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CUYAHOGA COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY - Choice Books of the Month
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 THE BUZZARD:
Inside the Glory Days of WMMS & Cleveland Rock Radio
by John Gorman
Memoir | Gray & Company Publishers, 2007
Review by Heidi Andres
In 1973, Boston-native John Gorman left his hometown for Cleveland, Ohio and a job at WMMS, an evolving, under-new-ownership FM radio station. The rest, as they say, is history. As music director, program director, and later operations manager at the station (and creator of the famous Buzzard mascot), Gorman experienced the ups and downs of running a progressive rock, album-oriented FM radio station when AM ruled the airways. AM radio’s dominance would soon change; and, with the mushrooming success of WMMS, so would the future of FM and Cleveland radio.
WMMS became a popular culture phenomenon, both locally and nationally, helping to bring artists such as Bruce Springsteen, U2, and David Bowie to widespread attention. Gorman’s book is filled with anecdotes that transport the reader back to the rebellious days of radio (before corporate culture took over and deals could still be made with words and handshakes alone,) and his recollections provide a fly-on-the-wall perspective of the station’s hallways, concert events, DJ personalities, and celebrity interviews.
The competitive nature of radio broadcasting, WMMS’s unconventional rise to the top and its eventual fall from grace are chronicled by Gorman as only a true insider could do. Bootlegged copies of WMMS material from its most popular period still exist, but most of the originals were lost, damaged, or disappeared over the years. John Gorman’s memories and behind-the-scenes accounts are the next best thing to having the WMMS of the late-1970s to mid-1980s still on the air. This entertaining and amusing read will be appreciated by avid listeners of “The Buzzard” during its heyday and anyone interested in Cleveland’s music history.
by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson
Nonfiction | published by Little, Brown & Company, 2007
Review by Joan Curtin
Marcus Luttrell is a hero by any measure. A Navy SEAL, who survived the ill-fated Operation Redwing in Afghanistan, the story of his ordeal and rescue is a tribute to the brave men of SEAL Team 10 who did not survive the mission. It is also a tribute to the people of the Pashtun tribe who found and shielded him from the Taliban, not because of politics, but because of their code of honor (lokhay) which requires them to defend a guest to the death.
The story of his survival and rescue is tale enough to tell, but Luttrell also writes of his Texas upbringing, his determination from boyhood to become a SEAL, and the unbelievably rigorous training all SEAL candidates have to endure before they can proudly wear the Trident pin.
Patrick Robinson, well-known for his best-selling nautical fiction, has captured Marcus Luttrell’s voice and point of view with skill and sensitivity. The story itself is worth being the subject of a novel, but it is the truth of Luttrell’s courage, determination, and grief. It touches the reader and reminds us that heroes still exist in this world.
Read our book talks from previous months.
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LONE SURVIVOR
