under the covers

Nonfiction

Unraveling Shakespeare's Life

Whether or not you believe William Shakespeare really wrote all those plays, you can probably concede that writing his life story is a challenge all its own. But Columbia professor of English James Shapiro has devised a cunning approach, one he's laid out in his acclaimed history, 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare. Read More | Comment »

11:00AM Fri. Mar. 23, 2012, Robert Faires

Shaq's Third Autobiography

Shaquille O'Neal is undoubtedly one of the greatest centers to ever play pro basketball. The proof is in the championship banners, the all-star appearances, and the record books. Read More | Comment »

6:44PM Tue. Nov. 29, 2011, Will Schmidt

Hercules on Two Wheels

Why isn't the Tour de France in America? I mean, besides the obvious fact that the French started it 108 years ago and it takes place over three weeks through roughly 2,000 miles of countryside there. Hear me out. Read More | 1 Comment »

6:00AM Sat. Nov. 12, 2011, Mike Crissey

Bedside Manner: Hell on Earth

There is a time of mourning coming in my reading habits. Hellboy is dead, the X-Men are splitting, and the press releases in my inbox are either despairing or mindboggling. Read More | Comment »

4:48PM Tue. Sep. 6, 2011, Richard Whittaker

What's Bugging Amy Stewart?

Amy Stewart is the author of “five books of the perils and pleasures of the modern world,” says the press release from Algonquin Books that accompanies the author’s latest release. Read More | Comment »

11:25AM Mon. May. 16, 2011, Wayne Alan Brenner

William Kuhn Finds Jackie Onassis at Work

When I started working as an assistant at Doubleday in January 1989, it was with more anticipation than usual for an entry-level college grad moving to New York to work in book publishing: Jackie Onassis's office was down the hall, and she was expected back from the winter holiday. Read More | 1 Comment »

2:31AM Tue. Jan. 11, 2011, Anne Harris

Exposing the Insurers

By chance, I happened into BookPeople yesterday, mainly to sit out rush hour traffic on Lamar. I'm happy I did, because I got see Wendell Potter, the health insurance industry whistle-blower speaking about the insurance cartel's dangerous – and sometimes deadly – practices. Read More | Comment »

10:28AM Sat. Jan. 8, 2011, Wells Dunbar

Victore, Victorious!

The man turned George Bush’s face into a pirate flag and created a condom ad with copulating rabbits. Designed to grab eyeballs and braincells, these are the sort of gambits (for clients like Moët & Chandon, The New York Times, and MTV) that have won James Victore the acclaim of the international design crowd and everyone tired of the same-old same-old. Read More | Comment »

12:29PM Tue. Sep. 21, 2010, Wayne Alan Brenner

'Cowboys Chronicles'

Dallas Cowboys fans don't have a lot to cheer about this week following the Cowboys' pathetic performance vs. the 'Skins. Maybe a look at past glory is what's needed to soothe the pain. Marty Strasen's Cowboys Chronicles hit the shelves Sept. 1 and should help to distract the disgruntled 'Boys fans until the team gets its offensive line situation worked out. Read More | Comment »

7:17AM Sat. Sep. 18, 2010, Mark Fagan

Two Off the Stack: A Bible to Party By, and Hints From Heloise

If you love to give theme parties, but all you've got to show for yourself is some caramelized pineapple on the cold grill and an uneven set of lime-green napkin rings, you might consider The Party Bible: The Good Book for Great Times by Connor Pritchard and Dominic Russo (Adams Media, 223 pp., $14.95). Read More | Comment »

11:46PM Mon. Sep. 13, 2010, Anne Harris

'Home Field' Looks Great on the Coffee Table

I'm a sucker for big sports-related coffee-table books with lots of beautiful glossy photos. So when Jeff Wilson's Home Field: Texas High School Football Stadiums From Alice to Zephyr showed up on my desk, a slight bit of drool formed in the corner of my mouth (TMI?). With a forward from Mr. Friday Night Lights himself, Buzz Bissinger, I knew this was a keeper. Read More | Comment »

7:40AM Sat. Aug. 28, 2010, Mark Fagan

'Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports'

While sports entertain many, behind the scenes the games are a mess akin to making sausage where you have a carefully packaged and attractive product constructed in an ugly and battered fashion. David Zirin leaves no stone unturned in his book Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports. Read More | 1 Comment »

10:31AM Wed. Jul. 28, 2010, Timothy Braun

The Daily Hustle: 6/3/10

The Hustle's got something a little different today. In the Books department this week, you can read my interview with Joshua Long, author of Weird City. As Josh's answers were so great – and politically relevant – TDH has the extended interview below the fold. Read More | Comment »

7:26AM Thu. Jun. 3, 2010, Wells Dunbar

16 Billion Reasons Not to Read Perry's Book

Gov. Rick Perry quite happily took $16 billion in Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money last year. Now he's written a book about how he doesn't really need those pesky Feds. How does a U-turn that violent not give him whiplash? Read More | 2 Comments »

12:00PM Wed. May. 26, 2010, Richard Whittaker

'What’s My Name, Fool?'

Politics and sports don’t mix. This sentiment can be found in the columns of Peter King, or most biographies of the politically nebulous Michael Jordan. And, most recently, from the lips of Jordan’s former coach Phil Jackson, the current head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Read More | Comment »

1:55PM Wed. May. 19, 2010, Timothy Braun

You Read It Here First

Albert Maysles is a living legend, one-part of arguably the most influential documentary filmmaking team ever. In 2000, Chronicle contributor Anne S. Lewis spoke with Albert on the occasion of his visit to Austin; that piece is included in the newly published Albert and David Maysles: Interviews. Read More | Comment »

12:59PM Mon. Mar. 29, 2010, Kimberley Jones

Sports and Social Justice With David Zirin

David Zirin collects accolades like baseball cards. He was named one of the UTNE Reader's "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World," he’s been awarded Press Action's Sportswriter of the Year twice, and often graces television screens as a guest analyst on various CNN, ESPN, and MSNBC programs. However, Zirin is much more than a sports journalist. Read More | Comment »

12:20PM Fri. Mar. 5, 2010, Timothy Braun

'A People’s History of Sports in the United States'

In A People’s History of Sports in the United States ($26.95, The New Press), author David Zirin welcomes the reader to the proverbial adults table of American sports with a historical blow-by-blow of social engagement, race relations, gender struggles, and political upheaval that have surrounded some of our favorite pastimes. Read More | Comment »

12:17PM Fri. Mar. 5, 2010, Timothy Braun

Tinkering With Death

University of Houston law professor and Texas Defender Service litigation director David Dow's new memoir The Autobiography of an Execution (Twelve, $24.99) is a quietly written and devastating indictment of the death penalty in general, and of its practice in Texas in particular. Read More | Comment »

5:14PM Mon. Feb. 22, 2010, Jordan Smith

Sister Jessica Explains It All for You

If girls – that's girls, not ladies, women, or grrrls – fail to save rock & roll as planned, it won't be for lack of instruction manuals. Read More | Comment »

4:02PM Mon. Nov. 16, 2009, Cindy Widner

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