The Racist, Reactionary World of Bigtime Sports I’ve been a sports fan since the early 1960’s. And it’s harder than ever to justify loyalty to a sports world whose approach toward African-American athletes remains reactionary and often racist. If you
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Mention the two words “Black Panther” to anyone under the age of 40, and they’re likely to think, right off the bat, of the 2018 action, adventure film Black Panther. They’re not likely to think of the Black Panthers of
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“I ain’t never been to San Francisco. But I believe a thing has happened there” – Tony Joe White, “Soul San Francisco” The American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald observed in his 1936 book The Crack Up that, “The test of
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The Divided City: Poverty and Prosperity in Urban America by Alan Mallach In his preface to The Divided City, Adam Mallach says he would not be addressing “New York and San Francisco, or the half-dozen or so hot coastal cities
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Pia Guerra’s Image Comics collection “Me The People” makes a timely appearance for Americans numbed and traumatized by the venality and mendacity of Trump’s America.  The visible wincing and sometimes loud laughter Guerra’s images evoke will reassure these readers that
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As a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marines between 1968 and 1972, I am all too familiar with the wounds of war Suzanne Gordon describes in her excellent new book.  Like so many people who served in Vietnam, I
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Brian Gruber’s fantastic new book about the legendary drummer Billy Cobham, “Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s”, is perhaps the greatest tome ever written about one of the most influential musicians of this, or any era. Cobham, now 70 plus years
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Saying Mara Tagarelli has Multiple Sclerosis, relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to be specific, does not define her as a person though way too much of the world acts otherwise.  Nicola Griffith’s new novel So Lucky may be about Mara’s emotional
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