Jason Vuic

THE YUCKS by Jason Vuic visits the birth and growth of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from the seeds of thought of an NFL team in the late 1960's and early 1970's, to the awfulness and ineptitude on the first two seasons in 1976 and 1977, where the moniker of "The Yucks" started, to the stumbling and rarely successful modern history of the NFL franchise of the Bucs.
Vuic creates the scene of Tampa in the late 60's and early 70's to help clarify how an NFL franchise landed there. He discusses the geographic uniqueness of the area, and considers how most of Florida residents, especially those in the Tampa area, are transplants and very few were native. Along with other considerations, Vuic shows how Tampa won the franchise and how the city, as well as the NFL, immediately got behind and supported this new team. Vuic introduces the owner, Hugh Culverhouse, who sees the team as a business only, without a care for football or the thrill of competition. The coach, John McKay, that is brought in has a vision, but is brash and unapologetic in his coaching style. Vuic discusses most of the major parties involved with the creation of the team, from the front office personnel to the major player acquisitions over the first few years. Vuic's description of the first two seasons of the Bucs, along with a brief overview of the team after that, shows an endearing and hopeful view of a team that seemed to be the lovable losers that the nation, even personalities like Johnny Carson and Bill Cosby, embraced and enjoyed.
A real pleasure to read for a football fan, THE YUCKS is a comprehensive history of the creation of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers told from a nurturing and hopeful perspective that maybe the Bucs will eventually grow beyond that early moniker.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster, Jason Vuic, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!… (més)

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected. It was a bit repetitive, but I read it word for word. Despite the shocking title, the author shows that the much-maligned Yugo was far from the worst car in history. Due to the confluence of Cold War politics and the materialism embraced by the 80s “Me Generation”, the Yugo became a notorious butt of jokes. The kicker of the book is the role of Malcolm Bricklin in the whole sordid tale - a fast-talking opportunist who ran the company one step ahead of its creditors and drew everyone from Slobodan Milošević to Henry Kissinger into his web of bullshit.

To Americans a car is an expression of wealth, social standing and sex appeal. I’m pretty sure that’s part of the reason why my dad bought one for me in high school - it was definitely NOT sexy. But it was an economical and reliable car. After I left home, my father continued to commute to work daily in the little white Yugo until he retired.
… (més)

Oh the Yugo. You've heard of it, you may have actually seen it, you may have heard some jokes, but you probably don't know its story. Is it really the worst care ever sold? (Vuic tries to convince you NO). How did it become the American anti-icon we know? Well a big part of it was a "Communist Maket Economy" and at least a big a part of it was Malcom Briklin. An American entrepunere who really doesn't know when to quit and Vuic tries to convenience you has never succeeded at anything.

Why could anyone think a Yugoslav car could work in the 80s? What happened to all those Yugos (here's a hint, some hipsters turned them into "art").

If you like books about economics, if you like books about cars, and if you are not an expert in either of those, I think you'll like it. It's written for the masses and I recommend.… (més)