Non-Fiction

Quick Review: IT’S ONLY DROWNING by David Litt (Gallery Books)

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An engaging, thoughtful memoir about trying new things and attempting to find common ground

After moving from Washington, DC, to the Jersey Shore, a former speechwriter for President Obama starts surfing at the age of thirty-five — the rough equivalent of beginning guitar lessons on your deathbed — and must turn for help to the only other surfer he knows: a tattooed, truck-driving, Joe Rogan superfan who happens to be his brother-in-law.

David Litt, the Yale-educated writer with a sensible fear of sharks, and Matt, the daredevil electrician with two motorcycles and a passion for death metal, had always coexisted from a comfortable distance as brothers-in-law. Yet in 2021, as David wallowed in existential dread while America’s crises piled up, he couldn’t help but notice that Matt was thriving. When he wasn’t making money rewiring New Jersey beach homes, Matt was riding waves at his favorite spots in the state.

Quietly, David started taking surfing lessons. For a few months, he suffered through wipeouts on waves the height of daffodils. But to his surprise, he soon became obsessed. And once he got a sense of the ways that fully committing to surfing could change him both in the water and on land, he set his sights on an unlikely goal: riding a big wave at Hawaii’s famously dangerous North Shore. To get there, he’d need Matt’s help.

At a moment when the fault lines of class, education, and culture threaten to tear our country apart, It’s Only Drowning is a blueprint for becoming braver at a time when it takes courage just to read the news, a love letter to surfing in the vein of William Finnegan’s Barbarian Days, and a poignant buddy comedy in the tradition of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.

This is David Litt’s third book, and it offers much of what I’ve come to expect from the author: solid and informed political and social commentary, coupled with self-deprecating personal insights. I very much enjoyed this. Continue reading →

Quick Review: LAWLESS by Leah Litman (Atria/One Signal)

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An excellent guide to how the Supreme Court runs on conservative grievance, fringe theories, and bad vibes

Something is deeply rotten at the Supreme Court. How did we get here and what can we do about it? Crooked Media podcast host Leah Litman shines a light on the unabashed lawlessness embraced by conservative Supreme Court justices and shows us how to fight back.

With the gravitas of Joan Biskupic and the irreverence of Elie Mystal, Leah Litman brings her signature wit to the question of what’s gone wrong at One First Street. In Lawless, she argues that the Supreme Court is no longer practicing law; it’s running on vibes. By “vibes,” Litman means legal-ish claims that repackage the politics of conservative grievance and dress them up in robes. Major decisions adopt the language and posture of the law, while in fact displaying a commitment to protecting a single minority: the religious conservatives and Republican officials whose views are no longer shared by a majority of the country.

Dahlia Lithwick’s Lady Justice meets Rebecca Traister’s Good and Mad as Litman employs pop culture references and the latest decisions to deliver a funny, zeitgeisty, pulls-no-punches cri de coeur undergirded by impeccable scholarship. She gives us the tools we need to understand the law, the dynamics of courts, and the stakes of this current moment — even as she makes us chuckle on every page and emerge empowered to fight for a better future.

I’ve been a long-time fan of Strict Scrutiny, the podcast that Leah Litman co-hosts with Kate Shaw and Melissa Murray, so when Lawless was announced, it immediately went on my must-read list. I was lucky enough to get an advance DRC, and I dove right in. It’s a highly engaging and informative book, and one of the first must-reads of the year. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE WONDER BOY by Tim MacMahon (Grand Central Publishing)

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ESPN’s Tim MacMahon chronicles the career of the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic and examines the pressure of building an NBA team around a prodigy.

In 2018, the Dallas Mavericks landed the most hyped European teen prospect in basketball history—Luka Doncic, who has proven to be a generational NBA talent with a flair for sensational playmaking. But that’s only half the story. With The Wonder Boy, MacMahon takes us beyond the highlights to the madness that ensues as the Mavericks try to avoid blowing their golden opportunity.

From the internal power struggles in owner Mark Cuban’s front office during the early years of Doncic’s career, to the new regime’s effort to earn Doncic’s loyalty and put the ruthless competitor in position to win, readers will learn never-before-reported details about the saga’s biggest moments, including:

    • the blockbuster deal for Kristaps Porzingis that blew up in the Mavs’ faces
    • the divorces with coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson
    • Jalen Brunson’s exit after a run to the Western Conference finals
    • the new pairing with the mercurial Kyrie Irving
    • the improbable journey to the 2024 Finals

As the clock ticks on the Mavs’ quest to win it all with their irreplaceable young star, The Wonder Boy pulls back the curtain on a dilemma every NBA team would love to have.

Anyone who has watched the Mavericks play since they acquired Luka Dončić in 2018 will recognize the player’s electric talent. Blistering stat-lines define most of his NBA career so far. He is not, however, otherwise particularly well-known. Like many non-American stars, he remains quite private and not the most forthcoming when it comes to the media/press. In The Wonder Boy, Tim MacMahon attempts to explain this young phenom, and how he fits into the modern NBA. Continue reading →

Quick Review: WHY SO SERIOUS? by Mike Singer (Harper)

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The first biography of the 3x NBA MVP

A revealing, intimate biography of basketball savant and enigmatic NBA superstar Nikola Jokić, filled with news-breaking interviews and deep reporting from Mike Singer, the Nuggets’ former beat writer for the Denver Post.

Why So Serious? takes readers on Nikola Jokić’s long, strange, and incredibly unlikely journey to becoming the heartbeat of the champion Denver Nuggets and the best basketball player on the planet. As he traces Jokić’s transformation from his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, sports journalist Mike Singer captures the witty irreverence, unparalleled competitiveness, and slight mischievousness of the MVP fondly known as “The Joker.”

Behind his veiled public persona, who really is Nikola Jokić? Filled with exclusive, sure-to-be-headline-making interviews, including unique insights from Jokić himself, Why So Serious? delves deep into the soul of the mysterious center and reveals how the big man developed his relentless work ethic, exceptional court vision, and magical playing style that has redefined dominance in the NBA.

Like many NBA fans, Nikola Jokić’s rise to dominance has been fascinating to watch. Famously (and amusingly) drafted 41st during a Taco Bell commercial, he has risen from curiosity to champion in a relatively short time. He is also incredibly private, which means much of his story is not widely known. So, when I got the chance to read and review Mike Singer’s Why So Serious?, I jumped at the chance. While the synopsis oversells it a bit, this is nevertheless the biography Jokić fans have been waiting for. Continue reading →

Excerpt: WE OUGHTA KNOW by Andrea Warner (ECW Press)

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WarnerA-WeOughtaKnowCAHCOn October 15th, ECW Press is due to publish We Oughta Know by Andrea Warner. The book is an essay collection that examines “How Céline, Shania, Alanis, and Sarah Ruled the ’90s and Changed Music”. To mark the book’s publication, the publisher has allowed CR to share the Introduction. Before we get to the excerpt, though, here is the synopsis:

A lively collection of essays that re-examines the extraordinary legacies of the four Canadian women who dominated ’90s music and changed the industry forever

Fully revised and updated, with a foreword by Vivek Shraya

In this of-the-moment essay collection, celebrated music journalist Andrea Warner explores the ways in which Céline Dion, Shania Twain, Alanis Morissette, and Sarah McLachlan became legit global superstars and revolutionized ’90s music. In an era when male-fronted musical acts were given magazine covers, Grammys and Junos, and serious critical consideration, these four women were reduced, mocked, and disparaged by the media and became pop culture jokes even as their recordings were demolishing sales records. The world is now reconsidering the treatment and reputations of key women in ’90s entertainment, and We Oughta Know is a crucial part of that conversation.

With empathy, humor, and reflections on her own teenaged perceptions of Céline, Shania, Alanis, and Sarah, Warner offers us a new perspective on the music and legacies of the four Canadian women who dominated the ’90s airwaves and influenced an entire generation of current-day popstars with their voices, fashion, and advocacy.

Continue reading →

Excerpt: CLEVER GIRL by Hannah McGregor (ECW Press)

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McGregorH-CleverGirlCAHCNext month, ECW Press is due to publish the next book in their Pop Classics series, which is a range of “Short books that pack a big punch… intelligent, fun, and accessible arguments about why a particular pop phenomenon matters.” (Looking at the range, I have a feeling I’m going to be reading a few of these.) Hannah McGregor‘s Clever Girl focuses on Jurassic Park — a movie that I saw in theatres when I was only 10yrs old, and a franchise that I’ve followed pretty much ever since. To celebrate the upcoming release, the publisher has provided CR with an excerpt to share with you all. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

A smart and incisive exploration of everyone’s favorite dinosaur movie and the female dinosaurs who embody what it means to be angry, monstrous, and free

The Jurassic Park series is one of the most famous and profitable movie franchises of all time — an entire generation of people has never known life without these CGI dinosaurs. The movie spectacle broke film and merchandising records, pioneered special effects, and made Jeff Goldblum into an unlikely sex symbol, and now it has also been re-envisioned as a classic of queer feminist storytelling.

In Clever Girl, Hannah McGregor argues that the female-only dinosaurs of Jurassic Park are stand-ins for monstrous women, engineered by men to be intelligent, violent, and adaptive, and whose chaos resists the systems designed to control them. As they run wild through their prison, a profit-driven theme park, they destroy the men and structures who mistakenly believed in their own colonialist and capitalist power, showing the audience what it means to be angry, monstrous, and free. The velociraptors were not just jump scares for children but also revelatory and predatory symbols of feminist rage. Clever girls, indeed.

Continue reading →

Upcoming: WHY SO SERIOUS? by Mike Singer (Harper)

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SingerM-WhySoSeriousUSHCNikola Jokic is one of the most fascinating NBA superstars, and certainly one of the best players (maybe ever). He was an unexpected phenomenon (much has been made of the fact that the now three-time League MVP was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial, as the 41st pick), and watching him play is quite awe-inspiring. After last year’s overall win, many — myself included, albeit more hopefully than based on special knowledge or information — confidently proclaimed that they were going to repeat this year. (The Minnesota Timberwolves had different ideas.) Later this year, Harper is due to publish Why So Serious? by Mike Singer, and this is very much one of my most-anticipated books of the year. Here’s the synopsis:

A revealing, intimate biography of basketball savant and enigmatic NBA superstar Nikola Jokic, filled with news-breaking interviews and deep reporting from Mike Singer, the Nuggets’ former beat writer for the Denver Post.

Why So Serious? takes readers on Nikola Jokic’s long, strange, and incredibly unlikely journey to becoming the heartbeat of the champion Denver Nuggets and the best basketball player on the planet. As he traces Jokic’s transformation from his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, sports journalist Mike Singer captures the witty irreverence, unparalleled competitiveness, and slight mischievousness of the MVP fondly known as “The Joker.”

Behind his veiled public persona, who really is Nikola Jokic? Filled with exclusive, sure-to-be-headline-making interviews, including unique insights from Jokic himself, Why So Serious? delves deep into the soul of the mysterious center and reveals how the big man developed his relentless work ethic, exceptional court vision, and magical playing style that has redefined dominance in the NBA.

Mike Singer’s Why So Serious? is due to be published by Harper in North America and in the UK, on December 3rd.

Follow the Author: Twitter

Upcoming: DREAM by Mirin Fader (Hachette)

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FaderM-DreamUSHCMirin Fader‘s Giannis was probably the best-timed book of 2021, published as it was just a couple of months after the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship since 1971 (that team led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Lew Alcindor). I was lucky enough to get a review of that book before the championship run, and it is a superb biography. Later this year, Hachette is due to published Fader’s next book, Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwan. This is great news for two reasons: First, because I’ve been looking forward to Fader’s next book ever since finishing Giannis; and second, because I don’t know very much about Olajuwon and that era of the NBA. Here’s the synopsis:

The life and legacy of pioneering international basketball superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, a two‑time NBA champion whose Hall of Fame career forever changed the game, both in the United States and around the globe…

It’s now the norm for NBA and collegiate teams to have international players dotting their rosters. The Olympics are no longer a gimme for Team USA. Both via fans streaming from all over the globe and leagues starting in countries throughout the world, the international presence of the game of basketball is a force to be reckoned with.

That all started with Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon. He was the first international player to win the MVP, which is hard to believe now considering the last time an American‑born player won it was four years ago. Award-winning hoops journalist Mirin Fader explores this phenomenal shift through the lens of what Olajuwon accomplished throughout the 1980s and ‘90s. Dream ignites nostalgia for Phi Slama Jama and “the Dream Shake,” while also exploring the profound influence of Olajuwon’s Muslim faith on his approach to life and basketball, and how his devotion to his faith inspired generations of Muslim people around the world.

Olajuwon’s ongoing work with NBA Africa, his status as an international ambassador for the game, and his consultations with today’s brightest stars, from LeBron James to Giannis Antetokounmpo, brings the story right up to the present moment, and beyond. Synthesizing hundreds of interviews and in-depth research, Fader provides the definitive biography of Olajuwon as well as a crucial understanding of his pivotal impact on the ever-shifting game.

I’m really looking forward to this.

Mirin Fader’s Dream is due to be published by Hachette Books in North America and in the UK, on October 14th.

Also on CR: Review of Giannis

Follow the Author: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Excerpt: ALL IN STRIDE by Johanna Garton (Rowman & Littlefield)

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GartonJ-AllInStrideUSHCSomething a little bit different today: All In Stride by Johanna Garton is the story of two Kenyan-born distance runners who emigrated to the United States, and how they built a life in their new home country. Here’s the synopsis:

The inspiring stories of Kenyan-born distance runners Shadrack Kipchirchir and Elvin Kibet and their determination to build meaningful lives as American citizens.

Professional distance runners Shadrack Kipchirchir and Elvin Kibet grew up in rural Kenyan villages. Though their lives began in poverty, both were driven to reach their full potential, to gain an education and make a difference. And they would find their way to do just that through the high-pressure world of distance running.

In All in Stride, Johanna Garton tells the gripping and inspiring stories of Shadrack and Elvin. Beginning with their upbringing in Kenya, Garton follows the runners through their journeys to the United States, running for Division 1 colleges, their fated reunion during a track meet and blossoming romance, and ultimately their service as U.S. soldiers and professional runners.

More than just a running story, All in Stride takes readers behind the scenes to explore the difficulties Elvin and Shadrack faced, including adjusting to an entirely new culture in the U.S., bigotry and intolerance, the stresses and joys of global competitions like the Olympics, joining the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program, and discovering the ever-changing landscape of what it means to be an American.

Continue reading →

Quick Review: ASCENT TO POWER by David L. Roll (Dutton)

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RollDL-AscentToPowerUSHCAn engaging new biography of the transition of power between FDR and Truman

From Franklin Roosevelt’s final days through Harry Truman’s extraordinary transformation, this is the enthralling story behind the most consequential presidential transition in US history.

When Roosevelt, in failing health, decided to run for a fourth term, he gave in to the big city Democratic bosses and reluctantly picked Senator Truman as his vice president, a man he barely knew. Upon FDR’s death in April 1945, Truman, after only 82 days as VP, was thrust into the presidency. Utterly unprepared, he faced the collapse of Germany, a Europe in ruins, the organization of the UN, a summit with Stalin and Churchill, and the question of whether atomic bombs would be ready for use against Japan. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union was growing increasingly hostile towards US power. Truman inherited FDR’s hope that peace could be maintained through cooperation with the Soviets, but he would soon learn that imitating his predecessor would lead only to missteps and controversy.

Spanning the years of transition, 1944 to 1948, Ascent to Power illuminates Truman’s struggles to emerge as president in his own right. Yet, from a relatively unknown Missouri senator to the most powerful man on Earth, Truman’s legacy transcends. With his come-from-behind campaign in the fall of 1948, his courageous civil rights advocacy, and his role in liberating millions from militarist governments and brutal occupations, Truman’s decisions during these pivotal years changed the course of the world in ways so significant we live with them today.

I seem to be reading an awful lot of books about the early Cold War years, recently. (Only partly for work.) Many of them have felt rather familiar, taking the same or similar approaches to those momentous years and events. David L. Roll’s new history of the transition from FDR to Truman offers something a little bit different, I think. It is an engaging, well-written and well-researched account of one of the most significant administrative changes, focusing on the changes between the two presidents and administrations. A satisfying read. Continue reading →