Book Club with Michael Smerconish

Latest Episodes:

Ralph Cipriano: "Courtroom Cowboy" Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Before he became a full-time talk radio host, Michael worked for a Philadelphia-based trial lawyer, James E. Beasley, who passed away in 2004. Listen to this special conversation where Michael spoke to Ralph Cipriano, who immortalized Beasley in his book "Courtroom Cowboy: The Life of Legal Trailblazer Jim Beasley." Also joining in this conversation is Beasley's son, Jim Beasley Jr. Beasley Sr. was a high school dropout driving a Greyhound bus when, on an impulse, he decided to change his destiny. He left the bus station behind and enrolled in Temple University and then its law school on the GI Bill. It was a fateful choice for Beasley and for hundreds of clients who would need a warrior to fight for them. In the courtroom Beasley was a scrapper, standing up for the underdog and winning more million-dollar verdicts than any other trial lawyer in the country. Original air date 2008, the book was published in 2008. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stan Middleman: "Seeing Around Corners" Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

Through Stan's life lessons, you'll discover how perseverance, anticipating change, and creating a shared vision for your team can help you build an enduring and successful business. Learn how Stan overcame early failures, survived the 2008 financial crisis, and led his mortgage firm to become an industry leader when competitors faltered.

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Louis J. Freeh: "My FBI" Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

From the archives, Michael's conversation with Louis J. Freeh, author of "My FBI: Bringing Down the Mafia, Investigating Bill Clinton, and Fighting the War on Terror." Freeh led the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1993 to 2001, through some of the most tumultuous times in its long history. This is the story of a life in law enforcement, and of one man’s determined struggle to strengthen and reform the FBI while ensuring its freedom from political interference. Original air date 6 December 2005. The book was published on 11 October 2005. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Peggy Noonan: "A Certain Idea of America" Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

For a quarter century, Peggy Noonan has been thinking aloud about America in her much-loved Wall Street Journal column. In this new collection of her essential recent work, Noonan demonstrates the erudition, wisdom and humor that have made her one of America’s most admired writers. Michael welcomes the Pulitzer-prize winning Wall Street Journal columnist and New York Times bestselling author with her new book, "A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings." Original air date 25 November 2024. The book was published on 19 November 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Douglas Brinkley: "American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race" Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

Michael spoke to historian Douglas Brinkley about the book he wrote the year of the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing. In the bestselling "American Moonshot," the award winning historian and perennial New York Times bestselling author takes a fresh look at the space program, President John F. Kennedy’s inspiring challenge, and America’s race to the moon. Original air date 3 April 2019. The book was published on 2 April 2019. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Richard Dawkins: "The Greatest Show on Earth" Nov 15, 2024

Show notes

From deep in the archives, Michael's conversation with Richard Dawkins, author of "The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (A Brief History of the Natural World)." In the New York Times bestselling book, he launches a fierce counterattack against proponents of "Intelligent Design." "Intelligent Design" is being taught in our schools; educators are being asked to "teach the controversy" behind evolutionary theory. There is no controversy. Dawkins sifts through rich layers of scientific evidence—from living examples of natural selection to clues in the fossil record; from natural clocks that mark the vast epochs wherein evolution ran its course to the intricacies of developing embryos; from plate tectonics to molecular genetics—to make the airtight case that "we find ourselves perched on one tiny twig in the midst of a blossoming and flourishing tree of life and it is no accident, but the direct consequence of evolution by non-random selection." Original air date 23 November 2009. The book was published on 22 September 2009. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John Grogan: "Marley & Me" Nov 12, 2024

Show notes

The heartwarming and unforgettable story of a family and the wondrously neurotic dog who taught them what really matters in life. Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans. John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same. Listen to Michael speak with John Grogan, author of "Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog." Original air date 14 November 2006. The book was published in 2005. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chris Wallace: "Countdown 1960" Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

Michael talks to Chris Wallace about his book "Countdown 1960: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the 312 Days that Changed America's Politics Forever." The riveting new book on the momentous year, campaign, and election that shaped American history. It’s January 2, 1960: the day that Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy declared his candidacy; and with this opening scene, Chris Wallace offers readers a front-row seat to history. From the challenge of primary battles in a nation that had never elected a Catholic president, to the intense machinations of the national conventions—where JFK chose Lyndon Johnson as his running mate over the impassioned objections of his brother Bobby—this is a nonfiction political thriller filled with intrigue, cinematic action, and fresh reporting. Original air date 1 November 2024. The book was published on 8 October 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bob Woodward: "War" Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American Presidency. Michael welcomes the legendary journalist for a conversation about his book "War" - an intimate and sweeping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in presidential politics and American history. Original air date 28 October 2024. The book was published on 15 October 2024. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Michael Barone: "How America’s Political Parties Change" Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

We have the oldest and third oldest political parties in the world―the Democratic Party founded in 1832 to reelect Andrew Jackson, the Republican Party founded in 1854 to oppose slavery in the territories. They are older than almost every American business, most American colleges, and many American churches. Both have seemed to face extinction in the past, and have rebounded to be competitive again. How have they managed it? Michael talks to Michael Barone, longtime co-author of The Almanac of American Politics, on his book "How America’s Political Parties Change (and How They Don’t)." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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