Mike Mullane. Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut. New York, Scribner, 2006. 368 pages. This is a book everyone who has any kind of interest in the history–and future–of manned space flight should read. For that matter, anyone who doesn’t have an interest in manned space flight should read it, too, […]
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book reviewsRichard D. “Skip” Bronson with Andrew Meisler and A. M. Silver. The War at the Shore: Donald Trump, Steve Wynn, and the Epic War to Save Atlantic City. New York: Overland Press, 2012. 220 pages. Many people are fascinated by the high-stakes world of casino development. Deals get announced that create thousands of jobs and
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atlantic city, book reviewsHarold S. Kushner. Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World. New York: Alfred F. Knopf, 2009. 192 pages. Humans are the only animals that fear the future–a consequence of the gift of foresight. Harold Kushner, best known as the author of WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE, takes on fear in this quick
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book reviewsScott Hilburn. The Argyle Sweater: A Cartoon Collection. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel, 2009. 128 pages. This is another book I got through the Amazon Vine program, so it has nothing to do with gambling. I just thought it would be a fun read. This cartoon collection from Scott Hilburn is very much in the same
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book reviewsJohn McPhee. The Pine Barrens. New York: The Noonday Press, 1968. 157 pages. This is a non-fiction classic that, forty years on, still is a brisk and entertaining read. McPhee sketches the geography, history, and people of the Pine Barrens, a surprisingly undeveloped section of the country’s most densely-populated state. McPhee starts with “The Woods
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book reviewsJonathon Keats. The Book of the Unknown: Tales of the Thirty-Six. New York: Random House, 2009. 221 pages. Mysticism is a dangerous beast for fiction writers. At its best, writing about mystical ideas can be inspiring, magical. At its worst, it is obscure and inaccessible to non-initiates. So a book inspired by ideas from medieval
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book reviewsLaraine Russo Harper. Legal Tender: True Tales of a Brothel Madam. Las Vegas: Stephens Press, 2008.250 pages. Legal brothel prostitution is a small, enigmatic part of the Nevada experience. “Direct to your room” escorts get all the advertising and notoriety, but prostitution remains illegal in Clark County and therefore Las Vegas. But the legal brothels,
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book reviewsTilar J. Mazzeo. The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. New York: Collins, 2008. Champagne is an interesting luxury product. Originally, wine-makers were vexed by the bubbles that showed up in some of their bottles after a cold snap. But in the 17th century, a taste for
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book reviewsI’ve got a pretty long review of Des Wilson’s Ghosts at the Table in the current issue of The American Interest. In the review, I go from talking about the book to discussing the place of poker in global culture. Here’s a sample: Poker is the quintessential American game. As with jazz or capitalism It’s
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book reviews, writingIt’s been a busy week so far–I gave a talk at the Liberty Fund in Indianapolis yesterday and learned from afar that the Plaza v. Plaza verdict had come down. I’ll have more to say about that on the next Vegas Gang podcast, which should be fun. With all of my travel yesterday I got
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