This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“You can’t convince me I can’t pimp here. I can get my share of pussys to peddle.”
I started this book once in the past and vetoed it; I must have had a great read on deck to have done that. Pimp reads like any great first-person narrative: swiftly and in chunks.
Iceberg Slim tells his life’s story straight-up with no hyperbole, no asides, no preaching and no regret. Iceberg’s greatest asset — from figuring what he needed to learn about the pimp game and from whom, to maintaining his sanity while being locked in a 7×7 cell for ten months — was always his mind.
Iceberg Slim, contrary to reputation, was probably not the greatest pimp in the history of the game. And there are surely people in mankind’s history who have led even more eventful lives than Robert Beck (gov’t name). But there are not many who can put their experiences into words and paint pictures on minds like Iceberg has.
Posted 3 weeks, 1 day ago at 9:18 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“The team game was the game I wanted to play.”
Bill Russell is the Ultimate Winner in any professional team sport. Russell won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in 13 seasons. Bill Russell was not a big-time scorer of highlights-type of player, however (and there was no ESPN in the 60s anyhow). He was all about 2 things: 1) The Team 2) Winning.
Red And Me gives the reader a deep look into Russell’s relationship with his late coach and friend Red Auerbach. If you’re into Russell or Red or the Boston Celtics, read this book.
That pretty much sums it up.
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago at 7:30 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“DMX is the future of rap!” – Lyor Cohen
DMX is a great storyteller — very candid and reflective. And this book embodies his personality.
This book goes over X’s whole life up to his signing with Def Jam and releasing his first album. I really liked the stories from his street life. They range from how he used to rob people with no weapons — just a vicious dog — to his auditioning for Def Jam executives with his jaw wired shut from a street beat down he took from a group of robbery victims over the years. E.A.R.L. is much deeper than barks and aggressive rhymes.
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago at 3:23 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“That’s a lesson I could have only learned outside the building.”
I read the second of Russell Simmons’ books first, and this one was actually better in my opinion.
If you’ve ever seen a clip of Russell at work in his offices or on the phone, you see that he talks at a quick pace and keeps conversations moving. His books are no different — I knocked Def out in 70-page chunks.
Russell’s book reads as if you’re sitting at a restaurant booth with him as he shares stories. And if you’re at all into hip-hop, that’s a valuable lunch.
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago at 3:13 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“R.E.A.D.: Review; Evaluate; Analyze; Decide.”
This book is starkly different than the other good body language book I read a few months back in one important way: There are very few “this means this” in Like A Book. The author, who has a background on police interrogation, makes it very clear that there are too many factors and unique people/ situations to make sweeping, universal definitions of actions. If a person touches his nose while giving an explanation, it very well could be because his nose just itches.
Posted 1 month, 3 weeks ago at 12:33 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“Why do we ask questions?”
I cannot tell you what this book is about. It’s titled Eating the Dinosaur, for chrissakes.
The chapters in the book are seemingly (and, for the most part, literally) unrelated — from comparing Kurt Cobain and David Koresh; to time travel; to Ralph Sampson. But if you have ever consumed Klosterman (such as a magazine piece, or his brilliant 1-page cameo in The Book Of Basketball), you know this man is a unique thinker who will have you tilting your head with raised eyebrows (what I — and most humans — unconsciously do when I hear or read a completely unique but also completely accurate point).
The one thing about Klosterman that draws me to him is that he is extremely analytical; breaking his and others’ actions down to the most minute levels and (possible) purposes. So much that his chapter on Garth Brooks even had my attention.
Favorite section: Klosterman explaining how we give up almost all of our independent, human freedoms to have an air-conditioned apartment in July. And it makes perfect sense.
Posted 2 months, 1 week ago at 9:23 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“Seduction is the desire of being overwhelmed, taken beyond.”
When folks see the title of this book, I bet the majority think The Art Of Seduction is about getting (wo)men to want you sexually. That theory I’d liken to, say, believing that money is about buying flashy cars, jewelry, and making it rain in nightclubs. Yes, you can do that, but it goes much, much deeper.
People may also think, “If you have a wife/husband/bf/gf, why would you need to read a book on seduction?” If you’ve read any Robert Greene work (or any of my reviews of his work), you know that this book is more deep than some “For Dummies” or How-To guide. And you would think higher of me than to be reading that. Right?
Anyway, I won’t lie: Seduction currently ranks 4th on my list of Greene works (he has written 4 books). Don’t take that to mean that Seduction isn’t worth it — Greene is my favorite author and if he dropped a new book today it’d go straight to the top of my priority list (kinda like me saying that the 1993 Michael Jordan — in which he won Finals MVP and a third consecutive NBA title — was my least favorite MJ).
Seduction deals with the human desire for pleasure and how one can place herself to be the one that provides that pleasure. And we know that pleasure does not always mean in the physical form. Selling oneself to the masses (á la JFK, Obama, or Tickle-Me Elmo) is a form of seduction.
An indirect way of making yourself desirable to another. Who wouldn’t want to know how that works?
Posted 3 months, 1 week ago at 4:29 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“I trust you seventy percent.” “A writer is what I want, not an interpreter.” – Malcolm X to Alex Haley during the telling of his life story
Between all my commitments and activities it took me all of four months to finish this story of almost 500 pages… And the most ironic thing is that it took me to get through the entire life story of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, and then author Alex Haley’s 65-page epilogue to really feel the completeness of a book chosen by Time magazine as one of the 10 most important nonfiction books of the century. Haley tells stories of dealing with Malcolm and his personal observations of the man that of course could not be in another man’s autobiography. More importantly, Alex Haley tells the story of Malcolm’s death, which Malcolm himself had many times predicted in the previous months.
What I most admired about Malcom’s story — since I’ve decided to choose only one thing — is the fact that Malcolm X was an activist. A person who would have a thought or a plan of action and would immediately *go do it,* something I’m sure I am not alone in struggling with myself at times.
The revelations made in this autobiography are too numerous for me to rehash — if there is a first-hand account of any person’s life story that I’d recommend one to read, it’s this one. It don’t get no realer than that.
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago at 4:43 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books List; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“This timeless allegory reveals profound truths to individuals and organizations dealing with change.”
I had heard of Who Moved My Cheese already before I saw it on the bookshelf in a friend’s place back in college (this is one of very few favorite books which I do not actually own — hence me forgetting about it when compiling my books list, until now). Being that the book is quite small — about 50 pages in big print with illustrations — I borrowed it and read it in 20 minutes. And the lesson of this book will always apply to anyone’s real life.
From author Spencer Johnson’s website:
This timeless allegory reveals profound truths to individuals and organizations dealing with change. We each live in a “Maze”, a metaphor for the companies or organizations we work with, the communities we live in, the families we love places where we look for the things we want in life, “Cheese”. It may be an enjoyable career, loving relationships, wealth, or spiritual peace of mind. With time and experience, one character eventually succeeds and even prospers from the change in his “Maze”.In an effort to share what he has learned along the way, he records his personal discoveries on the maze walls, the “Handwriting on the Wall”. Likewise, when we begin to see the “writing on the wall”, we discover the simplicity and necessity of adapting to change.
Posted 6 months ago at 8:50 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“… Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms– to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. “
Viktor E. Frankl gives a vivid description of his time in Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust in less than 100 pages.
How he narrowly missed beiing sent to the gas chambers several times by the seemingly random luck of choices he made of volunteering– or not– for certain jobs within the camps. The way he and the other men would take the less-worn shoes of a dead fellow Jew to somewhat comfort their frostbitten, tired feet.
Through it all, Frankl maintains that he knew there was somehting ahead of him, some great virtue to be gained, in all of his suffering. From this Viktor Frankl created his own science: logotherapy.
Posted 7 months, 1 week ago at 12:00 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“I’ll let you in on a secret, though my publisher probably wont like it: I’m not saying anything in this book that hasn’t already been said before.”
The above quote from Russell Simmons will probably keep a few people from ever picking this book up. And that’s why they say, “If you wanna hide something from people, put it in a book.”
Russell’s book truly does not say anything that is new and out of the blue. But what makes this book great is his detailed explanation, and real-life examples, of how he got ahead and stays there. But this book is not at all about money and how to start business or be a hip-hop mogul, as Russell Simmons is known as. Do You! is more the type of book that teaches the reader to remember to remember the principles of good, prosperous living in the hip-hop community.
Posted 7 months, 4 weeks ago at 11:23 AM. 1 comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“So simple is the analogy, that you can stop reading right now, walk away with the opening thought firmly planted in your mind and benefit from it the rest of your life.”
212 is one of those small, back-pocket book which I read in 20 minutes. The premise of 212 is how the simple 1-degree change from 211 to 212 turns very-hot water to steam, which is powerful enough to power trains. And this analogy can increase the output of anyone’s life. Simple enough, right?
Posted 9 months, 2 weeks ago at 11:15 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“”That was supposed to go in,” he groaned. “How did that not go in?”
More than twenty-two years have passed since that night… And I still don’t have an answer for him. For everything else, I have answers.
I think.”
Bill Simmons is my favorite online author, favorite NBA writer/ observer, and I hope he watches me play someday and writes at least a paragraph about what he sees. With all that said, you must believe me in my saying that is completely without bias that if you are a fan of the NBA (whether it be from its beginnings or circa now), you MUST read this 700-page manifesto.
It took me 30 days and I did it in chunks. TBoB is one of those rare read-100-or-so-pages-in-one-sitting-and-not-even-notice books — something I don’t think I will be able to say about Obama’s Audacity Of Hope, which got bumped (for the fourth time!) when I received TBoB in the mail. Simmons tackles topics that bball fans love to discuss, such as who was better between Russel and Wilt, the definitive list of the best players of all time (in order), his ultimate hypothetical team, the Greatest Team of All Time, and much much more.
If you’re unsure and would like a risk-free trial reading of the man devoted enough to own the title of “The Sports Guy,” just go here to his online page at ESPN.com.
Posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago at 12:13 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“[Ideas] appear just as suddenly above the surface of the mind — and with that same air of magic and unaccountability.”
In between reading a 700-page basketball book and (barely) starting Obama’s book, I snuck this one in. The fact that Technique is only 48 pages helped a lot.
This one is a simplistic writing that deals with the 5-step process we all go through in producing an idea, something that many people think just happens miraculously. By the definition of the steps in Technique, we can all become better at producing ideas, so long as we stick to the process and do not skip steps — two very formidable opponents to human nature and the human psyche. Technique is an idea worth your 30 minutes.
Posted 9 months, 3 weeks ago at 7:00 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“Confidence is not a mysterious characteristic we’re born with or not, and it’s not a result of extraordinary success, accessible only to an exalted few who achieve superhuman feats.”
Sam Horn is one of my favorite writers, and I breeze through any of her work that I get my hands on.
What’s Holding You Back? is a book mostly about confidence — where it comes from, what adds to it, what blocks it, and how to get (more of) it. I’m a supremely confident person, and this book enriched many of my predispositions about how our thoughts shape our actions.
The book’s format — headers followed by a few paragraphs — helped a lot with how fats I got through 337 pages. It is written to be consumed over a 31-day period, but I took about 14.
Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago at 1:51 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“The gulf between the information we publicly proclaim and the information we know to be true is often vast.”
The kind of book I love: One that questions “conventional wisdom” and knocks down the majority-accepted explanations for many of life’s occurrences. From teachers cheating on standardized tests to sumo wrestlers to why swimming pools are more of a hazard than guns, Freakonomics challenges your preconceived notions.
Posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago at 2:13 PM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
***
“The greatest fear people have is that of being themselves. They want to be 50 Cent or someone else. They do what everyone else does even if it doesn’t fit where and who they are. But you get nowhere that way; your energy is weak and no one pays attention to you. You’re running away from the one thing that you own — what makes you different. I lost that fear. And once I felt the power that I had by showing the world I didn’t care about being like other people, I could never go back.”
When I heard that my favorite entertainer besides myself (50 Cent), and my favorite author (Robert Greene), were doing a collaboration, I knew I’d have to have it the day it came out. Alas, I ordered it on Amazon to save money and waited a week. A week later, my mind is 300 pages richer. If you have read any of Greene’s works or are a fan of 50′s work, this book is a great combination of each man. The 50th Law deals with the power-sapping abilities of the emotion of fear and how 50 learned to overcome this emotion as he rose to the top.
Posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago at 10:13 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“It is a scientific fact that people’s gestures give away their true intentions.”
This book makes my Top-10 list of most pages read/ sitting. Goes into great detail on the unspoken language of every part of the human body, how and why it does what it does when a person is feeling a certain way, and what to look for. Tied in with my watching of Lie To Me, this book is a re-reader.
Posted 1 year ago at 11:44 AM. 1 comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“There are some college coaches, many in fact, who cannot adapt to the pro game. Their whole thing is their system. They bring in players and say, ‘You will play this way,’ even if their skills aren’t right for playing that way. One thing I always noticed about [Coach K] was that he changed the way he ran his offense every year based on the players he had. That’s the kind of flexibility you need n the pros.”
I didn’t think I would ever pick this book up off my shelf, but when I found myself with no apparent options more appealing, I decided to give the first chapter a shot at pulling me in. I came to find that author John Feinstein is a great writer who was able to make the story of an old basketball coach interesting to me. It didn’t hurt that Red Auerbach had a helluvalotta opinions on all topics basketball.
Posted 1 year ago at 11:38 AM. Add a comment
This is a review from my Favorite Books list; the link from which will be also on the Books Page.
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“Focus: The sharper it is, the sharper you are.”
John C. Maxwell has written several books on leadership, all of which are either on my already- or need-to-read list. All of the ones I have seen have been excellent, go-back-to reads that I reference later, and this one is no exception. The title says it all.
Posted 1 year ago at 11:42 AM. Add a comment
