310 ratings | 46 reviews | avg rating:4.06

more photos (8)

Neal Thompson’s Followers (72)

More followers…

Neal’s Bookshelves

read (342)
currently-reading (30)
to-read (12)
all-time-faves (1)
books-on-writing (2)
faves-since-2010 (2)
read-in-2017 (47)
read-in-2018 (45)
read-in-2019 (4)

Neal’s Friends (392)

Craig Pittman

1,941 books | 922 friends

Bruce Sales

790 books | 66 friends

Tom Killalea

1,432 books | 225 friends

Jennifer Ridgway

2,414 books | 143 friends

Ben

872 books | 72 friends

Suzanne

507 books | 481 friends

Ivy

152 books | 229 friends

Maris

1,615 books | 634 friends

More friends…

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

edit data

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

50 posts
Neal Thompson's Blog

AUTHOR EVENTS

Upcoming and previous events for KICKFLIP BOYS:

Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Portland OR (March 28, 2019) - details to cometbd, Seattle (Sept 28, 2018) - with Jonathan Santlover ( The Widower's Notebook ) Brooklyn Book Festival, NYC (Sept 16, 2018) - I'll be on a panel, discussing fatherhood, with Gregory Pardlo ( Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America ) and a... Read more of this blog post »

View more on Neal Thompson's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 02, 2018 13:33 • 4 views

View all 50 posts »

Combine Editions
Neal Thompson’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 2,880 ratings · 489 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 — 2,064 ratings — published 2013 — 14 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 — 364 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 4.10 avg rating — 306 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 — 72 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 3.88 avg rating — 74 ratings — 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
	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

More books by Neal Thompson…

Upcoming Events

No scheduled events. Add an event.

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

Neal is currently reading

Milkman

by Anna Burns

bookshelves: currently-reading, read-in-2019

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

Jan 19, 2019 10:43AM

Neal is currently reading

Heavy: An American Memoir

by Kiese Laymon (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, read-in-2019

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

Jan 19, 2019 10:43AM

Neal is currently reading

The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath

by Leslie Jamison (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Jan 15, 2019 10:16PM

rss
Neal’s Recent Updates

Neal is now friends with Theodore Ross
Feb 10, 2019 11:41AM · like
Neal wants to read Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family by Mitchell S. Jackson (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 05, 2019 08:30AM · like
Neal wants to read Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 05, 2019 08:29AM · like
Neal wants to read The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 05, 2019 08:29AM · like
Neal wants to read American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson (Goodreads Author)	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
Feb 05, 2019 08:29AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neal wants to read Black Leopard, Red Wolf (The Dark Star Trilogy, #1) by Marlon James	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
Feb 05, 2019 08:29AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neal rated a book it was amazing A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley	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
Jan 19, 2019 10:46AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neal rated a book liked it A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne (Goodreads Author)	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
Jan 19, 2019 10:45AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neal is currently reading Milkman by Anna Burns	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
Jan 19, 2019 10:43AM · like
Neal is currently reading Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon (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
Jan 19, 2019 10:43AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Heavy by Kiese Laymon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Heavy by Kiese Laymon <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Neal's books…

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

2 likes

“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

1 likes

“ 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

0 likes

See all Neal Thompson's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Book Nook Cafe: What I read March 2014	140	84	Oct 07, 2014 02:36PM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2015: Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE POSTS)	3287	561	Nov 30, 2015 09:01PM
The History Book ...: CHRISTINE'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2015	77	107	Dec 12, 2016 06:43PM
A Million More Pages: Sesame Street Guest Stars Through the Ages	104	140	Jan 01, 2018 10:11AM
The History Book ...: CAR RACING (LIKE NASCAR)	102	237	Jan 19, 2019 11:57AM
The History Book ...: SPACE TRAVEL	103	378	Jan 28, 2019 05:07PM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: * What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread.	2407	54	9 hours, 48 min ago