BobHarris.com - Thanks, and good night

Books! Actual books!

"A rollicking ride of intellectual discovery and emotional growth... his comic timing never fails"

-- The Wall Street Journal

"Pulls you in like a good sports story"

-- The New York Times Book Review

"Endearingly frank... jubilant... lighthearted and fast-paced"

-- New York Newsday

"A surprisingly touching memoir"

-- Entertainment Weekly

"Snappy and informative"

-- Associated Press

"Effortlessly funny and informative... tender, human, and very wise... A must for anyone who loves Jeopardy!, or has ever seen it, or is breathing."

-- Joss Whedon, creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"I haven't seen Jeopardy! since I was a kid, and yet I was charmed and amused by Bob Harris's fascinating and surprisingly suspenseful book. Through sheer force of personality, he takes this brainy TV show and makes it funny and easy to relate to."

-- Ira Glass, creator and host, This American Life

"A surprisingly intimate, entertaining book."

-- Orson Scott Card, 4-time Hugo Award winner, author of Ender's Game

"Funny, enlightening -- and just might help you win a million bucks on Jeopardy!"

-- A. J. Jacobs, author of The Know-It-All

"A masterful job of describing the feel of Jeopardy! in the heat of battle... I knew Bob was a great guy and a fantastic Jeopardy! player. Now I've found that he's also a wonderful writer. I think I'm starting to hate him."

-- Brad Rutter, top money-winner in Jeopardy! history

Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

“Revelatory... Harris's sly wit and infectious curiosity make understanding world chaos fascinating... witty, horrific, and necessary.”

— Boston Globe

"Brave... irreverent... charges into the thick of the globe's myriad simmering wars... hilariously relaxed."

— New York Observer

"Only Bob could make a user’s guide to our increasingly hostile world this absorbing, this breezy, and—ultimately—this hopeful.”

— Ken Jennings, author of Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs

“Fascinating, enlightening, and surprisingly: NOT TOTALLY DEPRESSING. A gimlet-eyed look at the world we endure that’s also suitable for enjoying with a gimlet.”

— John Hodgman, author of The Areas of My Expertise
and correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

"All three [presidential] candidates should read all three of these [recommended] books, but McCain gets first crack at Bob Harris's "Who Hates Whom“... a lighthearted overview of the insurrections and civil wars in the world today."

— Steven Pinker, author of The Stuff of Thought, in the New York Times Book Review

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Thanks, and good night

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Wednesday, 09 July 2008

A brief and final update on my buddy Mike Irwin, fighting stage four bone cancer since the startling and sudden diagnosis just a few months ago.
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He didn't make it. Mike passed away, surrounded by loved ones and at a reasonable amount of peace, this morning.

There are a lot of things I'd like to say about him, but I'll keep it simple. He taught me a lot about stand-up comedy, about politics, and just about getting through life. Mike was funny, Mike was smart, Mike cared deeply about somehow making a more compassionate, rational world, but more than anything, Mike was kind. Everything else I could write would just be illustrations.

Last time I saw Mike was in his hospital room, the night before my flight home. We both knew it might be the last time we would see each other.

The conversation could have been kinda hard, but fortunately there was a good baseball game on, so we put it on, just like we used to do back when I lived with him in Chicago, back when we were both young and starting out not so long ago. We talked about the big things sort of in between the spaces of the game, just like we always did. We said the stuff we needed to say. And in between we cheered and booed. One last night of something like normality, right there amid all the tubes and pumps and horrible hospital crap.

It was wonderful.

I'll always be glad for that night, both for his sake and mine.

If you've got folks you love you haven't spoken to in a while, do. One of the most important things you can do while you're here, I think. And you never know how fast the time can go.

btw, I understand some folks reading this might want to send a note of condolences. Thanks, but no need. It's just grief. It's part of life. If you want to, just take that energy and put it into hugging your own loved ones like you mean it. That'll do more good. And maybe go over the the fund set up for Mike and his family and chip in a few.

Thanks.