Archive for January, 2008
Book Review: Happy Oceania
For the longest time, since I was a kid, I’ve wanted to sail on the ocean to faraway and exotic islands. The more remote, the better. That dream has been on my mind a lot lately – the notion of “escape.” Paul Theroux is fortunate enough to be able to take those escapes for a living. The American travel writer has several bestsellers to his credit, including The Mosquito Coast, which was made into a movie.
I’ve been reading The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific, in which the author tells of his journey by kayak to the Cook Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Vanuatu, Easter Island, and more exotic (or not so exotic) island locales. It’s brilliantly written.
When Theroux confronts a new culture on one of the islands, he doesn’t enter into it with a desire to change it, or make judgments. Instead, he embraces it and honors it through his respect for the land and the people he meets. Sometimes, the people he met meets are hostile, as when a group of islanders, all teenagers, mocked him and threatened him as he paddled to their shores. But his quiet and chilling confidence continutally led him out of harm’s way. Over and over again, he met islanders who changed his life and outlook on the world we live in.
Theroux has a wonderful way of finding stories among the people and places he blends into as he travels at the most basic level. This isn’t a travel guide for sight-seeing tourists, it’s a bible for the adventurer.
Be sure to browse other Books by Theroux from Amazon.com. He’s really the best of this genre of travel writing.
Sock It To ‘Em, Tigers
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Detroit Tigers World Series Championship team. To celebrate that magical season, the Mayo Smith Society and other Tigers’ organizations have collaborated on a book titled Sockit’ To ‘Em, Tigers. The 400-page, paperback book will be the most comprehensive ever written on that team and season. From what I have seen, it will be fantastic – a must-have for Tiger fans. I wrote three chapters of that book, and I’m very proud to have been a part of the project. Look for the book (or request it if your bookstore doesn’t carry it) this March.
Here’s a PDF flyer that promotes the book and allows you to order it now at a special discounted price: one-page flyer for Sockit’ To ‘Em, Tigers’
Best movies of 2007
Tis the time for looking back at 2007 and making lists and such. The very talented Peter Traverse of Rolling Stone has ranked the 50 top flicks of last year, which was a pretty disappointing year for movie goers, in my opinion. You’ll have to click through his top 50, so here’s a quick list of his top ten, which I really can’t find much fault in:
10. Juno and Knocked Up (tie)
9. I’m Not There
8. Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
7. There Will Be Blood
6. American Gangster
5. Sweeney Todd
4. Eastern Promises
3. Into the Wild
2. Atonement
1. No Country for Old Men
Book Review: The Hank Greenberg Story
New Year’s Day is Hank Greenberg’s birthday. Greenberg was one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history, and also one of the most heroic athletes in American history. In the 1930s, in many ways, Hank faced the racism and adversity that Jackie Robinson later faced in the 1940s. I strongly recommend his autobiography, co-authored by Ira Berkow, Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life. If you can find it anywhere, buy it. It’s an important book for any baseball fan.
