A book review by Janet K. Brennan
Winding Up Behind the Eightball
by Jim Ganley
Reviewed by Janet K. Brennan
This novel by Jim Ganley is set in the "coming of age" days of the late sixties and early seventies. For many people, this was a very turbulent and stressful period. It was a time when young people were told a college education would open doors for them and would seal their future in a rose-colored vacuum of money and success. This was also the time when most of us realized that was not the case, and that there were no guarantees in life. "Nothing beats a sunny day in June, 1971, for finishing school, and you can be sure that Jack and his fellow alumni couldn't have agreed more. In many ways, the radicalism and social upheaval of the 60's was still in bloom. Consequently, a sizable portion of the graduates were less than anxious to get out into the workaday world to join the establishment." But not Jack Benson ... At this time, it was Jack's opinion that education was little more than a means to an end. American children growing up during the 50's and 60's had been indoctrinated by the media and their values and ideas had been, in large part, formulated on Madison Avenue. "To get a good job," they had been told, "get a good education, and step up to BIG PAY." Jack Benson, completing college as a Biology major, finds himself thrown into an adult world of negatives. Disillusioned and angry, he suddenly begins what would be the strangest years of his post-college life. Caught up on a roller coaster ride of parties, clubbing, alcohol and women, Jack soon discovers the high value of weight training, and the numbing affect it has on the body and mind. He loses himself in yet one more attempt to dis-associate with the negative world around him. Unable to find work in a depressed New England economy, and having problems getting along with his parents, who could not understand the social changes of the time, he spends most of his nights on the party circuit and all of his days lifting weights with the other body builders (The Goons) at the gym. This book is a mad-cap adventure through Jack Benson's life of strobe lights, sex and weight- lifting. The reader will be touched by Ganley's portrayal of a young man's struggle with his own conscience, and his need to be accepted and loved in a time when the definition of both was exceptionally vague. It is a shocking, sexy, and rollicking read you may not want to put down. It contains adult language and adult situations pertinent to the times. It is a trip down memory lane that is bittersweet in the process. This unique, funny, and somewhat edgy portrayal of what life was often like for the young in the 70's has a sequel and is capably written by Mr. Ganley. Recommended for 18 and over, please!
For more information on this book or where to buy it, go to This book is currently in unpublished manuscript form at Amazon.com
Jim Ganley's Bio
Jim Ganley is director of "Gym Ganley Athletic Shapes", a health and wellness consulting practice located in Bow, New Hampshire. Over the years he has coached scores of athletes to championship status in a variety of sports. As a competitive, drug-free body builder for a decade, Jim won the Mr. New Hampshire title in 1977, was named New Hampshire's Outstanding Bodybuilder of the Year in 1980, and has competed at the national level, his last competition venture being the 1982 Mr. America Contest. Jim is a sports writer and additionally he has authored two novels, "Winding up Behind the Eight Ball" and "Tales From Behind the Eightball", both of which deal with disillusioned American youth coming of age in the 1960's and 70's. He has been featured in "Different Worlds; a Virtual Journey", Edited by Santos Kumar, as well as athe December issue of Taj Mahal Review. You can also read his work on Strangeroad.com as well as Dolfzine.com.
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