Sunday, January 24, 2010

Review of The Kennedy Assassination: 24 Hours Later

It's been a while since I have read a book about the tragic events of November 22, 1963. I was about 10 when this happened and I remember sitting from Friday November 22 through Monday November 25 watching the three network's coverage of the aftermath and Kennedy funeral on my black and white TV.

Steven Gillon's well researched book is good history and a flattering portrait of how Lyndon Johnson handled the first 24 hours of his Presidency. Johnson balanced the needs of reassuring the people of a country in shock while being sensitive to the grief of the Kennedy family and their closest supporters.

This book is an excellent read for any history buff and those not old enough to remember the shocking events of that fateful day.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

"TMZ" Style Reading

I skimmed through two celebrity style books, My Life Outside the Ring by Hulk Hogan and Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir by Kathy Griffin.

If someone puts a gun to your head and tells you that you have to read one, I'd choose the Griffin book. Griffin is very candid about her career, her fellow celebrities and she is painfully honest about her failed marriage. Griffin is an acquired taste and generates a lot of heat for her outspoken views.

Hulk's book offers very little about his wrestling career. Much of the book is his side of his failed marriage and son Nick's legal troubles after a car accident that has paralyzed a family friend. It reads like a deposition at times.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Too Big to Fail By Andrew Ross Sorkin

I've read about 8-10 books on the events around our "economic 9/11." Sorkin's book is the most readable and the best in terms of depth and breadth of coverage.

If you are a student of one or more of the following disciplines, history, business, management, politics, leadership, banking and economics, you will enjoy this book and learn a lot from it. The fate of our economy was not in the hands of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi. Instead you will read the real decision makers and leaders in our economic crisis were Hank Paulsen, Tim Geithner, Jamie Dimon and Ben Bernacke.

This book is truly a behind the scenes look at crisis management. You will read of some CEOs and government people who stepped up at the plate and some who were not up to the challenges and bailed out.

The book is over 500 pages but moves quickly. It reads like a political novel with a fascinating group of characters and personalities.