Meadowdale H.S. graduation 2012
Middletown H.S. graduation 2012
Dunbar H.S. graduation 2012
Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2011 > April
April 2011
My interview with Jimmy Breslin
Jimmy Breslin is probably the most famous living New York City tabloid journalist. Breslin is now in his eighties and he is still writing. At the moment he’s writing a book about “Blago,” the rather disgraced former Illinois governor.
Breslin was writing for the New York Daily News when David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” serial killer was murdering young women in New York City. Berkowitz sent a series of creepy letters to Breslin. Then he tried to kill Breslin.
I just taped an interview with Breslin. We talked about his new biography of Branch Rickey, the man who broke the color line in major league baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
We talked about that Son of Sam summer in New York. You can hear the interview by clicking HERE:
Vick Mickunas
TweetPoor Donald Trump….
That sound of escaping hot air is Donald Trump’s presidential ambition deflating like a cheap balloon.
Trump, the real estate tycoon, reality TV star, billionaire, and author had famously leaped up onto the “birther” bandwagon and tried to claim that President Barack Obama wasn’t actually born in the USA. Trump has been bloviating that our Mr. Obama, a famous author in his own right, was really born in Kenya and if that was true it would legally disqualify him from being our leader.
Apparently, the folks at the White House have finally had enough. They just released a copy of our president’s birth certificate. I suppose they are hoping that Trump and all the other “birther” noisemakers will finally be quiet.
To read the document click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
TweetBernie Madoff: “Wizard of Lies”
“WIZARD OF LIES - Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust” (Times Books) by Diana Henriques was published today. To read a review of the book click HERE:
To read some excerpts from the book click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
Tweet“Searching for the Real Sarah Palin”
This year is starting to look like a bumper crop year for books about Sarah Palin. Maybe she’ll even run for president? Or not.
Joe McGinniss, the guy who moved in next door to the Palins in Wasilla to do his “research” will be publishing “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin” this summer. I have to admit that I do like the cover design. It looks like a spy novel…and since he moved in next door to spy on her, I suppose it is!
Vick Mickunas
TweetFormer Palin aide’s naughty book…
Gasp! Blush! A former aide to Sarah Palin is publishing a book. Here’s an excerpt from an article about it in THE MAIL:
“The intimate secrets of Sarah Palin’s marriage in a tell-all book by a former aide will be published next month.
Howard Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced today that Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin will go on sale on May 24.
The book, written by former trusted aide Frank Bailey reveals a disturbing tale of the Republican Alaska governor’s marriage and her run for the vice presidency.
It is ‘a chilling exposé of Palin and the story of one man’s slow drift from his most cherished beliefs to his ultimate redemption’, according to Howard Books.
Bailey’s book will come out before a widely anticipated book about Palin, The Rogue, by the author and journalist Joe McGinniss, which is expected to be published in September.”
As you might expect, the former aide is now being described as a “disgruntled former employee.” It sounds like quite a salacious read. Here’s another excerpt from the article:
“Critics of Bailey, who worked with Palin from 2006 to 2009 as her chief of staff, paint him as a disgruntled former employee who was bitter about being sidelined by her campaign team.
Some of the leaks about his manuscript - based on 60,000 emails exchanged between them - have revealed how Palin and her husband Todd ‘don’t talk’, she walks around their home in an open bathrobe and his laughter over a doctored nude photograph.”
This early publicity for the book appears to be working. The book won’t be out for 5 weeks but pre-orders for this slightly steaming tome were clearly surging today over at Amazon.com.
To read the entire article click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
Tweet“Three Cups of Tea” now under suspicion
Greg Mortenson wrote a memoir a few years ago called “Three Cups of Tea,” It was an inspiring story. It has sold millions of copies. Now the book is suspected of being yet another bogus memoir. The CBS program “60 Minutes” just ran a devastating story that makes the book and the author appear to be less than truthful.
Mortenson did what so many others have done previously when he found out that he was being investigated by “60 Minutes,” he tried to avoid them. That was a mistake. Watch the video of the story and make up your own mind as to whether the author merits this intensifying scrutiny and suspicion- click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
TweetThe Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City (Dayton)
April is National Poetry Month. According to a press release which just crossed my virtual desk, somebody named Kristyna Cochran has recently published a book of poetry about Dayton. The book’s title is “The Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City”. Here’s the press release:
“The Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City is a poetry chapbook focusing on the recent downfalls in the economy. The 16 poem chapbook details the trials and tribulations that the economy has set forth and what we could do to move ahead in this poverty stricken economy. This is the first book by the author. The Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City was written based off of Dayton, Ohio, however, it relates to many cities throughout the country. Every city has faced the foreclosures, bankrupts, Insurance problems, financial and education issues, and many others addressed in the book. The Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City remembers what once was and even in one poem focuses on how we can make anew. Kristyna Cochran is a new refreshing author with a different point of a vew.”
The Dwindling of a Once Prosperous City - Paperback (Feb. 27, 2011) by Kristyna Cochran
Vick Mickunas
TweetThe Son of Sam
Today I taped a radio interview with Jimmy Breslin. He’s in his 80’s now and he’s still working. Breslin has to be the most famous living New York tabloid journalist. He just published a biography of Branch Rickey, the man who broke the color barrier in Major League baseball by signing Jackie Robinson to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
We talked about Rickey and I had to ask him about some other stuff. You might recall that David Berkowitz, the deranged Son of Sam serial killer sent letters to Jimmy Breslin. Breslin was the one guy who this psychopath picked out for his communications during that period that his notorious crimes were taking place.
According to Jimmy Breslin, Berkowitz wanted to kill him, too. And it is still chilling after all these years to think about that. Breslin explained how he was lucky enough to escape being shot by Berkowitz, it was amazing to talk to him about it…I’ll let you know when that interview will be airing on WYSO.
Vick Mickunas
TweetAmazon Kindles for 25 dollars off…
Amazon.com wants everybody to have their proprietary Kindle eBook readers. In pursuit of that goal they have already cut prices several times.
Now they have a new enticement. You can buy a Kindle for the rock bottom price of 114 dollars if you are willing to put up with some special screen savers that are essentially advertisements. I’m not kidding.
For 25 dollars off the lowest current Kindle price of 139 dollars you can have a Kindle that will try to sell you products. Amazon.com, what a company!
Vick Mickunas
TweetRemembering the attack on Fort Sumter
The War between the States, the Civil War, began 150 years ago. It commenced with the shelling of Fort Sumter. To mark that official onset of hostilities here’s a fictional remembrance courtesy of Michael Goldfarb: click HERE
Vick Mickunas
TweetSpring is here for sure now…
Spring arrives on a particular day they say. The calendar declares it. But I have my own official way of deciding that the season has officially changed. Here’s how I know….
Rob my UPS guy just delivered some books. He comes by almost every day. So I can judge whether the seasons are progressing. It just happened. Rob was wearing shorts. It’s official.
Have a nice weekend.
Vick
TweetCaroline Kennedy (Compiler)
Caroline Kennedy has just published a new book, “She Walks in Beauty - a Woman’s Journey Through Poems” (Voice).
Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy (Onassis), has had a successful career of publishing books, many of which are essentially compilations of the work of other writers.
This collection of poetry is being released during April which is National Poetry Month. If you look up the listing for the book on Amazon.com it clarifies Ms. Kennedy’s function on the project. It states: “Caroline Kennedy, (Compiler)”.
Typically, Ms. Kennedy selects the works for each compilation and writes an introduction. “She Walks in Beauty” is already a top 50 bestseller over on Amazon. Nice work if you can get it!
Vick Mickunas
TweetGlenn Beck announces end of his daily Fox news show
According to an article on a New York Times blog, Glenn Beck will be ending his daily news show on Fox. To read the post click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
TweetA famous author annoyed by the airlines…
The Swedish novelist Henning Mankell just posted this message on his Facebook page:
To whom it may concern - from Henning Mankell
I am deeply, deeply sorry that it had to be canceled what I was supposed to do in Philadelphia and Washington. What happened was as follows: I woke up at 4 o´clock A.M in Sweden to fly to Frankfurt where I was to board a US Airways flight to Ph. So I did. But when I arrived in Frankfurt, the flight to Ph. was canceled - without noon telling me anything! I had to wake my assistant at 4 am that was already in US and we tried everything to find a reschedule. I was promised a seat on another plane, but in the end I did not get my seat. At that time I had to go back home and try all over again. I am not only sorry, I am also very angry with US Airways that really did not give me a chance when they canceled their flight without giving any notice, whatsoever. Anyhow, I hope to be able to meet with you another time.
Sincerely, Henning Mankell, 4th of April 2011
TweetPresident Michele Bachmann?!
Michele Bachmann is a Republican Congresswoman from Minnesota. She is also a Tea Party favorite. Bachmann has been spending a lot of time in Iowa lately. It appears that she might be considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination.
According to an article in the New York Times, Bachmann used to be a Democrat. She supported Jimmy Carter in 1976. The article goes on to state that we can blame the novelist Gore Vidal for transforming Bachmann into a Republican:
“Ms. Bachmann, who moved to Minnesota as a teenager, eagerly recounted how her Norwegian ancestors settled near Waterloo, Iowa. And she confides that she was raised a Democrat — she and her husband, Marcus, worked for Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign — but she had an awakening reading a Gore Vidal book that she found to be “mocking our founding fathers.”
To read the article click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
TweetPresident Donald Trump?!
Donald Trump is thinking about running for president. He’s questioning whether Barack Obama was actually born in the United States. Yep, the Donald is trying to act downright presidential.
I interviewed him once. It seems like a million years ago. More like twelve, or even thirteen. The Trumpster had a book out (he’s written a few). This one was called “TRUMP- the Art of the Comeback”. I think that was the title. Something close to that.
It was the story of how the Donald lost a billion dollars and then got it back. Thus, the COMEBACK!
His publicist sent me the book. I called her up and asked if Mr. Trump was doing any interviews. This was way before he was ever a reality TV star or even a potential presidential candidate. He was merely The Donald, real estate baron and man about New York.
His publicist was surprised when I asked about an interview. She told me that she would check into it. I scribbled notes on my desk calendar to remind me to keep checking. For the following month I kept calling his publicist and asking her about an interview.
After about 20 calls I finally wore her down and she agreed to set up an interview. She gave me a phone number in Manhattan to call. So I did.
A woman answered the phone. I knew it had to be the right phone number because she answered it by saying just two generic words: ‘business office”. Bingo!
I told her that I was calling to talk to Donald Trump. I told her that we had an interview scheduled and explained that I was calling from WYSO, a public radio station in SW Ohio.
She seemed rather amazed to hear it. She didn’t even seem to know about the interview being on his schedule. She put me on hold for about five minutes. Then he got on the phone. The guy who might be our next president picked up the receiver and had a conversation with me.
It wasn’t a very interesting interview. But he did give me a half hour of his time. He was polite. Every minute that passed must have been costing the poor man millions.
sigh….
Vick Mickunas
TweetMalcolm X and Dayton
Manning Marable died on Friday. He was a native Daytonian. Marable’s exhaustive new biography of Malcolm X will be published next week.
For more on this story click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
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