As Bouton himself says in the introduction, books like this usually are pretty lousy, but this one is quite delightful. It's an anthology of pieces on managers, with some interludes and chapters by Bouton himself, including a piece on (of course) Joe Schultz, his manager on the Seattle Pilots. As Bouton says, you wouldn't expect someone like Schultz to have a chapter in such a book, but "it was just his good fortune to have managed ME." The pieces are well chosen; the title piece, about Rocky Bridges, is particularly a riot. If you like Bouton's stuff, you'll like this, and you'll wonder why this little gem is so neglected.

Recently I travelled around 10 western states on a car-camping trip. When I wasn't driving, I read this book out loud to my partner. Since I am a new president of a struggling community theatre this year, I thought what a great opportunity to learn more about marketing and keeping an audience while I sit in the car. I particularly liked the way this book addressed issues and gave possible solutions to the low occupancy and attrition rates associated with our theatre. This proved to be a very informative source and gave us new ideas I'm anxious to try.