Agent Palmer

Of all things Geek. I am…

The Last Amateurs is a slam-dunk look at the formation of the Patriot League

John Feinstein’s The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball is a love letter to amateur athletics and the notion of the unironic “student” athlete. 

In the book, he chronicles the 1999-2000 Patriot League Basketball season. The Patriot League is something I guess I took for granted, as it is in my backyard. But for those who don’t know, it’s academically right up there with the Ivy League.

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Spoiler Free Review

Make Space on your shelf for Michener’s sci-fi novel

James A Michener’s Space is such a complete work of fiction that it doesn’t just underscore the patriotic heroism of the Space Race. It also displays the media bias of the time towards pristine American heroes and the sad triumph of going to the Moon, only to turn away from science after the accomplishment.

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Middle American culture clash on full display in Vietnam era Friendly Fire

I don’t know if I should be amused, bemused, or depressed now that I’ve finished reading Friendly Fire by C.D.B. Byran. The death of any young person is a tragedy, in war or peace. But the story of Michael Mullen, his death and the plight and anguish of his parents, as well as that of a nation unsure of itself, is the broader stroke of the book.  As the inside dust jacket reads: “Michael was to have been the fifth…

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Despite time gap, Brand Gap still holds relevant marketing truths

Marty Neumeier attempts to bridge “The Brand Gap,” but does he succeed? Two decades on from its publishing, I think there is more in The Brand Gap that is still relevant than some of the more dated material that’s just fun to reminisce as you read.

The book attempts to explain and educate the reader on “How to bridge the distances between business strategy and design.” And if that subtitle and the book title doesn’t clue you in, he is talking about brand value and how to raise it.

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‘Incredible, edible egg’ campaign proves the power of the pitch

Despite all of the incredible television advertising catchphrases that still live in my millennial head, one still has a stranglehold: “The incredible, edible egg.”

Yes, yes, television was supposed to rot my generation’s collective brain, but it seems downright healthy compared to the subsequent generations’ digital diets. But that’s not the health I want to dive into.

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