Casino at the End of the World

“There are many dull books about working in a Las Vegas casino, but none cuts to the bone like this one—dark, twisted, and Bukowski-esque.

The stories of deranged and delightful interactions in the Wild Wild West are what I imagine a truly demented season of Cheers might be like, an environment where everyone wants to go even if no one remembers faces and names due to all the self-inflicted debauchery happening to everyone.”

I Didn't Marry a Prostitute... A Sordid Tale of Deceit, Disillusionment, and Divorce

“My ex-wife is a whore” is one of the most common phrases known to modern society. In Don Hall’s case, it is the literal truth.

After a confession that blows his life up, Hall—through a series of essays and sixteen short stories—clumsily navigates his membership in a very select club. Shock turns to grief which transforms to rage and finally acceptance, his story is an extreme in a sea of common infidelity.

Belief is a Bulldozer

The follow-up to 2018's crusty, snarky "Belief is a Sledgehammer" has arrived every bit as angry and full of tidbits to live by as that celebrated tome. Complete with hundreds of beliefs and commentary about the chaotic world we've been living in.

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More Spock, Less Kirk

"More Spock, Less Kirk" is a metaphor for seeking to become more rational than irrational, more pragmatic than impulsive. This series of essays are conclusions of a self described James Kirk type as he works to see the world through a more Spock-like perspective. From examining the concepts of white privilege, historical revisionism, and transactional relationships to dealing with the untimely overdose of a nephew, Hall is trying to find an ideological place in between the extreme partisans making the most noise these days.

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Farewell to Chicago (1989-2019)

Don Hall settled in Chicago after college and stayed there for thirty years. In 2019, he decided to move to Las Vegas and this is his "Dear John" letter to the greatest city in the world.

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Problematic Movies of the 80’s

After Brett Kavanaugh referenced “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” as a cultural landmark in his sexual assaulting youth and the realization that I am exactly the same age as the SCOTUS justice, it was time to go back and revisit sixteen comedies from the 1980’s to see which hold up in the cultural shift of 2020.Includes breakdowns of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Stripes,” “Revenge of the Nerds,” and “Weird Science” plus twelve more you might remember.

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Belief is a Sledgehammer: Thoughts, Musings & Essays

“Don Hall is a real world Yoda for these times – delivering his wisdom with a biting punch line. He wields his pen like a lightsaber, taking no prisoners, going straight for the heart of all manner of matters. The dark forces may just have found their match in the light of his piercing insights.”

— Wait Wait…Don't Tell Me! Scorekeeper and Legendary Anchorman Bill Kurtis

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Like a Burning Moth… (and apparently I’m addicted to long-ass titles…)

Don Hall served as host of The Moth Story Slams in Chicago for five years. For each theme, he composed a word jazz introduction. This is a collection of a few of these pieces.

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Strippers, Guns, and The Holocaust Museum…

From 1989 to 1998, Don Hall taught as both a substitute teacher and seventh and eighth grade music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. Escaping by the skin of his teeth, this slim volume is the ultimate survival guide to teachers of all ages.

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If a Tree Falls

This collection of essays and personal stories scratches the surface of a deeply superficial man.