Sunday, January 16, 2011

#3: The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven: How a Ragtag Group of Fans Took the Fall for Major League Baseball by Aaron Skirboll

Recently, Major League Baseball has been embroiled in a drug scandal related to steroid use by a number of players. Mostly lost in all of the discussion about steroids is that this is not the first major drug scandal in baseball. While I am not old enough to remember what went on in baseball in the 1980's, it seems after reading this book that MLB was able to do a much better job of sweeping the scandal under the rug for a variety of reasons, probably starting with the fact that cocaine is considered a recreational drug rather than a performance-enhancer.

In The Pittsburgh Cocaine Seven, Aaron Skirboll investigates how in a scandal that included several star players admitting to cocaine use, none were convicted of any crimes, and few faced any punishment from the league amounting to more than a slap on the wrist.

Early on, Skirboll describes the prevalence of cocaine use in society. Baseball players used cocaine not just because they were rich, but because many other people also did and because they had a lot of down time during road trips. The drug was considered by many to be harmless and not addictive, which is incomprehensible to me after the many lessons of the evils of drugs that I went through in school. Skirboll also connects the rise of cocaine use to the larger history of baseball, in which drug use has been commonplace for decades as players took any substance provided to them by doctors and trainers so that they could stay on the field and reenergize themselves during long seasons. He describes the use of painkillers, amphetamines and other drugs by players dating back for decades.

Skirboll tells the story by focusing not just on the players, but also on the ordinary people involved in the saga. He begins with Kevin Koch, who worked as the Pittsburgh Pirate Parrot mascot for several years, fulfilling the dream of many people of becoming closer to their heroes. He goes on to tell the stories of others who became close to professional baseball players in a variety of ways, and how these men got into supplying the players with drugs. He points out that most were not doing it to get rich, as the players were notorious for being cheap, but for the prestige of being associated with the athletes.

Skirboll's book contains extensive research. Besides looking at the details that came out of the trials of the seven men prosecuted by the government, he interviewed many of the principal figures, including the men themselves, family members, law enforcement, lawyers and professional baseball insiders. The result is a thorough look at the proceedings that was very interesting to read.

The most disturbing aspect of the book was the clear parallels between this and the steroid scandal. In this case, exactly as would occur 15-20 years later, figures such as managers and front office personnel ignored the obvious signs until public pressure mounted to the point that they had to be dealt with. It seems that while the villains sometimes change, many things will stay the same.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

#2: In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks by Adam Carolla

In this book, Adam Carolla explains how guys should live their lives. I can't think of a whole lot to say about this book, so I am going to keep it short and simple.

Carolla starts by describing his early life and how he got into comedy. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley with divorced parents, never excelling in school with the exception of football. After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs, mostly in construction, before breaking into comedy. He illustrates his change in lifestyle by including a copy of his social security statement, showing his income rising from near zero into the millions in a short period of time.

The remainder of the book is Carolla's description of what is wrong with society today. It takes the form of a series of lists, with the points of the lists being explained in more detail. For example, under Movies, he explains why he thinks Little Miss Sunshine, Lost in Translation and all of Tyler Perry's movies are overrated, while Fargo, Saving Private Ryan and Election, among others, are underrated. He does this for a variety of subjects such as music, cell phones and restaurants.

I was definitely amused by this book, but it is not something that is going to stick with me for very long. It was a quick read, and a good way to pass some time during vacation.

#1: At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

It's time to try out my book reviewing skills again - the goal is a total of 52 by the end of the year. Reading the books is definitely easier than keeping up with the reviews.

If you are unfamiliar with the writing of Bill Bryson, he is very inquisitive, and it shows up in his work. The good side of this is that you learn a lot of interesting trivia by reading his books. He also has the tendency to go off on tangents, which is very evident in At Home: A Short History of Private Life.

In this book, Bryson uses a tour of his house to describe the development of many things we take for granted today. For example, the chapter about the bathroom describes the history of hygiene and the chapter on the kitchen describes how the way people eat has evolved over time. Bryson's thorough research answers questions such as why salt and pepper are the most prevalent spices. He also looks into the lives of numerous people who contributed to the way we live, both famous and obscure.

Much of Bryson's research focuses on England, where his house, a 19th century parsonage is located. He describes the story of his own house, as well as the development of urban life in London and the palatial country estates of the aristocracy. Other than England, he looks at the rise of America over the second half of the 19th century and how that led us to where we are today.

At Home was an enjoyable book to read, as I enjoy learning trivia. However, it did meander quite a bit - some of the chapters were connected only very loosely to their intended rooms. While it is not my favorite of his works, it is one I would recommend to others.