A fresh and refreshing take on the athlete memoir.
The upbringing and values that shaped one of the best players in the NBA.
Writing with longtime ESPN writer and TV host Wilbon, it’s clear that Paul isn’t interested in merely recapping his basketball career, which is ongoing and will lead to induction into the Hall of Fame when the time comes. Instead, the book is a tribute to Paul’s grandfather Nathaniel “Papa” Jones, who owned a gas station in Winston-Salem (“as far as we knew, his station was the first Black-owned gas station in North Carolina”) and whom Paul considers to be his “biggest influence” and “my real-life superhero.” From the author’s loving depiction, it’s easy to see why. Growing up, Paul spent countless hours at the gas station absorbing his grandfather’s example of hard work, a value Paul applied to his basketball career to great effect in high school and as a star at Wake Forest and in the NBA. Papa’s “stained hands were legendary,” he writes, “and had more of an impact on our family and community than anything I can do on a basketball court.” In 2002, their community was shattered when Papa was murdered at the age of 61. In Paul’s next high school game, he scored 61 points in honor of his grandfather. That game serves as the primary narrative thread, with Paul leaving and returning to it every few chapters as he fills in the context around it. By the time the game is over, Paul has demonstrated clearly to readers how much his formative years mattered to him. The author also seeks to convey this to his two children. One of the more moving aspects of the book is when Paul shares his experiences with his children in an attempt to mitigate the reality-distorting privilege that comes from having him as their father. Throughout, the author movingly passes along the love he received from Papa and the rest of his family.
A fresh and refreshing take on the athlete memoir.Pub Date: June 20, 2023
ISBN: 9781250276711
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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