Three pieces of recent great writing I hadn't previously posted on were from Sports Illustrated, the New York Times and Outside Magazine.
For SI was "As Reds' Chapman recovers, dangers of line drives hit close to home" by S.L. Price and reminiscent of the excellent 2009 book Heart of the Game by Price, which I wrote about here.
The Times story was "A Story of Perseverance" by Richard Sandomir on ESPN SportsCenter Anchor Stuart Scott and his battle with cancer and the feature for Outside was "The Gourmet Invasivore's Dilemma" by Rowan Jacobsen on the havoc wreaked by invasive species and one chef's small-scale approach towards the problem.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Esquire writing - new feature by D'Agostino on ADHD & old one by Junod on Mr. Rogers
The latest issue of Esquire had a great feature by
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Pieces on writing - by Michael Kruse, Bethany McLean & on Tom Bodett
It's been a while since I last posted on pieces about writing and I was fascinated by three that I came across recently.
For his personal blog, Tampa Bay Times writer Michael Kruse wrote "How I did the Bounty story," which had fascinating stuff in it about the year-long process of researching and writing (really about the dogged researching) of a lengthy story and I saw on Twitter a few writers noting as great wisdom the final two sentences...
"No matter the story, no matter your process, no matter the timetable — somewhere in the middle, you won’t be able to see the end. Can’t stop. Keep going."
"But the most important thing I learned doing Bounty — the most important thing I learned in 2013 — is that you can’t try to make something happen. All you can do is try to make something."
The shorter pieces to note here were one on fact-checking by Bethany McLean for LinkedIn and an interview with Tom Bodett for Alaska Magazine. The Bodett interview stood out as interesting to me with him having lived for quite a while in Homer, AK (where my parents have a house) and in that it showed how sometimes unexpected opportunities can develop.
For his personal blog, Tampa Bay Times writer Michael Kruse wrote "How I did the Bounty story," which had fascinating stuff in it about the year-long process of researching and writing (really about the dogged researching) of a lengthy story and I saw on Twitter a few writers noting as great wisdom the final two sentences...
"No matter the story, no matter your process, no matter the timetable — somewhere in the middle, you won’t be able to see the end. Can’t stop. Keep going."
"But the most important thing I learned doing Bounty — the most important thing I learned in 2013 — is that you can’t try to make something happen. All you can do is try to make something."
The shorter pieces to note here were one on fact-checking by Bethany McLean for LinkedIn and an interview with Tom Bodett for Alaska Magazine. The Bodett interview stood out as interesting to me with him having lived for quite a while in Homer, AK (where my parents have a house) and in that it showed how sometimes unexpected opportunities can develop.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
ESPN The Magazine writing by Jones and Olney
Two great recent stories from ESPN were "A Long Journey to Spring" by Chris Jones on Kansas City Royals coach Mike Jirschele and "Creative Control" on Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw by Buster Olney.
The piece on Kershaw details his meticulous preparation leading up to starts and profiles well (Olney is just an excellent writer) someone that seems to be a really good guy. On Jirschele, Jones provides a more profound story on someone who has endured enormous family tragedy with three brothers dying from muscular dystrophy and this season has his first big-league job after 36 years in the minors. Really a sad and at the same time heartwarming story told well by Jones.
The piece on Kershaw details his meticulous preparation leading up to starts and profiles well (Olney is just an excellent writer) someone that seems to be a really good guy. On Jirschele, Jones provides a more profound story on someone who has endured enormous family tragedy with three brothers dying from muscular dystrophy and this season has his first big-league job after 36 years in the minors. Really a sad and at the same time heartwarming story told well by Jones.
Monday, March 24, 2014
"Showtime" by Jeff Pearlman
Showtime by Jeff Pearlman was on the Los Angeles Lakers team of the 1980s
and would be a great read for a Lakers fan, and was still an interesting one for myself as not a huge basketball fan.
Some of the things in the book that stood out as fascinating included what Magic Johnson was like coming in as a breath of fresh air rookie, the details of his ridiculously great performance at center that year to win the 1980 NBA Championship and his womanizing.
Also particularly interesting in the book (and covered in an excerpt for Sports Illustrated) was info on how Pat Riley became head coach, with first Jack McKinney in charge, him suffering a devastating head injury and Paul Westhead taking over, and then Westhead following up initial success with becoming an overbearing force on his team, much like Riley would later do on both counts. In this regard, Pearlman tells a fascinating story throughout the book of how people would change with success and fame.
Again, I went into Showtime as someone who loves sports, but not particularly basketball and while for me as a reader I could have done without some of the details of particular games or series, I can definitely see how the book called for it and really enjoyed the read.
Also particularly interesting in the book (and covered in an excerpt for Sports Illustrated) was info on how Pat Riley became head coach, with first Jack McKinney in charge, him suffering a devastating head injury and Paul Westhead taking over, and then Westhead following up initial success with becoming an overbearing force on his team, much like Riley would later do on both counts. In this regard, Pearlman tells a fascinating story throughout the book of how people would change with success and fame.
Again, I went into Showtime as someone who loves sports, but not particularly basketball and while for me as a reader I could have done without some of the details of particular games or series, I can definitely see how the book called for it and really enjoyed the read.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Michael Paterniti writing - on burrneshas in Albania & a jumbo jet crash at sea
Michael Paterniti is a non-fiction writer I've posted on a number of times and recently I've seen two additional features from him, with the latest an interesting piece and one from 2000 a brilliantly done one that made me wonder what it was like to write when just reading it was heart-wrenching.
The March issue of GQ Magazine had "The Mountains Where Women Live as Men" on a small and dwindling group of people in the Albanian Alps and originally published in the July issue of Esquire Magazine was "The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy" on Swiss Air flight 111 that crashed into the Atlantic, killing all 229 passengers. Just amazing writing in this Esquire piece that's popped back up again with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
The March issue of GQ Magazine had "The Mountains Where Women Live as Men" on a small and dwindling group of people in the Albanian Alps and originally published in the July issue of Esquire Magazine was "The Long Fall of One-Eleven Heavy" on Swiss Air flight 111 that crashed into the Atlantic, killing all 229 passengers. Just amazing writing in this Esquire piece that's popped back up again with the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Writing by and on Matthew Power
Recently while on assignment in Africa, non-fiction writer Matthew Power died and his passing brought about some profound remembrances as well as mentions of his work.
Two pieces on his memory were "Relentless Generosity" by Abe Streep for Outside Magazine and "Remembering Journalist Matthew Power" by Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke for New York Observer.
Really well-done and thoughtful pieces both and while I've only read a few of Power's works, stories of his from a number of publications have recently been highlighted, including his archive of articles for Harper's Magazine (with "Mississippi Drift" being the Harper's piece I saw the most mentions of by readers of Power).
Two pieces on his memory were "Relentless Generosity" by Abe Streep for Outside Magazine and "Remembering Journalist Matthew Power" by Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke for New York Observer.
Really well-done and thoughtful pieces both and while I've only read a few of Power's works, stories of his from a number of publications have recently been highlighted, including his archive of articles for Harper's Magazine (with "Mississippi Drift" being the Harper's piece I saw the most mentions of by readers of Power).
Sunday, March 09, 2014
Book excerpt from Ron Suskind
A couple of days ago in the New York Times Magazine was a great book excerpt from political writer Ron Suskind. "Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney" was taken from Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism and really powerful reading. It's embedded in the Times excerpt, but there's also a great 4-minute long video with Suskind and his now adult son Owen.
Great sports writing - by Pearlman, Kennedy and Tomlinson
Three excellent pieces of sports writing I've seen recently included two book excerpts in Sports Illustrated and a feature for the ESPN website.
From the Mar 3 issue of SI was "The Birth of Showtime" by Jeff Pearlman. It was taken from his book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s and fascinating reading about the events that led to Pat Riley becoming head coach.
The second SI published except was written by Kostya Kennedy with "A quarter century later, there are no easy answers to the Pete Problem." Out of the book Pete Rose: An American Dilemma, it paints a vivid portrait of Rose and covers the question of whether he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame when his misdeed of gambling on his team considered against against the actions of steroid users.
The final piece to note here was by Tommy Tomlinson for ESPN with "Precious Memories." About former North Carolina men's basketball coaching legend Dean Smith, it's powerful reading on the toll that Dementia takes on people and their loved ones.
From the Mar 3 issue of SI was "The Birth of Showtime" by Jeff Pearlman. It was taken from his book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s and fascinating reading about the events that led to Pat Riley becoming head coach.
The second SI published except was written by Kostya Kennedy with "A quarter century later, there are no easy answers to the Pete Problem." Out of the book Pete Rose: An American Dilemma, it paints a vivid portrait of Rose and covers the question of whether he should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame when his misdeed of gambling on his team considered against against the actions of steroid users.
The final piece to note here was by Tommy Tomlinson for ESPN with "Precious Memories." About former North Carolina men's basketball coaching legend Dean Smith, it's powerful reading on the toll that Dementia takes on people and their loved ones.
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
"Young Money" by Kevin Roose
Young Money by Kevin Roose was an interesting and very fast read about junior investment bankers working on Wall Street. The book chronicled under assumed names the early in career lives of eight different people and, while the approach seemed to diminish the amount of narrative throughout, there were fascinating stories told of these workers at heavyweight financial firms like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.
The jobs embarked on were difficult to get with the top Wall Street firms recruiting top-level students from elite colleges and most of the positions two-year programs that people work as analysts and those wanting to stay in banking either getting hired as an associate at that firm or take what's viewed as the ideal next step in investment banking with a job at a leading hedge fund or private equity firm. Roose details in the book how these positions are also pitched and viewed by many as a sort of way-station stop, with many people spending the two years in investment banking and then making a decision to either remain in the field or leave, with now more than ever there being opportunities to take the experience and move into technology start-ups.
In terms of the two-year investment banking analyst roles, Roose notes how annual salaries out of college typically around $70K, with a bonus of anywhere from $20-70K on top of that. He also covers how as a junior analyst, you're on call for whatever associates or executives want you to do for oftentimes 100 hour work weeks with the deliverable typically large Excel spreadsheet (incredibly to me as it seems there would be a better tool to use) models about company valuations and what might happen if a particular mergers or acquisition were to occur through that particular investment bank.
It's an interesting book and one thing I found noteworthy was the categorization of investment banking and finance as falling under the category of work not necessarily creating anything. Not that everyone in a position to get a fulfilling job where they create, but it's an interesting thing to think about. Related to this, I found compelling in the book mention of 2012 Yale graduate and writer Marina Keegan and an essay she wrote for the campus news magazine about working in investment banking, with her then adapting the essay into "The Science and Strategy of College Recruiting" for the New York Times website. Roose at the end of the epilogue dedicates his book to the memory of Keegan, who died in a car accident a week after graduating Yale and had her essay "The Opposite of Loneliness" for the Yale Daily News distributed at commencement.
In terms of the two-year investment banking analyst roles, Roose notes how annual salaries out of college typically around $70K, with a bonus of anywhere from $20-70K on top of that. He also covers how as a junior analyst, you're on call for whatever associates or executives want you to do for oftentimes 100 hour work weeks with the deliverable typically large Excel spreadsheet (incredibly to me as it seems there would be a better tool to use) models about company valuations and what might happen if a particular mergers or acquisition were to occur through that particular investment bank.
It's an interesting book and one thing I found noteworthy was the categorization of investment banking and finance as falling under the category of work not necessarily creating anything. Not that everyone in a position to get a fulfilling job where they create, but it's an interesting thing to think about. Related to this, I found compelling in the book mention of 2012 Yale graduate and writer Marina Keegan and an essay she wrote for the campus news magazine about working in investment banking, with her then adapting the essay into "The Science and Strategy of College Recruiting" for the New York Times website. Roose at the end of the epilogue dedicates his book to the memory of Keegan, who died in a car accident a week after graduating Yale and had her essay "The Opposite of Loneliness" for the Yale Daily News distributed at commencement.
Writing I liked - with pieces by Moallem, Schur and Hampikian
Three excellent pieces of non-sports writing from the past few weeks which I haven't posted on yet included pieces from Grantland and the New York Times.
For Grantland, Michael Schur wrote "A Particular Kind of Genius: Remembering Harold Ramis" on the Hollywood actor, writer and director and there were two Times pieces I found of note including a Jon Moallem written feature "A Journey to the Center of the World" on Jacques-André Istel and the strange town of Felicity, Arizona he built near Yuma.
The other piece of really good writing from the Times was the op-ed column "When may I shoot a student?" by Greg Hampikian on the state of Idaho considering a bill that would allow guns on college and university campuses.
For Grantland, Michael Schur wrote "A Particular Kind of Genius: Remembering Harold Ramis" on the Hollywood actor, writer and director and there were two Times pieces I found of note including a Jon Moallem written feature "A Journey to the Center of the World" on Jacques-André Istel and the strange town of Felicity, Arizona he built near Yuma.
The other piece of really good writing from the Times was the op-ed column "When may I shoot a student?" by Greg Hampikian on the state of Idaho considering a bill that would allow guns on college and university campuses.
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