A poetically profane, verbally adroit guide to life by two jokers who are smarter than they act.
Two Bronx natives with their own popular talk show offer a street-smart guide to modern-day survival.
In 2013, Desus Nice (Daniel Baker) and The Kid Mero (Joel Martinez) created a show that was unlike anything else on TV: two very funny guys riffing from a black and Latinx perspective with guests like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Don Cheadle, and the Wu-Tang Clan. In their literary debut, Desus and Mero deliver a series of back-and-forth debates (“a fat sack of truth nuggets, a journey inside the minds of myself and Mero”) about such topics as masculinity, dating, drugs, and the criminal justice system. The format can be jarring at first—Mero is the wild card, unleashing his stream-of-consciousness lessons in ALL CAPS, including an introduction informing us exactly how much he cares what readers think. Desus is the straight man, often interpreting Mero’s insights or current condition: “Mero’s high,” he explains. “Not like, ‘Hey, I’m kinda fucked up but I’m all good.’ No. If you think you know people who get high, you’ve never met Mero.” Obviously, their advice must be taken with a grain of salt. Wearing good running shoes if you’re going to shoplift makes sense, but having your friend rob you and your date to save money probably isn’t the best idea. Besides being consistently funny, there are a few salient points about life “growing up brown in NYC,” such as Desus’ observation that he sees the NYPD as “just another rival gang, except they had permission to use their guns, so best to just avoid them altogether.” For advice on how to live when you’re broke or what it means to be “washed,” there’s both wisdom and hilarity here. The authors close with a Q&A speed round on porn, sneakers, and death, among other topics of interest.
A poetically profane, verbally adroit guide to life by two jokers who are smarter than they act.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-51233-2
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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