Truckin' with Sam Review

Lee and Sam Gutkind's father and son memoir, Truckin' with Sam: A Father and Son, The Mick and The Dyl, Rockin' and Rollin', On the Road, was recently reviewed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here's an excerpt of Peter Oresick's review:

Mr. Gutkind typically works like an anthropologist garnering material for his books. He spends years gaining entrance to and carefully observing a closed community -- organ transplantation, robotics engineers, baseball umpires -- then delivers an insightful, character-driven chronicle that unveils that subculture with dramatic flair and intensity.

In Truckin' With Sam, however, the closed-community motif is personal: His own father-son relationships.

In his 2003 memoir, Forever Fat, Mr. Gutkind first delved into his stormy relationship with his dad. This new book amplifies many of those 1950s traumas, but it aims to be a corrective by focusing on the new generation. Sam Gutkind's coming-of-age, under the tutelage of a literati father, will not resemble Mr. Gutkind's bar mitzvah experience.

Read the full review and learn more about the book here.

Now available: Arsenic and Clam Chowder

The latest from our Excelsior Editions imprint recounts the sensational story of the 1896 murder trial of Mary Alice Livingston, who was accused of murdering her mother with an arsenic-laced pail of clam chowder and faced the possibility of becoming the first woman to be executed in New York’s new-fangled electric chair. Arsenic and Clam Chowder, written by James D. Livingston, is set against the electric backdrop of Gilded Age Manhattan. The arrival of skyscrapers, automobiles, motion pictures, and other modern marvels in the 1890s was transforming urban life with breathtaking speed, just as the battles of reformers against vice, police corruption, and Tammany Hall were transforming the city’s political life. In addition to telling a ripping good story, the book addresses a number of social and legal issues, among them capital punishment, equal rights for women, societal sexual standards, inheritance laws in regard to murder, gender bias of juries, and the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Tales of New York Government

A couple of new Excelsior titles received a good deal of attention in recent days. The New York Times featured both books—Tales from the Sausage Factory and The Man Who Saved New York—in Sunday's edition. The Albany Times Union ran an extensive interview with the authors of The Man Who Saved New York, Seymour Lachman and Robert Polner, and the Staten Island Advance also featured an article on the book and interview with Seymour Lachman.

At a time when New York State's government seems more dysfuntional than ever, these books provide prime examples of how governments—local, state, and federal—can work to avoid the renewed threat of bankruptcy that now confronts not only New York, but most states.

Hugh Carey and the Great Fiscal Crisis

NY1 Online's "Inside City Hall" recently featured a lively panel discussion between Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch and authors Seymour Lachman and Robert Polner to discuss former New York Governor Hugh Carey. Lachman and Polner's new book on Carey, The Man Who Saved New York—a portrait of one of New York’s most remarkable governors, with emphasis on his leadership during the fiscal crisis of 1975—will be available next week. You can preorder a copy here or at any other online retailer. Look for it in stores soon as well. It's certainly relevant reading for these times, as New York and most states in the nation once again find themselves in major financial distress.

Watch the panel discussion over at NY1 Online.

Women and American Theater

The University at Albany's website has a wonderful article up about the recent book Women Writers of the Provincetown Players. The book, edited by UAlbany Professor Emerita of English Judith E. Barlow, is a collection of thirteen short plays by women that were originally produced by the Provincetown Players. Here's an excerpt from the article, including part of the interview with Judith:

"What made the Provincetown Players different from anyone else was that they performed American plays," said Barlow. As a result, they had a tremendous impact on the development of modern theater. In seven years, they produced almost 100 plays by some 50 artists, a large number of which were written by women.

Thirteen of the 29 people listed in the group's incorporation papers were female. Barlow shines a light on a one-act play from each of the female Players.

The Players were mostly white, middle class, and had some college education. But they considered themselves radical bohemians and performed in an abandoned wharf down the street from Glaspell's house on Commercial Street in Provincetown, Mass. They included an anarchist friend of Emma Goldman who sold tickets, and they questioned accepted notions about birth control, marriage, spinsters and the double standard.

Read the full article here and order a copy of the book here.

Road Trip with Dad

Truckin' with Sam: A Father and Son, The Mick and The Dyl, Rockin' and Rollin', On the Road is a perfect Father's Day memoir. In the book, Lee Gutkind recounts his cross-country road trips with his son, Sam, as they traversed North America talking, laughing, learning, and bonding. As one of a growing number of “old new dads” (recent studies have shown that one in ten children are born to fathers over forty), Gutkind faced challenges—both mental and physical—not faced by younger dads, not the least of which was how to bond with a son who was so much younger than himself. Gutkind’s approach to this challenge has been to spend one to two months of every summer “truckin’” with Sam, a term they define as a metaphor for spontaneity, a lack of restriction: “Truckin’ means that you can do what you want to do sometimes; you don’t always need to do what’s expected.”

ForeWord Reviews said: “Gutkind delivers according to his reputation. Truckin’ is by turns cerebral and funny. It makes for an enjoyable ride.”

Visit the book's website for more excerpts and other exclusive content, including TriQuarterly Online's interview with Lee and Sam!

Happy Father's Day!

Summer in the Hamptons

Whether you are heading to the Hamptons for a little summer fun or just watching Royal Pains and wishing you were there among the farmers, fishermen, artists, billionaires, and celebrities who populate the eastern end of Long Island, In The Hamptons Too will be your book of choice this summer. Dan Rattiner, editor and publisher of Dan's Papers, is back with his second book of stories about the people who live, work, and play in one of America’s best-known summer colonies, ranging from colorful locals like former East Hampton Town Supervisor Richard T. Gilmartin and marine patrol policeman Ralph George, to more well-known figures like Kurt Vonnegut, Betty Friedan, Alger Hiss, and Martha Stewart.

Rattiner has been covering the Hamptons for over fifty years and this second offering of tales from the Hamptons will make for the perfect beach read this summer. You can also catch the author at one of several readings he'll be giving this summer. Check out his full tour schedule on our events calendar.

The Italian Actress

Claudia Cardinale, then and now.

Geoffrey Mock recently interviewed Frank Lentricchia for Duke Today, Duke University's daily news and information resource. The interview focuses on Frank's new novel, The Italian Actress, about a has-been American filmmaker in Italy encountering love, cruelty, death, and the enchanting Claudia Cardinale. Lentricchia explains his inspiration:

“Some of this is me trying to come to terms with mortality and the cult of beauty,” he said in an interview.

“When I saw [Claudia’s photograph], I was stunned by it. I wanted my lead character to be obsessed with her youth and beauty. His problem is he cannot accept change, either in her or ultimately in himself.”

Hudson Valley Writers Reflect on Writing

In River of Words: Portraits of Hudson Valley Writers, seventy-six contemporary writers consider the literary life, the craft of writing, and the beauty of New York's Hudson Valley. With text by Nina Shengold and photos by Jennifer May, the book takes us inside the lives of these writers and examines the pull of the Hudson Valley. For centuries, writers have drawn inspiration from the Hudson River and its surroundings. John Burroughs, James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Edith Wharton all lived and worked in the region immortalized by the Hudson River School of painters. River of Words offers intimate portraits of the current crop of Hudson Valley writers as they continue the tradition of writers drawing inspiration from this distinctive American landscape.

Jennifer May recently created a website for the book that is chock full of exciting content, including sections focusing on the seventy-six writers, excerpts, and news and current events.

Breaking news from Book Expo: Selzer wins another award!

Seems like only yesterday we were announcing that Richard Selzer's Knife Song Korea won an Independent Publisher Book Award (in fact, it was just last week). Just moments ago, we received word from our people at Book Expo that it's also been awarded the 2009 Editor's Choice Award for Fiction by Foreword Magazine! Congratulations are once again in order for Richard.

Selzer Novel Wins Award

The 2010 Independent Publisher Book Awards were recently awarded, and Knife Song Korea has tied for silver in the category of Literary Fiction. Congratulations to author Richard Selzer and to all of the other award winners!

Check out the full list of award winners.

Keep on truckin'

Available next month, Truckin' with Sam is the story of a father and son as they drive across North America in a pickup truck—talking, laughing, fighting, and bonding. The authors, Lee Gutkind and his son Sam, have launched a great website where you can listen to the Dead's "Truckin'", read excerpts from and reviews of the book, and follow the authors' promotional reading schedule (that part coming soon).

Truckin’ with Sam is an honest, moving, and often hilarious account of one father’s determination to bond with his son, a cross-country travelogue that will appeal to old dads, new dads, and women who want to know more about how dads (and sons) think and behave. Preorder your copy of this perfect Father's Day gift today.

Book review: Blows to the Head

Binnie Klein's Blows to the Head continues to garner positive reviews and attention. Here's a sampling from the latest review, from The Jewish Chronicle:

Klein offers a light-hearted, self-deprecating, and entertaining romp through her unusual experiences as a boxer, using them to connect with her current activities, her past, and her Jewish identification.

Read the full review. Also, we're happy to share Binnie's book trailer, below!

ForeWord Book of the Year Finalists

Congratulations to authors Richard Selzer, Joe Amato, and Eve Pell. Their books were recently name ForeWord Book of the Year Finalists!

2009 Finalists in Fiction - Literary Category

Knife Song Korea, by Richard Selzer

2009 Finalists in Autobiography/Memoir Category

Once an Engineer, by Joe Amato

We Used to Own the Bronx, by Eve Pell

The 2009 Book of the Year Award winners will be announced on May 25 at a ceremony at BookExpo America. The winners are being selected by a panel of librarians and booksellers.

 

ForeWord's Book of the Year Awards program was designed to discover distinctive books from independent publishers across a number of genres. The Awards program often serves to provide these worthy projects with a second wind of publicity.

Author Spotlight: Annette Dunlap

We're happy to share with you that author Annette Dunlap set up her own author's page over at Amazon. Here's a bio she put together for the page:

When people ask me why I wrote a biography, I tell them it was on my "bucket list." Ever since I was a schoolgirl, I have enjoyed reading about other people's lives, and I determined that one day a book of mine would be in the biography section of the library. The decision to write about Frances Cleveland was made during my years as a marketing professor at a small, liberal arts college in North Carolina. The advertising textbook discussed the advent of mass marketing, and mentioned that a very attractive first lady's image was used, without her permission, to market a wide variety of products. That first lady was Frances Folsom Cleveland. I did a little background reading, and learned that she was our nation's youngest first lady, that her wedding took place in the White House, and that there was a 27 year age difference between her and her husband, Grover Cleveland. Such is the stuff of novels, but as is often the case, the facts may be more believable than if an author had used the same characters in a work of fiction. 

Frank is my first book, but it will not be my last. I am at work on a second book, again to be published by SUNY Press/Excelsior Editions.

You can track Annette's recent events related to her biography of Frances Folsom Cleveland, Frank. Annette's also listing her upcoming events, including one tonight in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Let's Be Frank: First Ladies & Second Marriages

Annette Dunlap's recent book, Frank: The Story of Frances Folsom Cleveland, America's Youngest First Lady, is the first full-length biography of America’s youngest, and possibly most underrated, First Lady. This past weekend, Annette participated in a Q&A for Parade Magazine. The question concerned First Ladies who've remarried (hint: her expertise on Frances Folsom came in handy). Check it out!

New York's Indie and Small Press Book Fair

Check out this LA Times article about last weekend's New York Indie and Small Press Book Fair. Author Binnie Klein (Blows to the Head) is featured prominently in the piece. Here's another picture of Binnie, relaxing at the Excelsior Editions table with our very own James Peltz.

The Great Rabbino interviews Binnie Klein

Another day, another interview for Binnie Klein! This time she discussed Blows to the Head with Jeremy Fine at the "Ultimate Jewish Sports Blog," The Great Rabbino. Klein reflects on her life as a Jewish woman and how she became captivated with the boxing world.

I was quite the unlikely contender – quite sedentary – and certainly did not come from a background of athleticism, growing up in Newark, New Jersey in the 1950s. One day, while training with my coach John Spehar, a former middleweight state champion, and quite a history buff, I asked: “John, were there ever any Jewish boxers?” I was amazed and fascinated to hear about the 26 champions between 1910 and 1940. For reasons I could not fathom at the time, the existence of these Jewish athletes was very important to me, and led me to research their lives and their achievements.

Read the full interview and keep up with Binnie at her website.

Binnie Klein, Boxing, and Boomer Lit

We've all heard that the boomer generation wields an enormous amount of buying power in today's consumer culture. So it only makes sense that the number of "boomer lit" titles seems to be growing steadily in recent years. Women On Writing (WOW) explores this genre and asks "Do readers want to follow the antics of a fifty-something woman as she looks for love while finding herself? Can a literary genre about the boomer generation draw enough interest to sustain it?" The answers appear be to complicated.

SUNY Press author Binnie Klein was interviewed for the article and shared her thoughts on her book, Blows to the Head, and if it fits in with other so-called "boomer lit" books.

Klein has mixed feelings about the boomer lit category. She says any time a genre is created, there’s a tendency to assign it a connotation or quality that doesn’t accurately describe it. On the other hand, boomer lit is an interesting marketing tool about the power of change and reinvention that she finds interesting. “Good books are good books whether you call them a catchy genre or not.”

Read the rest of Binnie's interview and the full article here. Do you read boomer lit? If so, what attracts you to the genre?  And what are some of your favorites?

Before we go, here's a recent interview with Binnie on WTNH's Connecticut Style. Enjoy!

Look Who's Talking: Eve Pell

Eve Pell (above, left), author of We Used to Own the Bronx, was recently interviewed at Boca Grande Talk, the online home of Florida's Gasparilla Gazette. Eve was in town to visit former roommate Alice Gorman (above, right), a Boca Grande resident, and to speak to a sold-out benefit audience at Johann Fust Community Library with "revolutionary tales of her unique life and times." Enjoy the full Q&A here.