Harry Hurt III is a journalist and professional dilettante who puts it all on the line in the search for freedom and joy in the most unlikely of places. And, the likely ones, too.
Whether he's flying a vintage Mustang, risking his neck at polo, or risking his dignity dancing with the New York City Ballet, Hurt gives the readers of his "Executive Pursuits" columns in The New York Times a Plimpton-esque glimpse of the adventures hidden just around the corner.
Hurt writes about hedonism, but the columns collected for the first time here in Hurt Yourself are really about finding fulfillment as a man in the second half of his life. He writes about marriage, as he gets into, and out of, trouble with wife; fatherhood, as he struggles to connect with his son; and manhood, as he battles the demons of vanity, insecurity, and fear.
Through it all, Hurt tackles each premise-from playing quarterback for the New York Jets to finding a swimsuit a middle-aged man can actually wear-with self-deprecating humor and an unfailingly honest journalist's eye.
"Harry Hurt goes almost stride for stride with the master, George Plimpton, as a daring amateur who will try his not-so-amateurish hand at almost anything"
polo, violin playing, sky diving
"Harry Hurt III is the real deal."
Jim Kelly, Editorial Director, Time Inc.
"Harry Hurt's book is a delight. I'd always wondered what executives did when they weren't ... um ... executing. Now I know. The lesson of this book is that our nation's economy would be in better shape if corporate bigwigs did the things described herein all day and never went to work."
P.J. O'Rourke, award-winning author of On The Wealth of Nations
