Customer Reviews

Flashing Before My Eyes: 50 Years of Headlines, Deadlines & Punchlines

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was kind of put off by the two negative reviews from this site, then I decided to read the book anyways just because I have been a fan of Dick Schaap's for a long time.

I must say that the personal stories of his failed marriages was kind of off putting, but he seems to be poking fun at himself more than anything else. The book itself is incredible. This guy knew everybody. He was able to befriend just about everyone out there, whether they are in politics, sports, or anything else that matters. The stories are great, and the view points hilarious. Anyone can find fault in what anyone says. I find that the two reviewers who gave this book a negative review seems to be looking for something to pick on. The faults that they ascribe to the author may be valid, but they are also nitpicking. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has some time and want to read about a fascinating life spent conversing with some of the more interesting people in our society. So what if Schaap gloats a little or lamentsa his many marriages, he's entitled.

This is a "sort of" autobiography of Dick Schaap, one of the country's most prolific chronicler of sports and the people of sports. It outlines his rise from the streets of the Flatbush section of Brooklyn to his present position as ABC correspondent and host of his own show on ESPN. Schaap tells his life's story, for the most part, as it has been entwined around his meetings, conversations, and friendships with the most famous names in sports. Never have so many names been dropped with such aplomb and in such an entertaining manner.

The book is a joy from beginning to end. The chapter called "Collector's Items," a series of recollections of very short humorous and/or ironic encounters with the famous, leads the reader into a fascinating journey through Schaap's life and reveals his remarkable story telling style. Any attempt to mention all the greats and near greats of sports that Schaap refers to in the book would border on the ridiculous. It's enough, I think, to state that he includes always interesting and mostly humorous stories and insights about almost every important (and self-important) sports personality of the past fifty or so years.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. If you ever had dreams of getting to know the sports "heroes" of your youth or adulthood, chances are Schaap has actually lived out that fantasy. With his great talent with words, he can carry you along to vicariously do the same.

In 1992, I interviewed Dick Schaap for a story I wrote in Sports Collectors Digest. We talked about his life as a reporter for newspapers, magazines, and TV and I was amazed at the vast number of people he has come in contact with and befriended. In his autobiography, he amazes me even more. This book is well-written, extremely frank, and funny. He's opinionated and honest, two qualities that have helped him rise to the top of his profession. And what a storyteller! For sheer name-dropping, this book is over the top. I wish even more that I could be Schaap's valet for a year to see who he sees and attend the events he attends! Now, about that table at Rao's . . .

Want to eavesdrop on some of the most fascinating figures of sports, politics, journalism, and theatre? Well bunky, you probably can't. But go ahead and read Schaap's final book (sadly, he passed away recently), and you can experience the next best thing to being there.

A gifted writer, and by all accounts an even better human being, Schaap will be missed. Sorely missed. Thank you sir for making the world a bit nicer.

This book is like talking to an old frien. You find yourself drawn in by the stories he has to tell, and always come back for more. The relaxed sytle makes for a good read.

Schapp indulged in a journalist's dream for much of his life: He worked primarily in the 1950-1980 era, when celebrities of all types still mixed and mingled. He wrote words on Namath, Ali, Pynchon and Lenny Bruce. He fell into one fabulous situation after another, was enormously successful everywhere he journied, probably had more good dinners than anyone we'll ever know, talked more, laughed more, smoked more and dranked more. He consumed news and life in amazing proportions. It leaves you a little jealous.

And yet, his memoir is a mess. Calling upon himself to make sense of his long career, Schapp struggles to do much more than serve up anecdote after anecdote. Some of them follow logical order; some do not. The title is appropriate; the book is a flash. You glimpse into auras of many impressive names. A shame that these glimpses rarely go much deeper.

The format of ESPN's The Sports Reporters television program transformed Schapp into a quipmaker. He's objective enough and not particularly redundant or cliched -- often the largest weakness of most sportswriters. But too many scenes are wrapped in too pretty of bows. In that sense, the book is repetitive: Schapp pens a scene, wraps it up, pens a scene, wraps it up, as if to say, "Item!...ah...so! Item!...ah...so!" It makes you consider the speed of the man's life, the flash, if you will, which blinds one from reflection. That Schapp died so suddenly is in step with the bulk of his life, but it's sad that he never got the time to appreciate what he'd experienced, and maybe write a wiser memoir.

Schapp left us with stories, but no real message.

Admittedly I do not know all of Mr. Schaap's long career. I am most familiar with him through Sports Reporters and a couple of his more recent books. I had a great deal of anticipation for his autobiography, being that this is a man who has witnessed everything in sports in the last 60 years. I opened the book not knowing whether I would find a good recount of his life or an in-depth look at some of the most famous people in sports. Unfortunately, I found neither. Schaap is more gifted than most when it comes to writing about others, but reveals little about himself in this book. What he does reveal is often not flattering (he's been married 3 times, and had 2 affairs). The sum total of the man's life seems to be who he ate dinner with. I don't believe that to be the case, but those are the incidents he has chosen to write most about in his book. He skims over decades of sporting events, but will write 10 pages on dinner with Lenny Bruce. What also is disappointing about this book is the lack of depth when he does turn his attention to sporting subjects. He knew Ali intimately, but the sum of what he gives you would make great party antecdotes, but are nothing to base even a chapter of a memoir on. I really enjoyed Roy Firestone's book of about 10 years ago because he did spend a great deal of ink on those sporting figures he knew intimately. I learned something. Unfortunately all Schaap has chosen to reveal about himself, or anyone else for that matter, is what their favorite restaurant is. I am a huge of fan of Dick Schaap's work on others. He is a gifted writer, and that may be part of his problem. The book is devoted more to clever paragraphs than clever chapters. It reads like an endless series of columns. If you like Dick Schaap, I would stick to watching Sports Reporters, and resign yourself to the fact that his memoir does nothing to enhance your knowledge of him or the subjects that he covered.

Ive never seen such an ego trip for a man who is a good writer and has authored several I've read. This book is a momental exercise in name dropping and self-aggrandizement. Bad news

Few sportswriters led a more interesting life than Dick Schaap. His was a Forrest Gump type of existence -- they guy witnessed every notable moment in sports over the past four decades. It's just too bad Schaap died before his time. At any rate, he does a compelling job of chronicling his life in this book. I couldn't put it down.

After a half century of listening and telling, Dick Schaap finally tells his own story in this long overdue memoir of a legendary journalist. He has wined and dined with some of America's most revered icons, both on and off the record, and the amount of stories he has to tell rivals a bible-preaching minister minister.
This 300 page auto-biography is a vast collection of stories told by Schaap, who thanks to his unbelievable amount of friends probably drops more names then the Hollywood walk of fame and the basketball, football and baseball hall of fames combined.
His status as one of the most distinguished and respected journalists of the 20th century represent his true versatility in print and television journalism and after all his stories of running the town with Muhammad Ali, drinking with Billy Crystal, smoking a joint with Joe Namath, playing tennis with Johnny Carson and talking women with Wilt Chamberlain, Schaap finally tells his own story in this warm and intimate memoir
In 50 years of journalism, Schaap has worked for ESPN covering sports, ABC where he was a sports correspondent, a theater critic for "World Wide News Now" and reported human interest and political stories for "20/20," was the author of more than 30 books, including 2 New York Times Bestsellers and has won six Emmys for his work in television. Schaap is the only man to vote for both the Tony Awards, which recognizes achievement in performing theatres, and the Heisman Trophy, which recognizes the best player in college football.
Schaap takes the reader through his childhood first at his birthplace in the flat bush section of Brooklyn in 1934 and where he spent the majority of his adolescence in Freeport, Long Island, which Schaap described as a "blue collar clam digger's town." He described his early affinity for sports and how he bleed Brooklyn Dodger blue. At the age of 15 Schaap was hired at the local paper to cover local sports, adding that he was very overpaid and often opened the paper in excitement and closed it in embarrassment.
A child prodigy in the field of sports journalism, Schaap also excelled in his academics and attended Cornell University at the age of 17. While Schaap admits the early start in the job market accelerated his career, it also left him socially inept and extremely shy, which contributed to "many failed relationships and 2 bitter divorces." Schaap went on to study at Colombia University eventually became the editor of Sport upon receiving his master's degree. His knowledge of how to use the English language to depict a story or scene continued to serve him well as he worked for several prominent New York newspapers including the New York Herald Tribune and Newsweek magazine.
Schaap was also one of the pioneers in ushering a new era of journalism style, which Schaap described as new journalism, using emotion and vocabulary to tell a story rather then concentrating on its news value.
This book would appeal to anyone with a faint interest in sports and entertainment. Reading "Flashing Before My Eyes: 50 Years of headlines, Deadlines & Punchlines" is like sitting by a fireplace or having a drink at a local tavern and hearing old stories about American heroes from the 50's to the present. A true behind the scenes account of American pop culture, this book will enlighten those with an interest in 20th century America and will serve as the basis of how to tell a good story.
The memoir is not told in chronological order, which at times is confusing to keep track of but at the same time holds true to Schaap's fireside chat style of writing. While Schaap briefly talks of his marriage problems, he certainly does not give them the attention that he does to his tales of shooting the breeze with many of America's most famous athletes, political figures and celebrities. This book can seem very loosely put together, but the reader must take into context Schaap's health problems while writing this book. It is clear he wanted to tell his story before his time ran out. Sadly, Schaap finished just in time, as he died 6 months after the publication date from complications of hip replacement surgery.
Dick Schaap was one of the best writers sports journalism has ever had and more importantly its best listener. The exact opposite of Howard Cosell, (Schaap discusses his feelings on the broadcaster in one chapter, in both a positive and negative light) Dick Schaap always felt that the story was important then him, something nearly lost in today's world of self-promotion where sports journalists are now known as sports personalities and make their living on their opinions instead of utilizing prose to explain a story.
Through the profession of journalism, Schaap has made more acquaintances and friends then most people can dream of. Most of his patrons were famous, some where not, but what makes everyone want to talk to Schaap is his ability to listen and interpret one's story.