Pete Hamill piece on the last hours of RFK

hear hear

 

He does it a lot, though. It didn't bother me on this specific piece, but his book on drinking, for instance, was filled with macho posturing and it got in my way of enjoying the read, and even that early-1970s collection of columns made him seem a bit full of himself. If tapintoamerica has read a lot of Hamill, I can see why he'd feel that way. He's a terrific writer, but his desire to ooze persona can be a bit much sometimes. Not here, in my opinion, but sometimes.

 

Well, Frank, if you're going to get all, you know, practical about this stuff ...

(Although I thought the first person in Drinking Life was pretty much the way it had to be done.)

 

Couldn't help but think words he wrote about the '60s apply pretty accurately to right now:

"What I saw repelled me. On all sides, positions were hardening. Those who supported the war sneered at those who opposed it. Each side demonized the other. Some of the antiwar demonstrators were repulsive: self-righteous, snarling, judgmental in the worst way. The supporters of the war were repulsive in a different way, prepared to fight to the last young man. At the same time, the usual Washington hustlers kept hustling, working the lobbies of power, corrupting politicians, preventing all political movement that was not intended to put money into bank accounts. On day after day, it felt as if the country was coming apart."

 

I have the Drinking Life, but havent yet read.
I hear it's tremendous. But it's batting around 6th in my reading books lineup.
Should I bump it up?

 

I'll sum it up for you. Pete wants you to know he's a tough guy from Brooklyn. Grrr. Tapped keyboards most of his life but is a manly man like a dockworker or, ummm, Ralph Kramden only much smarter. Grrrr. Drank like a he-man type, no umbrellas in his drinks. Grrrr. So tough he didn't need any help to quit. Betty Ford? Fuck her. Grrrr.

 

I wanted to share this, but didn't know where, so I'll tack it on this thread.

For the 40th anniversary of his death, Glamour magazine did a group interview with all of RFK's daughters and granddaughters. It's a bit cheeky, but I thought it was a fantastic "localization" of the news for the magazine's audience:

http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2008/05/bobbys_girls

 

I thought it was pretty good. Especially if you like New York. The "one day I up and quit drinking" bit was a little simplistic - many people don't have it so easy - but, as memoirs go, it's a good one.

 

I'd easily overlook his simplistic treatment of his quitting drinking if the book were called "A Life in NYC" or "A Life in Newspapers" or "All About Pete." But it's called "A Drinking Life."

I don't want to give the impression I don't think he's an excellent writer. He's good enough that I've bought and read a bunch of his books and just thumbed through "News is a Verb" again before making this point. Maybe that's why I think there's a bit too much Pete and rePete on America's bookshelves. I've read enough about him already, how much memoir material does one man need to write? It's probably not enough to keep me from reading the RFK book, but I wish he'd throw a changeup every now and then and keep Pete out of it.

 

not everyone is as well-read as you, frank. for some, "a drinking life" could be the only hamill book they've read. same with the "rfk" book.

the way he writes is the way he writes. when the stories are first-person in terms of subject matter, i'm not one to quibble.

perhaps that makes a reader like myself a simpleton. i don't find being easier to please a fault. different strokes, and all that jazz.

oh, and i'm an unabashed fan of pretty much everything pete writes. as i've mentioned before, i was a pup at the ny daily news when pete was a columnist there, so hero-worship certainly could be at work here. i make no apologies for that. he and breslin were wonderful role models who loved to talk writing with kids anytime, anywhere.

 

Look, I'm a fan, too. If nothing else, his stint as editor of the NY Post is stuff of legend. I just don't think that means I can't be critical. Tapintoamerica's point about the first-person writing was drawing some criticism, and all I'm saying is that Hamill does it more than most newspaper writers and it can, if you read a lot of his stuff, get to be a bit much. Now it's important to note that the NY Mag thing is a book excerpt. Maybe in the context of an entire book, it's not so glaring that he writes about urging RFK to run for office and that he and other insiders called him "Bob." Don't know. I'll have to read it.

 

Great Hamill piece.

The length is why I enjoy something like this in print, though. Why? I just do. I'd have rather read that on paper than a laptop.