Excellent book; I might have cut some of the historical stuff, like about Serpico, but every time Conlon went on a tangent and I was like, “Aw, get back to your experiences,” I ended up …

For a biography of one of the most enduringly controversial figures in the game, this is a real chore to get through, for two reasons: 1) too much background/historical context, that does not add to …

Usually it’s the case with true-crime books that the story is compelling, but the writing is crap.   This one’s the other way around — a well-written book that is nonetheless some of the least …

Aw.   So cute, and so funny!   Coco is my favorite, with her teeeeeeny little tiara.   (3/29/04)

Mary Wells Lawrence is so full of herself that it’s a wonder she hasn’t exploded, and the prose is the kind of forced-dizzy hostessy gushing I ordinarily hate, but it works — it’s a fast, …

I don’t like Lupica’s writing, but he selected great stories for this collection.   The Rayna DuBose article is enormously affecting.   (1/20/06)

An excellent overview; if you like higher-end true-crime writing, I highly recommend it. (10/29/03)

For a collection of this type, a lot of the writing is flat, and the essay on the ’91 Series is overwrought; it’s a strange selection, I think.   Mickey Mantle, sure.   ’86 postseason, …

Okay, as excellent as some of the inside scoop is — and you really can’t beat Calvin Schiraldi bitching, almost twenty years after that fateful World Series, “Gary Carter can suck my ass” — the …

The first Lemony Snicket.   It’s a good, fast read, but I don’t know if I’ll bother with the others.   I love Sunny, though.   (4/26/04)