Kirkus Star
THE KIRKUS STAR
Awarded to Books of Exceptional Merit

BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS




Entertainment & Sports Book Reviews Available Now (page 2)


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Cover art for A CHANCE TO WIN
NONFICTION
Released: May 7, 2013

"A compelling portrait of inner-city struggles."
Award-winning New Jersey crime reporter Schuppe's first book, which won the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award, follows members of a Little League baseball team and their coach as they try to succeed and survive in one of Newark's toughest neighborhoods. Read full book review >
Cover art for MAYBE WE'LL HAVE YOU BACK
NONFICTION
Released: May 1, 2013

"A lightweight, sometimes-funny showbiz memoir from a successful background player."
A view from the trenches of show business by a comic actor straddling the line between success and obscurity. Read full book review >
Cover art for BATTLESHIP
NONFICTION
Released: April 30, 2013

"For horse-racing fans, an adequate follow-up to the author's previous book and a companion for Lauren Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit (2001)."
The story of an heiress, her horse and the jockey who rode it to glory. Read full book review >
Cover art for ATTEMPTING NORMAL
NONFICTION
Released: April 30, 2013

"In a blood sport littered with casualties, this is an account of an unlikely survivor."
A comedian's life is no laughing matter in this memoir of short chapters that examine the author's source of material as a series of open wounds. Read full book review >
Cover art for HOW THE BEATLES ROCKED THE KREMLIN
NONFICTION
Released: April 23, 2013

"An imperfect but worthwhile addition to the Beatles bookshelf."
An exhaustive and exhausting look at the Fab Four's impact on the Soviet Union. Read full book review >
Cover art for CAPTAIN PHIL HARRIS
NONFICTION
Released: April 23, 2013

"An unflinching portrait that will surely satisfy Harris' fans."
A candid narrative deconstructs the turbulent personal and professional life of the late Deadliest Catch star Phil Harris. Read full book review >
Cover art for TOP OF THE MORNING
NONFICTION
Released: April 23, 2013

"A troubling look inside an enterprise as vicious and internecine as a soap opera."
A chronicle of the recent nasty struggles within and between Today and Good Morning America. Read full book review >
Cover art for FLIP
NONFICTION
Released: April 22, 2013

"An entertaining and well-intentioned biography that lacks a deeper understanding of its subject."
Journalist Cook (The Last Headbangers: NFL Football in the Rowdy, Reckless '70s, 2012, etc.) gives a largely forgotten TV pioneer his due. Read full book review >
Cover art for COLOR BLIND
NONFICTION
Released: April 18, 2013

"A well-told account of a fascinating, and forgotten, chapter in the history of America's national pastime."
Freelance journalist Dunkel spins the colorful yarn of an improbably integrated team's wild days of independent baseball during the Great Depression. Read full book review >
Cover art for MY FOOT IS TOO BIG FOR THE GLASS SLIPPER
NONFICTION
Released: April 16, 2013

"Often-heard, occasionally useful advice on how to be a successful mom and partner."
Practical advice on mothering and being a wife. Read full book review >
Cover art for HILLBILLY HEART
NONFICTION
Released: April 16, 2013

"Although the narrative occasionally veers into aw-shucks-I'm-just-a-country-boy territory, this is a warm account of a star who has managed to remain humble."
A controversial country-music sensation imparts tales of struggle and success. Read full book review >
Cover art for THE ART OF CONTROVERSY
NONFICTION
Released: April 10, 2013

"Generally engaging and often illuminating, but the study might better have gone deeper rather than wide."
The veteran journalist offers a survey of political caricature, international in scope, but a little sketchy in its short biographical summaries. Read full book review >