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People and Pop Culture

Bookshelf: Rex Ryan Making The Rounds Promoting His New Release

REX RYAN has written the new book "PLAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT," an "inside look of his first two years as the Jets' coach," and he has, "perhaps fittingly, managed to spark the same reactions" as he does when he speaks, according to Greg Bishop of the N.Y. TIMES. Some readers "found the book insightful. Others found it refreshing. Still others, particularly the former players Ryan criticized and the crosstown rival Giants that Ryan tweaked, found it typical, and not in a positive sense" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/3). On Long Island, Neil Best reports the "promotional blitz for Ryan's new book ... tested his ability to stay fresh and focused." Ryan has "squeezed in all he could, a non-partisan list that included Fox and MSNBC, WFAN and 1050 ESPN, SNY and YES." He has appeared on CBS' "Late Show," Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," Fox News' "Hannity," JIM ROME's syndicated radio show and "more ESPN platforms than there is room to list." Ryan: "I'll be honest, I'm a little tired of hearing myself." He said that the best part of promoting the book "was the signings ... that allowed him to interact with fans" (NEWSDAY, 5/6).

PLAYING HARDBALL: ATLANTA MAGAZINE's Charles Bethea reports former MLBer JOHN ROCKER's "forthcoming, self-published memoir, 'JOHN ROCKER: SCARS AND STRIKES,'" is due out next month. Rocker said that the book is a "mixture of baseball and politics, as well as some of his 'philosophy and feelings.'" Bethea reviewed a "draft of his book's first chapter," and noted the "only disparaging word in its thirteen pages, which earnestly chronicle the day leading up to his World Series debut in New York City against the Yankees, is reserved for the pregame clubhouse reporters" (ATLANTA MAGAZINE, 5/ '11 issue)....In N.Y., Tyler Kepner noted White Sox TV analyst STEVE STONE has "written his third book, 'SAID IN STONE: YOUR GAME, MY WAY.'" Stone "wrote a chapter describing each position on the field, and other about managing, the front office, the commissioner and the future of the sport" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/1).

GROWER OF THE GAME: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's John Paul Newport noted golf reporter ADAM SCHUPAK has written "DEANE BEMAN, GOLF'S DRIVING FORCE: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE MAN WHO TRANSFORMED PROFESSIONAL GOLF INTO A BILLION-DOLLAR BUSINESS," about the former PGA Tour Commissioner. It is "as much a business narrative as a sports book, and all the more fascinating for it." One "recurring subplot in Schupak's narrative is Beman's ultimately successful, 17-year push to disentangle from the PGA," and the "evolution of the television model under Beman's stewardship is also a good story" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/30).

GIVING THE DAREDEVIL ITS DUE: SI's Alex Belth wrote the late EVEL KNIEVEL "soars again in all his profane, self-deluded glory" in author LEIGH MONTVILLE's new book, "EVEL: THE HIGH-FLYING LIFE OF EVEL KNIEVEL: AMERICAN SHOWMAN, DAREDEVIL, AND LEGEND." Montville "guides the reader through the hype and excess of Knievel's story and uses his greatest debacle, the 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon in Idaho, as the centerpiece of the book." However, Montville also "goes beyond the action-figure image, painting Knievel in all his contradictions -- an American icon who was also a bully, an anti-Semite and a convicted felon" (SI, 5/2 issue).

MEMOIR OF A SPORTSWRITER: The AP's Ann Levin noted former N.Y. Times sports columnist ROBERT LIPSYTE has written "AN ACCIDENTAL SPORTSWRITER: A MEMOIR." Lipsyte "perceived a bigger story beyond the game scores -- something he dubbed Jock Culture, which he saw as a defining aspect of American society." Levin: "Jock Culture glorifies the young, the strong and the beautiful, and Lipsyte, the would-be CHEKHOV, gets the tragic implications. That's why his columns, and this marvelous memoir ... are so affecting" (AP, 5/2).

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