For years, 'Fisher King Mike' wandered the streets of LA, preaching to his people. On occasion, he'd share an open mic night with Michael Konik, who befriended the homeless man at a distance and offered a confused but sympathetic ear when the Fisher King lamented having to be so far away from his wife, Selena Gomez, and their several children. As the pair began to cautiously trust one another, confusion and distance gave way to friendship, and what came next astounded them both.
In this poignant memoir from bestselling author Michael Konik, "family" and "home" take on profound new meaning through one person's care for a stranger. Konik offered extra food when his unlikely new friend came by, a pair of pants when it was clear he needed them, and wondered how much he, as a person, owed the troubled Fisher King.
When Konik and his wife offered Mike a place in their home, handy as he turned out to be with household projects, they were delighted with his transformation from Fisher King to Caretaker. Gone was the man who gave sermons about his estate next door to Kanye West, and the man drifting through life, wondering at his purpose and what was missing. What each never saw coming was their own transformation and the lessons they'd learn in what it meant to not only be good people, but be human.
"Gamblers whisper about a legendary syndicate known as The Brain Trust because they seem to understand more about sports betting than anyone else. Though they operate in secret, everyone involved in sports gambling wants to know what The Brains are doing -- how they do what they do, and especially, what they'll do next. I'm one of the few people in the world who can tell you. Because for several years I was one of them." -- from The Smart Money
In The Smart Money, Michael Konik takes listeners behind the veil of secrecy shrouding the most successful sports gambling operation in America, to its innermost sanctum. He reveals how they -- and he -- got rich by beating the Vegas lines and, ultimately, the multi-million-dollar offshore betting circuit. He details the perks and perils of a lifestyle in which staking inordinate sums of money on the outcome of a game -- sometimes as much as $1 million on a single event -- is a normal part of doing business.
'Few authors write as passionately about the game of golf as Michael Konik. In Search of Burningbush communicates why the greatest sport in the world has touched so many lives so deeply, including mine.' --Jack Nicklaus 'Golf is a game of Spirit and spirits. This true story, which reads like good fiction, describes a journey into golf's magical realms.'--Michael Murphy, author of Golf in the Kingdom and chairman & cofounder of Esalen Institute 'I thoroughly enjoyed reading Michael Konik's In Search of Burningbush. As the story of one man's quest to experience the ultimate in golf in Scotland despite all odds, it is an inspirational must-read for golf fanatics.' --Ty M. Votaw, LPGA Commissioner
