This listing does not include the many anthologies in which my work appears.
The View from Apartment Four, 2019
77 Street Press
The View from Apartment Four introduces the New York City of the 1960s, how accessible were its resources and how that changed in the post-2000 era. All this is seen from a one-bedroom walkup on the Upper West Side, which accounts for the title.
While this is a personal, first-person account it is intended to connect with the millions of people drawn to New York, to its opportunities and fame as the ultimate proving ground for fields as diverse as business, dance, music, sports, theater, and in the author’s case to writing. They all felt the need to come to New York, remaining for months and years before most eventually left. This is also about the leaving, about the conditions forcing it—seeking more space and job opportunities, less noise and dirt—and what of that New York experience they took with them.
The Name of the Game;
The Business of Sports, 1994
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Researched and written for the accounting firm of Ernst & Young under the names of two of its top executives, this book was presented as “a unique look at today’s pressure on team sports.” It positioned Ernst & Young—one of the largest professional service firms in the world, representing several major league sports teams as well as their leagues—as an expert on the subject of how finance drives team sports.
While it was published in 1994, the principles it explores are still valid. They were, however, relatively unknown to the public, when fans still believed that winning and losing were the primary concerns of front offices of team sports, when in truth turning a profit was their paramount consideration.
All this said, organizations that are successful in competition are closely related to those that turn a financial profit. This book shows exactly how this often byzantine relationship works.
Garvey, 1986
Times Books
Written with baseball player Steve Garvey, his official autobiography takes the reader back to Garvey’s childhood in Tampa, Florida, when his father drove the spring training bus for the then Brooklyn Dodgers, granting young Steve unique access to professional baseball.
While he served as a bat boy for New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Dodgers during spring training, he connected with the Dodgers, especially first baseman Gil Hodges. In deeply candid insights, Garvey tells how his youthful perception of Hodges as an all-around good guy and fan favorite set the pattern for how Steve would eventually comport himself when he reached the majors and played first base for the then Los Angeles. Ironically, Garvey’s willingness make appearances and sign autographs long after other players had left created a gap with his teammates, who were eager to limit their contact with the public.
Through countless hours of interviews, Garvey presents a rare view of a celebrity’s struggle to balance a public and private life.
Daley Thompson;
The Subject is Winning, 1983
Stanley Paul
This compelling biography of Britain’s two-time Olympic decathlon champion takes readers inside international world of track and field, a sport that has virtually disappeared from the consciousness of American fans and is in constant jeopardy as universities continually savage athletic budgets in favor of football, first in line to devour collegiate resources.
But throughout most of the rest of the world, the running, jumping and throwing events of track and field draw massive crowds and are celebrated as the essence of sport competition.
Most honored among them is the decathlon, that grueling two-day event considered the hardest test in sport, so prized that the Olympic champion is crowned the world’s greatest athlete. This book not only explores the event itself and why it is so challenging, but wraps that dramatic story around the profile of the individual who competed in four consecutive Olympics, winning gold in 1980 and 1984.
One Step from Glory;
On the Fringe of Professional Sports, 1979
Simon & Schuster
Pick up the sports section of any newspaper and you learn of the accomplishments, foibles and life styles of our most successful athletes. We know of the comings and goings of LeBron James, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Justin Verlander and Mookie Betts, and most other top players.
But pro sports are not made up of super stars, or even those whose names are familiar to serious fans. Our professional sports are mostly populated by athletes barely hanging on to their careers. This is a book about those players, about their dreams of glory and frustrations in failing to reach them.
While elite players often enjoy careers of 15 and 20 seasons, the average lifespan in the NBA is less than five years; baseball players last a little longer and football players a little less. And those seasons are generally filled with the anxiety that accompanies failure, a shocking change from early success. Nearly every athlete who becomes a professional has enjoyed nothing but stardom dating back to childhood; if not they would have been weeded out along the way.
Once most players sign that first contract, they face constant challenges to their survival. Yet they persist, rarely because of those early dreams of glory and riches but because of a love of the game that has come to define them as people. This is their story.