Underrated Reads

Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97) -Robert W. Stock

Posted on March 28, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jay Gendron) Me and the Times is the story of Robert Stock's journey from humble beginnings to the position of NYTimes editor and columnist. It is chronological, for the most part, but takes many detours into seemingly random musings about famous people he met along the way. Stock is a self-effacing…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs | Tagged journalism, memoirs | Comments Off

Nein, Nein, Nein!: One Man’s Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust – Jerry Stahl

Posted on March 22, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Why stay in this country, listening to mere Proud Boy-esque neo-Nazis, when you could go to the source, to Poland and Germany, and experience the birthplace of actual Nazi-Nazis? How better to soak up fascist antibodies?” There was more to it though. Novelist and screenwriter Jerry Stahl felt his life was…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged addiction, Auschwitz, Holocaust, Nazism, tourism | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Girl From Rostov – Shitij Sharma

Posted on March 13, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Everything adds up. Every second, every lie, every breath. In the end, it all catches up with you.” "Even if you have little to do with it. Family, for instance." That’s what young Maya had to learn. Too many unanswered questions haunted her into adulthood. With the death of her uncle,…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged gangsters, India, Indian fiction, Mafia, Turkey, USSR | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited-Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France (Culinary Memoir for Francophiles and Foodies) – Craig Carlson

Posted on March 9, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) “I spoke of my favorite city and how beautiful it was…How all it needed was an American breakfast joint, and then it would be perfect!” Former Hollywood screenwriter, Craig Carlson, wanted to live his dream and open up an American diner in Paris. He fell in love with the city when…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged cooking, LGBTQ, memoir, Paris | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited-Aiming High: How a Prominent Sports and Celebrity Agent Hit Bottom at the Top – Darren Prince and Kristen McGuiness

Posted on March 6, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan) "At 15 years old, my love for baseball became a million-dollar baseball card business. By my late teens, I had turned my hobby into a successful memorabilia company. By the time I was 25, I had started Prince Marketing Group, where I was representing some of the biggest athletes and…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged drug addiction, memoirs, sports | Comments Off

The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America – Jeffrey Rosen

Posted on February 28, 2024 by J D Jung

(reviewed by JD Jung) “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. But what did the “pursuit of Happiness” mean to the founding fathers? American legal scholar, Jeffrey Rosen uncovers what the "pursuit of Happiness" truly meant to them and others, offering a compelling exploration…

Posted in American Politics, History, Non-fiction, Philosophical reads | Tagged American History, happiness, justice, philosophy, racism, slavery | Comments Off

An UnderratedRead Revisited: Shades: Detroit Love Stories – Esperanza M. Cintrón

Posted on February 25, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s the 1960s and we follow two women into a bar who just want a diversion from the hardships of everyday life. From there, Shades draws us in and takes hold of us through the entire eighteen interwoven stories. We learn the raw truth about girlfriends, lovers, family and just trying…

Posted in Revisited | Tagged Detroit, sex, short stories, urban fiction, women's fiction | Comments Off

Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family – Mark Daley

Posted on February 18, 2024 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Jay Gendron) Mark Daley takes us through a courageous, heartbreaking journey in Safe: A Memoir of Fatherhood, Foster Care, and the Risks We Take for Family. This book serves as an indictment of the foster care system in California. Mark, a foster parent himself, covers the obstacles created, and sheer incompetence exhibited, by…

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Non-fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged foster care, memoir | Comments Off