The Breaks of the Game - BOOK REVIEW

First published back in 1981, The Breaks of the Game follows the story of the 1979-1980 Portland Trail Blazers NBA season. Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Halberstam spent the entire year embedded with the team and spent countless hours with numerous people involved with the team and the NBA throughout that season. Aside from the central theme being the Blazers season, Halberstam also details the history of the Blazers, the NBA and also the injury plagued career of Bill Walton who departed the Blazers the previous season, just one year removed from winning Portland's first championships.

While I didn't really find any of the book edge-of-your-seat entertaining and I did at times find myself praying that the book finishes soon, as a big basketball fan I found it very interesting to see such a detailed look into the inner workings of the NBA back in that era. A lot of the book dealt with Basketball in the social context, it's history with race and just what's it's like emotionally and psychologically to be a player back then. I'm sure times have changed but there's so much in this book that you can see players and management dealing with in this era too.

As someone who knew very little about Bill Walton's career, this book also covers Walton's story and his career in great detail which was very fascinating and even a little sad. I can't help but feel like Walton, already considered one of the NBA's greats, had his career robbed from him by injury problems.

Anyway, if you're a basketball fan with a thirst for knowledge on some of the history of the NBA, I think this book is for you... otherwise, I dunno.

Born To Run - BOOK REVIEW

This INCREDIBLE story, primarily about a secret tribe of natives that live deep in the copper canyons of Mexico, has absolutely transformed my summer.

This book, about running, introduces us to these people that run like they don't know how to do anything else. I used to thing runners did the 42km marathon and that was it. I had no idea there was a thing called the ultra marathon where there are freaks that run over 100kms. It's nuts. While revolving around the Tarahumara of Mexico, Born To Run is a book about running. The love of running. It goes off on tangents and covers many different aspects from running style, to injuries to anecdotes to cultural and political topics as well. But the central theme is the LOVE of running and how we are all meant to enjoy. A particular central figure, Caballo Blanco is an American dude that moved down to Mexico to become one of them. To join a people that wants nothing to do with the outside world.

As I write this I feel like I just can't do this book justice and correctly brief you on everything about it. Needless to say, it's a fascinating read. You don't need to be any sort of fitness freak to enjoy it. It's a great story and as an added bonus it totally motivates you to run, it's crazy actually. I somehow managed to run the entire time I read the book but once I was done I ran 4 miles fresh off not having run for 6 months and only playing a bit of basketball sporadically. Now I've got the Nike+ sensor and the wristband that tracks my run and gives me data etc. I love it. I was born to run. So are you.

My Booky Wook by Russell Brand - BOOK REVIEW

I had just finished reading Steve Jobs' bio when I picked up The Booky Wook. Mr. Brand had some big shoes to fill and he couldn't do it. I was blown away by the Steve Jobs bio so with that fresh in my memory, Russell Brand's bio paled in comparison. I was an interesting read at times but I just couldn't get that into it. Russ wrote it himself in first person and I often found myself page counting trying to figure out when I'd be done with the book. You can't win em all. That being said. I'll read his second Booky Wook eventually.

Steve Jobs' Autobiography - BOOK REVIEW

Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

It's a big book... 600 pages, but I wasn't bored even for one minute (ok, that's an exaggeration but you get my point).

Prior to the death of Steve Jobs, when Apple's stock plummeted whenever Mr. Jobs went on medical leave, I thought, who cares? He's the frickin' CEO. Just because he founded the company, Apple's not gonna go to shit because he's ill.... That was when I didn't know, now I know.

Steve Jobs is a god damn genius. He didn't just start the company with old mate Wozniak, he has had a hand in EVERYTHING. A finger in every Apple pie. Multiple fingers.

This enthralling bio, written by Walter Isaacson, details this amazing journey that Steve Jobs has made from his childhood and how the person he is has become so enmeshed in everything Apple. I remember being about 100 or so pages into the book and thinking, "wow, I can totally see that in this product", or "that's all over the Apple store today, 30 years later".

I'm a bit of an Apple guy. I've got the MacBook Air, an iPhone and a few iPods too. I'd also have an iPad if I wasn't such a tight ass with my money. That's not the reason I loved this book though, you don't need to be an Apple guy or even have much technical knowledge of anything. This is straight up a fascinating tale of how one man has had such an effect both on this world and the shaping of an entire empire.

Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.

Decoded (Jay-Z) - BOOK REVIEW

Jay-Z released his first book late last year and it's not your typical celebrity autobiography.

Written by Jay-Z himself, Decoded is the story of Sean Carter but also the story of his music, his lyrics, the rap game, rap history, the streets, the drugs, Brooklyn, New York, culture, good times, bad times and how it has all shaped one of the biggest selling artists of all time.

It's a really good read. A must for any hip-hop fan and still very interesting for anyone with at least a little bit of curiosity. At times this book doesn't even feel like it's about Jay-Z, it feels like it's so much more. The pages teach us so much about Jay-Z but even more about life in the streets of New York, the history of hip-hop out there and even the technical details about how some of that music is even pieced together. Very enlightening. A must read I think.

The Dirt - The Motley Crue Bio - BOOK REVIEW

In one word.... UNREAL.

This Motley Crue auto-bio is the craziest book I have ever read.

I haven't read a lot of books but I'm slowly chipping away at all the drug and alcohol fueled escapades I stomach. Prior to this, I thought it couldn't get as full on as Slash's auto-bio. Everyone always talked up Scar Tissue but I thought that paled in comparison to Slash's story. Steven Adler's? Probably the most effed up guy I've read about in terms of his drug abuse but the The Dirt, Motley Crue... UNREAL.

This book, this story has it ALL. To say that it's like the best bits of every rock star bio written put into one book would be underselling it (Not that I've read more than 7 book in my lifetime). You cannot script this shit. You cannot make it up. Not just the drugs and alcohol, the parties, the touring, the sex, the death... oh yes this book isn't light on death. Touring with Ozzy Osbourne, living around the corner from the Whiskey, being left for dead overdosing in a dumpster, manslaughter, degenerative bone diseases, make-ups, break-ups and plenty of make-up!!!

This is the book to read, this book, published back in 2002 paved the way for all these other rockers like Slash and Anthony Kiedis to open up.

READ IT!

My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses by Steven Adler - BOOK REVIEW

Title: My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses
Genre: Autobiography

Besides the crap they make you read in high school, a couple years ago I read my first real book. Yes, at age 23. Anyway, it was Slash's Autobiography and to this day is the best book I've ever read. The story of his life and Guns N' Roses was absolutely unreal and is a book I'm constantly telling people to read. I'm a big Gunners fan but to be honest, I only read Steven Adler's autobiography for one reason. I wanted to see if Axl really was a bit of a prick. That was the picture that Slash painted with thinly veiled stabs at Axl in his autobiography so I thought I'd do what anyone in search of the truth would do. Find other sources. I turned to the original drummer from the band that did Appetite for Destruction and helped make Use Your Illusion before being kicked out ahead of recording. Plus, as much as I love their music, prior to these two books I didn't know too much about the history of GNR.

This was an interesting read. A must for any GNR fan. This cat Steven Adler has had one hell of a messed up life. I thought some of the stuff Slash and Anthony Kiedis got up to (The only other two rock-star bio's I've read) was absolutely insane but Steven Adler's substance abuse was on another level. Some fascinating stuff in there.

Check out this short interview with Adler where he talks about his book

The E-Myth Revisited - BOOK REVIEW

The Four Hour Body - BOOK REVIEW

The Tao of Wu - BOOK REVIEW

Scar Tissue (2004) - BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 

Title: Scar Tissue

Genre: Autobiography

I heard so much hype about this book from all my friends but I only got around to reading this recently and I'd have to say it probably fell a bit short of my expectations. Most likely because I heard so many great things about it and the fact that the first rock star auto-bio I read was Slash's which was absolutely crazy.

Following what seems to be the blueprint of any rock star auto-bio, or any bio in general, Scar Tissue chronicles the life of Anthony Kiedis from kid to Californication. If you like music and enjoy a good read, this book provides an interesting insight into the Chili Peppers and their front man.

First 300 odd pages were great but then the final 150 seemed to just be about an endless cycle of... Drug binge, meet a girl like no other who is the love of his life, clean himself up, break up, drug binge, meet another girl like no other who is the love of his life, clean himself up, break up, drug binge... you get the picture.

Still a good read though. Glad I did it.

I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert - BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 
Author: Stephen Colbert

For those that don't know, Stephen Colbert is the host of The Colbert Report, 7:40pm nightly on ABC2. It's a satirical news program that makes fun of other American political news programs such as Fox News's The O'Reilly Factor. The character of Stephen Colbert is described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed, high-status idiot". His show is hilarious and absolutely brilliant but you need to be one that is into this kind of humour. It isn't really mainstream.

Anyway, for those that do know the show, this book is almost like a stolen script from an episode. It's just him rambling on about things like he does every night. While its funny in places, it really highlights how good an actor this guy is because you'll find this book even funnier when you picture him saying this on his show in your head.

Its a good read for short trips to work etc but I don't think you could read this for hours on end. It just lacks the zest that comes with his TV delivery.

I own this book so I'll be happy to lend it to you if it's of any interest. Just hit me up.

Slash's Autobiography (2007) - BOOK REVIEW

Rating: 
Title: Slash
Genre: Autobiography

The tagline is "It seems excessive, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen". Man is that an understatement. Written by Slash himself and Anthony Bozza, comes the autobiography of rock legend and Ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist, Saul "Slash" Hudson.

I actually read this about a year ago so I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff but I figured I'd write something about it in anticipation of tonight's sold out show at The Hordern Pavillion in Sydney.

As expected, most of the book is written about Slash's time with Guns N' Roses which of course had plenty of stories about sex, drugs and yada yada yada... While he does cover his childhood and his post-Guns life, you go on a pretty in depth adventure into the life of Guns N' Roses from inception to break-up. From how they all met, how they formed, their early struggles, fame, success and the ultimate downfall of arguably the greatest rock n' roll band of all time... and I'd be one to argue that.

As most would know, Axl Rose still carried the Guns N' Roses band name with his release of the Chinese Democracy album except he was the only original member involved with it. I didn't really know much about what a band goes through when creating their sound and a pleasant surprise with the book is the detail Slash went into for the Guns N' Roses process. I must admit, prior to reading this book I was super excited to hear Chinese Democracy and didn't think much about the album not having Slash, Duff or Izzy on it. The book shows you just how much the band really means to the musical effort that goes into an album. Needless to say, Chinese Democracy didn't sound much like the original Guns and it sucked.

Slash and the band went through some really crazy shit. REALLY crazy shit. So many stories Slash tells about the shenanigans they got up to are just amazing. The drugs, the benders, the perils of fame, playing in front of 100,000 people in Brazil, touring with Metallica, the death of a close friend to drugs and the never ending sideshow that is Axl Rose.

I read this book while I was travelling through France and Spain. There where times where it absolutely killed me to put the book down and go see Europe! I must admit that this was the first book I ever read and I absolutely loved it. It blew me away.

When I tried to tell people about it, they all said "You'll love Scar Tissue then". Scar Tissue was really good, 3 stars, but it didn't come anywhere near this book.

Check out this quick little interview with Slash about the book