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.