BOOK REVIEW: Pulling Back The Reporter's Curtain

(Originally Published 1973, Paperback Edition 374 pages)

Well, that certainly sucked the romance out of covering the candidates running for president. However, when Mr. Crouse's book caused me to laugh on the second page with his dark observation, I knew this classic work was going to be good and it definitely was. The 1972 campaign between President Nixon and Senator McGovern seems eons away from today's 24-hour news cycles. Mr. Crouse's work was published in 1973. It was a time of chain smoking, hardcore drinking, long-haired reporters who used manual typewriters, wrote for morning AND evening newspapers, cell phones didn't exist, they had HUGE budgets and staff, needed to take into consideration The Fairness Doctrine, and sexist attitudes were very much the norm. Other aspects of news gathering are still with us today such as the pack mentality of journalist who are cocooned with other reporters in covering candidates for long months.

Mr. Crouse covers such areas as the boredom and frustration of being part of the White House press corps under the Nixon Adminsitration, the chaos of Senator McGovern's campaign, and the different business cultures working as a reporter for either newspapers, magazines or television. Many of the high-profile reporters were and still are today an egotistical lot inclined towards jealousy of other reporters receiving preferential treatment or fame. Though Mr. Crouse describes the McGovern campaign as essentially a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off, he shows a clear dislike of Nixon's staff especially the press secretary Ron Ziegler. Our nation had a choice between a candidate who likely would've been in over his head as president or a president who had the morals of... well... Richard Nixon.

The reporters highlighted were well known in the seventies. While many have faded into obscurity, others such as Theodore White, David Broder, Robert Novack, and Hunter S. Thompson went on to larger fame. Mr. Crouse's no-holds-barred description of being a reporter is well worth reading 'The Boys on the Bus.' In a few short years, the news-gathering industry was going to be revolutionized by Ted Turner's CNN of 24-hour shallow coverage and inane punditry. It is a highly entertaining work and had the unintentional benefit of allowing me to play "He's Dead. She's Dead. He's Dead. He's Dead..." 

 

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #379)

Heeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!

It'd be cool if a town that buried a time capsule inserted a spring-loaded corpse which sat up when the cover was removed in a 100 years.

BOOK REVIEW: Overvaluing The Extrovert Buzz

 

(Originally Published 2012, Paperback Edition 273 pages)

Without question, the United States chugs along on the Extrovert Ideal: gregarious, alpha, and comfortable in the spotlight. Ms. Cain's book is not an attempt to sully extroverts, but to show that introverts bring other valuable characteristics to the table that extroverts lack and should heed. She analyzes our shift from a Culture of Character (Introvert) to a Culture of Personality (Extrovert) which began with the success and influence of Dale Carnegie. Then the self-described-introvert author journeys to other notable domains to better understand the extrovert mindset. These areas include attending a Tony Robbins's retreat, the Harvard Business School, and evangelical minister Rick Warren's campus.

On the flip side, Ms. Cain also visits Cupertino, California which is home to an inordinate amount of academically-minded, introverted Asian-Americans; interviews an introvert professor whose lectures and classes are widely popular on campus; and attends a workshop for introverts to overcome their fear of public speaking or, heck, actually adding their two cents to any group discussion. The author makes many cogent points about how the 2008 financial meltdown could possibly have been avoided if the gung-ho extroverts running the show had listened to the introvert's opinions which are personified in Warren Buffett. She also points out that the school environment of group participation as well as brainstorming business meetings do not work well for our ilk. Even our conflicts with countries such as China can be partly attributed to the extrovert/introvert dynamic. I don't know if the author was aware, but many of the introvert characteristics she covers are also attributable to high-functioning autists.

The book is an easy, enjoyable, informative work. The next-to-last chapter "On Cobblers and Generals," however, I found annoying because it gives recommendations which felt very much like one of those gooey self-help books that women love to eat up like they're hot fudge sundaes. In addition to recently reading the excellent 'The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion' by Jonathan Haidt, 'Quiet' gave me a better perspective of the human condition and how conflicts arise. The book hopefully will help me become a better husband, parent and citizen. If you are like me, an introvert, the author's work will be a great comfort. For extroverts, it likely will be an eyeopener.

P.S. THAT is one seriously butt-ugly cover design.

  

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #378)

Giving Till It Hurts

I donated 150 books to Gorham's Baxter Library. Naturally, they look brand new for now, but that will change. Oooooooooh, yes. That will change. Gorham citizens will start putting their grubby hands on my babies and start bending pages, ruining the spine and... and... and putting stains on the covers. Will they CARE? Noooooooooo. Those fuckers. Wait. Wait. Some guy just pulled one of my books off the library shelf... HEY, BE CAREFUL WITH THAT BOOK! YOU DON'T HOLD IT LIKE THAT!! JESUS CHRIST! IF YOU BEND THE SPINE... MOTHERFUCKER!!! COME HERE!!!! YEAH! YOU! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE! RIGHT! FUCKING! NOW!!SONOFABITCH!!!DON'TYOUFUCKING WALKAWAYFROMME!!!! THAT'SRIGHTMOTHERFUCKER!!!RUN!!!RUN!!!BUTYOUCAN'THIDE!!!

 I gotta go...

BOOK REVIEW: The Wonder Weed

(Originally Published 2012, Paperback Edition 403 pages)

Before I write this brief review, it would be good for the reader to know that I'm a 53-year-old father of two teenagers and has been happily married for over 30 years. I've tried marijuana four times in my life: a few tokes off a joint in my late teens; two incidences when I unknowingly ate pot-laced pastries during my college years; and once getting seriously baked from unintentionally inhaling second-hand smoke at an Aerosmith concert in the early 1980s. At the last example, I wound up eating an entire bucket of Dunkin' Donut munchkins in my dorm room. I maybe will have a beer or two per year and do not take nor have ever taken illicit drugs beyond the examples above. In other words, no one will mistake me for Charlie Sheen.

With that said, after reading numerous respectable pieces about marijuana, I was at a loss as to why our federal government was freaking out about weed? A mountain of scientific reports over the past hundred years or so have repeatedly shown that it isn't a gateway drug, addictive, NO ONE has ever O.D. on the stuff, it has numerous medicinal benefits, and cannabis has many uses such as petroleum, food, clothing and paper. Mr. Lee's 'Smoke Signals' presents a very thorough history of hippie lettuce. Our laws demonizing it began because of racism towards Mexicans and blacks as well as religious zealotry then snowballed into a federal bureaucratic cash cow and political tool. The author repeatedly shows through heavily annotated examples that marijuana's reputation was and is tarnished due to moral and ideological attitudes. There is plenty of interesting trivia between these pages such as Sears & Roebuck used to sell it. Mr. Lee's work also covers the key individuals who have been waging the battles to either make cannabis legal or maintain its status as an illicit drug even more dangerous than cocaine* or heroin* (*Oh pleeeeease, give me a friggin' break.) He also compares the United States government's attitude and actions to other more sensible-minded countries.

'Smoke Signals' is a highly informative, entertaining and correct history of marijuana. The only thing that irked me about his work is that Mr. Lee's allegiances are pretty darned obvious after only reading the first few pages. By the end of the book, I could practically see his spittle splattered all over the text because of his anger at the federal government's actions having caused hundreds of thousands of people a great deal of unnecessary harm. I sure can't blame him. After reading this excellent work, you may need some cannabis to calm you down. 

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #377)

BOOK REVIEW: Bullies' Bloody Uber-Comeuppance

(Originally Published 1974, Mass Market Paperback 290)

The difficulty in writing a review of such a well-known work such as Mr. King's 'Carrie' is separating the short novel from the famous 1976 movie. If you have never seen the movie starring Sissy Spacek, I strongly suggest you read the book first. 'Carrie' the novel presents a much more full-bodied representation of the characters. Hollywood, with a few exceptions, has a nasty tendency to fart around with literary works and dilute much of what makes a novel good. If you've seen the movie, you'll immediately realize this on page 4 by Mr. King's description of Carrie as compared to Sissy Spacek (or the 2013 remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz.) The book fleshes out Carrie's father Ralph, the mother Margaret White, and also the other main characters Sue Snell, Tommy Ross, Chris Hargensen, the phys. ed. teacher Mrs. Desjardin, the principal Mr. Grayle, the vice-principal Mr. Morton and especially Billy Nolan who plays a larger role in the book.

I agree with the author that his first work was a "raw," but it's sure in the heck better than anything I could ever write. Oddly enough, over the last 34 years, I've read around 35 of Mr. King's novels starting with 'The Shining' and ''Salem's Lot,' but never got around to 'Carrie' until now. The book was published in 1974, but transpires in May of 1979 in a little southern Maine town. 'Carrie' is a fast read. I wish I had never seen the movie back in the 1980s because it did remove a lot of the suspense of the book. However, it's still a very good work and better than the first movie adaption. It covers some nasty aspects of the human condition: bullying, peer pressure, and religious zealotry. Oh, and the cover design of a skeleton carnation on the Anchor Books Mass Market Paperback is excellent. In this case, judge the book by its cover.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #376)

Alarming

The problem with waking up early then taking a nap in the afternoon is it gives your alarm clock two chances to provoke a major heart attack.

Going With The Flow

The store's restroom lights flickered on. Not only did the room have motion sensors, I also found out I don't move while pissing into a urinal.

Sleep Tight

Kids don't seem reassured when I tell them not to worry because all the monsters have been killed by the ax-murdering clown under their bed.

BOOK REVIEW: Mano-A-Mano So So

(Originally Published 2012, Paperback Edition 292 pages)

Having read many of Mr. Stein's funny but pretty useless columns in TIME magazine, I was curious if I could tolerant a book's worth of his humor. His writing style is mostly aimed at self-deprecation and the metaphors usually allude to pop-culture references. Though the focus of the book is him trying to become more "manly" for his son's sake, I wondered throughout the thing if it was just a contrived excuse to set himself up in uncommon situations. No matter. Mr. Stein did a wonderful job covering his experiences as camping with a Boy Scouts' troop; spending a few days being sort of a Los Angeles firefighter; practicing baseball with a former-pro-Dodger; spends a Sunday hanging with some ex-pro-football players watching games; learns to drink whiskey; day trades; drives a Lamborghini; babysits a dog for a few weeks; helps his father-in-law repair an old house; goes turkey hunting in Vermont; spends some days at both a marine and army boot camps as well as the climax of the story is Mr. Stein spending five minutes sparring with mixed-martial-arts UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.

It's certainly a random lot of "manly" venues. Though it does have its moments of serious introspection and the book is somewhat educational (I'm now ready for a Jeopardy category entitled 'Horny Turkeys",) the work is ultimately just a light read of a nerdy, sarcastic guy's misadventures. The authors, Mr. Stein, Jon Ronson and A.J. Jacobs must have been separated at birth. All three guys are the first to come to mind when I need a light, hilarious pick-me-up. Heck, even the author's acknowledgements at the end of the work made me smile. I do hope Mr. Stein writes another one.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #375)

BOOK REVIEW: Pursuing The Impossible

(Originally Published 2010, Updated Paperback Edition 288 pages)

There's so much great stuff between the pages of Ms. Ravitch's book, there's no way this short review will do it justice. Look, most everybody wants their kids or the nation's schools to do a better job, but 20th-century history repeatedly shows it's easier said than done. Expecting some unified national standards for education or being able to gauge progress by highly error-prone test assessments is as realistic as believing the government can pass a law decreeing that it will always rain M&Ms. American education has nearly always been perceived in crisis THROUGHOUT the 20th century. Ms. Ravitch clearly and correctly shows that the current attempts to transform students into commodities, products and consumers as well as turning schooling into a marketplace is unrealistic and has done and will continue to do immense social harm with crappy results.

As a parent of two sons, who are now teenagers and in the public school system in a small Maine community of approximately 16,000, we've seen the dedication of teachers and administrators in helping our sons prepare for adulthood. Naturally, there were a few rotten apples in the bunch, but they are the exception not the rule. Show me a large bureaucracy that doesn't have it fair share of excellent, average, and poor employees and I'll show you a person lying out his backside. Speaking as a 53-year-old man, I've also seen and read oodles of examples in the "hallowed" business environments where they carry a portion of deadwood employees no matter how hard they try to eliminate them. Believing businesspeople or legislators know the right approach to improving education through market means is the kind of stuff that should relegate the advocate into a corner and forced to wear a dunce cap. Our own current rockhead governor has been on a free-market crusade painting unions and administrators as self-serving individuals who don't care about the kids and are in the way of "reform."  The governor and his well-intentioned ilk are looking at schooling in a profoundly anti-intellectual definition of education. The No-Child-Left-Behind's (NCLB) technocratic approach based on only two subjects, reading and math, and impossible goal of every student being proficient in these two areas by 2014 is doing much harm and ZERO improvement in education scores.

Ms. Ravitch impartial assessment of a wide variety of school systems who implement voucher programs, charter schools, smaller schools, centralized control, decentralized control, privately-managed schools etc., clearly shows many of them cause a lot of chaos and no discernible or worse results. Heck, it shouldn't even be a surprise that many of the large urban schools with huge improvements in their test results were illegally cooking the books because of loony NCLB goals. The author explains the major fallibility of test assessments, different ways to game the scoring system, political puffery that are outright lies, narrowing curriculum for focus on testing, NAEP audits, value-added assessments,  poverty, racism, venture philanthropists, the largesse of private foundations, the necessity of unions in academia, the movie 'Waiting for Superman,' and the good ole days of education that never existed.

As Ms. Ravitch convincingly explains, treating teachers as mere workers to order around instead of the professionals they are is just plain dumb. Trust, not coersion is a necessary precondition for school reform. The epilogue to the paperback edition adds frosting to the cake of her well-researched and well-written argument. For God's sake, read the thing. It's fantastic.

(Meyers - A few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent review #374)