Last November, I read two basketball biographies about Abe Saperstein and Red Klotz, and in both, Eddie Gottlieb was mentioned. I was intrigued about Gottlieb and everything he did for the NBA as well as Negro baseball. He played, coached, and owned the Philadelphia SPHAS, one of the best semi professional basketball teams way…
Tag: Memoir Book Reviews
Roll With It: A Trip Back To The 90’s – Gen X Style – by Brad Porteus
I saw a substack review from allsportsbookreviews.substack.com, and thought I would give it a read. The author, Brad Proteus, got a job with the San Jose Rhinos, a professional roller hockey team. He ended up becoming the GM of the team. He was in his mid 20’s, and this was the mid 90’s. In his…
Heartbreaker: A Memoir – by Mike Campbell
I saw this book as a new release, and although I was halfway interested in it, I scrolled past it and moved on. Then, a few weeks later, Mike Campbell was one of the musicians featured on the FireAid concert in L.A where the proceeds helped the victims of the wildfires. So, that is when…
Source Code: My Beginnings – by Bill Gates
If you’re looking for a history of Microsoft, this isn’t the book you should choose as this is about his childhood, school years, and his passion for programming computers. Yes, there is a little bit about Microsoft and how it got started as well as how Bill met Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer. But, that…
The Last Action Heroes: the Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood’s Kings of Carnage – by Nick de Semlyen
After I finished Nick de Semlyen’s other book called, Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever, I wanted more so I read this one about: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Bruce Willis. I got a brief background…
Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever – by Nick de Semlyen
I was book-less for a few days as nothing I had available was appealing. Throughout my book browsing at the library and the Kindle store, I kept seeing this one. Well, I decided to give it a whirl as I like comedy movies! This book is about Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd,…
Legends and Soles: The Memoir of an American Original – by Sonny Vaccaro
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. Sonny Vaccaro is a sports marketing executive who worked for Niko, Adidas, and Reebok. He also was in charge of a quite a few high school basketball all star games. He helped bring Michael Jordan to Niko and Kobe…
Yoko: A Biography – by David Sheff
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. Being a fan of The Beatles, I knew about Yoko. But, I was intrigued and interested to read her story as told by David Sheff, who is also a close friend of hers. Sheff is the one who got…
Brothers – by Alex Van Halen
I tried this book a few weeks ago, and just couldn’t get into it. But, I tried again this past weekend, and I really enjoyed it. It was a beautifully written story about the love he shared with his brother and the band itself. I had no clue their dad was a musician, the family…
In Gad We Trust: A Tell-Some – by Josh Gad
I saw this book as a new release a few weeks ago, and thought I threw it in my Want to Read list on Goodreads for future consumption, but that didn’t happen. Last Wednesday, I was scanning through the Apple Book new releases and saw it and downloaded a sample. The sample was enough for…
Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up – by Dave Barry
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. I have read a few of his humor books and most of his novels, and have enjoyed his style. So, when I saw this memoir, I was immediately interested. It was a quick read and cool to read how…
Nothin’ Comes Easy: The Life of Rodney Dangerfield – by Michael Seth Starr
I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. Now, I knew of comedy and his characters from CaddyShack and Back to School, but I knew nothing else.
Damn Glad to Meet You: My Seven Decades in the Hollywood Trenches – by Tim Matheson
I only knew of him as being in the movie Animal House. I had no clue he was a child actor and he started work with the greats of Lucille Ball and Dick Van Dyke; just to name a few. I enjoyed reading about his story growing up, his relationships, his stories from television series…
Your Mom’s Gonna Love Me – by Matt Rife
I knew who Matt Rife was as for some unknown reason, his comedy clips of reacting with his audiences, kept hogging my feeds on Facebook and Instagram. Of course, I stopped to listen and he was funny and vulgar. I needed this type of memoir as I have been reading a lot of fiction thrillers. …
What You’re Made For: Powerful Lessons from a Life in Sports – by George Raveling
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. I really thought I would enjoy this book, but I struggled through it. It wasn’t a chronological timeline of his life, rather advice from his life with his career scattered throughout it. One of the coolest things about him…
Protecting Whitney: The Memoir of Her Bodyguard – by David Roberts
I got this from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. So, David Roberts was indeed her bodyguard or as he calls it, her CPO (close protection officer) during the 1990’s with this stint starting during her European tour. He got to be up close and personal with Whitney, her entourage,…
While I Have Your Attention: It’s Never Too Late for a New Beginning – by Lucille O’Neal
I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. When I saw this book, I was immediately intrigued, as she is the mother of Shaquille O’Neal, and I wanted to know more about her life. And, what a life it was for her. Lucille and her siblings were…
The Legend of Red Klotz: How Basketball’s Loss Leader Won Over the World—14,000 Times – by Tim Kelly
This book was referenced in the book I just read about Abe Saperstein, and I was intrigued. You may not know the name, but if I tell you Red Klotz was a player, coach, and owner of the Washington Generals, you will now know who he is. Red won championships in high school, college, his…
Globetrotter: How Abe Saperstein Shook Up the World of Sports – by Mark Jacob and Matthew Jacob
I have had this book in my Goodreads Want to Read list since August 31st when I saw a Tweet from @SprtBookReviews about it. I was immediately intrigued as in 2022, I read Spinning the Globe: The Rise, Fall, and Return to Greatness of the Harlem Globetrotters by Ben Green. So, I was already familiar…
Earth to Moon: A Memoir – by Moon Unit Zappa
I didn’t even know Moon wrote a book, until my wife sent me a text about it. I was definitely intrigued as I know she is Frank Zappa’s older daughter, and I sort of figured because of that, she must’ve had an interesting life. I will admit and tell you I gave this book two…