Hits and Near Misses: a memoir

From Scarsdale to Wall Street, CBGBs to Studio 54, and from the bunks of a storied summer camp to the boardrooms of high finance, Hits and Near Misses is the poignant, sharply observed memoir of Ralph Sinsheimer - a man whose career has encompassed positions in the music industry, book publishing, and senior roles in the investment management business. With wit, grace, and unflinching honesty Sinsheimer reflects on a journey marked by deep relationships, personal triumphs, and devastating challenges - including his battles with Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer.

But this is not the story of one man. At the heart of Hits and Near Misses lies a parallel narrative: that of a mixed-race family whose patriarch is white, privilege, d and generous. He is the father-in-law of an award-winning author and one of America's leading black intellectuals. Sinsheimer relates this family's story initially from his perch as a pre-teen summer camper in the mid-1960s. As he matures and has his own family he continues to follow news about the Goldman-Wideman clan. It is a tragic, violent tale which conveys disappointment and disillusionment with the once optimistic but ultimately failed promises of the 1960s. It also casts in stark relief his own powerful story.

A moving testament to courage, connection, and the unpredictable paths we travel, Hits and Near Misses is a memoir that lingers long after the final page.