As is the norm, the last message of the year is devoted to summarizing some of the better books I read over the past year. Why? Well, Walt Disney said, "There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island."
As usual, I read a lot of biographies (15), with the best one being Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, about the legendary track coach and co-founder of Nike, Bill Bowerman. Like his fellow coach John Wooden, he just seemed to exude integrity. The Ride of a Lifetime, the autobiography of Disney’s CEO Bob Iger was excellent, as was Joe Wilson and the Creation of Xerox. Most entrepreneurs create companies, but Wilson created an entire industry.
Love, Lucy, about Lucille Ball, revealed an intelligent and savvy businesswoman (she was the first female head of a Hollywood studio) and talented actress, not at all like the ditz she portrayed on I Love Lucy. Ashlee Vance’s 2015 bio of Elon Musk did an excellent job portraying Musk up until that time, but so much has happened since then.
I also read a bunch of music books this year including three about the Rolling Stones; Altamont, Just a Shot Away, and The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones by Rich Cohen, with the last one being the best. Cohen is a terrific writer; I have read several of his other books and plan to read more. Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All the Way was very enjoyable, but Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan didn’t do it for me. Mystery Train is Greil Marcus’s somewhat tortuous take on the history of rock and roll. While I didn’t hate it (there were many good stories and tidbits in it), my overall opinion of it isn’t nearly as high as the critics.
Bowie’s Bookshelf was a summary of David Bowie’s 100 favorite books. It is quite the eclectic list and as much as I read, I had only read six of them. I did read Mystery Train as a result and have several more on my reading list.
Other excellent reads were The Boys in the Boat about the Olympic crew competing in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. This was recommended to me about ten years ago by a reader of this newsletter that I finally got around to reading. The Big Rich, about the rise of the Texas oil industry was fascinating, and Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of ’41 juxtaposed the day by day of his streak with the current events of each day.
I stumbled upon several good novels, the most enjoyable being Palisades Park by Alan Brennert. It is about the now defunct amusement park and if you are anywhere near my age, you no doubt remember the commercial played incessantly on WABC radio. Colton Whitehead’s Harlem Shuffle was quite enjoyable, as was Life Its Ownself, Dan Jenkins hilarious sequel to the equally hilarious Semi Tough.
If you’re having trouble finding something to read, perhaps Ted Gioa or Art Garfunkel can provide some insight.
I wish you all a joyous Holiday Season and thank you for reading and commenting.
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