It’s time to get down to business this holiday season. What do you get someone who’s a no-nonsense kind of person? Why, books about like-minded tough guys, of course.
Being a tough guy on the football field made Harry Carson CAPTAIN FOR LIFE. One of the greatest linebackers in the history of the game, Carson is equally impressive at telling the truth about what it took to be a champion. Carson was with the New York Giants for thirteen years, an amount of time almost unheard of in the NFL. He was captain for ten of those years, including 1986, when the team won the Super Bowl. The story of how a small town boy from Florence, South Carolina took New York by storm is one every football fan will appreciate.
Keith Dunnavant ackles AMERICA’S QUARTERBACK, subtitled “Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League.” The contribution that Starr made to professional football cannot be overstated. He was simply the best; from 1961 to 1967, he led the Green Bay Packers not only to five NFL championships, but also to victory in the first two Super Bowls. He was given two Super Bowl MVP awards. Starr was largely responsible for the way quarterbacks play today, and for making football so popular in America.
To a die-hard Red Sox fan, Fenway Park is a shrine, a part of history, and lots of great memories. Saul Wisnia understands, and his FENWAY PARK: THE CENTENNIAL is a must have book for the faithful. There’s even a DVD included, hosted by the great Carlton “Pudge” Fisk. It’s all here; the wall known as The Green Monster; Mayor John Fitzgerald throwing out the first ball in 1912, with no way of knowing that his grandson would someday be President; the crowd singing “Sweet Caroline,” a song Neil Diamond wrote, inspired by Mayor Fitzgerald’s great-granddaughter. From Babe Ruth and Ted Williams to the present day Sox, Fenway has always been home to great ball players, and even greater fans.
No one can deny that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was a tough guy. His youngest son, Gilad Sharon, has penned SHARON: THE LIFE OF A LEADER. Always a controversial figure, Sharon kept uppermost Israel’s security, yet ordered settlers out of Gaza. He isolated the PLO’s Arafat, bombed Iraq’s nuclear reactor, and made the world aware of the global threat if Iran developed nuclear capability. He was a great friend of George W. Bush, and made twelve trips to the U.S to meet with him. Sharon served as Prime Minister during five and a half turbulent years. Even when he was out of office, he still played an important part in working to secure his country’s peace and safety.
Patrick J. Buchanan has never been one to pull punches. In SUICIDE OF A SUPERPOWER, he postulates that the U.S. is being brought down from within. According to the right wing sage of “The McLaughlin Group,” the reasons boil down to the fact that we have lost Christianity as a de facto state religion, causing our moral collapse; and the slow demise of the people who were responsible for creating America. He concludes that our cultural diversity is doomed to destroy us. Agree or disagree, the fact that Buchanan has had six New York Times bestsellers bears witness to his appeal.
PACIFIC CRUCIBLE: WAR AT SEA IN THE PACIFIC, 1941-1942, by Ian Toll, is a must-read for everyone who loved watching the Spielberg/Hanks miniseries “The Pacific,” now available on DVD. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, they began the largest naval war in history. America was weakened by the tremendous loss of ships and lives, and struggled to regain both strength and confidence. The shift to Naval air power, the skill of the code breakers, and the leadership of Admiral Nimitz are all brought to life in this action-packed work.
FATAL CROSSROADS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE MALMEDY MASSACRE, by Danny S. Parker, also illuminates a conflict of the Second World War, in this case, the 1944 Battle of the Bulge. On December 17th, 1944, the U.S. Army’s 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion was attacked by a German SS tank column. Out gunned and out maneuvered, the Americans surrendered, only to be led to a nearby field in Malmedy, Belgium and slaughtered. Over eighty of the prisoners were killed. In the subsequent trial, the Germans claimed they fired at captives trying to escape; the Americans testified it was cold blooded murder. How the case was tried, and perhaps bungled, is a story in itself.
Of course, you don’t have to be a guy to read and enjoy these books; but you do have to be pretty tough.
Michall Jeffers is an accomplished Cultural Journalist and an avowed bibliophile. She writes extensively, both in print and online. Her eponymous cable TV show is syndicated throughout the tri-state area, and features celebrity interviews, reviews, and commentary. Michall is a voting member of National Book Critics Circle. www.michalljeffers.com
