This is a story about Cleveland, Ohio....

[WCGreen]

My Friend. Larry Durstin, reviews a book called "The Whore of Akron" which is about LeBron James...

But it is also about more than that, it's about Cleveland and how we have born the brut of distaste in our mouths ever since the Fire caught on fire and the First Lady of Cleveland turned down a formanal sit and chat with the president because "it was her bowling night..."

It's a wonderful read, this review, and I can't wait to read the book.

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/larry-durstin/39588/scott-raabs-rousing-whore-of-akron-delivers-us-from-lebron

Scott Raab's Rousing 'Whore of Akron' Delivers Us From Lebron...

By Larry Durstin

In its assessment of Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer," the Saturday Review observed, "who touches this book touches living tissue." These same words could be applied to displaced Cleveland native Scott Raab's remarkable "The Whore of Akron" - a visceral and raucously funny rant that's more about Raab himself than it is about his target of disdain, LeBron James. And that's a good thing, because less is more than enough when it comes to the duplicitous hoopster.

This is also perhaps the best book - along with Fred Exley's "A Fan's Notes" (1968) - ever written about the ragged world of sports obsession. But unlike Exley's melancholy depiction of a man descending into madness upon realizing he is doomed to be nothing more than a spectator, "The Whore of Akron" is about Raab being regenerated by his choice to become an active participant in his fate as a long-suffering Cleveland sports fan and to wage a one-man crusade against the seditious James.

He writes, "Every man has a mission, a calling, a higher purpose and if he lives long enough life itself will thrust that mission upon him. Not in a moment of blinding insight ... but rather as erosion. Surfaces wear away; the center crumbles; the things that once seemed vital prove their essential meaninglessness as years go by and what's left - what is finally revealed - turns out to be the reason God breathed life into our very soul. My mission is to bear witness ... To Cleveland. To the faith, hope and hunger that bind the soul of a people to their home. To the transcendent glory of sport and its spirit, fierce and pure ... To LeBron, who once seemed to embody that soul an then betrayed it. And above all, to the Cleveland fans, the veritable nation of Job, whose heart burns yet through all the heartache and scorn."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. You know, I'm not really into sports...

But like any well-written piece, this review makes me interested.

The LA Times used to have a sports writer, many years ago, and his writing was so incandescently good that I would inhale each and every column. I wish I remembered his name, but alas, I don't.

This book review strikes me the same way.

K&R

:kick:

[leftyohiolib]

2. this is not a story of cleveland it's a basket ball story. lebron was not cleveland

lebron is a ball player who owes cleveland nothing he did a job here and moved on and so should basketball fans. anyone still pining for the days of "king james" is insulting the current line up. omg, calling him king james always made me want to throw up

[WCGreen]

3. This is more than a sports book by far...

The author uses sports as a jumping off point for why Clevelanders are Clevelanders...

If you read the whole review you would get that...

[leftyohiolib]

4. "The Whore of Akron" which is about LeBron James...

btw i did read it. and i stand by my statement. take care