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Neal Thompson

Goodreads Author

Born

in Morristown, N.J., The United States

Website

http://www.NealThompson.com

Twitter

nealthompson

Genre

Nonfiction, Biographies & Memoirs, Mystery

Influences

Erik Larson Laura Hillenbrand Michael Chabon Laura Lippman Megan Abbot ...more

Member Since

January 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/NealThompson

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I'm the author of Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood (May 2018). Tony Hawk called it "fun, moving, raw and relatable.” Michael Chabon said it "captures the ache, fizz, yearning and frustration of being the father of adolescent boys." Maria Semple calls it "a riveting, touching, and painful read! My stomach was in knots page after page."

I've written four other books - stories about flawed and adventurous men - and have blabbed about those on ESPN, the History Channel, PBS, C-Span, Fox, TNT, and NPR. Plus five minutes on The Daily Show.

My previous book, A CURIOUS MAN - a bio of eccentric world-traveling millionaire/playboy cartoonist Robert 'Believe It or Not' Ripley - was an Oprah.com Book of the Wee ...more

49 posts
Neal Thompson's Blog

HOW TO TELL YOUR FAMILY THAT YOU’RE WRITING A MEMOIR

"MY MISSHAPEN SKATEBOARDING BOOK HAD BECOME A BOOK ABOUT, WELL, US"

May 14, 2018 By Neal Thompson

[This story first appeared on LitHub]

I didn’t intend for it to be a memoir. I swear. It just kept tilting in that direction.

The only scenes that felt real and true were those with my wife and two sons. Still, it took a few years of writing my way in and out of corners and dead ends before I stopped...

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Neal Thompson’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 2,753 ratings · 471 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley 3.62 avg rating — 2,014 ratings — published 2013 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Light This Candle: The Life & Times of Alan Shepard--America's First Spaceman 4.06 avg rating — 340 ratings — published 2004 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR 4.09 avg rating — 297 ratings — published 2006 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and Their Triumph in the Time of Katrina 4.01 avg rating — 70 ratings — published 2007 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood 3.84 avg rating — 32 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Board 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Neal’s Writing

Light This Candle - Chapter 9 (Biographies & Memoirs)

1 chapters — updated May 13, 2015 06:32PM

Description: In advance of this Thursday’s 50th anniversary of the day Alan Shepard became America’s first spaceman, I’ll be posting excerpts from ‘Light This Candle,’ along with photos and links related to Shepard and the book. Here’s a sample from Chap 9

Neal is Currently Reading

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An American Marriage

by Tayari Jones (Goodreads Author)

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Jul 11, 2018 09:48PM

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Master and Commander (Aubrey/Maturin, #1)

by Patrick O'Brian

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The Italian Teacher

by Tom Rachman

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May 01, 2018 08:57PM

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May 14, 2018 07:43PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kickflip Boys by Neal Thompson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kickflip Boys by Neal Thompson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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May 14, 2018 07:43PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kickflip Boys by Neal Thompson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kickflip Boys by Neal Thompson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Neal started reading Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After by Heather Harpham (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Best Memoir & Autobiography	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Quotes by Neal Thompson

“You must carry along with you a lively imagination and plenty of romance in your soul. Some of the most wonderful things in the world will seem dull and drab unless you view them in the proper light.”
― Neal Thompson, A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley

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“Why any one place should forever hold enchantment for the reason you are born there is a mystery. But like cats and birds we are pussy-footed and pigeon-toed and our footsteps lead toward home.… The Eskimo longs for his northern bleakness and his ice hut, the cowboy dreams of the wide open towns and prairies of the west, the old salt is looking out to sea … and down in the hold of many ships are dead Chinamen’s bones going home to China.”
― Neal Thompson, A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley

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“ BELIEVE IT! Millions of gallons of wine, stored in casks in warehouses, ruptured and spilled, turning Santa Rosa’s streets into red rivers of wine, whose bouquet attracted the discerning noses of farm animals. Residents soon found drunken pigs and dogs staggering in the streets.”
― Neal Thompson, A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert "Believe It or Not!" Ripley

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A Million More Pages: Sesame Street Guest Stars Through the Ages	104	139	Jan 01, 2018 10:11AM
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Glens Falls (NY) ...: * What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread.	2107	51	Jul 16, 2018 10:24AM

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