Cover Me Boys, I'm Going In - Book Review - Virtual Book Tour

Cover Me Boys, I'm Going In

Book Review

Virtual Book Tour

I am pleased to participate in the Cover Me Boys book tour that began with Teddy Rose's "So Many Precious Books, So LIttle Time," on March 16.

Cover Me Boys, I'm Going In:
Tales of the Tube from a Broadcast Brat
by Keith H. Hirshland

Publisher: Create Space, August 8, 2013
ISBN-978-1482760521

Category: Memoir, Television Broadcasting, Behind the Scenes

Available in: Print & ebook, 519 pages

Publisher's Book Description:
Growing up in the shadow of one of network affiliate television’s groundbreakers, Keith Hirshland was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. In this gripping new memoir, readers will follow Hirshland’s stories as he witnesses the creation of sports networks and works alongside the legends of broadcasting. With a career that spans more than thirty years, Hirshland has seen it all.
From the meteoric rise of Tiger Woods to the Kelly Tilghman “lynching” controversy and countless stories from the incredibly successful SKINS GAME golf franchise, his amazing stories provide a behind-the-scenes look into one of the most revered industries in the world.
Cover Me Boys, I’m Going In: Tales of the Tube from a Broadcast Brat gives readers an informative, reflective, and often humorous look at live television from both in front of and behind the camera. Offering an insider’s look at the television industry as well as the creation of two sports networks, this gripping memoir’s stories include some of the most famous athletes and broadcasters in the world.
With a behind-the-scenes look into sports television that few will ever experience, this exciting memoir gives readers a priceless glimpse into one of the nation’s most coveted industries. The first book to document the creation of the Golf Channel, Cover Me Boys, I’m Going In is a unique memoir that covers a number of fascinating industry moments. Covering the Golf Channel as well as the earliest days of ESPN2, these wonderful stories are packed with the larger-than-life personalities that made these sport networks successful.
Inspired by his parents’ death, Hirshland wanted to document as much as possible about his professional life. After having led an interesting and unique life, he wanted to find a way to honor his parents while passing his stories down to his children. A mesmerizing read for anyone interested in sports, television, or “behind the scenes” stories in general, Cover Me Boys, I’m Going In is sure to hook readers from the very beginning. With its eclectic mix of playful, humorous, and dramatic stories, this excellent collection is truly the entertaining, informative, and enlightening book that readers have been waiting for.

MY REVIEW:

I really wanted to read this book because I have become a real fan of The Golf Channel as well as ESPN. I have also found that biographies can be very interesting, and the broadcasting industry is of special interest.

Generally, I was very pleased with my reading of this book. It was everything I hoped it would be. Keith grew up the son of a local TV broadcasting executive, and was steeped in the inner workings of the industry his entire life. This up-bringing permeates every day of his life.

I highly recommend this book to you if you have similar interests. His specific recall of the details of producing golf tournaments around the world were especially fascinating to me, and kept me reading at a pleasant rate. I recognized names of many folks and was able to recall many events he produced as a viewer, myself.

I understand he felt it was necessary to mention the Kelly Tilghman incident and his feelings about the new Comcast management at The Golf Channel, but both of these passages in the text  made me feel very uncomfortable and I would have preferred if he had left them out or handled them differently. I liked the other 98% of the text very much.

I hope you will enjoy the book as much as I did.

About Keith H. Hirshland:

Growing up in the shadow of one of network affiliate television’s groundbreakers, Keith Hirshland was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps.
In this gripping new memoir, readers will follow Hirshland’s stories as he participates in the creation of sports networks and works alongside the legends of broadcasting.
With a career that spans more than thirty years, Hirshland has seen it all. From the meteoric rise of Tiger Woods to the Kelly Tilghman “lynching” controversy and countless stories from the incredibly successful SKINS GAME golf franchise, his amazing stories provide a behind-the-scenes look into one of the most revered industries in the world. With its eclectic mix of playful, humorous, and dramatic stories, this excellent collection is truly the entertaining, informative, and enlightening book that readers have been waiting for.
Hirshland is the son of a local television broadcast icon and an Emmy Award-winning veteran of the television industry. His experience has taken him all across the country, covering sport’s most famous athletes and television’s most interesting and charismatic personalities.
Having worked at both the local affiliate and national network levels, Hirshland was on hand for the beginning stages of ESPN2 and one of the first forty people hired at the Golf Channel when the world’s first niche sports channel began its preparations in 1994. For years, he was part of the production team for golf’s nationally televised SKINS GAME. Hirshland has worked alongside sports television’s most iconic figures while following sport’s most recognizable names.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keith.hirshland

Twitter: https://twitter.com/khirshland

Buy Cover Me Boys, I’m Going In:
Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book Depository

Follow the Tour:
So Many Precious Books Mar 16 G & spotlight

Deal Sharing Aunt Mar 17 Review & Giveaway

Dr. Bill’s Book Bazaar Mar 18 Review

From L.A. to LA Mar 19 Review

Book Review: "Defiant Heart"

Book Review: "Defiant Heart"

It appears Marty Steere has another Award Winning Book in his second novel, "Defiant Heart," following "Sea of Crises," with a very different story.

I was drawn to the book by the small town, mid-western setting with a story of young love between Jon and Mary (a few years before my own, often similar, experiences).

From the publicity info:

"Set against the backdrop of small town America on the eve of World War II, Defiant Heart features two extraordinary characters and one unforgettable love story.

In the spring of 1941, young Jon Meyer's family dies in a tragic accident, and he is sent to live in a small Indiana town.  He arrives to find himself unwanted and shunned.

Mary Dahlgren is the daughter of the town's mayor.  A pretty girl, she could have the pick of the boys in town, including Vernon King, the star of the vaunted high school basketball team.  To the chagrin of her friends, though, Mary has always been more interested in books than boys.  That is, until she meets Jon.

But Jon and Mary are kept apart by an insidious campaign orchestrated by Mary's father, who perceives their relationship a threat to his political aspirations, and Vernon, to whom Jon is a rival for Mary's affections.  For months Jon is subjected to a painful ostracism.  Then, just when the young man's earnestness and perseverance begin to win over many of the townsfolk and it appears that love may conquer all, tragedy strikes.

As the country is caught up in war, so too are the young lovers swept up in events beyond their control, leaving both fighting for their very lives.  If, against the odds, they are to be together, each will need to find the strength, the courage and the resourcefulness that beat only in a defiant heart."


My Comments: As I got into the story, I was drawn in even more by the well-drawn characters - many reminded me of our classmates in a similar small-town school. The dominant place of the small town athletes rang very true with me. I wanted to be on the inside, but always remained an "outsider" even when the coach let me be on the team. Bullying, as we call it today, was very well portrayed - almost too well portrayed, a couple of times. I became very uncomfortable, a number of times. I think we call that "good writing!"

The Mary character was so reminiscent, in many ways, of the young lady I courted (now my wife of nearly 54 years!) - though any struggles we had were nothing compared to what Jon and Mary went through.

My final comment, so as not to slip into Spoiler Areas, relates to the Ben Wheeler character. I grew up on an Iowa farm, across the road from my Flying Farmer uncle/neighbor. The flying stories brought back some fantastic memories. Thanks, Marty!

I assume it is obvious that I highly recommend "Defiant Heart" to your reading pleasure! Once I got well into the story, I didn't want to put it down until the very end... and not even then... I wanted more. ;-)

Marty Steere

The son of a career air force officer, Marty Steere grew up on or near military installations across the country and overseas before settling in Southern California, where, when he's not writing, he practices law.  His debut novel, Sea of Crises, was named to Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2012.

Publisher: Penfield Press (April 15, 2013)

Category: Historical Fiction, WWII, General Fiction

Tour Dates: April-Mid May, 2013

Available in: eBook, 385

Happy Reading,

Dr. Bill  ;-)