A Pete Rose book:



Pete cared about four things in life - Baseball, women, gambling and cars. Not sure in what order I would place them but I think baseball would be number one but ganbling would be a close second. The guy would bet on anything. Pete was a great player but a terrible human being. The book goes into detail about the shady characters he called friends who he sold out in a second to save his reputation. Pete spent the last 35 years of his life signing autographs.

His gambling problem was well known in the 60s, 70s and 80s but the press just would not report it. The fall of Rose is as outlined in detail in this book is depressing. The rise of Pete Rose is a great story. The detemination and hard work he put into becoming baseball's all time hit leader was something else. All that extra batting practice often after the game was over and into the morning hours. The guy had a great eye and a mental book on all the pitchers.

One story about the nickname Charlie Hustle. The Reds and Yankees are playing a preseason game in 1963. Pete is a rookie and is going all out - bunting, stealing and sliding head first in a preseason game. Mickey Mantle sees this and says, "Who the f&*k is this Charlie Hustle?". Pete thought it was a compliment and the name stuck.

Jim Jones and the Jonestown Massacre





This is a quick read about Jim Jones and the road to the Jonestown massacre in 1978. There are more detailed books about the subject. This one tells the story from one of the survivors (an older lady who slept through the mass suicide). Jones' psychiatric condition was way off the charts. The guy never went anywhere near a psychiatrist and he did think he was the reincarnation of Gandhi, Jesus, Buddha and Lenin. So he had it all covered and was able to convince more than enough people to follow him. The best part of the book is the final day with the murder of Congressman Ryan and then the mass suicide. The book has some good interviews with ex and family members who remained scarred to this day. Jones had access to $7.3 million and could have moved anywhere. But he had to have his little empire in the jungle. The degree of control he had over is these poor people is still both baffling and fascinating.

The Emmitt Till murder

A powerful book about the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. The book is depressing in places. The barn where he was killed still stands and the book covers the journey to get the barn declared a historic site which happened in 2023. The author is from the area and talks to a lot of people who were around in 1955 (the family of the killers did not talk to the author). A very critical look at the Mississippi Delta and a senseless murder of a 14 year old kid by two monsters.