Short and Sweet, Simple and Powerful

I first read this when it appeared in the New York Times magazine, but felt compelled to own it in an official book form, so that I could pass it along to someone at the right time. I like the brevity and the power of the central message, simple but effectively communicated by the author. This book is not long, but that is it's strength. Instead of getting distracted by details that don't really matter just to add pages to the book, the author chose a format that you can knock out in a day, and then pass this lesson along to the so many that need to hear it.

What's Here is Good, There's Just Too Little of It

One does wonder why Mr. Lewis allowed a great article to be transformed into a razor thin volume, augmented with a few pictures. Hopefully his superb article on the California recall election in 2003 won't be packaged as a hardcover in the near future. Then again, pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger will surely move many copies.

The profile of Coach Fitz feels rather incomplete, relying almost solely on the author's own memory and its conflict with the current win-at-all-costs mentality of today's parents. If there is a real story to be had here it is the increasing social acceptability of parents as hyper-advocates for their children in school, sports, and pretty much any artistic or creative endeavor. That is a subject that deserves book-length treatment (and not just a hardcover pamphlet, either).

Assuming that readers of "Moneyball" haven't yet done so, they would do well to pick up "Liar's Poker" instead of this book.

Moneybook

This "book" is nothing more than a repackaged article first published, to much deserved acclaim, by The New York Times Magazine. The only "new" things you get is a pretty nice cover.

Michael, did you just do it for the money?

Michael Lewis is one of our best authors, but this is nothing more than a pretty lame attempt at cashing in for Father's Day. Save your money. Find the story of Coach Fitz on-line (or through a news search engine), and read it all for free.