Book Review - Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan

Scribe: My Life in Sports by Bob Ryan
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (October 7, 2014)

You can't call yourself a sports fan and not know who Bob Ryan is.  I've had the pleasure of emailing back and forth with the Hall of Fame sportswriter for quite a few years now.  He's one of the best in the business.

For 46 years, Ryan worked as a beloved Boston Globe sportswriter and columnist and later made regular appearances on both Around the Horn and Sports Reporters on ESPN.  Long before he was placed on the Boston Celtics bear in 1968, Ryan picked up the nickname "Scribe" from his high school football coach as he put so many hours into the school newspaper.  Suffice it to say, the Hall of Fame writer has lived up to the nickname.

Ryan writes of growing up in Trenton, New Jersey and his path to becoming a Boston mainstay.  To say that Ryan is a sports institution would be an understatement.  A sports fan first and foremost, Ryan has a passion and enthusiasm for the game, no matter what sport or where its taking place.  Without such passion or enthusiasm, it's hard to tell if he would be the writer we know that he is today.

For over four decades, Ryan regularly covered baseball, basketball, golf, boxing, and eleven Olympic games.  He retired as a regular columnist following the 2012 Summer Olympics in London but he has written an engaging memoir infused with the same insight and journalistic prowess that he used when writing his columns.

We get the behind-the-scenes stories with personal anecdotes, unbelievable encounters, and photos of his priceless memorabilia.

If you call yourself a sports fan, do yourself a favor and read this book.

Searching for the Hirschfeld Family

My 3rd great-grandmother, Liba/Libby Schindler, had a brother named Nisan Hirschfeld.  In the 1897 All-Russia census, they were listed as living in Talsen, Latvia.  Libby and Nisan's father was named Isaac/Itzik.

According to the census, Nisan was living with his wife, Zira, and stepson, Mendel Lewensohn.

Ages in 1896-97:
Nisan, 56
Zira, 46
Mendel, 25

I don't know if Nisan and Zira had other children.

Jerry Abramson resigns, Crit Luallen to become new Lt. Governor

Kentucky Lt. Governor Jerry Abramson has resigned to take the position of Deputy Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the White House.

The announcement was made today by Governor Steve Beshear.  Former state Auditor Crit Luallen has been named as Abramson's replacement.

Beshear:

“This is a bittersweet moment for me and for our administration. Jerry and I have been friends for more than 30 years, and I chose him as my Lieutenant Governor because I knew that his extensive experience as longtime mayor of Louisville, his contagious enthusiasm and his knack for building momentum around new ideas would make him a great partner in leading our state.  But the White House noticed all those skills, too, and realized that he will take those same gifts and put them to work on our nation’s domestic agenda. He will be an outstanding addition to the President’s administration, and we will miss him terribly.”

Abramson:

“The challenges that face America’s local communities – such as workforce training, education, infrastructure investment, shrinking budgets, affordable housing, public transportation, and emergency response – are the issues that I’ve worked on for more than 30 years in local and state government. I’m honored to be in a position to help this country’s mayors, county executives, governors and other local officials tackle these issues and work to find innovative solutions.  “I’m grateful to Gov. Beshear for bringing me on board three years ago, and I’m proud of the work we’ve done together to bring jobs to our state and to strengthen Kentucky families.  My experience in the Kentucky Capitol will be vital as I step into my new role.”

Beshear on appointing Crit Luallen:

“Crit is a well-known and beloved public servant, respected by members of both parties for her resolute pursuit of clean, ethical government,” said Gov. Beshear. “She was my first and only choice to serve as the new Lieutenant Governor, and I know Kentuckians will be confident that she is more than up to the task.  I’m glad she agreed to return to state government, and I’m certain she will bring that same tenacity and grit to the Lt. Governor’s office.”

Crit Luallen:

“It is a high honor to stand here today in partnership with this Governor.  Serving as Lieutenant Governor gives me an opportunity to continue to serve Kentucky and offer my experience and perspective to Gov. Beshear and the fine team he has assembled. It will be my personal goal to help the Governor end his term in office with the state in as strong a position as possible to face the challenges the future holds.”

 The resignation and transfer of power will take place on November 13. 

Saving the Horse Industry in Kentucky means to expand gambling

Kentucky's horse industry is dying a slow death. Owners and trainers will continue to send their horses where the money is--sadly, it won't be Kentucky because of the religious conservatives so afraid of expanded gambling. Just because they don't like it doesn't mean that their beliefs should be forced upon those who disagree with them.

We can't win when potential tax revenue is leaving Kentucky and going to Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio, wherever the casinos are.

2015 Kentucky Statewide Primary Election - Democratic Candidates

Governor/Lt. Governor (Open)
Jack Conway/Sannie Overly

Secretary of State
Alison Lundergan Grimes

Attorney General
Andrew Beshear

State Auditor
Adam Edelen

State Treasurer
Daniel Grossberg
Neville Blakemore

Possible candidates:
Colmon Elridge
Dee Dee Ford
Chris Tobe

State Agricultural Comissioner
Jean-Marie Lawson Spann

Southern Democrats need a New Strategy

Chris Cillizza puts it the best when he called Southern Democrats a loser in the 2014 election:

Southern Democrats: Both Alison Lundergan Grimes in Kentucky and Sen. Mark Pryor in Arkansas did everything they could to run away from President Obama and insist they were their own independent voices. Ditto Michelle Nunn in Georgia.  Didn't work.  Grimes lost minutes after polls closed in Kentucky. Same for Pryor in Arkansas. Nunn wasn't able to push David Perdue (R) to a runoff. And even Sen. Mark Warner, long considered to be impregnable, found himself in a tight race with former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie.  The results affirmed just how difficult it is for Democrats to win federal races in the South -- particularly in an election cycle like this one where a Democratic President is decidedly unpopular in the region. (And NBC/Marist poll released on Sunday showed Obama with a 32 percent approval rating in Kentucky.)

It may be easy to when statewide for state elections but in Kentucky, nobody has been elected statewide to the United States Senate since Wendell Ford.  In 2011, the Steve Beshear/Jerry Abramson slate won with 55.72% of the vote.

The Kentucky Democratic Party has a lot of work to do over the next few years.

Deleting an old blog posting...

It's not that often that I delete an old blog posting but I did so today...well more so, reverted it back to a draft.

Why?

My feelings on Jerry Lundergan have changed ten-fold since early 2005 when he was voted in as party chairman.  It is important that we have a UNITED Kentucky Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

I'll proudly cast my vote on Tuesday for Alison Lundergan Grimes.

Bill Clinton!

President Bill Clinton was on the stump for Alison Lundergan Grimes as she runs for the United States Senate.  I don't actively write about politics as much as I used to but getting the opportunity to see President Clinton for a third time in person was awesome even if it was a bit chilly outside while waiting for the rally to get started.

2013-2014 Baseball Books You Should Read

American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball by Larry Ruttman Hardcover: 544 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (April 1, 2013)

The Jewish presence of baseball extends beyond the playing field.  It reaches to the Commissioner's Office (Bud Selig), labor leaders (Marvin Miller, Donald Fehr), the owners box (Jerry Reinsdorf, Stuart Sternberg), front office executives (Theo Epstein, Mark Shapiro), sportswriters (Murray Chass, Ross Newhan, Ira Berkow, Roger Kahn) and fans such as Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.

Their life stories and others have been compiled from nearly 50 in-depth interviews and arranged by decade.  The edifying and entertaining work is an important part of our oral and cultural history.

Everyone interviewed talks about what it was like to have grown up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel.  They talk about being in the midst of players who have helped to make baseball into what it is today.  What their stories do, most importantly, is show the history of Jews in America's pastime.

Throwing Hard Easy: Reflections on a Life in Baseball by Robin Roberts
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)

Reprinted posthumously, this edition offers a new forward by his son, James Roberts, as well as a new introduction from his co-author C. Paul Rogers, III.

Roberts made his debut in 1948 and would become one of the many inductees in Cooperstown.  Roberts wasn't just a dominating pitcher but an impressive storyteller, too.  His experiences before, during, and after his 19-year career made for an extraordinary life.  His memoir recalls his childhood, playing days, and life after retiring from baseball.

Alexander Cartwright: The Life behind the Baseball Legend by Monica Nucciarone
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2014)

We know that Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. (1820–92) was present during the organization of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York in the mid-1800s but since that time, Cartwright has been celebrated as one of baseball's founders in the same case as Abner Doubleday.  Both, however, have seen their clain to fame come with both conjecture and controverse.  In Nucciarone's book, his complex life comes into focus.

The author seperates fact from speculation.  While Cartwright may not be the one of legend, what we get is a character that is colorful, complicated, and immense as any legend that he may have inspired.

Turning the Black Sox White: The Misunderstood Legacy of Charles A. Comiskey by Tim Hornbaker
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Sports Publishing (March 4, 2014)

Charles Albert “The Old Roman” Comiskey was a man that had precision in speech and could work a room with handshakes and smiles.  Comiskey invested some five decades in baseball and cared deeply for both the fans and the players.

He's been vilified as a cheapskate and a driving force behind the 1919 White Sox team that the the World Series.  It couldn't have been any further from the truth as Hornbaker's book shows.  Comiskey was terrorized to the core with the scandal.  Mangled versions of the truth have circulated and have been immortalized by the mainstream media.

This is a man who gave away tickets to the Boy Scouts and opposed raising ticket prices for the World Series.  He put the fans and players first.  Amongst now-common practices, Comiskey has been credited with playing first base either behind the bag or onside the foul line.

This is an elegant portrait of his long career as a player, manager, and owner and tells his story while showcasing facts that most don't know.  The truth, as is the case, needs to be told and that's what Hornbaker does.

Down to the Last Pitch: How the 1991 Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves Gave Us the Best World Series of All Time by Tim Wendel
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press (April 1, 2014)

This was a classic World Series between two teams that climbed their way to the top after finishing in the bottom of the standings in the 1990 season.  Five games were decided by just one run.  Four games were decided by the last at-bat, including Kirby Puckett's walk-off home run in Game 6. 
No World Series had seen three games go into extra innings until the 1991 World Series.

More than statistics, this is a series in which both teams took a risk, followed their guts, and played with both integrity and heart.

Tim Wendel recalls what made this series a great one game-by game.  He reaches back into baseball history to show us just what made these moments so great.  Nobody can ever forget Puckett's home run or the game four and seven matchups between Jack Morris and John Smoltz.

Wendel makes an argument that this was "the last fine time in Baseball."

Mover and Shaker: Walter O'Malley, the Dodgers, and Baseball's Westward Expansion by Andy McHue
Hardcover: 488 pages
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (May 1, 2014)

Walter O'Malley is one of the most influential and controversial owners in sports history.  For the first time ever, we have an objective, complete, and nuanced account of the O'Malley's life.  He doesn't present O'Malley has a villain or angel.  Rather, he presents O'Malley as a rational and hardheaded businessman.  He was a major force for three decades in baseball.  His managing and marketing practices radically changed the shape of the game.

He's remembered best for moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.  But what is known about O'Malley leading up to the move is either unknown or a complete myth.  Sportswriters distorted his personal story because of their hatred of him after the Dodgers moved west.

The Closer by Mariano Rivera
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (May 6, 2014)

There's no denial that Rivera is the greatest closer of all-time in Major League Baseball.  Nobody can list the greatest Yankees of all time without including Rivera.  Just by opening the bullpen door, Rivera intimidated thousands of batters.

In this book, he finally shares his life story and journey.  When the Yankees first scouted him, he didn't own a glove and his big toe was sticking out of his shoe.

He didn't know who Babe Ruth was, spoke no English, and never had flown in a plane.  He knew that with his love for family and G-d to guide him that he would throw a baseball exactly where he wanted to...every single time.

Rivera, with some astonishing candor, shares the stories of the championships, bosses, rivalries, the  struggles of being a Latino player in the U.S., and the challenges of maintaining deep religious values in sports.

He writes about his drive to win, the secret to his composure, how he discovered the cutter, and Game 7 of the 2001 World Series.  He writes how the lowest moment of his career would turn into a blessing.

Rivera takes us into the Yankees clubhouse and discusses the other players of the Core Four.

You Can Date Boys When You're Forty by Dave Barry

You Can Date Boys When You're Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About by Dave Barry
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (March 4, 2014)

For the first time since 2010, Dave Barry is back with a collection of brand new essays that offer a unique look at fatherhood, family, and death.  He delivers a hilarious collection of parenting, families, sex, camels, women, brain surgery, sex with women, air travel, brain farts, and so much more.

Barry's daughter turned 13 and he turned 65.  For Barry, 65 is not the new 50.  No matter what age, Barry is still one of the funniest writers on this planet.

Barry even writes about a trip to Israel, which had me cracking up a storm.  When you've rode on camels and slept in a Bedouin tent, you know exactly what kind of experience that he had.  I can say that with 100% certainty as I went on a Birthright trip in 2007.

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by B.J. Novak
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Knopf; First Edition edition (February 4, 2014)

This book from Novak is one of the can't-miss books of the past year.  After serving as a writer and actor for many seasons on The Office, Novak decided to write a collection of short stories.  The result is one of the newest voices in the world of American fiction.

Novak's work is endlessly entertaining, sensitive, and very original.  His zing and humor brings to mind the work of both Woody Allen and Steve Martin.

The pieces in this collection have one thing in common: they share humor.  It's like nothing else that's been done before.

Book Review: Wilson by A. Scott Berg

Wilson by A. Scott Berg
Paperback: 832 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade; Reprint edition (September 2, 2014)

When this book was first printed in 2013, the United States quietly marked the 100th anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's presidential inauguration--most were focused on the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's tragic passing in 1963.

Berg is a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner.  He spent a decade researching and writing this biography of the nation's 28th President of the United States.

Wilson, who served from 1913-1921, rose from a Southern boyhood as the son of a minister through the ranks of academia and politics before leading the United States into the dawn of a new era.  Wilson's led the nation during World War 1 and would go on to institute many progressive reforms that shaped the country as we know it today.  These reforms would pave the way for the New Deal.  Wilson also laid the foundation of the country's foreign policy for the rest of the century.

Despite all of this, Wilson is one of the least-remembered of the great presidents.  He is often thought of as a rigid, dour figure who failed in bringing the United States into the League of Nations.  The League of Nations was the forerunner to the United Nations.

Wilson suffered a debilitating stroke, leading his wife to act as a de factor president.

In under 1,000 pages, Berg clears away the myths and misconceptions about President Wilson.  What he presents is a book on a man that was a statesman, intellectual, speaker, politician, and an idealist.

With access to hundreds of thousands of documents, including the letters of Wilson's personal physician and one of his daughters, this is easily the definitive biography of President Woodrow Wilson.

American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith

American Pastimes: The Very Best of Red Smith (The Library of America)
Daniel Okrent, editor. Afterword by Terence Smith
Hardcover: 560 pages
Publisher: Library of America (May 16, 2013)

When people think of great sportswriters, Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith is one of the first names that come to mind.  With a nationally syndicated column in both the New York Herald Tribune and New York Times, Smith was widely read from the 1940s through his retirement in the 1980s.  He was the first sportswriter to have won the Pullitzer Prize for commentary.

His sports commentaries came with literary panache and wry humor.

Writer and editor Daniel Okrent presents the best of Smith's columns.  His work, to this day, remains the gold standard in sportswriting.  It still shows many years later.

 Smith's profiles of some of the biggest figures in sports show how he can distill a career's essence in just one column.  There are the accounts of some of the most historic occasions in sports and they are joined by some of the more offbeat stories that display the writer's wit, intelligence, and feeling.

We get some personal glimpses into Red's life and work such as his passion for fishing.  "My Press-Box Memoirs", a 1975 reminiscence written for Esquire, is collected here for the first time.

Any aspiring sportswriter or sports fan in general will want to read this book.

Book Review - Men, Women & Children: A Novel

Prior to seeing Men, Women, & Children this weekend, I read the book written by Chad Kultgen.  It's not a pretty book even though I racked through it in only three days.  At just over 300 pages, it is a very quick read.

Not being familiar with Kultgen's work prior to reading, I had only known that he co-created the new NBC sitcom, Bad Judge.  While Bad Judge keeps things cleaner for TV, the book doesn't keep things clean.  Far from it, actually.  It's very graphic and even though Kultgen's message means well, it's certainly not a book I would read again or even recommend to anyone else.

Kultgen's book explores the sexual pressures of junior high students and their parents.

Star Wars

To read my review of the recently released book, How Star Wars Conquered the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of a Multibillion Dollar Franchise, by Chris Taylor, please head to Flicksided.

Searching for the Salzman Family

My great-aunt passed away in 2002.  She had built a family tree for many sides of the family going back a few generations.

Unfortunately, she also made some mistakes, too.  Unfortunately, some of these mistakes meant that it took longer to find some families--by which point some of the older generations have passed away.

What we do know is that Kassel Salzman immigrated to America in 1896 after traveling with his wife, Pauline, and children from Russia.  What we do know is that he had quite a few children: Charles, Max, Annie (Anna), Maurine (Mary), and Sadie.

We know that Kassel was convicted of larceny in the early 1900s and went to prison where he ended up dying in 1911.  We have managed to get in touch, finally, with Anna's descendants so as to update that branch of the tree.  But outside of that, we're stuck.  When it is a common name (Saltzman became Salzman or Solzman), it makes it harder with marriage records, etc.  I've found obituaries but when they don't mention siblings, it's hard to confirm whether that's the one I am looking for.

We know that the name was Saltzman in the 1900 census and Salzman when the 1905 census was recorded.

But we're stuck.  My only hope now is for a distant cousin to find this, get in touch, and help us rebuild this branch.

Book Review: Tradition!

Tradition!: The Highly Improbable, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical by Barbara Issenberg
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (September 2, 2014)

It was on this date in 1964 that the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, opened its doors on Broadway.  History would never be the same!  It may not be the behind-the-scenes movie that Mary Poppins got but it's the next best thing: the behind-the-scenes of both the Broadway production directed by Jerome Robbins and the movie directed by the not-Jewish Norman Jewison.

Since it opened 50 years ago today, there is rarely a time in which the sound of the off-tune violin is not heard somewhere on stage.  Whether it be a school, community theater, army base, Broadway revival, or countries from Argentina to Japan, the musical is being performed somewhere.

Isenberg weaves the tales and anecdotes of making the musical or film with thoughts on its cultural importance and why it resonates with such a diverse audience.

If they were still living in the author started researching and writing the book and worked on the Broadway production, the film, or significant revivals, Isenberg interviewed them.  This includes the likes of Harold Prince, Sheldon Harnick, Joseph Stein, Austin Pendleton, Joanne Merlin, Norman Jewison, Topol, and Harvey Fierstein, amongst others.

It's an amazing result.  Isenberg takes us on a wild ride as Fiddler worked its way to Broadway and later the big screen.  It's not just a look at how Fiddler became a hit on Broadway or the big screen but also how the musical became a hit across the globe!

If you love Fiddler or the soundtrack, this is a book you will enjoy!

Remembering 9/11: 13 Years Later

A poem written by Jack Buck

Since this nation was founded under God
More than 200 years ago

We've been the bastion of freedom...

The light that keeps the free world aglow.
We do not covet the possessions of others,
We are blessed with the bounty we share.

We have rushed to help other nations...
Anything...anytime...anywhere

War is just not our nature...we won't start
But we will end the fight.
If we are involved we shall be resolved to
Protect what we know is right.

We have been challenged by a cowardly foe
Who strikes and then hides from our view.

With one voice we say, "There's no choice
Today, there is only one thing to do"

Everyone is saying the same thing
And praying that we end these senseless
Moments we are living.

As our fathers did before, we shall win
This unwanted war

And our children will enjoy the future,
We'll be giving.


Written by Jack Buck
September 14, 2001

Book Review: Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin

Bruce by Peter Ames Carlin
Hardcover: 512 pages
Publisher: Touchstone (October 30, 2012)

Bruce is the first authorized Bruce Springsteen biography to have been written in the last 25 years with the full cooperation of the Boss himself.

This sweeping portrait is the latest in a series of musical biographies written by Carlin, who previously has written on Paul McCartney and Brian Wilson.

In writing Bruce, Carlin had unprecedented access to Springsteen, his family, friends, past and present bandmates, including one of the final major interviews with Clarence Clemons.  It all adds a vivid, initmate detail, and context to a groundbreaking picture of the Boss.

As a songwriter, Springsteen has voices hopes, triumphs, and heartaches of the working class.  His career has brought him 20 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, an Academy Award, and over 120 million albums sold.

Carlin follows the Elvis-loving grade student as he grows into that scruffy looking bandleader all the way up to the release of Wrecking Ball in 2012.  With the release of Born to Run, Springsteen rocketed into critical and commercial orbit.  No concert goes without the singing of "Born to Run."  The album is a keystone of Springsteen's musical legacy--one that would both reflect and shape the culture.

Along with years of meticulous research, Carlin has spent a countless number of hours in interviewing Springsteen, his inner circle, friends, musicians, and even ex-girlfriends. It all builds up to presenting the most revealing account of the American icon, even as he redefines his style and sound.

Until Carlin started writing the biography, not many family members had done interviews on the rocker.  The Springsteen family was impacted by mental illness and Bruce managed to avoid the fate of his father by years of therapy and even anti-depressant medications.

The E Street Band share their memories of the first time they met Bruce and their painful memories including in 1989 when Springsteen was disbanding the band.

Bruce's gradual journey towards being a committed and influential voice in politics was validated when President Barack Obama spoke at a reception for Kennedy Center honorees.

Carlin offers a nuanced analysis of every song and album that Bruce has made.  Five months before the release of Wrecking Ball, Bruce had played a dough mix in the studio.

This definitive biography is compulsively readable, and a must for all fans of the Boss.

Book Review: 1954

1954: The Year Willie Mays and the First Generation of Black Superstars Changed Major League Baseball Forever by Bill Madden
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Da Capo Press (May 6, 2014)

The 1954 baseball season was historic for Major League Baseball.  This was the same year in which the Brown vs. Board of Education court case decided that segregation be outlawed in the public school systems.

The World Series pitted the Cleveland Indians against the New York Giants.  It was the first World Series that featured African-Americans on both teams: Willie Mays and Larry Doby.

This was seven years after Jackie Robinson had made his debut.  Doby was already a dominant player in the American League and Mays was just emerging in his own right as one of the best players in the game.  He played baseball with a flair and boyish innocence that all fans embraced.

Doby and Mays were already on their way to stardom but Hank Aaron and Ernie Banks were just getting started with the Braves and Cubs, respectively.

Bill Madden shows exactly why he is in the Writer's Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  This book is the first to fully examine the 1954 season.  Madden draws on recent interviews with players themselves: Mays, Doby, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Monte Irvin, Carl Erskine.  Madden transports readers across time, revisiting Spring Training in Florida and Arizona as the future baseball stars were entering the league.

Madden weaves the narrative with the racially charged events of 1954.  With exception of the New York Yankees, the national pastime was ahead of the curve when it came to accepting African-Americans at a time when the nation struggled with acceptance.