Easy reading that will appeal to all fans—and likely raise the ire of a few apologists.
Everything you wanted to know about the Los Angeles Lakers in the Kobe and Shaq days.
In his second book about the Lakers—after Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s—Pearlman entertainingly chronicles the success of the early-2000s Lakers, who, led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and coach Phil Jackson, won three consecutive NBA championships and reached four Finals in five years. In the process, the author wades into the collective psyche of modern professional sports, showing the manifestation of monetized idolatry. He demonstrates the belief of many fans that some stars have too much money and self-importance and too little self-awareness; this is reflected most clearly in the narrative via Pearlman’s minibiography of Bryant. More nuanced than the homages following his tragic death earlier this year—which credited his singular focus but often said less about the costs of that focus—Bryant comes off here, in the early years of his career, as less of a spoiled star (though that element is present) than as someone who understandably struggled with becoming a multimillionaire idol as a teenager. As Bryant angled to become a Michael Jordan clone—with skill enough to nearly pull it off—he famously went on trial for rape, which Pearlman discusses in detail. Meanwhile, O’Neal’s big heart toward down-and-out strangers and the guy at the end of the bench is belied by his frequent quarrels with Bryant. Throughout, the author uses a wide frame, giving more than cursory backstory for even minor players. Though he commits a few personal fouls in the form of hyperbole, he deftly illuminates the many dramatic twists and turns of a unique team. The book is not short, but it’s never a slog.
Easy reading that will appeal to all fans—and likely raise the ire of a few apologists.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-328-53000-4
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: June 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.
An insider’s chronicle of a pivotal presidential campaign.
Several months into the mounting political upheaval of Donald Trump’s second term and following a wave of bestselling political exposés, most notably Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s Original Sin on Joe Biden’s health and late decision to step down, former Vice President Harris offers her own account of the consequential months surrounding Biden’s withdrawal and her swift campaign for the presidency. Structured as brief chapters with countdown headers from 107 days to Election Day, the book recounts the campaign’s daily rigors: vetting a running mate, navigating back-to-back rallies, preparing for the convention and the debate with Trump, and deflecting obstacles in the form of both Trump’s camp and Biden’s faltering team. Harris aims to set the record straight on issues that have remained hotly debated. While acknowledging Biden’s advancing decline, she also highlights his foreign-policy steadiness: “His years of experience in foreign policy clearly showed….He was always focused, always commander in chief in that room.” More blame is placed on his inner circle, especially Jill Biden, whom Harris faults for pushing him beyond his limits—“the people who knew him best, should have realized that any campaign was a bridge too far.” Throughout, she highlights her own qualifications and dismisses suggestions that an open contest might have better served the party: “If they thought I was down with a mini primary or some other half-baked procedure, I was quick to disabuse them.” Facing Trump’s increasingly unhinged behavior, Harris never openly doubts her ability to confront him. Yet she doesn’t fully persuade the reader that she had the capacity to counter his dominance, suggesting instead that her defeat stemmed from a lack of time—a theme underscored by the urgency of the book’s title. If not entirely sanguine about the future, she maintains a clear-eyed view of the damage already done: “Perhaps so much damage that we will have to re-create our government…something leaner, swifter, and much more efficient.”
A determined if self-regarding portrait of a candidate striving to define herself and her campaign on her own terms.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781668211656
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.
A noted actor turns to verse: “Poems are a Saturday in the middle of the week.”
McConaughey, author of the gracefully written memoir Greenlights, has been writing poems since his teens, closing with one “written in an Australian bathtub” that reads just as a poem by an 18-year-old (Rimbaud excepted) should read: “Ignorant minds of the fortunate man / Blind of the fate shaping every land.” McConaughey is fearless in his commitment to the rhyme, no matter how slight the result (“Oops, took a quick peek at the sky before I got my glasses, / now I can’t see shit, sure hope this passes”). And, sad to say, the slight is what is most on display throughout, punctuated by some odd koanlike aperçus: “Eating all we can / at the all-we-can-eat buffet, / gives us a 3.8 education / and a 4.2 GPA.” “Never give up your right to do the next right thing. This is how we find our way home.” “Memory never forgets. Even though we do.” The prayer portion of the program is deeply felt, but it’s just as sentimental; only when he writes of life-changing events—a court appearance to file a restraining order against a stalker, his decision to quit smoking weed—do we catch a glimpse of the effortlessly fluent, effortlessly charming McConaughey as exemplified by the David Wooderson (“alright, alright, alright”) of Dazed and Confused. The rest is mostly a soufflé in verse. McConaughey’s heart is very clearly in the right place, but on the whole the book suggests an old saw: Don’t give up your day job.
It’s not Shakespeare, not by a long shot. But at least it’s not James Franco.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781984862105
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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