Tag / New York Times

by admin

Book 21 (of 52) – Catch And Kill

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators – Ronan Farrow

As an investigative reporter for NBC, Ronan Farrow thought he was working on just another story. Rumors of Harvey Weinstein’s misdeeds had been an open secret in Hollywood for years, but Farrow was starting to get women abused by Weinstein to break their silence and go on the record. This was bound to become his biggest story yet, until NBC mysteriously started to get cold feet, slowing his reporting and, eventually, stopping it altogether.  Farrow took the story to The New Yorker where, in step with similar reporting by the New York Times, Weinstein’s crimes were made public and led to his eventual arrest and conviction.  For his work, Farrow, along with Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey from the Times, won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.  NBC, meanwhile, found themselves under fire, both for sitting on the story in deference to Weinstein and for covering up sexual abuse in their own house.

In Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, Ronan Farrow recounts his early work with NBC trying to track down sources and evidence against Harvey Weinstein, something many journalists had tried to do previously but, for many reasons, were unable to bring to fruition.  After releasing the Weinstein story, he was able to get information on the lengths Weinstein had gone in order to stop him and the others, including berating his bosses and NBC and hiring Israeli intelligence firms to track their movements and dig up dirt on them.  He closes up the book with the aftermath and NBC, where Matt Lauer, longtime host of the Today show, was exposed and executives who covered for him and kowtowed to Weinstein were let go.

Farrow puts together a compelling, and also horrifying, story, where powerful men are able to get away with anything so long as they continue to produce profits or value for their organizations.  The publication of both his and Kantor and Twhoey’s work led into the explosion of the #MeToo movement, where women across the globe stood up against their abusers and tried to take back their power.  There’s still plenty of work to do, but I have to hope we, as a civilization, are in a better place than we were six years ago.

by admin

Prolific Authors – 3 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the 12 authors I’ve read thrice.

Kevin J. Anderson

I’ve read the 3 X-Files books he has written.

President Me: The America That’s In My Head – Adam Carolla

Adam Carolla

The former comedian and current right wing lugnut managed to get me to read three of his podcast regurgitations.

Bill Carter

The former media reporter for the New York Times delivered three behind the scenes looks at the television industry, including the transition from Johnny Carson to Jay Leno and from Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien and back again.

Max Allan Collins

Author of all entries of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins

Suzanne Collins

The woman behind a little trilogy about a young woman who upends her entire world.

Keith R.A. DeCandido

Two Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and a Spider-Man novel make up his works.

David Lagercrantz

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson wrote the first three entries in the story of Lisbeth Salander.  Following his death, David Lagercrantz continued the series with three entries (to date) of his own.

John R. Maxim

Last read in 2001, I would have liked to read more but it seems like he stopped writing.  Or they stopped publishing his work.

Kimberly McCreight

Her latest came out earlier this year, so she should be moving up the charts.

Tom Perotta Continue reading →

by jim

Our Long National Nightmare Is Finally Over

Ron Santo has been elected to the Hall of Fame.  The former Cub (and, for a brief time, White Sox) third baseman waited for years to get elected and wore the disappointment on his sleeve every time he was passed over.  Now, one year after his death, he is selected by a veteran’s committee made up by his peers.  It’s almost as if they were waiting for him to pass on before bestowing him with the honor.

Passed over for induction was former White Sox outfielder Minnie Minoso, who got a major push and support from the team and the New York Times.  Falling a few votes short, Minoso seems to be penalized for the stunt late in his “career” to become a 5 decade player, returning for a few at-bats in the late 70s and early 80s.  Which is a shame, because he was a tremendous player in his day, becoming the first dark skinned Latin superstar.  Hopefully the voters are not waiting for him to die before they will elect him to Cooperstown.