More about the book

In this funny and touching memoir that reads like Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother meets Pee-wee Herman, veteran journalist Sam Moses tells all, about raising his two sons from their birth to the ages of seven and five. The stories and incidents are unique—often hilarious and sometimes scary—but the themes and issues are universal to parenting. Light bulbs of recognition will pop, for mothers and fathers alike. There are lessons, there are confirmations, there are cautionary tales. A parent can relate.

The author was flat on his back on a beach in Brazil looking at the stars, when he decided that it was time to start a family, at age 48. He says he wasn’t merely ready, he was hell-bent on commitment, and this book proves it. As a globetrotting editor of a car magazine until he was fired, and then a freelance automotive journalist and free spirit, he takes his children (and the reader) along everywhere, from 170 miles per hour on the high banks of Daytona on a road-racing motorcycle, to the funky toilet-seat-always-up bathroom in their rundown trailer in an RV park on the Sea of Cortez in Baja.

Even if you’ve never been to those places, if you’ve ever raised a child, or if you’re raising one now, this book is for you.

Sam Moses began writing as a seaman apprentice on a U.S. Navy cruiser in the South China Sea, and was a staff writer for Sports Illustrated for 18 years. He’s been a racer since he was 12, from karts to superbikes to the famous Bandit, a 710-horsepower historic NASCAR stock car that he drives today.

Sam is the author of Fast Guys, Rich Guys and Idiots, a classic racing memoir, and At All Costs, a page-turning, character-driven, dive-bombing story about the naval convoy that turned the tide of World War II. He currently writes car reviews, driving more than 100 new cars a year, and is working on an e-book, River Without a Cause, based on his 1993 descent down the River of Doubt in the Amazon jungle. In his spare time he’s a single dad to two teenage boys. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, and still goes to Baja in winter to kiteboard.

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Praise for Fast Guys, Rich Guys and Idiots
“A classic memoir. One of the five best books ever written about motorsports.” Brock Yates, Wall Street Journal

Praise for At All Costs
“A riveting tale of true American grit.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A harrowing tale. A thoughtful, memorable book.” Steve Duin, The Oregonian