Author: Steve Rushin

Title: The Pint Man

Publisher: Doubleday

Some writers have a knack at taking the back page of a magazine and scripting it into a work of art.

Steve Rushin is memorably known for his clever Air and Space column in Sports Illustrated, where he articulacy penned himself into the youngest, Senior Writer on the S.I. staff at the mere age of 25. He was on a roll in this role and was named the 2005 National Sportswriter of the Year in his two-decade long gig.

It can be a challenge for an entertainer to emerge from the shadow of their success and try a new endeavor. For every Gwyneth Paltrow, who successfully adds an element to their repertoire, there are ten Snookies who try to diversify their stardom portfolio by singing songs or writing books that not even their housemates would listen to or their family would read. 

So when Steve Rushin decided to take his solid, base hit writing talents, that made him successful one magazine at a time, and attempted to stretch it into an extra pages, fictional novel, he risked being dismissed. But after reading The Pint Man, this umpire calls Rushin safe by a mile.

The former sports writer takes a good lead towards his second career by doing what got him to the majors in the first place- keen observations, witty summations and verbal dexterity. But instead of sharing his view of life from the press box, Rushin embodies Rodney Poole, an unemployed barfly in Manhattan, who is learning to embrace what his life has been, and not let it keep him back from what it could become.

Sports, writing, jobs, friendships and love are all games of great risk. Every time Rodney feels threatened or alienated he jogs back into Boyle's Irish Pub for tried and true trivia, clever conversations, friendly faces and plenty of pints. But what is itching at Rodney's soul like the spaces between an athlete's toes is that he really wants to write.

And though there are many jobs that could use his gift for gab, what he yearns for is to give his own voice some volume—maybe even write a volume or two. And what is bearing down on Rodney's heart, like a fastball down the middle of the plate, is a chance for love. He could swing and miss, he could watch it speed right by, or maybe, just maybe, he could end up rounding the bases and finding home.

The Pint Man is hilariously fun. Whether or not you're a fan of narrow, Irish bars, brawls and bathrooms, if you are a spectator of humanity you can find something to root for in this book.  At the very least you will laugh—several times people asked me what I was reading on my Kindle because of my constant chuckles. And if you stop to look at life through Poole's eyes, or really through Rushin's, you might consider stretching what has already become your security into something that could be even more meaningful.

*This article first published 3/23/2011