Boom! This is Books & Biceps #345!

Welcome to our hundreds of new readers this week! We’ve crossed 23,000 sophisticated meatheads! If someone forwarded you this issue of B&B, you can join us right here:

(If you’re a new subscriber or missed my yearly book round-up, The 16 Most Memorable Books I Read in 2024, you can read it here.)

BOOKS

 The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Most Daring Sea Rescue by Michael J. Tougias and Casey Sherman

While some people pride themselves on being able to pair the perfect wine with the perfect steak or the ideal lager with the right burger, I have no talent or care for either of those things. I’ll just eat the steak and the burger with anything… However, my pairing talent is matching the right books with the right vacations.

When I’m in the mountains I like exploring and adventure and historical books on the region. When I’m skiing I like books that take place in the snow or deal with incredible treks across the arctic or exploration of the poles.

And when I’m at the beach, like I’ve been this week on vacation with the family in Turks & Caicos, I like to find books on ocean adventures, swims, rescues, feats and incredible true stories of survival that take place on the water.

I’ve had The Finest Hours on my radar, and since I knew it was about a remarkable Coast Guard rescue during a record-setting, freezing blizzard in the winter near Cape Cod, I figured what better place to read about bone chilling waters and remarkable feats of bravery than a safe, warm beach where the water was 78 and the skies were clear.

And I’m glad I did. This book was tremendously researched and puts you IN the rescue boats with these heroes, who fought 60 foot waves for more than 24 hours at a clip, with no break, while getting doused with sleet, snow, frost, wind and the 34 degree ocean water constantly crashing over their heads. These men battled frostbite, hypothermia and the flu to spend nearly two days at sea rescuing not one, but two 500 foot tankers that, amazingly, SPLIT INTO TWO pieces from the crashing waves.

You’ll read about Bernie Webber, a man made of steel, who risked his life numerous times to save men freezing and dying on the stern of one of the tankers. Oh yeah, this also took place in the 1950s. No goretex. No neoprene equipment. No hi-tech cold gear from Under Armour or North Face. Just heavy clothes that got damp and wet and made you miserable. Next time you feel yourself in need of a dose of what courage really is, read this. You’ll love it.

BICEPS

I signed up for a 1-mile ocean race in South Florida in the first week of May and the timing was perfect. I got to use my trip here to T&C to get some strong and long ocean swims in almost every morning. Got in between 1 and 1.5 miles each time depending on the current… Absolutely can’t beat this kind of training.

I also got to try these Third Eye ocean goggles. I’ve never used anything but my basic racing goggles for ocean swims or triathlons and I really liked these. Much better view under water and easier to sight when you pick your head up:

QUICK FLEXES

I saw some incredible luxury lap pools on this trip, but I think this one is my favorite:

STRONG LINKS

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3) This is the single most relatable newsletter about start-ups you’ll ever read. And it’s by the guy who founded Beehiiv, the platform host of this newsletter. His name’s Tyler. His newsletter’s Big Desk Energy. You’ll love it:

DID YOU ORDER GENERATION GRIFFEY YET?

ALL THESE GUYS DID AND THEY SHARED THE PICS WITH US:

If you still wear your hat backward like Griffey, think all the Prime flavors are dumb because Gatorade Citrus Cooler is the greatest sports drink ever, miss Blockbuster and Tower Records, destroyed your friends in Street Fighter, GoldenEye, and NBA Jam, can quote Tommy Boy and Billy Madison, and never missed Stu Scott on SportsCenter —this book, Generation Griffey, is for you.

I ranked 90 of the '90s things that made your dude childhood legendary. A rankfest, if you will. Ninety columns. By me. For you. For US.

Why Generation Griffey?

First, it’s a great name. We’ve got alliteration, “generation,” and the quintessential athlete of that era: Ken Griffey Jr.

Junior perfectly defines the era for late '80s and '90s kids because the apex of his career matches our childhood. From the day he joined the Mariners’ lineup in 1989 through the next decade, nobody embodied '90s style (the backward hat), swagger (the swing, the smile, the commercials), and coolness (the kicks, the cameos, the crossover stardom) quite like Griffey.
His reign atop the sports/celebrity pyramid (alongside Jordan) from his rookie year in Seattle to his move to the Reds in 2000 serves as the perfect bookend for all of us who grew up in the last decade of the last century.

See? Generation Griffey is a spectacular name for this book.

What are we ranking?

Everything. Well, noteverything, but the 90 most nostalgic things that make us dudes smile all these years later: the movies we quoted, the athletes we loved, the cards we collected, the foods we devoured, the shows we watched, and more. All of it. Got it? Good. Let’s go.