Top of the Stack
Three Cheers for the Literary Anthology
“The pieces in these books and the ones that surround them were written for newspapers and magazines, which is a polite way of saying they were meant to be read and discarded. But gathering them in book form provides the chance for the prolonged life they so richly deserve.”
The Front Page
David Milch, Spin Doctor
In the midst of lunch, during the heyday of “NYPD Blue,” David Milch holds forth on Chekov, heroin, horse racing and gambling—a few of his favorite things.
The Adventures of an Autograph Hunter
Ray Robinson’s wondrous autograph collection.
Bad Vibes in Tune Town
Mo Ostin was one of the most influential music executives ever. Here’s how things went sideways for Warner Bros. Music in the mid-’90s.
What Hockey Needs is More Violence
When it doubt, throw a punch.
The Heidi Chronicle
A horrible stunt accident left her a quadriplegic in 1980, but Heidi von Beltz was determined to walk again—and party with Melanie Griffith, Don Johnson, Ray Liotta, and her legion of Hollywood friends
The Cheerleaders
The town is shaken up very badly. But little does anyone dream that Scott Pace’s death will be the beginning of one of the strangest high school tragedies of all time.
The Brady Offensive
Sarah Brady was all proper Republican gentility. Her husband, James, severely disabled in the Reagan assassination attempt ten years ago, a hellfire political operative. Together they became the most potent partnership in the uphill battle for gun control.
Damn Good Fella
When Ray Liotta made us stop and take notice
Flying Down to Managua
How the Hollywood Left Fell in Love with Nicaragua’s Sandinistas
Back in the High Life
One thing you can say about Dr. Timothy Leary: the man has always had a talent for convincing himself that wherever he is is where it’s at.
The Trash-Mouth Wisdom of Chris Rock
Rolling through Brooklyn in the late ’90s with an American Master.
William Tells
When the risk-taking star of Broadcast News was the hottest actor in Hollywood.