BOOK REPORT

JURASSIC PARK: There's something in the cups of water. Boom...BOOM! Can you see the vibrations? Maybe the powers trying to come back on? Nope Jeff, you "must read faster" because its the 'Jurassic Park' novel. Before Speilberg's self-dubbed 'Jaws 2', classic film of the golden 90's era and this generations childhood and all their vivid imagination dreams came the book by the late, great Michael Crichton. The creator of medical dominating drama 'E.R.' and the sequel to this franchise 'The Lost World'. If you thought quite possibly the greatest and most imaginative blockbuster film of all-time was epic then wait until you read this 400 page 'Jurassic World' of even more dinosaurs and soon to be extinct park-goers. Deeper, darker, dynamically different and with even more chaos, from the pictured set pieces to Ian Malcolm's slapped on a lunch-box trademark theories, after second thoughts you'll want to invest in this book. As a kid who collected dinosaur models like Ross from 'Friends' and whose greatest Christmas was when he found a T-Rex on his bed (no, not a real one, he wouldn't be able to fold the sheets (thanks mum and dad)) it isn't an overstatement when I say the Jurassic Park movie was one of the best things to happen to my youth, but it'd be nothing without Crichton and his book. Oh and I loved 'E.R.' too, it was my teenage life (even tried to write a screenplay for it), so thank you Mike. Now let's take it back to the time books ruled the earth.

STAR WARS-RETURN OF THE JEDI (SCREENPLAY): As I mentioned I've wanted (and still do) to write screenplays and like any movie fan as you can see here, instead of writing one I'm writing about them for any excuse to stay as close to the world as possible. Still from the late great Syd Field and many mores guides to actual screenplays of my personal favourite movies like 'Collateral' and 'Dog Day Afternoon' I've been studying like this was all coursework...it kind of is. This weekend however I picked up the screenplays of screenplays and the 'Star Wars' film of all 'Star Wars' films. As epic, amazing, great and gripping as the final part of the original trilogy itself this is a far more exciting read than a routine novelization. To see it all in black and white before it hit the screens and without any other directors cuts or edits is truly remarkable and an aspiring writers inspirational and educational experience. Thank you George Lucas. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

REVIEW: SOLOMON NORTHUP-TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE

5/5

A Long Write To Freedom.

The Academy Awards are about to polish off their Oscars for director Steve McQueen and his cast and crew of '12 Years A Slave', last years classic film and arguably one of the greatest movies of its moment and all-time. Great in a 'Schindlers List' necessary educational way. A film that you can't call enjoyable but one that you need to see to really take a trip through histories harrowing moments, so we can all learn from it. It's the kind of film they could show in school...when the times right. In looking for a subject to write about a movie on slavery, McQueen's wife found 'Twelve Years A Slave', the 'Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana'. This is history that is recognised today in all it's previous past over value that will last for generations and centuries to come in the future. Just like '12 Years' is a movie we all need to watch, 'Twelve Years' is a book we all need and with a beautiful wrote foreword in a book that now sees the light of every major bookstore, McQueen with this-and his film-wants to give Northup the attention and the appreciation he deserves. As one of the most inspiring figures of freedom for all, in all time.

Martin Luther King Jnr, Nelson Mandela and now Solomon. Some of the greatest men in history have been honoured the right way at the beginning of this year and they should be remembered throughout still. After Idris Elba portrayed the great Madiba in the 'Mandela-Long Walk To Freedom' movie based on the autobiography of the same name, Chiwetel Ejiofor portrayed Solomon perfectly based on his moving memoirs. The film that kept the script by the book did more than just justice to this man and now his story can be seen around the world for everybody to hear. Now, however it's only right we read all about it and pay due respect to the man that's inspired an iconic movie, because after all it's his movie. It's time to see all about the real story from the horses mouth. Additional detal of harrowing accounts like how if a slave picked less cotton than the day before they would be lashed, whilst if they picked even more they'd be expected to match that quota with the following days work. The story of how a freeman was-with horrific cruelty-kidnapped and sold into slavery, where he was brutally humiliated and beaten into the sickest submission before he found his lasting emancipation over a decade later. After 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' on slavery came Northup's novel addition to the bookshelf and library of life history.

More than a great film acting like a documentary, moving you to tears of heartbreak, its so harrowing to actually see it all there in black and white. Accompanied with small sketches and wrote in the old style of its time, we still can feel every emotion and occurrence of Solomon's sharing. An accomplished writer (who for over a decade of his life couldn't even obtain a quill, ink or parchment) with the help of editor David Wilson, despite the abhorrent subject matter Northup writes beautifully, with magical metaphors matching dark descriptions. This is a freedom song of triumph over trial that feels like a religious reading in it's hope for finding something more holy in this life then the work of a devil. From the good of his fellow slaves, to one 'believe it or see it' kind slave master (William Ford played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the movie) and some notes on the violin there are some beautiful moments captured here with reverence like the landscape of his living that hides the real horror haunting beneath. From it's New York birth beginnings to his kidnapping in Washington that took him to the cotton fields and plantations of Louisiana, this is a real account of what America was like when these States really weren't United and there was no American dream. From whippings to beatings, this is the dark side of humanity that needs more light shed on it so we can see just how bad it is and see that discrimination-in even the smallest ways-is wrong in these modern days where racism is still alive but in a more casually, caustic cruel way that is obnoxiously overlooked.

If you think this movie is "great" then you should really learn from Solomon Northups words. Way back in 1853-truly a different time-this book sold 30,000 copies and was considered a bestseller. Now you can expect it to be read into the millions like a Hemingway or Harper Lee vintage classic. Believe that this book about freedom from inequality is just as important as the time and tide classic of one of the greatest selling and acclaimed novels of all-time, 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. Reading both to begin this year,( 'Mockingbird' being read after watching the movie and before reading this book), I can tell you that nothing draws you in to every word, proclamation and utterance then Solomon's writing. As raw and real as it gets this unflinching, unforgettable memoir will stay with you like that lump in your throat you haven't been able to get rid of since Brad Pitt's production team brought the story to worldwide viewing in the cinema. One day the film will be in every home either via DVD or regular television scheduling and the book should be too. It's just that necessary an education. These 200 pages are more than just a coffee table read their an inspirational scribe of struggle and survival that will stay with you no matter how quickly you read it like 'The Old Man And The Sea'. Still with this book the coldest shiver will run down your spine as you run down its. After 100 years of fading into obscurity this book now deserves more than just a legendary movie. Its legacy deserves our time. As the adaptation of his story survives, 100 years later Solomon Northup and his message for the people are free again. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

BOOK REPORT

Long time no read! The New Year is here and after last years 52 for 52 weeks worth of record reads, we're one book behind come February. Still it's not bad going since we've been travelling the States and also reading many magazines and blog posts between flights. Back to the spine here's the longreads to start 2014.

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD: Harper Lee's classic comes at the right time. With the '12 Years A Slave' books film adaptation about to take over the Oscars the world once again is waking up to the historical and present day issue of racial inequality that need more focus and compassion. This Pulitzer Prize winning read by Lee deals with this, race and the observation of this authors neighbourhood. Despite these harrowing issues that where loosely inspired by actual goings-on around Harper's way this book has great warmth and humor to it. Reading it after tracking it down I was wrong in thinking it wouldn't make the "nicest" Christmas present for my mum. Everyone needs to sit up and take read to this classic of American literature.

WE CAN REMEMBER IT FOR YOU FOR WHOLESALE (TOTAL RECALL): If you follow this blog, you'll for sure know by now we love both baragin books and Phillip K. Dick. So it's no surprises like Radiohead that we scooped up this £1 collection of the legends short stories like a paranoid android. The orginal title of this book inspired both the Arnold Scwarzenegegr master movie 'Total Recall' and the Colin Farrell fantastic reboot of the same name but slightly differing story. A different story altogether here too and one that doesn't break 20 pages finds itself inbetween other short stories featuring androids, even beavers, but sadly no electric sheep in this one. Still, how did did we get two films out of 20 pages you ask? Well just like the 'Blade Runner's, 'Minority Reports', 'Scanner Darkly's' and 'Adjustment Bureau's' he's also influenced there's a wealth of short stories here and ideas that could be used for many more films and decades to come from the original, truly original science fiction master who was well ahead of his futuristic time.

THE OLD MAN & THE SEA: The perfect short-story, coffee table read that could change your afternoon and life from the perfect writer. 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' Ernest Hemingway's farwell to writing is one of his brightest and best. Read in Corbin, Kentucky's coffee house 'You & Me, Coffee & Tea' (they provided the books, and yes I'm providing the plug for the best coffee shop with bands and board games too) this was for sure one of the most enjoyable and best reads ever. From it's picture perfect tales of one man and his companions, whether a young friend, fish or the sea herself this goes from being the sweetest and sincerest stories to one epic one of struggle and survival in a finale thats more tense and thrilling then 'Jaws'. We're going to need a bigger bookshelf. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

BOOK REPORT 2013-52 Weeks/52 Books

For The Record.

BILL BRYSON-ONE SUMMER, AMERICA 1927: Babe Ruth, Al Capone, Al Johnson, Henry Ford, Calvin Coolridge, the New York Yankees, Hollywoodland, Mount Rushmore, the Great Mississippi flood, the roaring twenties. Legend and legacy, it's all here to the flight-plan of Charles Lindbergh in 'One Summer' that changed America and the world forever in 1927. From crime to prosperity and power to the fall from grace, this defining age of entertainment and innovation influenced the world in all it's inspiration for better or worse. From the might of boxing to the black-eye on a nation at war between races and cultures. This short history of nearly everything that happened in the United States overall changing season gives us our 52nd read right at the last day of December to close out our reading year. We did it! That makes for a record met, personal best of a book read for every week of this year, as well as numerous magazines, comic-books. web-articles and book passages as an added bonus. Oh and speaking of bonuses, the 52 books read over the 52 weeks cost barely over £52! That's awesome value...take that kindle! Who else but the great American writer taking residency in England;Billy Bryson to take us to the end of this milestone year of pages? With this latest parent present addition to the reading list, three of his books (including his magnificent, coming of American age memoir 'The Life & Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid') also make a list of varied 2013 reads that may not be Keats, but certainly aren't Kardashian. So without further ado we thank Bill, you and reading for a great year and wish you all the best for 2014. Let's hope it's an even better reading year, albeit if it's a more relaxed one. So this coming January take some time, make yourself a brew, put your feet up and just enjoy your new favorite read. In your own time. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Now for the record and in order book worms, here's the reading list...

-Dream Team

-The Last Shot

-Harry Belafonte: My Song

-The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes

-The Case Book Of Sherlock Holmes

-The Hounds Of Baskervilles

-The Silver Linings Playbook

-Limitless

-Drive

-Gangster Squad

-Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep

-The Descendants

-The Blind Side

-The Lincoln Lawyer

-Wit'ch Fire

-The Great Gatsby

-The Perfect Storm

-We Bought A Zoo

-10 Poems To Change Your Life

-The Hobbit

-Bill Bryson: Notes From A Small Country

-Bill Bryson: Down Under

-Bill Bryson: The Life & Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid

-Phil Jackson: The Last Season (A Team In Search Of Its Soul)

-Tom Clancy-Executive Orders

-I Am Legend

-Phil Jackson: Eleven Rings-The Soul Of Success

-Ernest 'Che' Guevara: The Motorcycle Diaries

-Mr. S: My Life With Frank Sinatra

-Fight Club

-Jack Kerouac: Maggie Cassidy

-Glory Road

-Miles Davis: Miles-The Autobiography

-Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

-Into The Wild

-Star Wars: Riptide

-The Silent Season Of A Hero (The Sportswriting Of Gay Talese)

-Up In The Old Hotel

-Star Trek: Department Of Temporal Investigations-Forgotten History

-Johnny Cash-Cash The Autobiography

-Bill Clinton: Giving

-Casino Royale

-The Bourne Imperative

-E Street Shuffle

-Walk Like A Man

-Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History

-Anthony Kiedis: Scar Tissue

-Ron Burgundy: Let Me Off At The Top-My Classy Life & Other Musings

-Julius Erving: Dr J-The Autobiography

-Jack Kerouac: Wake Up

-Michael J. Fox: Lucky Man

-Bill Bryson: One Summer-America 1927

You can find quick coffee table read reviews of all these books in this blog...

BOOK REPORT

We've hit 50.

MICHAEL J. FOX-LUCKY MAN: This is what a Michael J. Fox says. Michael's first memoir (he released his sophomore 'Always Looking Up' in the new millennium) is one of the best celebrity autobiographies to come out of Hollywood in recent times, if not ever. Frank, forthright and damn funny, there's not a cliche or boast to be found in the perfect wrote pages of a man who has seen the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows in this fame-filled life of the golden era of movie-making from the 80's to this new millennium. Although appreciating everything life has given or thrown at him, you wouldn't expect most A-list actors to gloss over something like the incredible 'Back To The Future' trilogy and not write shorthand on his own shortcomings, but Michael lays it all out here simple and plain with some inspired insight to go along with some incredible influence. The man who suffers from Parkinson's Disease makes this memoir like his life his mission to make a statement of support for fellow sufferers and a scold to those in power not providing enough financial or motivational help for a disease that could find it's cure quicker than those others that are receiving thousands of funds more. Still, as tragic the turns have been in this mans life he doesn't keep going on and on about it, just like the spoils of his riches and fame (he finds it lame that he was let go for a speeding offence because of the name on his license in a funny passage), he makes this all about his family ties from the love of his children to his devoted wife. What more can you expect from a man that can inspire Muhammad Ali and make jokes with Larry David and not for once look like he is either making a mockery or taking things too seriously? The Canadian Fox like Basketball's Rick also shows us just what made him the straight out of the foxhole like Jamie with an extra kiss, Hollywood star he is today from 'Teen Wolf' to 'Spin City', his Nan. Telling him he could be anything he wanted to be and championing him, we see the beautiful inspiration that was fed to him like good home cooking and it's something he prepares us with her recipe here in this perfect prose. This isn't just well-wrote, it's well lived. Reading this, we're the lucky ones.

JACK KEROUAC-WAKE UP!: Wake up! It's time to go on the road with Kerouac again and this one really does travel and traverse all around the world and the mans mind that inspired the earth's free-thinking, beat thoughts. After the short and sublime, love of growing up ode of 'Maggie Cassidy', that proved to be a great under the tree, reflective, Sunday Summer afternoon park read, we picked up another bargain from the Jack of all pages. This one to add to the bibliography is all about the life of Buddha. This God biography is inspired you better believe that. Even if this religion is something you don't want to follow you can't deny the spirit and soul of this short read. With teachings we can all heed and inspired solutions to some of life's struggles, emotions and hardships this is one way to meditate and relax on a better way thinking no matter what you believe. How to treat others, yourself and the world and your place in it, you can't help but see this as an aid to the problems or conflicts you may face. This can enlighten any dark depth in the form of a short story. As you can read this all of course inspired Jack and as Kerouac influenced a new writing generation around the world this all means so much to followers of the beat or believers of the Buddha. Both will be brought together here from the words of a man whose own books became scripture to his legion of admirers. In need of some inspiration this fall, rub your eyes, get out of bed and pick this and yourself up. Don't sleep! TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

REVIEW-JULIUS ERVING: Dr. J-THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY

4.5/5

Just What The Doctor Recorded.

Now isn't this just what the doctor ordered? OK, for all you LeBron's and Kobe's out there in this storied NBA history of basketball, the big three of all-time best players has to be Larry, Magic and of course the greatest of all-time, Mike. If you want to look at the most dominant, then look no further than the four horseman of the center position in Shaq, Kareem, Wilt and of course Bill Russell. Now for greatest teams, after the Celtics and Lakers you might look for the New York Knicks or Philadelphia 76ers. Looking at this Sixer franchise when it comes to their greatest players there's the God Wilt again, or Moses, as well as modern day legends like Charles Barkley and the answer of Allen Iverson. Still, even A.I knew-wearing number 6 in the 2000, Philly All-Star game-that when it comes to the greatest Sixer you have to make an appointment. An appointment with a man who was a legend in two games like Pee Wee Kirkland. A man whose Afro stood high, but his converses leapt higher. A man who took off from the lay-up line and revolutionized the art of dunking (and out of bounds, baseline defying lay-ups) before the air of Michael Jordan, complete with the gold necklace. A man who is now soaring from the nets to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. A legend of the city who took the New York Nets from the ABA to the NBA, decades before Jay-Z took them from New Jersey and back to the city in Brooklyn. A man who changed the game and now after several Magic and Bird autobiographies and recent Jerry West, Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson memoirs is ready to release his highly-anticipated, long-awaited book of Basketball. The doctor will see you now.

What a prescription too of humility and honestly from a man who details all his blessings and curses of a rags to millionaire riches in just under a fortune 500 of peeled pages that will keep you turning and turning with vivid colors attracting you like the blue, red and white ball he stuffed through the hoop over and over again. This writer eager for his waited for all year copy, but saving for his own Basketball tour around the U.S.A. found a great deal for an unabridged audiobook. Not normally one for the lazy, 'look ma no hands' feel of listening instead of actually reading, I felt like I was cheating on books. That was until I learnt that this autobiography was narrated by the good doctor himself. In two 6 hour parts, what better way to have his story told to you during a lazy 12 hour Sunday cleaning day, or weeks worth of morning jogging but from the man himself in your company? As quick as you would burnt through this reading, you'll listen and listen through this half a day trip through the game and also American and cultural history. A man who truly propelled this game forwards while putting up with the backwards decades gone time of ignorant racism this man has gone through a lot from the real-world to entertainment. From tragic lows to the most entertaining highs in both love and loss this is life. Set to the soundtrack of his friend Teddy Pendergrass, with some light relief from his idol Bill Cosby. They've always said Basketball was like jazz and the man who improvised an inspirational influence on court from above the air-changing rim knew everyone from Miles (Davis) to Bird (Larry). Still old June doesn't forget where he came from, he knows it's all about family and how what he's learnt, he can pass on to his sons. From being a part of a Sixer side that was the only team to battle both the storied 80's Celtics and Lakers to being in the trenches with his own personal demons and wars, for better to worse this man dribbles his way through the brightest of lights and the darkest of depths that make this read truly his most powerful slam-dunk.

From jumping up and down as a child to see over the window sill, to jumping so high he took his game from the ABA's Virginia Squires to the NBA's legendary Philadelphia 76ers each paragraph starts with a leap. The man certainly knows how to craft a story, just like a career...and this is all real talk. The man who could run the baseline and even rock the cradle, knows how to turn just another sentence into a statement. It's just the art of creation he compares to the artists of music like Marvin, even channeling Gaye's 'Trouble Man' lyrics to the injustice of another night of driving that sees him pulled over by the profiling police. The aid of the soul man's soundtrack hasn't been used this poignantly for the harsh realities of life since Mark Wahlberg's worn drive through the motor city ravaged industry of a fall Detroit in the 'Four Brothers' movie. This instrument of Philadelphia soul combs through any issue in his life, full-blown like his trademark playing days Afro. Asking for no sympathy as he apologies for the wrongs in his life he just wants to write and right, from infidelity to children out of wedlock. Still, when it comes to the finer points of this mans life and career he recognizes his talent but with a refreshing humbleness you wouldn't expect for a man that soared over his professional peers with two handed-flushes and a championship belt to keep his pants even higher. Maybe this is the sort of talk that comes from a man who lost his dear friend and teammate to a plane crash where they could only tragically identify him via his championship ring. A man that has given his all, but lost so much. A man through and through however...that is still here. With a couple of retired jerseys, a Hall Of Fame career, a family, a legend and a legacy. The man who lived through the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and John F. Kennedy, just wants to teach those reading what his college coach instilled in him after a heated, rivaling game, that you don't respond to violence with violence. You respond by being the better, stronger man. A true professional.

The man who witnessed many of America's most defining and major cultural events in history is one himself. Still, behind all the hair and dunks are the statistics and undocumented unrecorded basketball highlights that are told here from the man who grew from being "skinnier than six o'clock". Behind all that is the man who made the incredible top 10 player who redefined the game like no one else before him and helped those Jordan's and Iverson's in his same field or franchise do so after. The Converse pioneer tied up his laces and left it all out on the court, making it look all too easy, but here just like with Jerry West's 'Charmed and Tortured Life' we see what lied beneath that calm soldier on, court demeanor. From the bitterness of divorce to the tragic hands of a fickle fate that even took his sons life at far too young an age. Through all this however Julius has remained strong and resolute, hoping here to both entertain and educate you on life's ups and downs. From short, lump in the mouth chapters to artistically created ones of true storytelling, writing this book is equal parts descriptive and introspective and this is neither good or bad. This is what makes this story, like it's subject truly great. A legendary read that will go down with the best sports scribes like this man goes down as the sports best stars. From the concrete path of the Rucker to the hard-hits to the floor of a real life this man is the genuine article. Recognizing the cruelty of death, but the courage in celebrating life, there's little wonder that this amazing talent rose above it all. As he starts this writing, his "is the American life" and after reading this book from the court to off it you'll see it as one truly "fully lived". If you need any more proof for this read why not read the back cover of this hard-life hardback? No synopsis, just a quote, "when greatness meets class, that's what God created in Dr. J", from who else, but Earvin Johnson, the man who personified Magic. Still, even with his illusions sometimes he and we all need a doctor. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

REVIEW-RON BURGUNDY: LET ME OFF AT THE TOP-MY CLASSY LIFE & OTHER MUSINGS

4/5

Bound For Leather.

Since the dawn of time, scholars through lost translations have tried to find the meaning of life. While author after author have inscribed text after text that goes down in the concrete engraved world of historical and legendary writing. Guys like Shakespeare, Twain, Dickens, Chaucer, Kerouac, the libraries go on...and then of course there's Ron. Open one of his many leather bound books and you'll read something so transcending that it could burn your eyes like that human torch that banks turn away. Yep, that's right they're kind of a big deal like the 'Channel 4' Anchorman of San Diego, California himself. We all became cult followers of the classic 'Legend Of Ron Burgundy' and this Christmas 'The Legend Continues', but before that comes something you'll want to see under your tree more than a jazz flute, lamp, bottle of sex panther, or even the man himself. Christmas has come early you smelly pirate hookers as the legendary newsman has released his tell-all, memoir. The autobiography of Ron Burgundy 'Let Me Off At The Top-My Classy Life & Other Musings'. By the beard of Zeus, the perfect scotch table read hits you like a straight shot to the ovaries.

As you open this book, you'll be met with the familiar classic book smell of rich mahogany, but the words themselves would put any teleprompter to question mark shame. What more could you expect from the man who discovered the wheel and built the Eiffel tower out of metal and brawn? Still, beware San Dieogans and beyond if you are easily offended or aroused you should put this book under the bed with the mistress and the rest of the monsters. If you are of a certain race, or ethnic background, belong to a religious group, live in a particular country, are of a particular gender or age, and generally live or breath...you're in trouble. Black, white, rich, poor, young, old, boy, girl, man, woman, cat, dog, you can all join hands together in one world and be royally offended, but hey this is Ron and when it comes to Mr. Burgundy he can even tell his own town where to go. The man who put whale's vagina's on the map is going after everyone on it...even dinosaurs aren't safe...and they're extinct. From his humble beginnings to having the greatest hair you could ever wish to touch (he shares some of his grooming habits and horsehair myths here too), this is the mustache you really must ask after this Movember. The renowned ladies man will leave you with a pattern in the pleats as he teaches his fellow man how to get a woman in just one breath (and all it's back-of-your-neck varieties), while also telling us the secrets and stories, anchoring his own man. From comparing his love-rat status to "six Wilt Chamberlain's"  and even sharing an intimate moment with Bruce Lee.

Ever wondered how to behave in a prison riot? Feces throwing or masturbation? Ever needed any advice on how to handle yourself in a bar-fight? Well let Burgundy's Jack Johnson and Tom O'Leary take you for a round, punch by punch. In epic battles that will leave more than just tridents on the floor. This is a man who camped with Bobby Kennedy and maybe did a little more with Walter Cronkite. This is a man who tells us that Joni Mitchell makes him want to kill himself...and as for the Bible...well which book do you think this bar-humble man thinks is better? The book featuring inspiring passages and life lessons to live by...or that one you find in every hotel room? Burgundy's scribe is full of it...literally. Basketball diaries of star wars to wrestling with Jackalopes. From neighborhood disputes to Watergate-like revealing moments in world history that will finally be seen for what they are, through the eyes of the premiere man of telling the news with salon quality hair. A man who has broke such stories as; squirrels on water-skis and pandas giving birth. Speaking of salon quality hair, Ron also dishes the dirt on Hollywood legend Warren Beatty and reveals that he might not just be the one-woman man we thought he was. Yes! Really! I didn't mean to spoil it but that Warren! It doesn't get much crazier than this. With all these revelations and secrets shared no wonder some of this book is blanked out...they'll get it right by the final draft...oh...wait. Proving he has the balls to write this book, his way, the Sinatra of news-casting let's it all hang out in the wind, with one scotch for his Baxter and one for the road.

Sip, by sip this book goes down smooth in one read, from the history of Mexico to healthy eating advice for your kids ("if you don't eat your vegetables, the Burgundy boys will kick your ass"). With hands on advice from the man who dealt with live bears (here's a tip, no disco lights or Donna Summer), you won't immediately regret the decision to buy this book. Its the perfect read and companion if you find yourself ship-wrecked back at your home on whore island. It all comes together perfectly from the man who "invented the Wonderbra and the Supersoaker in the same day". The only thing that's missing is perhaps a whammy preface from Champ Kind, or on the scene foreword by the ever forward Brian Fantana. Or perhaps an afterword from Brick, "I love book" anybody?! Still, this is Ron's book and he wont let anyone else take away his moment. They say when there's a will there's a Ron, but even that Ferrell creature is merely a semi-pro or step brother to the man who can sell Lego, Ben & Jerry's and Dodge Durango's all in one go while offending ballroom dancers and all horses great and small (read more here and learn how to actually break a steed with some carefully whispered ("YOU'RE AN IDIOT"!) words). Hey, everybody! Come and see how good this book looks. From his news-team being assembled and honored in a Washington D.C Newseum to the pages going for the Pulitzer, Ron Burgundy's legend is about to make history again. You're going to want to be on this book. From conversations with himself to a portrait of his life with picture perfect proof this man is hitting all the high-jazz notes. Through it all, chapter and verse, the legend that is Ron Burgundy reads, writes and keeps it classy. TIM DAVID HARVEY.