A Reporter’s Life by Walter Cronkite
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Walter Cronkite reports many of the salient details from his life, from childhood, his marriage, to his career in newspapers and television. Chock full of memories recounted in sharp focus, Cronkite tells of his apprenticeship in news; experiencing several wars; meeting various heads of state and several U.S. Presidents; and numerous life experiences that would each qualify as “once in a lifetime”.
I thoroughly enjoyed almost the entire book, the entire portion that read as a story teller would recount a legend of grand proportion. Late in the book the anchor tells of his disappointments, first with CBS and its handling of his retirement, followed by mishandling of CBS by its board; then television in general. To the extent that the book talks about this amazing, humorous, newsworthy man, it is terrific. His laments I could do without.
There is so much that is quotable from this book that it is difficult to select a favorite. Go get this book and read it for yourself–it is worth it.
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tdrapeau Books Book
Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my absolute favorite book on designing websites with the user in mind. Far too often websites are designed from the perspective of a salesperson, a marketer, an engineer or a designer. Far too seldom are they created from the perspective of a person who will actually use the site. Steve Krug teaches from the user’s perspective, and does so without many wasted words.
The chapters in the “Things You Need to Get Right” section are my favorite, in particular Chapter 6: Street Signs and Breadcrumbs. That plus the practical advice on usability testing in Chapter 9 are worth the price of the book alone.
I recommend this book to anyone involved with making websites–you will be better at it once you adhere to the lessons in this book. I know I am.
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Road Player by Jerry Forsyth
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
Boy, this book gets right to it. Danny Diliberto is a gambler and a pool hustler whose sensational stories fill each of the 231 pages of this volume. Adhering somewhat to chronology, the book focuses on Danny’s exploits and the exploits of his fellow hustlers on the Pro Billiards Tour as well as the Johnston City tournaments. With names such as Cornbread Red, Boston Shorty and the Deacon, the figures described take on legenday proportions. Even Willie Mosconi, the king of pocket billiards, makes appearances.
Although short of a life story, Danny’s past as a lightweight boxer who trained under Angelo Dundee sets the stage for his rough and tumble existence as a road player. The scores were big, the losses bigger and danger always around the corner.
Read the book if you want to hear stories of the hustle–details of the games themselves are often vague, only giving enough detail to spice up the score at the end of the session. For the non-players out there, you’ll need to brush up on your pool jargon to follow some of these sections–but the payoff is worth it.
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Running the Table: The Legend of Kid Delicious, the Last Great American Pool Hustler by L. Jon Wertheim
My review
rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have had the good fortune to meet Danny Basavich at the Ocean State 9-Ball Championship in Providence, RI about 3 years ago. He really is a nice guy, who takes time to chat with us regular people while not playing world class pool. I did not have the opportunity to watch him hustle, although watching him beat top-class pros was almost as good.
I play some pool myself, and am somewhat immersed in the subculture. For me, the book was a lot of fun, very accurate in its portrayal of pool halls and the gambling therein. I enjoyed reading all of Delicious’ crazy exploits and his teaming with Bristol Bob.
Reading this book has inspired me to move onto the Danny Diliberto Story, by Jerry Forsyth. I’m hoping to see Delicious back out there on tour soon — he is a true character.
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tdrapeau Books Book, Book Review, Hustler, Kid Delicious, Pool
