For Your Reading Pleasure...

Some books that I have recently read......

In 1870, engineer and inventor Alfred Ely Beach dug out a tunnel under a couple of blocks beneath Broadway, installed a passenger car that would take people from Point A to Point B in New York City via a pneumatic tube, and thus was born the city's first subway.  The amazing thing is that Beach was able to do this in secret!

How he pulled this off is the story that my friend Matthew Algeo tells in his latest book, "New York's Secret Subway".  It is a story of New York at a certain time in history. A city with streets clogged with people, horse drawn "omni-buses" and carriages for hire, horse shit, and sometimes even dead horses.  A city wherein it took hours to travel short distances, distances that could be traversed in minutes if a transit system such as the one Beach was proposing - and building - was put in place.

A sure thing, right?  Well, not exactly because what stood in the way of Beach, and a few other visionaries like him, were a lot of special interests, like the horse carriage trade that might be put out of business, retailers who relied on foot traffic on Broadway, and lots of crooked politicians looking to get their palms greased.  In other words, life in 1870 was a lot like life in 2025, which is one of the points that Algeo makes in this book.

In addition to Beach, the narrative in this book revolves around NYC politician and power broker William "Boss" Tweed, who you may have learned about in your high school American History classes.  Another guy is someone about whom I had never heard, Alexander T. Stewart, a retailer who might have been one of the richest people in America at the time, and who would stop at nothing to make sure that there would NEVER be anything put in place that would cause people to be taken off of the sidewalks and thus be unable to walk past his storefronts.

It is an interesting book about a subject that I knew nothing about, and Algeo tells it in a breezy and oft times humorous manner.  Like his books on Harry Truman, Grover Cleveland, Robert Kennedy (the good one; not the current one), the sport of pedestrianism, the war time Steagles, and Abe Lincoln's pet dog you learn not only about the specific subject, Beach's secret subway, but other collateral issues, like how burgeoning populations that caused people to move further out from city areas created a need for what we now call mass transit, and of course how the wheels needed to be greased with the politicians in order to get anything  accomplished.  I even learned something about one of my former employers, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, in this one.

The Grandstander gives Three Stars to this one, which, I hope will put a smile on the author's face like the one below.

Matthew Algeo and his latest

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If you are a movie buff or a fan of the 1950 classic movie, "Sunset Boulevard", or both, then here is a book for you. As the sub-title suggests, this is an in-depth study of the "behind the scenes" stuff that went into the making of that terrific movie, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025.

If you are a long time reader of this blog, you might, but most likely don't, remember that I wrote of a similar book way back in 2012.  This one was a lot better than that one.  My only quibble on this book is that it is written in an almost scholarly fashion, something like a doctoral thesis in film Studies.  However, it's not like there is anything wrong with that.  In fact, what I probably most liked about this one was the biographical details of all of the principals involved in this movie.  Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olsen, Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and even Cecil B. DeMille.  Some of this stuff I had already known, but I learned a lot about Gloria Swanson that I did not know and came away from this book with a real admiration for her.  Lupin carries it forward with a sort of "whatever became of" coda in the book for all of the featured players from this great film.

If you've never seen "Sunset Boulevard" make it a point to seek it out and watch it.  Then read this book.  Then watch the movie again. 

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

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And if you're looking for a novel for sheer entertainment purposes, some mental junk food, if you will, then I highly recommend "Parents Weekend" by Alex Finlay.

It's Parents Weekend at Santa Clara University, and four sets of parents of freshman students arrive on campus to spend a weekend with their children.  At the welcoming dinner on Friday  evening, the parents show up at the designated restaurant, but none of their children do.   What happened?  Is it a case of irresponsible college kids just being irresponsible college kids, or is there something more sinister at play here?

Well, of course there is, or else we wouldn't have a story here, would we?  The story is told from various points of view.  There is each of the kids' viewpoints, of course, but also the parents POV as well, and what a group they are:  a divorced mother who is a Very Important Person in the State Department who must travel with a team of security agents, a wealthy plastic surgeon to the rich and famous and his wife whose marriage is teetering on the rocks, a high profile judge and his wife who also are in a teetering marriage, but for a different reason, a single mother who works as a secretary in the University Dean's office so her son can go to college for free, and there is a fifth student involved, one whose parents are not in attendance, because his father is living in a halfway house after just getting out of prison after serving time as a convicted child sexual predator. Whew! Oh, and does the disappearance of these five students have anything to do with the magic death of another student earlier in the week?   The investigation into the crime, if, indeed, a crime has been committed, is led by a female FBI agent, who apparently is a recurring character in other Alex Finlay novels.

Like I said, this thriller novel is a pure entertainment piece.  Two weeks from now I probably won't be able to tell you much about it other than it was easy reading and fast paced.  I blew through it in three sittings, and I highly recommend it.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

"When Harry Met Pablo" by Matthew Algeo

In May of 1958, former President Harry Truman, his wife Bess, and their friends Sam and Dorothy Rosenman did what many retired folks do - they took a cruise vacation.   They crossed the Atlantic on the luxury liner USS Independence,  and then spent ten days vacationing in the south of France and on the French Riviera.

During that trip, they spent an entire afternoon visiting famed artist Pablo Picasso.   It was visit between two towering figures of the twentieth century who, apart from their fame, could not have been more unalike.  Truman hated modern art.  Picasso was "modern art's" foremost practitioner.  Picasso was an avowed Communist, and Truman hated Communists.  Picasso was withdrawn and private.  Truman was a gregarious and as open as could possibly be.

The meeting of these two makes for an interesting story, to be sure, but check out the subtitle of the book:  "Truman, Picasso and the Cold War Politics of Modern Art".  Indeed, about two-thirds of the book is spent on the history of Art in America, and more specifically, on how "modern art", however one might define that term, was received in America.  Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, "modern art" was used as a flashpoint for far right political extremists and as a bogeyman for communism and as something that would undermine "all that is good for America", however one might define that term.  When the forces of Joe McCarthy were looking under every bed and in every closet for Commies, the Arts did not escape this shameful episode in our history.   This crusade was especially espoused by member of the House of Representatives named George Dondero (R-Michigan).    I had never heard of him, and he is primarily remembered today, if he is remembered at all, for being one of the sponsors of the legislation that led to the creation of the St Lawrence Seaway.  However, in his zeal for going after Art and those who created it, were he alive today, he would no doubt be wearing a red baseball cap and leading the charge to ban books in schools and libraries across the United States.  It was this aspect of the book where I learned something and was again reminded of the old axiom that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.

As far as Truman meeting with Picasso, some may have seen it as the former President seizing the opportunity to give a Presidential middle finger to the forces of people such as McCarthy and Dondero.  If there was one thing that Truman hated more than communists, it was people who sought to infringe upon the most  basic of American Constitutional rights.

The other one-third of the book focuses on the Trumans' vacation.  As he did in his terrific book "HARRY TRUMAN" EXCELLENT ADVENTURE", Algeo follows the steps of the Trumans' trip.  He was able to track down people whom the President encountered on the cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, visited the same spots in France that the Trumans did, and even discovered some of the people that the President encountered while there.  For example, there is a story of the Truman party inadvertently crashing a wedding reception in one of the French towns, and Harry ended up posing for pictures with the bride and groom.

He also visited the same spots where the Truman Party and Picasso met and toured, and recreated some of the same poses that the Trumans, Rosenmans, and Picasso stood for.  Interestingly enough, any pictures of the event were personal photos taken by Sam Rosenman.  There were no news photographers present.  The visit itself was barely noted in American newspapers at the time, and David McCullough's massive and definitive biography of Truman makes no mention of it all.  Can you imagine if a visit by the Clintons, Bushes, or Obamas was made to an artist of such status (say, Taylor Swift?) took place today?   The world would be bombarded by news coverage of such an event.

The Trumans never undertook another such vacation again.  The following year, the Rosenmans invited them to join them on a trip to Japan.  Harry declined saying "I would love to, but I don't dare."  As the President who authorized the use of atomic weapons against Japan, he felt that he would be less than welcome in that country.  Kind of sad when you think about it.

I loved the scene that Algeo used to close the book.  It was of himself waiting in an automobile dealership while his car was being serviced.....

"Decorating the drab gray walls of the waiting room are two generic abstract paintings, black-and-gray squiggles on white canvas, no doubt purchased from a wholesaler who specializes in furnishings for such public spaces.  Modern art is mundane now.  Some would argue that it's not even modern anymore."

As with all of Algeo's books, I learned a lot by reading "When Harry Met Pablo", and I learned it by reading this most entertaining account of a little known aspect of Presidential history.  History can be taught in an entertaining and informative manner,  It does not have to be delivered in massive, drab, and forbidding historical tomes.  If you type the name "Matthew Algeo" in the search box of this blog, you will find my reviews of his other books.  All are worth reading.

The Algeo Catalog

Every one of them a damn good read!

I give "When Harry Met Pablo" Three and One-Half Grandstander Stars.

"All This Marvelous Potential" by Matthew Algeo

In October, 1963, after reading a New York Times article about the impoverished conditions among the people living in the coal mining Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky, President John F. Kennedy announced that he would be visiting that area in December, 1963 and see for himself the conditions described in that Times story.  Obviously, that trip was never taken.  In his first State of the Union Address the following January, President Lyndon Johnson announced the intention of his Administration to declare a War on Poverty.  This led to the development of the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and soon federal funds were flowing into areas like eastern Kentucky, funds to be used to improve roads, build schools and hospitals, and provide job training for those who lived there.

In February, Senator Robert Kennedy of New York announced that he would be making a two day visit to the counties of eastern Kentucky.  Partly, the trip was Kennedy's wish to make good the unfulfilled promise that his brother had made to the area in 1963, and as Chairman of a the US Senate Subcommittee on Poverty, Kennedy intended to hold hearings in the area to see just how and if the War on Poverty was working for the coal miners of eastern Kentucky.  The trip would also act as a gauge for Kennedy's yet undeclared candidacy for President in 1968.  If he were to unseat a sitting President of his own Party and win a general election in November, he would have to rely very much on the support and the votes of poorer and lower class white voters, such as those of eastern Kentucky to be successful.  Ironically, these were the very same voters that another candidate in 1968, segregationist George Wallace, was relying on for support, and, in an ironic twist of electoral fate, the same voters that were sought out by and voted for Donald Trump almost fifty years later.

In 2017-18, author Matthew Algeo went to eastern Kentucky and followed the exact same itinerary that Kennedy followed in 1968.  He visited with many of the same people whom Kennedy saw and talked with then, visited the same homes and one room school houses that Kennedy did, and saw that the living conditions that Kennedy saw, have not, shockingly, changed all that much in the Appalachians.  (He even learned how to pronounce it.  Is it Appa-LAY-chian or Appa-LATCH-ian?  Apparently, this depends pretty much on from which side of the Mason-Dixon line you come.)

You learn about a lot of things reading this book in addition to Kennedy's trip and his politics.  You learn about the industry of strip mining and how it had ravished the land (a beautiful part of our country that President Kennedy felt had "all this marvelous potential") environmentally, how coal operators and mine owners profited while the residents and the workers continued to live in poverty.  You learn if the War on Poverty actually worked, which it did until, for varied reasons, most of them political, it didn't.  You also meet many heroes in this book.  Among them are newspaper editors, schoolteachers, a group of people known as the Appalachian Volunteers, and you learn the sad and poignant story of a courageous Kentucky high school student named Tommy Duff.  And it's not all one sided.  Algeo gives voice to one Dave Zegeer, an executive for Bethlehem Steel who spoke on behalf of the coal industry during Kennedy's hearings.  And even some of RFK's warts are exposed as well.

Algeo also weaves in some interesting stories of other people who were a part of the political landscape at the time, such as the aforementioned George Wallace and the very tragic story of his wife Lurleen (spoiler alert:  Wallace does NOT come out looking good in this one).  Even 18th century founding father Thomas Paine has a role to play in this story, and trust me, it's a relevant one.  Like all of Algeo's books (just type "Matthew Algeo" in the search box at the top of this blog page, and you will find all of my prior posts on those books), this one is fascinating, interesting, and very readable.  I finished it in two days.

Eastern Kentucky remains to this day one of the poorest areas in the country.  It begs this question in my mind:  If things haven't changed in the eastern Kentucky Appalachians over the last fifty-two years, have they really changed anywhere for anybody?

I was a junior in high school in 1968 when Robert Kennedy was killed.  After reading this book, I find that fifty-two years later, I can still be inspired by him.  Here is one of the things he said when addressing a group of those high school students on that trip to Kentucky:

"You can just pass through this existence and pass through life and not have made a difference. Or we can try to change the course - maybe not change the course of our whole country but change the course and change the lives of many, many people."

"All This Marvelous Potential" gets Four Stars from The Grandstander.

To Absent Friends - Al Wistert

Al Wistert

1920-2016

Former Philadelphia Eagles lineman Al Wistert died yesterday at the age of 95.  I am sure that older Eagles fans throughout the eastern half of Pennsylvania are mourning the loss of this gentleman, but his passing is being noted in The Grandstander due to the fact that Wistert was the last surviving member of the NFL's 1943 wartime combination/merged team of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.  Known in the Official NFL record books as simply "Phil-Pitt", they were more commonly known then and are remembered now - if they are remembered at all - as the "Steagles".  Amazingly, for all its avariciousness, the National Football League has never trademarked or licensed the name "Steagles", so this historical footnote of an NFL franchise is not officially recognized by the name for which it is known.

For more on this team, I refer you to a terrific book by Matthew Algeo called "Last Team Standing".  I wrote about it in depth when I first read it back in 2011:

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-reviews-last-team-standing-and.html

The New York Times obituary for Wistert told a great story about what happened following the 1949 NFL Championship game:

When the Eagles defeated the Rams in the 1949 N.F.L. championship game, the team’s management threw a victory banquet at the Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. But the players’ rewards did not include championship rings.

As Wistert told it in Gordon Forbes’s “Tales From the Eagles Sidelines” (2002): “They gave us these Zippo cigarette lighters. They didn’t even have our names on them or anything else about the championship. I left mine at the table.”

RIP Al Wistert, the Last of the Steagles.

"Abe & Fido" by Matthew Algeo

One of my favorite authors is Matthew Algeo, and while not all of his books are about little known facets of the history of American Presidents, his best books cover that subject.  Previous books about Grover Cleveland ("The President Is A Very Sick Man") and Harry Truman ("Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure") have been top-notch, and with "Abe & Fido", Algeo adds to his list of Presidential Historical extra-base hits.

Has any President, has any person, for that matter, been written about more that Abraham Lincoln?  What more could possibly be told about the life of our 16th President?

Well, did you know that he had a pet dog named Fido?  Did you know that he had a life long love of animals, and that he may well have been a pioneer in the field that we know today as Animal Rights? I didn't either, but Matthew Algeo has done the research and has written this most enjoyable little book that not only gives you Fido's story, but gives you additional insight into Lincoln's character, insight that probably should not be too surprising given what we already know about Abe.  You will also learn a lot about the idea of pets throughout the course of history, particularly during the mid-nineteenth century.

If you love Abe Lincoln - and who doesn't? - if you like dogs - and who doesn't? - and if you have ever owned a pet, you really should read this book.  You will really enjoy it.

Matthew Algeo sums it up best when he states in the book that "much about Abraham Lincoln's life is shrouded in myth, mystery, and controversy - even his pet dog.  I merely want to tell the story of an ordinary dog and his extraordinary master, living through turbulent times.  Abraham Lincoln once loved a yellow mutt named Fido very much, and that mutt returned his master's affection in kind."

Very enjoyable book.

The Books of 2014

One of the (many) joys of retirement is having the time to read as many books, and as many kinds of books as you want.  In 2014, I read 43 books.  Yes, I actually keep track of such things.  And, yes, I will confess that there were some, but not many, among those 43 books, that I either skimmed, or never finished, because, I am doing this for my pleasure, and if I find I'm not enjoying it, I toss it!

Anyway, looking back at the list one more time, here are some recommendations for you, just in case you missed them the first time around, or if perhaps I didn't mention them in an earlier Grandstander post.

Non-Fiction

"Their Life's Work" by Gary W. Pomerantz.  A book about the Pittsburgh Steelers dynastic teams of the 1970's.  If you are a life-long Steelers fan and think that there is nothing more that could possibly be said about these teams (as I did), think again.  It has been called the football version of Roger Kahn's classic "Boys of Summer", and a higher compliment could not be paid.   You will gain new respect for Chuck Noll and Joe Greene after reading this.  A definite MUST READ for football fans in general and Steelers fans in particular.

"One Summer - America, 1927" by Bill Bryson.  The always entertaining Bryson takes a look of momentous and (seemingly) mundane events that occurred over the course of the summer of 1927.  Fascinating, informative, and immensely readable.

"Pedstrianism" by Matthew Algeo.  A look at a spectator sport that swept America in the late 19th century, made celebrities of the athletes, and even led to the use of performance enhancing drugs, but then disappeared from the landscape of the American sporting scene almost as quickly as it appeared.  

"Where Nobody Know Your Name" by John Feinstein.  A look at life in baseball's minor leagues over the course of one season.  Feinstein focuses on about a dozen minor league folks: players, managers, an umpire, and even a broadcaster.  Fabulous book that will reinforce your knowledge, in case you've forgotten it, that ANY player who makes it to the Major Leagues has truly earned it.


"FDR's Funeral Train" and "The Hidden White House" by Robert Klara.  Remarkably detailed and endlessly fascinating books on Presidential history by Klara.  The first one describes the funeral train that left Warm Springs, GA in April 1945 with the dead body of President Roosevelt and traveled to Washington DC and Hyde Park NY and back to Washington in the space of four days, and how one Presidency ended and another began.  The second describes the renovation and rebuilding of the White House that took place during the Truman Administration from 1949-52.

Fiction

I read a number of novels over the course of the year, including those from perennial favorites Jonathan Kellerman, John Sandford, Jeffery Deaver, Carl Hiaasen, and even Agatha Christie, but I want to focus instead on the works of Max Allan Collins.

I have written about the incredibly prolific Collins in this space on many occasions.  I first discovered him in 2013 when I read one of his "historical mysteries" called "The Titanic Murders", and I have been hooked ever since.  He has written literally hundreds of novels and short story collections, and, frankly, not all of them are to my taste, but I enjoy his aforementioned historical mysteries, and I absolutely love his series of of private detective novels involving the character of private eye Nathan Heller.

Heller started as a Chicago police officer in the early 1930's and then became a PI. The stories are written as first person "memoirs" of Heller's, and they recount his numerous cases involving real historical figures such as Al Capone, Frank Nitti, John Dillinger, Huey Long, Bugsy Siegel, Charles Lindberg, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Ruby, and Jack and Bobby 
Kennedy (yes, Heller gets involved in the JFK assassination!).  You have to suspend disbelief when you consider that ONE guy could be involved in the investigation of seemingly every major crime of the twentieth century, and even Collins agrees that this is ridiculous, but once you do, you are in for some very entertaining reading.

In 2014, I read ten books by Collins.  Six of those were Nate Heller novels.  In all, Collins has written fifteen Nate Heller novels and published three collections of Heller short stories. I have read all but four of those novels and all of the short story collections, and my goal for 2015 is to finish reading the Heller Canon in its entirety.

You don't have to read these novels in order of publication, but if you want to start, I would suggest that you start with the first one, "True Detective", wherein Nate gives you a lot of his biographical detail which is helpful as you read subsequent novels.  After that, you can pretty much dive in anywhere along the way.

If you like mystery and detective fiction, you won't be sorry.

Here's to great reading for everyone in 2015!

Book Review: "Pedestrianism" by Matthew Algeo

Have you ever heard of Edward Payson Weston or Dan O'Leary?  How about the Astley Belt? Does the term "six-day" mean anything to you?

Well, I never had either, nor did I know what a "six-day" was until I read the newest book by Matthew Algeo:

Note the sub-title: "When Watching People Walk Was America Favorite Spectator Sport". Yes, this a book about a sport known as pedestrianism and for a brief period of time, from the early 1870's to the mid-1880's, pedestrianism was the number one, and a case can be made it was the first, major spectator sport in America.  Watching people walk in arenas over a six day period (hence, the term six-days) was a craze in the United States and in Great Britain as well. Weston and O'Leary were the biggest stars and the fiercest rivals in the sport.  They were the Palmer-Nicklaus or Ali-Frazier of the late nineteenth century.  The Astley Belt was a prize for which pedestrians competed for and prized every bit as much as athletes of today seek a Lombardi Trophy, a Stanley Cup, or a Green Jacket. 

How did such a sport came into existence?  Well, increased industrialization in United States and Britain led to a new concept among people, leisure time, and the people began to fill that time by paying to watch people walk.  Top line pedestrians earned, what in today's dollars, would equate to hundreds of thousands of dollars. They earned additional money from product endorsements, and were pictured on trading cards long before baseball players were.  And if you think the first great African American athlete in America was Jack Johnson or Jesse Owens or Joe Louis, you would be wrong.  That honor goes to pedestrian from Boston named Frank Hart.  And just to prove that everything old is new again, pedestrians were accused of taking performance enhancing substances (coca leaves, in this case) and the sport was also beset with problems related to gambling and accusations of tanking in races - and, in fact, gambling was among the chief issues that led to the undoing of the sport (along with the introduction of bicycle racing and, of all things, baseball).  So Barry Bonds and Pete Rose had their precursors way back in the late 19th century.

A lesson to be learned from this book, I think, is that nothing lasts forever.  Pedestrianism, America's first great spectator sport, took hold in the early 1870's and then pretty much disappeared by the early 1890's.  Similarly, boxing and horse racing, were once the preeminent sports in America, and are pretty much niche sports today.  So, the Sport of Football, now being beset with safety concerns, should not think that the same fate could not befall it as well.

As much as it sheds a light on this now obscure sport and its practitioners, the book also gives a look at life and social mores in a now long gone time in America.  Through the wonders of Facebook, I feel that I have come to "know" Matthew Algeo, and I am hoping that his promotional tour for "Pedestrianism" will bring him to Pittsburgh sometime this year so I can meet him in person.  This is his fourth book, I have read them all, and I highly recommend them all....

"Last Team Standing" - about the wartime combine of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, or "Steagles".

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-reviews-last-team-standing-and.html

"Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure" - about a cross country drive that the former President and his wife took, alone, shortly after he left the White House.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-review-harry-trumans-excellent.html

"The President Is A Sick Man" - about a secret operation to remove a cancerous tumor from the mouth of President Grover Cleveland.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-president-is-sick-man.html

We also like Matthew Algeo because, even though a native of the Philadelphia area, in 2013 he became, again through the magic of Facebook, a Pirates fan, and while living in Ulan Bator, Mongolia (his wife Allyson serves in the United States Foreign Service), he proudly Raised the Jolly Roger in the Square in front of the Mongolian capital.

So, I ask, how can we not support this newest book from Mr. Algeo?

This Just In From Mongolia....

Back on September 4, I wrote of friend Matthew Algeo, author and lifelong Phillies-Fan-Turned Pirates-Fan (for this season, anyway) now living in Ulaanbaatar.Mongolia.  

http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-jolly-roger-flies-in-ulaanbaatar.html

Thanks to the initiative of friend David Cicotello, a Jolly Roger flag was dispatched to Matthew, and this past Friday, the Jolly Roger did indeed fly in Ulaanbaatar.

That is Matthew Raising the Colors in Sukhbaatar Square in front of Government House, where the Mongolian Parliament meets, which I guess would make this the equivalent of the Capitol Building in Washington DC.  The statue you see in the center of the building depicts Mongolia's greatest national hero, Genghis Kahn.

When Matthew posted these pictures on Facebook's Pirate Chat the other night, some followers said it was absolutely the coolest thing that they had ever seen on Pirate Chat.

Thank you, Matthew, and here's hoping the Buccos give you many more reasons to parade in Sukhbaatar Square in the weeks ahead!

The Jolly Roger Flies in Ulaanbaatar!!

I had a very cool experience while watching the Pirates secure their 81st win of the season last night in Milwaukee.

As I watched the game, I was making comments on the "Pirate Chat" Facebook page.  At one point, along about the seventh inning with the score tied 2-2, the following comment popped up under one of my posts:

Matthew Algeo For some dumb reason AFN is carrying the Tigers-Red Sox game instead of the Pirates-Brewers game. I'm keeping track of the Pirates through your updates, Bob!


For those who don't know, Matthew Algeo is an author that I have read for a couple of years. He is from Philadelphia, and he currently is living in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  That's it up there atop this post.  His wife is an American diplomat who is currently serving at the American Embassy in Mongolia.  At that point, I began posting a play-by-play of the game.  From my sofa to Mongolia.  What a world in which we live!

After the game, Matthew hoisted a shot of Mongolian vodka and the Jolly Roger as the Pirates assured themselves of their first non-losing season since 1992.  He also went on Facebook to proclaim that he, a life long Phillies fan, is now frantically rooting for the Pirates to make it to the World Series. (Actually, I think it was a theoretical shot of vodka, since it was 11:00 in the morning in Ulaanbaatar.)

Now, he did not ask me to do this, but in return for that loyalty, I will also take the time to recommend that you read any or each of his three very excellent books:

"Last Team Standing" - about the wartime combine of the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, or "Steagles".

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-reviews-last-team-standing-and.html

"Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure" - about a cross country drive that the former President and his wife took, alone, shortly after he left the White House.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/08/book-review-harry-trumans-excellent.html

"The President Is A Sick Man" - about a secret operation to remove a cancerous tumor from the mouth of President Grover Cleveland.

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-president-is-sick-man.html

All very interesting and entertaining books.

Book Reviews: "Last Team Standing" and "Hound Dog"

OK, not one, but two, book reviews for your pleasure today.

The first is "Last Team Standing" (2006) by Matthew Algeo, a guy who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. The sub-title of this book is "How the Steelers and Eagles - The Steagles - Saved Pro Football During World War II." Steelers fans over a certain age, say, 55 or so, may have some recollection of the fact that during the years of WW II the Steelers and Eagles combined to form one team in 1943 as a matter of war time urgencies. In the NFL Official history and records, that team is known as "Phil-Pitt." In Philadelphia, and the Philly part of this combo was the dominant partner, the team was still referred to as the "Philadelphia Eagles," but in Pittsburgh and around the country (at least that part of the country that cared about pro football), the team became known as the "Steagles." It should be noted that to this day, the NFL does not acknowledge the name Steagles as anything but a nickname. (In 2004, some enterprising fan registered the name "Steagles" as a trademark, something I am amazed that the money hungry NFL never did.)

The Steagles were comprised of players from two teams that pretty much stunk for their entire histories up to that point, but in that 1943 season, they surprised everyone, including themselves, to stay in the hunt for the Eastern division title up until the next to last week of the season and finish with a 5-4-1 record. This book is the story of that unlikely season.

Perhaps an even more interesting part of the book is how Algeo tells how the NFL was affected by the manpower shortage brought about by WW II. Everyone knows about major league baseball during the war, about the players (Feller, Williams, DiMaggio etc.) served and lost time from their careers, but to my knowledge that story has never been told to any great extent about pro football during that time. In all, 638 NFL players served in the armed forces during the war (the League only had 330 total roster spots in 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked), and 19 NFL players were killed in action.

Algeo tells the story of how the NFL fit into the American landscape during the war, and how it struggled for survival during those years, and actually thrived when not everyone figured that it would.

The post-script of the book takes place at Heinz Field during Steelers-Eagles exhibition game in 2003. I was not aware of this at the time, but Dan Rooney staged a "turn back the clock" night for that game to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Steagles' 1943 season. Six living members of the Steagles were introduced and honored at halftime that night. A nice touch.

Oh, and here is a little known fact that Algeo talks about. The original franchise that Art Rooney was granted for Pittsburgh by the NFL is NOT the beloved Black & Gold that the Steelers Nation of today adores. No, that franchise is now the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Steelers of today, the Steelers with the six Lombardi Trophies, was originally from Philadelphia. I'll not spell out the details here, but it's true. You can look it up.


The second book is "Hound Dog, the Leiber and Stoller Autobiography" by, naturally, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The recent death of Jerry Leiber prompted me to check this 2009 book out of the library. I wrote about Leiber and Stoller at the time of Jerry's death last month, so I won't belabor it here.

I will say that it is a fascinating tale. Leiber and Stoller met as teenagers in Los Angeles in the late 1940's and for over sixty years, their's was a musical partnership that contributed so much to popular music, rock & roll, and rythm and blues. As one critic put it, it would be hard to imagine what American popular music and culture would be like if Leiber and Stoller had never met.

One thing amazed me about them. Throughout the book, they told stories of how they needed to come up with songs at a moment's notice, and were able to do so. For example, they sat at a piano and wrote "Hound Dog" in less than twenty minutes, and the book is full of stories like that. I am in awe of truly creative people.

Incidentally, the "Hound Dog" that Leiber & Stoller wrote for blues singer Big Momma Thornton, was very different from the "Hound Dog" that Elvis Presley recorded and that we all know so well. In fact, Leiber & Stoller never much cared for Elvis' version. That didn't stop them from cashing the checks, however. It didn't stop them from loving Elvis, either, and the stories dealing with Elvis in the book are great.

Book Review: "Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure"

In June of 1953, a recently retired executive and his wife got in their brand new car, just the two of them, and embarked on a road trip that covered several states, 19 days, and over 2,500 miles. Just another retired couple taking a long vacation to sight see and visit friends and family, right?

Hardly, because the couple in question was the recently-left-office President of the United States, Harry Truman and his wife, Bess. Author Matthew Algeo has written a fascinating and entertaining book, "Harry Truman's Excellent Adventure" (2009), that chronicles the Trumans' road trip. Not only is it an interesting historical account (hey, this is Harry Truman , one of the great Presidents we're talking about here), but it is also an interesting travelogue, and a commentary on how America and the Presidency, or, rather, the Ex-Presidency, has changed over the last 60 years.

Imagine, if you will, if Bill and Hillary or George W. and Laura decided to pack up a car and ramble about the country for three weeks with no security detail, no entourage, all by their lonesomes. Unimaginable, right? Well, in 1953, Harry Truman left office with no job, no personal fortune (not even a small nest egg), and no presidential pension, only a $111/month Army pension (interestingly, Truman got a pension for serving as an enlisted man for a few years during WW I, but nothing for serving 7+ years as Commander-in-Chief), no government expense account to support an office staff. Pretty bleak. That, however, was pretty much the way it was with ex-Presidents back then, and that was pretty much OK with Harry Truman.

After a few months in retirement, Harry accepted an offer to deliver a speech in Philadelphia, and he and Bess decided to drive there from Independence, MO. During that trip they visited and sometimes stayed with friends, ate anonymously (sometimes) in roadside diners and family owned restaurants, and stayed in cheap motels, ans even got pulled over by a PA state trooper on the PA Turnpike! While they were sometimes able to remain incognito on the trip, they usually were recognized and were warmly greeted by the folks that they encountered. Algeo retraces the trip, and re-visits the places that Harry and Bess visited, and talks to the people that they encountered, and gives you a fascinating look at America before there were Holiday Inns, Wal-Marts, McDonald's, and big box retailers. You also get to encounter two young US Senators who had big things ahead of them, Jack Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, and you get to learn some insights, through Harry's eyes, on people such as Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Herbert Hoover.

By 1958, Congress realized that former Presidents should not be near indigent, and passed the first law that granted a pension and expenses to ex-Presidents, and after the Kennedy assassination in 1963, Secret Service protection was continued for ex-Presidents and their wives as well. At that time, these were relatively modest sums of money, but we all know how that has worked out since then. When Bill Clinton was in office, there was a point when there were five Formers (as they apparently refer to themselves) still alive, and the cost of Secret Service protection alone amounted to over $20 million a year.

Truman never accepted high paying figurehead jobs or Board of Directors positions (and he was offered such opportunities). He felt that it commercialized the Presidency and was undignified. Again, we know how it works today. Algeo gives the credit, if that's the right word, to Gerald Ford for turning the Post-Presidency into a gold mine. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton received, and receive, millions for speaking engagements. Ironically, the one Former who was most like Harry in how he operated during his Ex-Presidency was Richard Nixon who was one of two politicians that Truman truly hated (the other was some local Missouri pol).

This is not a long and ponderous historical tome, but an entertaining and most readable book that chronicles a small portion of the life of one of the twentieth century's great figures, and shines an interesting light on an America that was and is no more.

By the way, regular readers may recognize the name of Matthew Algeo. He is also the author of the book "The President is a Sick Man" about a secret operation performed on President Grover Cleveland back in 1893. I wrote about that book in The Grandstander back in July. He comes up with some amazing chronicles about our Presidents. I can't wait to see what he might have up his sleeve for the future.

Book Review: "The President Is A Sick Man"

OK, until I read this book, this is what I knew about Grover Cleveland:

He was the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms as President.

He was married in the White House to a MUCH younger woman.

He was rumored to have fathered an illegitimate child prior to becoming President.

That's it; that's the list.

However, on July 1, 1893, four months into his second administration, he boarded a private yacht in Long Island Sound, and, effectively "disappeared" for five days. While on that yacht, a 19th century "dream team" of surgeons performed an operation and removed a cancerous tumor from the mouth of the President of the United States. Two months later a Philadelphia newspaper reporter named E.J. Edwards came up with the scoop of the century and reported that this surgery took place. The administration denied that this was so, and Edwards was pretty much vilified by the rest of the press. And these events occurred while the nation was in an economic depression while Cleveland was battling Congress to abandon the Silver Standard and return to the Gold Standard (remember that from your US History classes?).

Author Matthew Algeo writes a fascinating tale about this entire episode. In a day of 24 Hour News, where every Presidential move is reported upon endlessly and in never ending detail, it is hard to imagine that such an event could take place in such secrecy.

If you are a Presidency and/or a history buff, or just like a good story, you will find this book most interesting.

Oh, and as for the young wife....Frances Folsom was 21 years old when she married 49 year old President Grover Cleveland. She remains to this day the youngest First Lady in history, and the only First Lady to give birth while in the White House, which she did three times. She was also the first Presidential widow to remarry, and was the only one to do so until Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis.

Fun facts for today!