Chris McNamara

Some boys dream of rocketing to the moon, hitting home runs in the World Series or rescuing princesses from fire-breathing dragons. Peter Strazzabosco dreamed of arranging hot dogs, gyros and...

There's a secret Oktoberfest each year, but it's held in the spring, it's miles from Germany, and it's closed to the public. Just as they've done for the last 13...

Nudge Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness By Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein (Yale University Press, $26) With subtle persuasion -- nudges -- people can make better...

Grand Theft Childhood The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do By Lawrence Kutner, PhD and Cheryl K. Olson (Simon & Schuster, $25) The fourth generation...

Even more ridiculous than the offering of a 2-foot Italian beef sandwich at Wrigley Field is the way it's delivered: in a little cardboard briefcase complete with handles. Of course,...

Get in the Game 8 Elements of Perseverance That Make the Difference By Cal Ripken Jr. with Donald T. Phillips (Gotham, $15 paper) Ripken's book contains about 250 pages, less...

We've survived the first round of NBC's "My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad," a game show that pits pops against one another with competitions like Human Dart Board (in...

Building Better Families A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children By Matthew Kelly (Ballantine, $23) Have realistic expectations of your brood, pleads the motivational speaker/author. Parents can't attain perfection, but...

Your Child's Strengths Discover Them, Develop Them, Use Them By Jenifer Fox (Viking, $24.95, hardcover) Rather than "fixing" kids' weaknesses, says the author, we should be celebrating their strong suits....

It's tough being a king. After the first Latin Kings of Comedy Tour -- the one featuring Paul Rodriguez, George Lopez and Cheech Marin -- lawsuits came flying. Litigants claimed...