1921 THE YANKEES, THE GIANTS, AND THE BATTLE FOR BASEBALL IN NEW YORK

1921 THE YANKEES, THE GIANTS          SPATZ, STEINBERG, ALEXANDER
Posted: Sept. 7, 2013


7062596At the dawn of the roaring twenties, baseball was struggling to overcome two of its darkest moments: the death of a player during a Major League game and the revelations of the 1919 Black Sox scandal. At this critical juncture for baseball, two teams emerged to fight for the future of the game. They were also battling for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers as the city rose in dramatic fashion to the pinnacle of the baseball world.
1921 captures this crucial moment in the history of baseball, telling the story of a season that pitted the New York Yankees against their Polo Grounds landlords and hated rivals, John McGraw’s Giants, in the first all–New York Series and resulted in the first American League pennant for the now-storied Yankees’ franchise. Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg recreate the drama that featured the charismatic Babe Ruth in his assault on baseball records in the face of McGraw’s disdain for the American League and the Ruth-led slugging style. Their work evokes the early 1920s with the words of renowned sportswriters such as Damon Runyon, Grantland Rice, and Heywood Broun. With more than fifty photographs, the book offers a remarkably vivid picture of the colorful characters, the crosstown rivalry, and the incomparable performances that made this season a classic.


HUBBY'S REVIEW:

This was a book that was not just about baseball, but about what was going in the country at the time as well. Many people thought baseball would lose fans but instead more people were going to the games. Mainly because the Babe was hitting home runs. This was also about the first all NEW YORK world series. Being played in one ball park. The Yankees and Giants would share the Polo grounds. The Yankees having to pay rent but they were drawing in more people than the Giants and were the first ones to draw over a million fans. The book was full of many stories of what was going on at the time and baseball trying to over come the Black Sox Scandal. The Giants did not want to have the Yankees in there park any more so during this time is when they bought the land and started building Yankee stadium. In a few years this would hurt the Giants because the Yankees were winning championships and still bring in people. The Giants were now starting to hurt for money and not bring in as many people. A good book about baseball and the history of that time.

GARAGE SALE STALKER

GARAGE SALE STALKER                        SUZI WEINERT
Posted: Sept. 7, 2013


10813068Jennifer Shannon lives in secure, affluent McLean, Virginia, where she stumbles into danger lurking in places she thought absolutely safe. Her passion for weekend treasure hunting at local garage and estate sales pulls her into a twisted world of crime, child abuse and murder. Forced to match wits with a protagonist hell-bent on revenge, her family's safety and her own desperate situation hinge on her intelligence and resourcefulness. Nothing prepares her for the ultimate discovery, producing a startling climax.



HUBBY'S REVIEW:

Really enjoyed this story about a mom who goes to garage sales every weekend while her family sleeps. She notices that robberies around the area are from were she went yard selling. She take her thoughts to the police and finds someone who will listen to her but still does not think much of it as a lead. He goes with her one weekend and starts coming around to her way of thinking. The book also gives you the side over the ones who are doing the crime and how they got started. I thought that was a good part of the story. This book has a few twists in it and makes you think you know who it is and then there was a surprise. Don't want to say to much about that. A very good story about something that goes on every weekend. I really enjoyed the book.

Respect Yourself

RESPECT YOURSELF                                ROBERT GORDON
Posted: Sept. 7, 2013

15793499The story of Stax Records unfolds like a Greek tragedy. A white brother and sister build a monument to racial harmony in blighted south Memphis during the civil rights movement. Their success soon pits the siblings against each other, and the brother abandons his sister for a visionary African-American partner. Under integrated leadership, Stax explodes as a national player until, Icarus-like, the heights they achieve result in their tragic demise. They fall, losing everything, and the sanctuary they created is torn to the ground. A generation later, Stax is rebuilt brick by brick and is once again transforming disenfranchised youth into stellar young musicians.

Set in the world of 1960s and ‘70s soul music, Respect Yourself is a character-driven story of racial integration, and then of black power and economic independence. It’s about music and musicians—Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, and Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Stax’s interracial house band. It’s about a small independent company’s struggle to survive in an increasingly conglomerate-oriented world. And always at the center of the story is Memphis, Tennessee, an explosive city struggling through volatile years. Told by one of our leading music chroniclers, Respect Yourself will be the book to own about one of our most treasured cultural institutions and the city that created it.


HUBBY'S REVIEW:

I really enjoyed this book. This book does not just deal with the music but also what was going on in Memphis at the same time. You find out about the people who started Stax for the love of the music and a different sound. They were looking for a heart beat inside of their soul. That was one of the statements. This small record company was being run by both black & white. Together inside the Stax building musics and everyone the owners as well worked side by side. When they walk out of the building the laws of the time was they could not be together or go to the same places. That is why it was different and the sound was real. The story about Stax like Memphis is sad. Other record companies came in and took advantage of the owners through different contracts. This eventuality lead to there collapse. The music that was made there was great, for it is still popular today. Having gone to Memphis, they are proud of Stax. There is a museum there all about Stax records. There are a lot of music museums in Memphis, and at one at they all helped each other or have some other connection with each one. This a good book and you don't have to be a music fan. there is a lot of information about the history of Memphis and the U.S. inside this book. A very good book.

SUTTON PLACE

SUTTON PLACE                                          LOUISE GAYLORD
Posted: Sept. 7, 2013

18271496Just When Things Seem to be Going So Well…

…a horrific incident from Julia Fairchild’s past —one she thought had been buried long ago —comes
charging back into her life. Then a promising romantic weekend goes bad, which makes staying at
Sutton Place more than Julia can handle. So she flees her home, her family…her life. But apparently,
she can’t go far enough.

The Fairchilds were a happy family of wealthy New York stock, with two loving daughters. Until the
secrets started to surface.

The first secret was revealed when Julia was told the truth about her father. Her reaction to the
revelation sent her spinning out of control.

The second secret concerned the parentage of Julia’s sister, Ariel. How Ariel responded to the
revelation astounded the rest of the family.

Now Julia is building a superb reputation at one of New York’s finest hospitals. The future looks bright until a romantic weekend turns into a disaster. Fleeing home and family, she moves to New Mexico and starts to pull her life together.

Just when it looks like things are heading toward happily-ever-after, events in New York draw Julia
back to Sutton Place, where she learns of Ariel’s secret life and finds herself facing her worst
nightmare.
Sutton Place moves a mile a minute and never lets you see what’s coming around the next turn.


HUBBY'S REVIEW:

A wonderful book with many twists and turns. It was like an old fashion soap opera but a book. The characters are very well thought out and go along with the story. They come in and out at just the right times and lenghts. Every time I thought that I knew what was going to happen next the author took the story to a different place. I can not express my delight in such a wonderful book and story of mystery. Will be looking for this author again.

UGLY DUCKLINGS FINISH FIRST

UGLY DUCKLINGS FINISH FIRST          STACY GAIL
Posted: Sept. 7, 2013

Ugly Ducklings Finish First by Stacy GailMetal Mouth. Queen Geek. Dr. Payton Pruitt heard it all growing up. But she's over it, and attending her ten-year high school reunion is the perfect way to prove it to herself. Even if there's only one person she's interested in seeing in Bitterthorn, Texas: Wiley Sharpe.

Now a respected lawyer, Wiley didn't live down to the label Most Likely to Be Slapped with a Paternity Suit. But recent acts of vandalism suggest someone still sees him as a heart breaker, and the reunion seems a likely place to find the culprit. Instead, Wiley comes face-to-face with his old pal Payton—and is wowed not only by her transformation into a ravishing swan, but by the connection they still share.

Payton is pleased the playboy she used to tutor has grown into an honorable man, but she's too smart to fall for a guy with roots in a place she couldn't wait to leave. But while Payton is an academic genius, Wiley is the one with the PhD in pleasure, and he intends to use it to convince her to stay…


MY REVIEW:


     Ugly Ducklings Finish First was a very touching and tenderly moving story of a young woman Payton Pruitt who was a genius in school. She was 15 when she graduated if that tells you anything. She skipped two grade levels so she was called the Queen Geek, Metal Mouth but what really killed her is what she was called by the guy she had a made crush on, Wiley “Coyote” Sharpe, “Baby Brain.” Which he called her when she asked him when she mentioned that they had to set up her tutoring him in front of his friends in his Jr. Year. It crushed her and she never forgot it. Yet, she tutored him.

     She tutored him for his Jr. and Sr. year and without either of them knowing or anyone from the school they became good friends. Now though it is time for their ten year High School Reunion of Bitterthorn in Texas. Wiley was the high school jock and lady killer that only lasted with one girl maybe a week, who is now a Lawyer. Payton was the “Baby Brain” who always had her head in a book and never had a friend who is now a doctor. Life had sure changed.

     Follow them on the journey that got them to where they are today and see how the weather the storm of what may or may not have been a true friendship or something else. See where they are going and how fun it can be to get there. This is an interesting look back at all the awkward teen genes we all had and how it can and does affect us all. I totally enjoyed it.  Some very hot sizzling scenes.  Provided by netgalley.com


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