Description
Call it a miracle, fate, pure luck, or just another day in the city where nothing is usual, but in 1991 Jimmy Breslin narrowly escaped death - which inspired him to write this book about his life.Two years ago, Breslin was having trouble getting his left eyelid to open and close. This was too peculiar to ignore, so Breslin decided to pay a rare visit to his doctor. As it turned out, the eyelid was a matter of nerves. But extensive testing revealed something unrelated and life-threatening: he had an aneurysm in his brain - a thin, ballooned artery wall that could burst and kill him at any moment unless he opted for a risky surgical procedure. Breslin agreed to the surgery and at age sixty-five, grateful for this miracle (what else could you call it?), began taking stock of his remarkable life.
The legendary newspaperman Jimmy Breslin remembers: riding in a helicopter with the Beatles... interviewing JFK's gravedigger... spreading the news, at age 11, about his mother's suicide attempt... catching Joe McCarthy in a lie... confronting the prospect of brain surgery... escaping a Brooklyn race riot... falling in love at first sight, in a Queens bar, with a woman he would marry... running for public office on a ticket with Norman Mailer...
What it all adds up to: an extraordinary life, movingly and hilariously recalled in a memoir written with all the brashness, candor, and style that have distinguished Jimmy Breslin's celebrated newspaper columns and made him one of the most admired and enjoyed journalists of our time.
ISBN:9780316118798
