… with some help from foreword-penning Lou Piniella? At the very least, it’s hard to imagine Lawrence Funderburke’s book ‘Hook Me Up Playa’ doing less to help the publishing industry than, say, end-stage Paul Auster. (The CSTB Promise: more Auster-related burns than any other sports blog, guaranteed) Although that’s partially because Funderburke’s book (apparently) came out in 2005. This is the first I’m hearing of it, though, and this isn’t the sort of news one should simply keep to oneself. Not when Funderbolt’s exposing some serious dangers to The Youth. This is from Amazon’s product description:
Funderburke’s primary interest is helping young people – athletes and non-athletes – in making the right career decisions, not based on the often overwhelming desire for instant gratification, but rather on what is in their long-term best interest. As Funderburke sees it, too many young people see professional sports as an invitation to a life-long party. And to make matters worse, a lot of kids are pushed toward a career in professional sports by obsessive parents who have their own agendas.
I, for one, count myself lucky that I did not allow my parents to push me into professional sports. (I also feel like I should mention that I really enjoyed Paul Auster’s ‘City of Glass’ when I was in college) Although I guess the real question here is whether an athlete with a less-consequential pro career has ever written a book. Does anyone have a copy of Kuip: The Duane Kuiper Story for me? And thanks to Josh Weill for the link.