Bowie At 75 - Martin Popoff (Motor Books)

An innovator. A disrupter. An influencer who was actually influential, not only in his era, but for generations of musicians who followed and those still to come.  The impact that David Bowie had went far beyond just music - his influence could be felt in fashion and culture.

Bowie’s enigmatic personality shifted  the cultural landscape long before the dime a dozen social media creations who lay claim to fame simply by alleging themselves to be famous. In short, Bowie was more than just a rock star.

Prolific music writer and curator Martin Popoff compiled the lavishly illustrated, Bowie at 75, which chronicles with words and pictures the span of Bowie’s career. Popoff delves deeply into Bowie’s ever changing personas.

Housed in a heavy duty slip cover, this epic collection explores the twists and turns from the Thin White Duke to Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders and the ultra-successful Let’s Dance album.

Along the way, Popoff checks off the list of players, producers and bands that came under Bowie’s influence. The parades includes legendary figures like: Iggy Pop, Mott the Hoople, Robert Fripp, Steveie Ray Vaughan, Nile Rodgers, Mick Ronson and Adrian Belew to name just a few.

Bowie’s collaborations also included hits with Mick Jagger & Tina Turner, Lou Reef, and Queen. Bowie ar 75, provides an amazing cornerstone addition for any Bowie collection.

Michael Finkel - The Art Thief - A True Story of Love, Crime and Dangerous Obsession (Knopf)

Author Michael Finkel is a skilled practitioner of the dying art of long form journalism. In this age of short attention spans that demand stories be told in easily digestible, bite sized chunks, Finkel stands apart from the crowd by immersing not only himself, but also the reader. That goes for not only the stories he tells, but also the detailed characters that populate his stories.

Finkel’s checkered past a very public kerfuffle with his former employer, the New York Time Magazine. While writing about the slave trade in war torn West Africa, it was discovered that Finkel’s sympathetic profile of a young man caught up in the trade, turned out to be a composite character, culled from a number of people that he interviewed while in the strife ridden region. While the action was journalistically suspect, it fits with Finkel’s style of character driven storytelling.

For his latest outing,  The Art Thief - A True Story of Love, Crime and Dangerous 

Obsession, Finkel delves into the tale of an obsessive, daring and at times reckless criminal named Stephene Breitweiser, who racked up an astonishing haul of stolen art that has been estimated to have a collective value of $1.4 billion. Finkel chronicles not only Breitweiser’s heists, which at times occurred at a blistering pace, multiple times per month, but also the obsessive, manic nature of his compulsive need to add to his collection. 

Unlike most art thieves, Breitweiser wasn't in it for pure financial gain, but to add to his personal collection. Hardly the criminal mastermind, Breitwiser wasn’t trying to fill the walls of palatial estate, but rather his attic bedroom in his mother’s house. Yes, one of the most prolific art thieves in history was a bit of a slacker who sponged off of his mother while secreting his ill-gotten art in his locked attic lair.

Finkel details Breitweiser’s crimes in stunning detail. Those crimes were unlike any art crimes popularized in movies or books that featured detail planning of ways to circumvent elaborate security measures or blunt force robberies. Unlike say The Thomas Crown Affair, Breitweiser’s criminal enterprises were perpetrated in what amounts to the spur of the moment; fearless, daring, and armed with nothing more than a Swiss Army Knife and his girlfriend/sidekick Anne-Catherine. 

Finkel’s strong suit is delving deeply into the settings of these crimes, and painting a clear picture of the locales and the flaws of his characters. It becomes clear that Breirweiser’s downfall lands squarely at the feet of his obsessions; first with the art he desired and a close second was Anne-Catherine, who Finkel draws as a modern day, desirable, femme fatale. Finkel’s skill lies in his ability to draw you into those flawed characters and leave you wondering what’s next for the subjects he puts under his microscope.

Lock Down, Rock Down

As we celebrate (?) or better, tolerate, the one year anniversary of “15 days to flatten the curve,” and you’ve probably reached the point in binge watching things, or re-watching things, might I suggest an alternative? There has been a recent influx of truly entertaining rock books and memoirs worth not only checking out, but distracting you from the latest Fauci-isms.

Do You Feel Like I Do: A Memoir – Peter Frampton – (Hachette)

Legendary rocker Peter Frampton delivers his memoir in the form of Do You Feel Like I Do, in which he details the both the high highs and low lows of his decades long career. It is a familiar rock ’n’ roll refrain of drug and alcohol abuse, being ripped off by slimy managers and rising from the ashes.

The rising from the ashes part is quite literal, as Frampton recounts a running tale throughout the book of the search for his infamous Gibson Les Paul guitar, the one he totes on the cover of his mega-bestselling live album Frampton Comes Alive. He dubs the guitar The Phenix, (his twist on the spelling) as he tells the story of its alleged destruction in a plane crash in Venezuela. Thought to be destroyed in the flaming wreckage, the guitar was resurrected, stolen, bought and sold, spotted and disappeared, and finally reunited with its rightful owner over the course of many twists and turns.

Frampton could have become bitter and negative after all of problems that have befallen him, many of his own choosing, but the book offers insight into his thoughts on what amounts to a life full of unique experiences and opportunities.

They Just Seem a Little Weird – Doug Brod – (Hachette)

There is more than a little bit of fan-boyishness in veteran rock writer, Doug Brod’s They Just Seem a Little Weird, which recounts how the bands Kiss, Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, and Starz, left an impact on rock and roll. Brod details the band’s beginnings, how the regularly crossed paths and the long running competition for supremacy led to strange alliances and long running feuds.

He delivers some insider insights into the strange and strained relationships that the four bands engendered. Starz, a hard rocking, New York based band seem like an odd choice for inclusion among this grouping, when you consider the fact that they came and went so quickly and that the other three are all members of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Brod gives his take on why the quintet never quite lived up to their potential, ranging from mis-management, mismatched producers, and bad relations with their record label.

If you grew up in the 70s and these bands were an everyday part of your life, this book makes for a fun read. Be warned there is a bit of a ping pong ball bouncing around quality to the narrative that at times makes it hard to track.   

Right Place, Right Time – Bob Gruen (Abrams)

Unless you are a die-hard rock fan, obsessed with liner notes and photos of your favorite musical heroes, the name Bob Gruen is not a household one. Gruen has enjoyed a decades-long career as not only one of the photographers of choice for many rockers, but as a guy responsible for some of the most legendary photographs in rock history.

While he has released a number of collections of his legendary work, Right Place, Right Time, is the first time that he details the stories behind so many of his greatest photos. While the title suggests that luck played a part in his success, I would make the case that Gruen is not only a skilled practitioner behind the lens, but also someone that his built his career on being a trusted friend, who relied on the relationships he formed with the subjects of his work. This book offers unique insights into both the photographer and artists he shoots.

One Last Song – Mike Ayers (Abrams)

The concept is simple; If you could hear one last song before you died, what would it be and why? In One Last Song, author Mike Ayers explores that question with a range of artists and delves into their responses and reasoning.

I think the concept is a statement about the role and impact that music has on our lives. It can range from impacting our interactions, to being the soundtrack to our lives and even how we relate to one another. This book is thought provoking and surprising in how we respond to the question. Friends who are what I would consider music junkies struggled with the either the answer or the concept.

Music is a part of our life and this forces us to think about it being a part of our death. My responses ranged from the cynical; The Allman Brothers, Mountain Jam, from the Live at Ludlow Garage, two CD set, that times out at 45 minutes plus, to give me just a little extra time in this mortal coil. At the other extreme were things like the raw power of Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, always a favorite, to On the Wings of Love, which played at our wedding 30 plus years ago.

Punk, Post Punk, New Wave – Michael Grecco – (Abrams)

When you look back fondly to the earliest days of punk rock and its later incarnations, it becomes clear pretty quickly that the movement was more about the attitude than it was about the music. While the music certainly did its best capture that attitude, Punk, Post Punk, New Wave, a collection of photographs by Michael Grecco of that era, truly captures that attitude.

There is a sneering and leering quality to many of the photos in this collection, all captured in black and white. While Grecco is focused on the bands, much of the story in these photos is told by the settings and the people around the band. He does a masterful job of capturing the raw energy of the time and the scene, which makes this an indispensable part of any punk fans collection.

Running with the Big Dogs

 Talking to GOATS – Jim Gray (William Morrow)

There are times when I can honestly say that after nearly 25 years in the news and sports media, that I am embarrassed by much of the current crop of broadcasters. Sports media in particular, has become a full on dumpster fire; full of preening nitwits full of stupid opinions about politics and the world, and high opinions of themselves. Even longtime talents like Bob Costas have become insufferable assholes who seem to be bent on focusing on anything and everything but sports.

One of the few bright and consistent spots in sports broadcasting is and remains, Jim Gray. For over four decades, Gray has turned his focus to the proposition that sports, is a metaphor for life, all the while never losing sight of the fact that he is a sportscaster. Gray brings the world of sports into sharp focus with his new book Talking to GOATS, taking readers inside his relationships with some of the greatest of all time (hence GOATS) that he built on trust over his long career.

Gray is the perfect mild-mannered foil to these often flamboyant, high flying greats, who bring not only outsized talent and success to their side of the table. With so many folks looking to take a piece of these superstars either physically or financially, trust is difficult commodity to build under the best of circumstances. With easily recognizable names like, Jordan, Ali, Tiger, Kobe, LeBron and Brady, to name a few, Gray’s track record of being a tough but fair interview and a consummate storyteller as allowed him to garner unprecedented access to legends.

It isn’t the subject matter that sets this book apart from so many other sports books; it is Gray’s often very personal insights about what went into the interviews collected in Talking to GOATS are what set this book apart. Perhaps the most stunning revelation in the book comes at the very end, when Gray posits the chapter title “I am NOT writing another book.” While this book covers his checkered career and the event and personalities he has interacted with over time about a well as you can, that he won’t do another is disappointing.

Queen: Of Biblical Proportions

Queen: All The Songs, The Story Behind Every Track – Benoit Clerc (Black Dog and Leventhal)

Full confession up front- as a recovering rock radio DJ, I fully admit to not being a fan of Queen’s music. Chalk it up to them not being my cup of tea and the fact that they were omnipresent on the airwaves and got played over and over.

I gained a new appreciation for the band with the release of the biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, which gave insight into not only their beginnings, but into the process of writing songs and recording.

So it is from that perspective, one of new found appreciation that that I approach Queen: All The Songs, The Story Behind Every Track by Benoit Clerc. For me, the book has a great similarity Mark Lewisohn’s timeless book The Beatles: The Recordings, which delves not the nitty gritty detail of the Fab Four’s studio sessions. Queen: All The Songs, dwarfs that book, not only shear volume, but in the depth of the very specific detail. It covers songwriting, the recording studio, the participants on the production side and the specifics on the session itself.

I am an old school album collector and as a music fan obsessed with the minutiae of liner notes. Clerc delivers liner notes on performance enhancing drugs. This is super-sized fan stuff.

Lavishly illustrated with archival photos and highlighted tons of fan friendly tidbits and trivia, this is one of those great books that fans will dip into on a regular basis. I can easily see pulling out a stack of Queen albums and gaining insights into what went into the making each of the songs. Great stuff all the way around.

The Death of Honesty

Win at All Costs – Inside Nike Running and Its Culture of Deception – Matt Hart (Dey St.)

“It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game” – Grantland Rice, early 20^th century sportswriter. Ah, remember the good old days…

There is a phrase that gets tossed around, “sport is a metaphor for life,” which has been credited to actor Robert Redford, of all people. As I read Win at All Costs by journalist Matt Hart, which delves into the deceptive culture of cheating, fraud, and lying that is pervasive at Nike Running; I couldn’t help but think of how reflective this story is on the current state of our country.

With quite literally billions of dollars at stake in the world of sports, we have seen over the course of time, words like truth, integrity, and honesty, become quaint thoughts from a bygone era, replaced by a ruthless, win at all costs, and screw the rules attitude. Cheating and rule breaking have become not only accepted, but expected, not only in sports, but in everyday life. As former UCLA Bruins head football coach “Red” Sanders (no it wasn’t Vince Lombardi) first said “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

Hart, who covers sports science, performance enhancing drugs and human powered adventure and exploration, (whatever that is) does a nice job of capturing the intrigue and spy novel stuff that is a part of this story. Win at All Costs, is a well-researched and written tale, that will hold the attention of not only those who follow the sport of running, but those with even a passing interest in the business of sports. Hart’s portrait includes all the colorful characters and the internal machinations at Nike, all brought forth by a whistleblower, in the spy novel twist of a mysterious jump drive containing internal Nike documents, with a skilled eye to detail.

Anyone who even remotely familiar with Nike’s early story and that of the late, legendary, runner Steve Prefontaine, know that improvements came in form of harder work in training, and enhancement of equipment. In the case running, that came in form of improved shoes and housewife sacrificing her waffle maker, for a new version of the sneaker sole.

Sports, like so much in our life, has gone through a radical transition. Athletes, once admired for their on field abilities, are now more often lauded for their social media following, woke social stances and other non-sport endeavors. With our collective eye off the ball, cheating, rule breaking and defrauding fans has become common place. We end up with world rife with performance enhancing drugs and the pursuit of trying to find ways around the drug testing regimens becoming a cottage industry all their own. We live in a world where scumbags who abuse their wives or girlfriends are welcomed back to elite sports because the can hit the longball, the strike zone, the opposing quarterback or the wide receiver on the deep route, almost as well as the can their significant other. Law and order, and rules be damned; this is about ticket, jersey, and sneaker sales and ringing the cash register. So, bang on the garbage can and get a shot in the ass all you want, because in the end getting caught won’t matter much.

You can’t help but draw comparisons between this story and the news of the day; where not only is corruption, fraud, dishonesty and cheating accepted and/or overlooked, it is applauded and often abetted by a complicit news media, whose job it used to be, to call out these dirty dealings. The media has become nothing more than glorified stenographers for talking points and adoring cheerleaders for criminals.

In Good Compny

 The Company – A Novel of the CIA – Robert Little – (Harry N. Abrams)

The Company by Robert Little, re-issued in a new paperback version, this 2002 classic, is a dark, complex espionage thriller that walks the reader through a twisted maze of intrigue.

Its not surprising that Littell comes from a journalism background, as he brings an old school journalist’s eye for detail as he let’s the story of the post-World War II Berlin Station play out. There is a real sense of reverence for history that comes through in Littell’s words as he weaves in historic figures like William Casey, William F. Buckley and even G. Gordon Liddy, in with his fictional creations. This technique lends an additional level of authenticity to the story.

Not dependent on biff, bam, and pow action like so many of the books in the spy genre, Littell infuses The Company with suspense, driven by tension and a high level of tactical acumen that is reminiscent of John la Carre. As a reader, you will appreciate the detailed scenes Littell draws, leaving you with a sense you are viewing things through his eyes. You’ll really feel the cold, dankness of the drafty safe house and taste the smokey-ness of the whiskey that is being downed.

Doorstop heavy, at nearly 900 pages this is not a lite read, but it’s more than worth the time to delve into this epic read. It makes for a great lead into Littell’s forthcoming book Comrade Koba.

Inside the Supreme Court

One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History – Ted Cruz – (Regnery Publishing)

Sitting through some of the recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearings regarding the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States, it can become pretty convincing, pretty quickly, that attorneys have created their own language, rules and standards, in some sort of an effort to exclude ordinary working folks as to how the court works.

Over the course of the hearing for the last three nominees the potential justices seem to hold fast to a code of judicial conduct, about tipping their hand on where they might stand and how they might rule on any given issue that may or may not come before them. Try as they might, often asking the same question about 30 or 40 different ways, the mostly lawyers who make up the Senate panel, notably the Democrat members, don’t seem to be bothered by trying to coax the nominees to speak out of turn.

In his new book, One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a former Supreme Court clerk of Justice Antonin Scalia delves into the inner workings of the court and uses a handful often ground breaking cases, that were decided by the push, a single vote to secure a 5-4 decision, to illustrate how those cases have impacted our daily lives. He makes the case that these types of push decisions can be greatly impacted by the courts ever evolving makeup.

He uses his insiders knowledge to make the case that originalists, those justices who utilize the intent of the founding fathers in their decision making process are often what separates us from tyranny. In a crazy year where the word essential has been so over-used, it is the perfect word to describe the book which cuts through all of the legal-eze and hyperbole of the politicization of the Court to explain exactly how the Court was intended to work. It should be required reading for every high school student.

Portrait of a Spy

 Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy – Ben Macintyre (Crown)

Author Ben Macintyre’s portfolio includes writer at large for the Times of London, author of numerous historical books covering a range of topics and work as a documentarian for the BBC. It is that experience in the realm of documentaries that Macintyre puts at the forefront of his new book Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy.

In compiling the tale of a truly one of a kind spy story, Macintyre had astonishing access to first hand source materials including Sonya’s personal diaries, letters and other correspondence offering unique insights into her life and career as and undercover, clandestine, operator for the U.S.S.R.

In this day and age of Google searches and online sourcing, that this original source information survived and has been preserved in it’s most raw and unencumbered state makes it all the more astonishing.

Early on the story, Macintyre offers a formative glimpse into an event that the young 17 year old Sonya that drove her to become a committed member of the communist party and a fledgling soviet spy, when she participated in a communist workers parade/demonstration that earned year a beat down by the police.

In a time where Antifa protestors are daily news, I couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that the protagonist came from an upper class, well to do, and respected family. A quick examination of the bios of many of the protesters on the streets today will reveal similar backgrounds.

Macintyre has a le Carre like eye for trade craft and successfully weaves an entertaining, thriller-like portrait of this overly zealous spy. Some my find a quibble with some of the commentary and history that Macintyre uses, but one has to be given some license when stringing together decades old storylines into a coherent tale.

A Dose of Reality Thriller

House on Fire - Joseph Finder -(Dutton)

There is an almost perfect parallel to reality, ripped from today’s headlines feel to Joseph Finder’s latest installment in the Nick Heller series, House on Fire. Like many of the prior Heller novels this one has Heller on one case at the start and a very different case as things progress and in this case it becomes a very personal one on a couple of different fronts.

Heller meets one of the daughters of the founder of a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company as he helps to bury a friend from his days in the military special forces due to the friend’s long running addiction to opioid painkillers. The daughter makes a habit of attending the funerals of those she believes are victims of her family’s best selling medication, the oddly familiar, Oxydone. The daughter ends up engaging Heller’s services to try to track down a long rumored, but hidden study that outlined the drugs highly addictive properties.

The search takes Heller to the family estate for a birthday party for the company founder and family patriarch, under the subterfuge that he is the daughter’s new beau. At the party he encounters another person, a girlfriend from his past and his time in the military, who is also undercover and in the employ of another family member, on the hunt for another set of documents. The pair partner to track down the the paperwork and after ducking and dodging their way out of a hairy situation, Heller’s partner in crime, is found dead of the estate.

That’s when things get really personal and Heller loses his client, but starts the hunt not only for a killer, but for revenge for his late, drug addicted friend and his family. Before embarking on the Heller series, Finder really made his bones as a bestselling author, by writing corporate based thrillers and with House on Fire he returns to the best traditions of those high intrigue, pressure cooker thrills. He is a master of drawing multi-dimensional characters and weaving in returning players,like Heller’s Bernie Madoff-like, convict father who ratchet up the action with their own set of motivations.

The Kimball klan bares a striking resemblance to the real-life Stackler family behind the Purdue Pharmaceutical corporation, manufacturers of OxyContin and those most often blamed for the very real world opioid addiction problem, which just add the dose of reality to this storyline.

Debauchery 101

Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends – Jon Weiderhorn (Diversion Books)

I love these kinds of books because the short snippets and pick up the reading anywhere the book opens makes for perfect bathroom reading. I know…T. M. I. In all seriousness, this make for an entertaining read because it is the exact opposite of that…completely not serious.

Broken down into 17 chapters or if you prefer, 17 topic headings, Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends by veteran metal music writer, Jon Weiderhorn covers the full spectrum from breaking the law (with a nod to Judas Priest) to girls girls girls (Motley Crue) and even highway to hell (AC/DC) and everything in between.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the musical similarities with Weiderhorn detailing what amounts to the equivalent of country music’s, smoking weed with Willie (Nelson) being drinking with Lemmy! Apparently it was a bit of a sport for metal artists who crossed paths with the late, legendary Motorhead front man, Lemmy Kilmeister to try to match him drink for drink, often with disastrous results. You might display some sympathy hangover pain just reading about Anthrax’s Scott Ian toe to toe drinking with infamous guzzler.

From the outside the world of metal may seem like an outsized place full of scores of bands all plying their loud trade, but Weiderhorn’s collection of stories really highlights exactly how small that universe really is. These bands interconnect, crisscross and cover so much of the same ground that’s it’s not surprising that so many legendary tales spring forth from these guys. The brawls the battles the hard feelings and the knock down drag out of it, all make up a healthy chunk of this collection.

The grudges take on a life of their own and so do the women, the tour stops and life on the road. Whether you’re a metal fan or just a music fan, Raising Hell: Backstage Tales From the Lives of Metal Legends, makes for an entertaining, often laugh out loud read.

Clapback Against Anti-gun Types

First They Came for the Gun Owners: The Campaign to Disarm You and Take Away Your Freedoms – Mark W. Smith (Bombadier)

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” - Second Amendment - Constitution of United States of America 1789

“Hell yes we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK 47,” Robert Francis O’Rouke, then Democrat, Presidential candidate.

I for one am not sure what “Blowhole” O’Rouke (sorry I refuse to call this empty suit, dipshit Beto) doesn’t seem to grasp about “shall not be infringed.” It is from this brain-dead position, completely devoid of any scintilla of knowledge about guns and or gun owners, that the anti-gun gun types attack the rights of law-abiding gun owners. It is on that point that I find bestselling author Mark W. Smith writing so refreshing.

Smith writes with a clarity, depth of knowledge of not only guns but the Constitution, with a subject matter expertise that few, writing on the subject, can even remotely muster. Much of what he details in First They Came for the Gun Owners: The Campaign to Disarm You and Take Away Your Freedoms, falls into the slippery slope arguments that rips apart the seemingly “reasonable” packaging that anti-gunners wrap their arguments in.

After all who could possibly be against “universal background checks” and “closing the gun show loophole”? The problem is much of what is pawned off as “harmless” or innocent is based on a load of crap sold by liberals who lie and a complicit media who wouldn’t know a muzzle loader from a pea shooter.

Like seemingly all gun control proposals, they don’t really do anything to solve the gun ‘problems” they were supposed to fix. They will however, create problems for law abiding gun owners. Liberals can’t seem to grasp even the basic concept that bad guys don’t procure their guns through legal means or from licensed firearms dealers. Newsflash- bad guys either steal guns or obtain stolen guns.

Smith makes the cogent argument and urgent case, that this attack on gun rights can lead to a continuing erosion of individual liberties and freedoms that go beyond the right to bear arms.   

Has the Sun Set on Renko?

The Siberian Dilemma – Martin Cruz Smith – (Simon and Schuster)

Martin Cruz Smith is one of those rare writing craftsmen, who can hone a story to a smooth edge and deliver descriptive insights into not only the setting of his stories, but into the characters he utilizes to tell the tale. Smith’s go to character is detective Arkady Renko, a crusty, hardboiled creation that gives off just a touch of Sherlock Holmes with his ability to piece together details unseen by the common person and always seems to be a step ahead.

For long time fans, Smith’s ninth installment in the Arkady Renko series, The Siberian Dilemma, may be more than a bit perplexing. While Smith can skillfully weave together a seemingly disparate storylines into a seamless final product, The Siberian Dilemma, creates a real dilemma, with its choppy story, that tends to ramble in a number of directions without ever quite hanging together as a complete tale.

The characters are, sometimes quirky and different, and at others downright confounding because you aren’t quite sure how they fit or move the story forward. There are some familiar pieces at play here; the vivid renderings of setting; you can feel the bite of the Siberian cold, the inherent, stoic Russian nature and Renko’s ability to wield sarcasm with a razors edge. But, even half way through the rather generously paginated book, I was left scratching my head and wondering where this was all going and quite frankly, what it was really all about.

Sadly, it may be the crippling effects of Smith’s battle Parkinson’s disease that is having an impact on his abilities. While I commend him for trying wage a battle with that terrible disease and simultaneously continue to write, I can’t help but wonder if it has reached the point to allow Arkady Renko to retire to the lovely Russian, Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Newsflash: No Labels is a Label

The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election: 101 Nonpartisan Solutions to All the Issues that Matter – Ryan Clancy and Margaret White (Diversion Books)

Let me be perfectly clear right up front; I am an unabashed, unapologetic Conservative. So, I have always been amused by people who claim some sort of special status, because they take no firm stances on any issue, because they are just so darn intelligent and thoughtful. They famously laid claim to being mavericks or moderates, but due to the higher thinking of political/media consultant Mark McKinnon, he of the annoying hipster fedoras and scarves, they now prefer the tag, No Labels.

While McKinnon co-founded the organization, Ryan Clancy and Margaret White have spent the past few years leading the growth charge for the group. Now the pair serve up the new book, The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election: 101 Nonpartisan Solutions to All the Issues that Matter.

For me, Clancy and White stumble right out of the box, when they attempt to make the No Labels case by citing a poll by the group More in Common; gee, am I the only one who thinks this might be a poll geared to get the exact result they were seeking when they set out? The book offers up a selection of issues that we face that the authors deem are critical like; healthcare, climate change, guns, immigration, big tech and more. I’m not sure why healthcare is on that list, I thought Obamacare had solved that one?

GUNS  

On the issue of gun control, Clancy and White once again cite flawed polling. In an era when Hilary Clinton, the clear, hands down winner of every 2016 presidential poll – does not reside in the White House should tell you all you need to know about polling. It’s impossible to have a legitimate discussion on the issue of guns when one side refuses to educate themselves on guns and describe semi-automatic rifles as “assault weapons” or “weapons of war.” The seemingly singular focus on the AR-15 rifle frame style, that has been around since the 1950s fascinates me. That’s right, the AR has been around for six decades, and yet is suddenly public enemy number one for gun grabbers. Just a small tidbit of education; AR stands for Armalite Rifle, after the company who invented it, not “automatic rifle” or “assault rifle” as some claim.

NO SOLUTIONS

The Ultimate Guide to the 2020 Election, doesn’t offer anything in the way of answers or solutions to the problems and issues that they outline in the book; which I get since they claim by their nature, they don’t really do. Where this approach fails is that as much as the like to beat their chest and proclaim themselves higher thinkers, they don’t even attempt to offer new of compromise positions on the issue. To me that makes them uniquely suited for the Swamp, the deep state bureaucrats who perpetuate only their own existence and never really solve any problems.

Not that either party really wants to solve problems or deliver workable solutions and that’s not due to any intransigence on their part, other than the problems are what they use as grist to grind down their opponents, election after election. That is in the long run what created voter frustration that lead to the election of Donald Trump and the unholy upheaval that launched in Washington.

Hey Jack…Tel Me a Story

The Russian – Ben Coes (MacMillian Audio)

Lethal Agent – Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills (Simon and Schuster Audio)

My new daily work commute has me delving back into audio books to pass the time; the longer trip allows me sit back and have someone tell me a story. My two most recent jaunts into audio thrillers come from two of my favorite thriller writers; the late Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character carried on by Kyle Mills, who I was a fan of in his own right, and a bit of departure from Ben Coes.

The Russian, tells the tale of Russians who are trying to impact and interfere in the U.S. Presidential election, but its not what you might think. The departure for Coes comes in the form of his normal tip of the spear character Dewey Andreas, taking a back seat to his second fiddle Rob Tacoma.

The Russians Tacoma goes toe to toe with aren’t hackers but, are members of the Russian mob who assassinate a high profile, Presidential candidate at a campaign rally and a powerful, mob-busting Senator by poisoning at a New York steak house. While the numbers are clearly lopsided, Tacoma is a man on a mission and that keeps that action boiling on the front burner.

Narrator Ari Fliakos deftly handles multiple Russian accents that really raise the production bar and the feel of the book.

Lethal Agent, once again finds Flynn’s Mitch Rapp character going at it with middle eastern terrorists hell bent on the destruction of the United States and the seemingly inevitable Washington, DC swamp dwellers hell bent on his destruction.

The lived in feel of the story, while comfortable, also ends up with a I’ve been here before and maybe one too many times tinge. Veteran narrator George Guidall even comes off a bit tired; his voice noticeably changes at points in the proceeding, moving from strained to strong and back again.

The bio-terror attack storyline is wholly believable, but ends up just short of the normal direct hit target.

A Wake Up Call for the NBA

Trump Vs. China – Newt Gingrich – (Center Street)

Given the recent uneducated and often down right stupid comments from NBA players, coaches and league officials – what better way to explain China’s worldview than by using a sports analogy. China is the equivalent of the New England Patriots; they will lie, cheat, steal or doing pretty much anything to win or give themselves an unfair advantage.

For the clueless money grubbers in the NBA - this really isn’t that hard – it’s as simple as understanding the difference between a murderous, totalitarian dictatorship (China) and a system based on freedom and free markets (the U.S.) Simple enough that even dopey libs like Steve Kerr and Greg Popovich should be able to get it.

If that doesn’t quite get to the bottom-line then I suggest picking up former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich’s new book Trump Vs. China, in which he lays out in straight forward terms, why China is an existential threat to the future of our country. Gingrich, as always, brings his insider’s depth of knowledge to this examination and breaks down the multiple layers of the threat and offers a detailed plan for facing it down. He keeps it simple enough that even a shooting guard or LeBron James should be able to understand, if they had someone read it to them.

There is a simple difference between those who are willing to sacrifice principles (NBA) and intellectual property, in the pursuit of money and those who are willing to stand up and push back against the tyranny of Communist dictators. Gingrich makes it clear that this is a battle where one side will win, and one side will lose; a true battle of good vs. evil.

No greater example exhibits this better than the protestors in Hong Kong who fly the American flag and see the U.S. as a beacon of hope. Are we perfect? No, but who is? As president Ronald Reagan famously said, “America is a shinning city on a hill, whose beacon light guides freedom loving people everywhere.” Put that in your bong and smoke Mr. Popovich.

The Future of Justice

Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court - Mollie Hemingway, Carrie Severino (Regnery)

In 1987 Federal Judge Robert Bork famously described the process of his Supreme Court nomination, confirmation hearing as a “public campaign of distortion?” Four short years later, in 1991, well before Al Gore invention of the Internet spawned Facebook and Twitter, Clarence Thomas called the process “a high-tech lynching.”

Just imagine what the process would be like in the era of multiple 24-hour news channels, social media outlets, countless news and political ax grinding platforms. Well we don’t have to work our imagination very hard we have witnessed in the form of the confirmation hearing for Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

In Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at the Federalist and Carrie Severino, chief counsel for the Judicial Crisis Network, offer up an insider perspective of the highly combustible confirmation process.

While it’s not a new thing to see conservative Supreme Court nominees having their lives ripped to shreds – what was different was the nominee and the President’s willingness to stand up to the ridiculous liberal onslaught from a parade of hapless accusers, clueless democrat politicians and operatives and scumbag bottom feeders like the creepy porn lawyer, Michael Avanati.

Hemingway and Severino offer up countless interviews, coalescing in a behind the scenes look at the wrangling from both sides of the equation. While there were a number of true standouts that played roles in this drama, perhaps none was more steadfast, and strong than the nominee himself. Kavanaugh’s solid, direct response, while abhorred by easily outraged liberals, it was the right level of vitriol in the face of the ridiculous, unfounded claims brought forth by brought forth by Democrats.

Hemingway and Severino write with a clarity that points up not just the negative effects on this confirmation process, but those that will come in the future from Donald Trump and Presidents to come.

My Sweet Spot

More Fun in the New World: the Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk – John Doe and Tom DeSavia – (DaCapo Press)

It was my perfect music storm; the crossroads of the building of my massive music collection which would grow to more than 10,00 pieces, my professional start in radio and working as a reviewer/columnist for the Buffalo News. My music sweet spot – 1982 to 1987 – is the focus of former X bassist John Doe and co-author and music industry guru Tom DeSavia’s second installment focused on the Los Angeles, punk, music scene, More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk.

The pair once again curate a wonderful collection of essays, interviews and first hand rememberances of those who where front and center in the L.S. scene. Go-Go’s, Jane Weidlin and Charlotte Caffey, Peter Case of the Plimsouls, Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Dwight Yoakam, Dave Alvin of the Blasters are among the list of contributors. These are the folks who powered the soundtrack of my life not only in that era, but still to this day.

These snapshots brought me back, dredging up memories of my interview with a sleepy X guitarist, Billy Zoom; who joined me on the phone for a live on-air chat about the band’s latest album and to drum up ticket sales for an upcoming club show in Buffalo. The opening segment found the slogged Zoom serving up one-word responses to my enthusiastic queries. Never intimidated or a fawning fanboy; I had a no nonsense, off air, “wake the fuck up or this is over” conversation, where I made my expectations crystal clear and ended up with a great interview.

I have always believed, and I think this book backs me up – that punk may have been a misnomer for the range of sounds emanating from the L.S. scene. Yes, punks were accounted for, but so where straight up power pop, the rootsy country sound of Bakersfield, and even a little Tejano music influence were on full display on my turntable.

 If you are looking to go back and remember that era/scene or just want to take a musical journey through this wide ranging, genre busting period; More Fun in the New World, is the perfect guide book/roadmap to take on that musical journey.