about three quarters through the book. I also learned about Faraday pouches to the point where I got one.
There books aren't War and Peace, but they are above average crime thrillers written by a really good writer who seems interested writing about the Flowers character and his world. The stories vary in quality - usually from okay to really good - but they are always a good escapist read. If you are a Sandford/Flowers fan, enjoy this book, because it's above average. If you are new to this series, it may be prudent to head back to the beginning, because a lot of the characters will come and go without background (because the writer assumes you know who they are).
I've read most of the Reacher books. There are varying degrees of good. This is towards the bottom group of the series. The book starts slow and never really hits its stride. Reacher isn't doing superhuman things, but there are just too many plot holes and improbabilities to be really enjoying. I like the series, but the further along it goes, the more hit and miss these books become.
This is a return to form from King. There are several standard King themes - children with wisdom and special powers serving the central plot and evil corporations/government agencies. But its not the appearance of familiar King themes that make it a return to form. It's an energy to the writing, and a leanness to the plot, that make it a fun book to read. It's above average King. It's not in the top tier, but it's much better than Sleeping Beauties or than the Bill Hodges trilogy.
Good high level, dirt free run through of the history of Motown. Other reviews note that the research isn't the best or most accurate. Given that I didn't know much about Motown other than the high level dirt (Gaye was tough to deal with, Gordy had a relationship with Diana Ross, member of the Temptations had chemical problems), I can't speak to the accuracy of the finer points. This is a quick, clear read that made me want to know more about the history of this unique company. The book fades after Motown moves to LA in the 70's, which mirrors the company. But the front end of the book is really engaging.
I'm late to the Robicheaux series, so I thought I would read them in order. Heaven's Prisoners is better than the first book in the series. The plot moves along at a faster pace. But I'm still struggling with the Robicheaux character and his motivations, especially in the first half of the book. He does things that I just don't think make much sense, and then later on he pulls off some kind of solid, subtle detective work or type of solid planning that one would come to expect from this type of character. I appreciate that Robicheaux isn't some type of superhuman (paging Jack Reacher) but it's hard to get a handle on the sense of perspective. Maybe this series picks up. I hope so.
Osborne is a good, occasionally great writer. His books are full of specific details. It's very easy to get a sense of place. Only To Sleep would be a good travelouge of the Mexico of the late 80's. Unfortunately, this is a Phillip Marlowe novel. There are expectations of plot, pace, and mood in hard boiled crime fiction. This has none of it. The mystery and the process of reaching the core of the case is secondary to the ruminations by the author of aging, or being of a different time, and of being the outsider in a different land. I was bored repeatedly, and it was a chore to finish the book. Which is unfortunate, since Osborne is a good writer.
Did the audiobook, which was read by the author.
This isn't Grapes of Wraith, but it is an entertaining memoir. There is the typical childhood/teenage years chapters, and then it's straight into the music business. That's where the book gets entertaining. It's obvious, given all the work that Lukather has done, that he's a very, very talented musician. It also serves as a cautionary tale that should make any potential musician pause - if someone who has been as successful as Lukather still has to work as hard as he does to make things swing, what is the upside in the stripped down music world?
Lukather is known for being a grade A party guy from the 80's. There are plenty of sex and drugs stories to provide the point, but not so many that it gets excessive. There are also a lot of women, but again, not so much that gets to be repetitive.
There are some great in-depth discussions about how some of Toto's biggest hits were made, and there are a lot of discussions of the music business. Today's tip - the record company is usually the bad guy.
Worth your time if you are a fan of Toto, 80's music, or stories from funny loose cannons.
