Detroit: An American Autopsy is a not only a fantastically addictive read about how corruption and incompetence is killing the once majestic city of Detroit (ok majestic may be a stretch), but also manages to showcase a fearless, ballsy style of reporting that is almost nearly extinct as well thanks to the new face journalism, partisan to a fault and concerned about little more than click-ability. LeDuff’s life story…
In his brilliant debut of short stories, Jim Gavin manages to humorously cover a cross-section of sad men – of all ages – going mindlessly through the motions of life, some with hope, many without. The collection would be sad if not for Gavin’s knack for pointing out the humor in the mundane. The characters in the six (and a half) stories in Middle Men, cover everyone from an ambitious…
As a black woman raised on a steady diet of metal music, Laina Dawes is used to getting stares in the mosh pit. So as music writer and cultural critic is was just a matter of time before she looked to herself – and fans like her – as an ideal subject to write about. What Are You Doing Here? is a fascinating look at the double outsider status black…
Probably the most surprising revelation from Jacob Tomsky’s Heads In Beads, the highly entertaining behind the scenes look at the hospitality industry, is the fact that he’s still working in it, (at least by the end of the writing of the memoir he was. No idea if he left the hotels game for good after publication). Head In Beds reads almost like fiction thanks to Tomsky’s knack for first-person story…
Those expecting an exhaustive memoir or even a semi-complete bio on the Red Headed Stranger are out of luck with this latest book by the country legend. Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die is exactly as stated in the subtitle, a collection of musings. Everything from one-off fleeting thoughts and bad jokes, to political views and thoughts of his family and friends are collected in the slim,…
The timing of Alan di Perna’s bio on Oakland’s favorite pop punks is a little ill-timed. The hardcover coffee table book is well-researched, impressively chronicled and features everything from pics of programs and old tour posters to t-shirts and rare flyers. But the book leaves the Green Day story in early 2012, just as the band is going into the studio to record what would be an ambitious three-album project…
There is no getting around the fact that British novelist Danny Wallace is going to be compared to Nick Hornby. A lot; which is a disservice to both writers, each talented and possessing a knack from writing sympathetic, slightly flawed character. Both write compelling fiction set around young men living in the UK and struggling to make sense of relationships with the opposite sex… wait, maybe there is a connection…
I’m a parent and I can admit I want it to stop. Please don’t post any more pics of your kids on Facebook. Seriously, no one but you cares about these preciously little snowflakes. That is, unless you are willing to take some staging tips from Troy Osinoff, Internet entrepreneur and author of My Bad Parent. This paperback collection from the blogger behind MakeADare.com, BanThis.com and Disqy.com, features a slew…
The concept behind The Road Most Traveled is wonderful in its simplicity, but nonetheless entertaining: a collection of mostly punk and indie musicians and behind the scenes folks (drivers, tour managers, booking agents, etc.) offering advice for surviving the road as a touring band (think smelly vans with rusted out holes in the floor and not top 40, we’ve-hit-it-big-time buses). The collection, with contributions from more than 100 (including members of…
The MAX Muscle Plan is a title that anyone that is looking to pack on muscle should read. The title, written by Brad Schoenfeld, is crafted in such a way that even those that are looking to become healthier will be able to follow. For those that have been on various other plans and are more experienced, Schoenfeld’s MAX Muscle Plan will eke out gains that one thought impossible.…
There are shelves bulging under the weight of Springsteen coffee table books, so was there really a need for one more? Well, as Streets of Fire proves, absolutely. This book of beautiful black and white photos and accompanying essays, were all taken by Eric Meola at the tail end of Springsteen’s legal battle with his former manager – keeping the singer out of the studio for a year – through…
The reason Bill O’Reilly is so annoyed by comic actor Stephen Colbert is because he has managed to not only pull-off a perfect homage to the conservative blowhard, but found a way to be incredibly successful at it, with a popular talk show on Comedy Central, a DVD and a series of books. This summer Colbert and his crew even managed to make a poke fun at the absurdity of…
To get this out of the way up front, I think many of these stories in Davy Rothbart’s collection of essays are a tad bit exaggerated at best, certainly not a first for non-fiction writing (see James Frey, JT LeRoy, Margaret Seltzer and a slew of other recent authors). But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Rothbart is a fantastic storyteller and My Heart is an Idiot is…
There are bookshelves crammed with tomes about the origins of punk rock and just as many, if not more, about how hip-hop first began. It’s refreshing then that Will Hermes, a long time music critic, manages to cover both genres as well as disco, salsa, jazz and other aspects of the music world from his unique perspective growing up in New York in the mid 70’s. Love Goes to Buildings…
It’s almost frightening how good novelist Laura Lippman is at churning out top shelf books that take a twisted view of suburbia. Her latest, And When She Was Good, her 11th, showcases Lippman at her best. It’s not technically a mystery or even a thriller – though there are certainly some white knuckle passages toward the end – but the story is impossible to resist nonetheless. Helen, the protagonist, is…
Like many teenage boys who grew up in the 80’s Thomas Scott McKenzie was a big fan of metal. Aqua-netted guitar gods, from the top-tier (Motley Crue and Kiss) to the B-listers (Slaughter and Stryper), he subscribed to the “if it’s too loud, you’re too old,” philosophy when it came to rock. But unlike many of us who were wooed away by grunge in the early 90’s he stuck with…
I think the fact that columnist Joel Stein questioned his manliness enough to write this book in the first place is pretty damn manly (the fact that I had many of the same self doubts about my own non-sports watching, can’t take a punch, indoorsy self could make me a tad bit biased though). The non-fiction Man Made begins with Time magazine columnist Stein realizing he is about to have…
The concept behind America, You Sexy Bitch is a pretty interesting experiment and comes at just the right time with the country more polarized politically than at any time in recent decades. The concept: liberal comedian Michael Ian Black and conservative(ish) Meghan McCain, daughter of long-term senator and one-time presidential candidate John McCain, tour the country in a beat up RV and… those ellipses pretty much show where the concept…
Despite their role in shaping all facets of life, the precise mechanisms by which courts function is a black box for many American citizens. Lawrence Baum looks to rectify this situation with American Courts: Process and Policy. This book is perfectly written for the upper-level undergraduate that has had some education about American government. The broad strokes that are painted with the introductory chapter (An Overview of the Courts)…
Dr. David Newman is currently teaching at my alma mater, with a set of interests that are very germane to my field. Saying that, Identities and Inequalities is a perfect sociological look into the nuances of ascribed and achieved factors in society. The title does not assume any familiarity with sociological concepts and provides ample opportunity to get caught up with the subjects that Newman is broaching. The writing…