Tag: Scott Young

The Book Shelf: Part 3

This is the third of a three-part look at some of the books I read over the past year. Nothing brought back more memories than That Old Gang of Mine, featuring Bill Spunska and some of the gang from Scrubs on Skates. Oh, those were the days! . . . I hope you were able to find a title that intrigued you over the past three days, and here’s to a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Nocturne — Ed McBain is the author of a series of books on the 87th Precinct. This is No. 48 in the series, and it begins with the murder of an elderly woman who once was a renowned concert pianist. It isn’t long before there are more bodies and some missing money. Oh, and there’s a dead cat; it was shot alongside the old woman. Lots of good gritty stuff here.

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Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made — As much as this book, which was published in 2000, is about Michael Jordan’s climb to the top of the NBA’s world and his life in the business world, primarily with Nike, it’s about basketball’s changing times as money took over. Author David Halberstam wrote this terrific book without sitting down with Jordan, who agreed to be interviewed but later changed his mind. There is lots here about basketball under coach Dean Smith at North Carolina, what the arrival of ESPN meant to the NBA, the bad boy Detroit Pistons, the importance of Phil Jackson to Jordan’s career, the enigmatic Jerry Krause, who was the Chicago Bulls’ general manager, and a whole lot more. I highly recommend this book.

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Playing for Pizza — One day, while in Italy, John Grisham, the author of so many legal thrillers, happened upon a football game — as in American football. This book came out of that experience. It’s fluff, but there is some good fun between the covers as QB Rick Dockery tries to rediscover some positives with the Parma Panthers. No, there really aren’t any surprises. The good news is that the book isn’t especially long.

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Raylan — Published in 2012, this was author Elmore Leonard’s last book before his death in 2013. The book, which chronicles the adventures of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, is highlighted by Leonard’s usual gift for dialogue and whacky characters. Leonard had featured Givens in earlier works (Pronto, Riding the Rap, Fire in the Hole), which led to the TV series Justified. Raylan, Leonard’s 45th novel, was written after Justified already was on the small screen.

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Resurrection Walk — You can’t go wrong with a book by Michael Connelly, can you? In this one, Harry Bosch, retired from the LAPD, is working for his half-brother, Mickey Haller, the Lincoln Lawyer. And this one is all about whether a young woman killed her husband, who was a cop, and was wrongfully convicted in a conspiracy involving more cops.

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The Rise and Fall of the Press Box — Leonard Koppett had a lengthy career as a sports writer with stints at The New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York Post, Palo Alto Times and Oakland Tribune. Yes, he knew the way to a whole lot of press boxes. In this book, finished two weeks before he died on June 22, 2003, at 79, he walks the reader through the rise and fall of the newspaper industry, while detailing the differences faced by today’s sports writers as compared to those who were on the beats 70 and 80 years ago. Insightful and entertaining.

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The Street Lawyer — Published on Jan. 1, 1998, this was author John Grisham’s ninth novel. Michael Brock, one of 800 lawyers with a high-powered firm in Washington, D.C., is at the plot’s centre as Grisham takes aim at such firms and the homeless issue. It’s good Grisham, and will keep you out of trouble for a day or two.

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Taking Down Trump: 12 Rules for Prosecuting Donald Trump by Someone Who Did it Successfully — Tristan Snell, the author of this book, was an assistant attorney general for the state of New York who led the team that beat Donald Trump in court in a case involving the defrauding of hundreds of students to the tune of US$42 million by Trump University. In his book, Snell details how things went down — from start to finish — and really explains all that went into it. Yes, it’s a blueprint for the legal community. It’s also a good look into what is a seriously flawed justice system.

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Texas — Another magnificent work of historical fiction from the prolific James Michener, this one, published in 1985, covers the Lone Star State’s history, starting with the Spanish explorers. It goes on to explore the impact of, among other things, religion, slavery, missions, immigration, ranching, education and, yes, football on the state. Keep in mind that it’s 1,076 pages long so isn’t exactly a two-day read. But it’s well worth whatever time you might want to invest in it. (P.S.: It took me almost three weeks as I finished it 21 hours before it was due back at the library.)

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That Old Gang of Mine — If you are of a certain vintage, you will have fond remembrances of reading Scrubs on Skates, Boy on Defense, and Boy at the Leafs’ Camp, author Scott Young’s trilogy about Bill Spunska and a handful of other Winnipeg high school hockey players. The first of those, Scrubs on Skates, was published in 1952. A couple of months ago, I rediscovered That Old Gang of Mine, which was published in 1982. Canada’s national men’s hockey team has perished in a plane crash and the Winter Olympics, set for Moscow, are fast approaching. What to do? Why not get the gang from Daniel Mac in Winnipeg back together, fill in a few holes and have them represent Canada? That’s exactly what happens in a book that brought back a lot of childhood memories. Unlike the first three books, this one is an adult read that even includes a federal minister having an affair with the national team’s coach.

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Traitors Gate — This is the sixth book in author Jeffrey Archer’s series that chronicles the life of William Warwick, who by now is Chief Superintendent with London’s Metropolitan Police. This time, Miles Faulkner, Warwick’s long-time protagonist, is working on a heist that involves lifting the Crown Jewels as they are being transported from the Tower of London to Buckingham Palace. The characters are familiar and there are a couple of subplots, involving Warwick’s wife and a fellow officer, but there isn’t much in the way of surprises. Still, like the first five books in the series, it’s a nice, comfortable read.

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12 Months to Live — Jane Smith is a defence lawyer with a client she despises who has been charged with the deaths of three people from one family. She also has been diagnosed with cancer and given 12 months. Oh, and people connected to the trial keep disappearing or being killed. Authors Mike Lupica and the ultra-prolific Richard Patterson spin a gritty tale that is quite readable. . . . I also read the sequel, Hard to Kill, which is similar to the opener. And with the way Hard to Kill ended, it would seem there will be a third entry in the series.

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A Year in the Sun: The Games, The Players, the Pleasure of Sports — George Vecsey, a sports columnist with The New York Times, chronicles his travels through 1986, including soccer’s World Cup in Mexico City, the Mets’ World Series victory (hello, Bill Buckner), some tennis, some basketball and hockey and a whole lot more. Vecsey wasn’t a hack-and-slash columnist; rather he had a soul, and he shows it here. This is a favourite and I can’t believe that I only discovered it in May. Having spent more than 40 years in newspapers, always in sports, there are parts of this book to which I could relate, especially when it came to lugging equipment on road trips.

Part 3 of 3

The Book Shelf: Part 2

The second part of this year’s Book Shelf includes a baseball book that should be on every fan’s to-be-read list. Tyler Kepner’s The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series is truly a diamond gem.

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The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness and Greed — Published in May 2005, this is author John Vaillant’s best-selling story of a special tree and how it met its bitter end. But, like Vaillant’s Fire Weather, it’s more like three or four books in one, because it’s about the Haida Gwaii’s fight to avoid extinction in the Pacific Northwest and the quandary in which the logging industry finds itself as it destroys the very thing that keeps it alive. This was Vaillant’s first book.

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The Grandest Stage: A History of the World Series — This one, published in 2022, should be on the book shelf or in the ereader of any sporting fan. Author Tyler Kepner was The News York Times’ national baseball writer when he wrote this one and it’s a diamond gem. There are all kinds of interesting anecdotes about some of the best- and least-known incidents in World Series history.

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Hawaii — Magnificent. Author James Michener’s historical look at Hawaii comes in at more than 1,000 pages. And it’s a wonderful 1,000 pages. He apparently took four years to research the subject, then three years to write the book. It took me a month to read it because I was wanting to savour it; like a lovely pinot noir, I refused to rush through it.

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The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet — What is climate change-induced heat doing to our planet, and what does the future hold? Author Jeff Goodell, an environmental journalist, has the answers in this book that was published in 2023, meaning it’s quite up to date. Here’s what Jennifer Szalai wrote in a New York Times review: “As this terrifying book makes exceptionally clear, thinking we can just crank up the A.C. is a dangerous way to live.” . . . If you’re one of those climate-change deniers, you don’t want to read this one because it’s got all of the evidence.

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Heaven and Hell in the NHL: Punch Imlach’s Own Story — Published in 1982, this is Punch Imlach’s story in his own words, as told to writer Scott Young. Imlach focuses mostly on his time with the Buffalo Sabres and his second-go round with the Toronto Maple Leafs. And, no, he doesn’t pull any punches. This was another book I rediscovered; I only wish I knew what kind of impact it had in 1982 because he certainly names a lot of names, including Darryl Sittler, if you know what I mean.

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Hotel — In researching this 1965 novel, author Arthur Hailey actually lived in the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans for two months. The research paid off because this book about the St. Gregory Hotel and its staff over a five-day period is absorbing with a whole lot of angles. It later became a movie and then a TV series that ran for five years.

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The Housekeepers — Author Alex Hay’s first novel involves a heist set in 1905 London. It’s not your average heist, either. A group of women, led by a fired housekeeper, decide to rob a mansion during a gala affair that is being held right there. They not only want to rob the joint; they want to clean it right out. Some good fun here.

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Inside The Empire: The True Power Behind the New York Yankees — With the 2024 Yankees in the MLB playoffs in October, I dug into Inside the Empire. It’s a look at all aspects of the Yankees’ organization, with authors Bob Klapisch and Paul Solotaroff wrapping it all around the 2018 season. This is a riveting look at what many baseball fans refer to as the Evil Empire.

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In the Galway Silence — Ken Bruen’s writing style takes a few pages to get used to, but Irish PI Jack Taylor, who put the rude in crude, makes it all worthwhile. Taylor has a whole lot of skeletons in his closet and if you can be addicted to something he likely is. But Bruen’s Taylor-centred books are worth reading just for Taylor’s repartee.

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Let Me Finish — Roger Angell, who died on May 20, 2022, at the age of 101, was a wonderful baseball essayist. However, there is little about baseball in this work, which was published in 2006. Instead, he writes about his life, family and a whole lot more, and it is emotional and wonderful. If you enjoy great writing and a lot of nostalgia, this one’s for you.

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Lightfoot — Published in 2017, author Nicholas Jennings’ book on Gordon Lightfoot is an intriguing and honest chronicle of the life and loves of a man who struggled with many demons. Lightfoot, who died on May 1, 2023, was one of the greatest singer/songwriters we have known. But he struggled with booze and family life, and after reading this you are free to wonder if he was ever really happy before the last few years of his life — yes, after he had stopped drinking. You also will find yourself wondering just how much of a role the booze played in the writing of all those marvellous songs.

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The Longmire Defense — In years past, I frequently watched episodes of Longmire, the TV show based on author Craig Johnson’s novels. However, I hadn’t read any of the books. Until this one, that is. Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Wyoming’s Absaroka County, and is working a cold case with all signs pointing towards the involvement of his grandfather. Published in 2023, this is the 19th of Johnson’s books in the Longmire series. I enjoyed it enough that there will be more of these books in my future. . . . During 2024, I also read The Highwayman and The Dark Horse, both books in the Longmire series. Quite enjoyed both of them.

Part 2 of 3