Good Boy, Bad Boy, A Better Man

What a wonderful, heartfelt book! Phillip Giambri tracks his journey from South Philly kid to East Village raconteur and fixture, stopping along the way to remember the Iceman, horse-drawn delivery wagons, fresh milk from the cow and wine from the basement, high school detention, motorcycles, Mummers Day Parades, debunking Jesus (in a Catholic school 'alternative newsletter'!), nuclear submarines, Off-Off-Broadway, Moroccan hash and, inevitably, sex. Did I mention sex? The cast includes such names as Charlie the Goat Man, Francine the Queer, Uncle Leon, Donnie the Cowboy, and Farmer Dobbs. Also, Chevy Chase, Blythe Danner, Michael Douglas, and Raul Julia, who aren't as much fun as the first group. The stories keep coming and they're funny, fascinating, and real, the taste of a time long gone and sadly so. The language is matter-of-fact and unsentimental, but it casts a spell-the world was not simpler then but people felt that more of their fate was in their own hands, that they could make something of themselves from their own effort. They had simple dignity. Who knew dignity would become so elusive? Giambri's stories resonate far and wide. Don't miss this book-it's a treasure! -Ted Krever, Author Swindler and Son: A Heist Misadventure