Biography

All posts tagged Biography

THE FIVE – Hallie Rubenhold

Posted by Daniel on November 12, 2020
Posted in: NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

By today’s standards, sadly, a mass murderer or serial killer who kills five women is hardly even worthy of front page news.  But mention the name Jack the Ripper and most people will have at the very least heard the name and many will know he was a notorious killer from the late 1800’s, and those who think they are moderately knowledgeable will say he killed five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London.

There is no shortage of books about Jack the Ripper, fiction and non-fiction alike. Author Hallie Rubenhold takes a new direction here however. Rather than looking at Jack the Ripper and his heinous murders, she looks at the five women the Ripper is believed to have killed.

The common perception is that Jack the Ripper murdered five prostitutes.  But as Rubenhold asserts in her preface:

There is, and never was, any proof of this either. To the contrary — over the course of the coroner’s inquests, it became known that Jack the Ripper never had sex with a single victim. Additionally, in the case of each murder there were no signs of struggle and the killings appear to have taken place in complete silence. There were no screams heard by anyone in the vicinity. The autopsies concluded that all of the women were killed while in a reclining position. In at least three of the cases, the victims were known to sleep on the street and on the nights they were killed did not have money for a lodging house. In the final case, the victim was murdered in her bed. However, the police were so committed to their theories about the killer’s choice of victims that they failed to conclude the obvious — the Ripper targeted women while they slept.

Using statements made by those who knew the victims best, Rubenhold makes a very strong case for the fact that these women, from very diverse backgrounds, had fallen on hard times (sometimes by their own making) yet none had been actively engaged in prostitution.

This information is essentially covered in the preface, but Rubenhold goes on with exhaustive research into each of these women and shares their life stories – brief as the available information might be. What this does is remind us that these victims – Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elisabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, Mary Jane Kelly – are more than just names, famous for the terrifying name of their killer.  They were daughters, mothers, sisters, wives.

Rubenhold gives us a surprising amount of information about these women, especially given that:

The cards were stacked against Polly, Annie, Elisabeth, Kate, and Mary Jane from birth. They began their lives in deficit. Not only were most of them born into working-class families; they were also born female. Before they had even spoken their first words or taken their first steps, they were regarded as less important than their brothers and more of a burden on the world than their wealthier female counterparts. Their worth was compromised before they had even attempted to prove it.

I can honestly say that this changed how I think about the events of the Ripper murders, and it will have an affect on how I think about the victims of violent crimes in the future.

I’ve been fascinated by the Ripper legends for a very long time.  It probably started when I first the Star Trek episode, Wolf in the Fold, sometime in the early 1970’s. I then read nearly every book I could find on the subject, wrote papers about it in college, and even wrote a full-length play with my theory of who the Ripper was (that play safely tucked away in a folder, deep in my file cabinet). In all that time, though, I never thought about these women other than as victims and as prostitutes. This book is fascinating and a great reminder that the crimes committed by the Ripper, were committed against people who lived and dreamed.

Looking for a good book? The Five, by Hallie Rubenhold, is a new, very human, approached to the Jack the Ripper murders, looking at the victims, and reminding us, not only were they not five prostitutes, as the media of the time sensationalized them, but women with histories and families and struggling to survive despite the odds against them.  Is it incredibly well researched.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

author: Hallie Rubenhold

publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN-13: 978-0358299615

hardcover, 333 pages

BIX – graphic novel

Posted by Daniel on July 21, 2020
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Wow.

If you’ve ever wondered at how important the artwork in a graphic novel is to telling a story, you should definitely give Scott Chantler’s Bix a read. If you’ve heard of Bix Beiderbecke but don’t know much about him and want to know more, then you should give Scott Chantler’s Bix a read. If you’ve never heard of Bix Beiderbecke but have an interest in jazz music or American history or biographies, then you should read Bix.

Bix Beiderbecke was an amazing jazz trumpet player in the 1920’s, born in Iowa to a strict family with an unforgiving father. Bix tried to live a ‘normal’ life but the call of music was too strong.  His skills were strong and he played with some of the biggest names in jazz at the time, and his name will appear on a few records.  But like something right out of a dime novel, Bix was haunted by demons – demons that often came from a bottle.  Those demons would cause him to miss gigs, and he’d regularly lose jobs.

The actual dialog in this 250+ page graphic novel is quite slim – the first word balloon doesn’t appear until page 80! – but Chantler’s art and layout is SO expressive that we don’t need dialog to understand the story or the emotions of the characters.

The story is quite basic and touches the highlights (low-lights?) of his life, so those more familiar with the Bix Beiderbecke story may not get anything new from this story (I reviewed a Bix biography in 2018) but this is still very much worth reading for the format – the dialog-lite graphic novel.

Looking for a good book? Scott Chantler’s graphic novel Bix is an incredibly well-made, unique biography that is well worth reading.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Bix

author: Scott Chantler

artist: Scott Chantler

publisher: Gallery 13

ISBN: 1501190784

hardcover, 256 pages

TO THE STARS – George Takei

Posted by Daniel on July 10, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

STAR TREK WEEK

If you are considering buying this book, then you likely already have a pretty good idea of who George Takei is. Most will know him from his being a regular on the original Star Trek television series (and movies). Younger audiences will know him for his social media presence.

In this biography/memoir, Takei talks about his early family life, which includes time spent in internment camps in Arkansas and California during WWII when George was quite young. Once out of the camps, the family returned to Los Angeles and lived in a “the largest Mexican American barrio in the United States.” In his early life after the camps, we get to know a little more about George Takei the student (high school and college) where we learn that Takei is motivated and competitive.

Takei is fortunate to get some early, professional acting, while in college, which put him in contact with some big names in American film. And then he went in for an audition/interview for a regular role on a potential new television series called Star Trek, where the producer was unlike what Takei had seen in other Hollywood types.  He had good feelings about the man and the show even back in this very early stage.

Takei writes about the camaraderie among the cast members … with one exception.  Star William Shatner appears to have been more focused on building his own stardom than on working with anyone else.  The two most telling moments from this book are an early days moment when Takei brought some family to the studio for a tour of the set and when Shatner walked into the studio, Nichelle Nichols calmly steered the family in another direction so that there would be no interaction between Shatner and the guests.  And when filming was completed for the first Star Trek movie that Leonard Nimoy directed, the cast all pitched in to throw a big celebration party for Nimoy.  All except Shatner who claimed he was going to do something else for Leonard, but when crew members thanked Shatner for the party, he gladly accepted those thanks.

While Takei makes it clear what he thinks/thought about his ego-obsessed co-star, he is definitely politic in the way he describes it.  Which makes some sense because after his Star Trek work, Takei delved into politics. The final chapters of the book follow Takei’s work in politics, the Star Trek movies, and just a little bit about Star Trek: The Next Generation, and ending with reflections on Gene Roddenberry’s death.

For those of us who are admittedly Star Trek fans – Trekkers (or Trekkies, depending on which generation you are from) – most of what Takei writes about his Trek days has long been circulating among the fans.  Mention something at a Star Trek convention and people all over the world will start repeating it as gospel.  It was nice to read it directly from the source.

For me, I liked some of the non-Trek reflections. His sense of family and the lessons he learned from his father are really touching and I think more important. It is so like a father to ‘encourage’ a child to take some earnings and invest it so that there is something for the lean times.  I never knew about this side of Takei (the early investor in real estate).

The book only goes up to the early 90’s, so there’s 30 more years worth of material that Takei could easily (?) do a follow-up biography.  I was a little disappointed not to get anything more directly personal (specifically what it might have been like to work in Hollywood as a gay man), but since he didn’t ‘come out’ until the early 2000’s, perhaps that will be part of the (my wishful thinking) autobiography, volume two.

Looking for a good book? To the Stars, by George Takei, is an autobiography of one of Star Trek‘s stalwart crew members whose early life in an interment camp during WWII and his political activism are as worthy of reading about as is his time as the Enterprise‘s helmsman.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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To the Stars

author: George Takei

publisher: Pocket Books

ISBN: 0671890093

paperback, 416 pages

RESISTANCE – Tori Amos

Posted by Daniel on June 17, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

I started listening to Tori Amos with the release of her album Little Earthquakes. I have purchased or listened to all of her works since then.  I wouldn’t say that I’m a dedicated fan – I know (knew) nothing about Amos other than what I interpret in her songs. Her music, her songs, to me, show incredible artistry and intelligence (which is something I think is often lacking in modern music). When I saw that Tori Amos had a book coming out, a memoir, I was quick to get a copy, hopeful that Amos would be as articulate with her book as she is with her songs.

She is.

I have certainly noted a political charge in many of Tori’s songs, but reading through this memoir and learning abut her ‘start’ – her early days in a piano bar in Washington, D.C. – I have a new appreciation of Tori’s understanding and her observing of the political landscape. Much of the first portions of the book discuss these early days and as we get to know Tori through her recollection, we come to understand how aware she is of the machinations of politics.  How does a young, artistic woman survive in this sort of setting? This is really fascinating and eye=opening.

But I think what I enjoyed even more in this book, is her discussion of art, artists, and surviving the creative process. Amos knows what it’s like to sacrifice the art at the bidding of others.  She also know that creating art is not inspiration, but lots of hard work (an awful lot of artists do not yet understand this concept).  She mentions that she can probably name all of her songs that ‘just came to her’ on one hand.

And she talks about the jealousy of other artists – the jealousy we might have for a peer who has already ‘found her voice’ or his style, while we continue to struggle. Reading her thoughts on this is meaningful because we see that she understands – that she comes at this with first-hand experience.

I do think that you need to have an appreciation of Tori Amos the singer-songwriter to appreciate this book to its fullest, but the publisher refers to this book as having “compassionate guidance and actionable advice” which is very true and applicable to anyone, whether they are already familiar with Tori Amos or not.

Looking for a good book? Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage by Tori Amos is a motivational memoir sure to offer encouragement to young artists of all mediums.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Resistance: A Songwriter’s Story of Hope, Change, and Courage

author: Tori Amos

publisher: Atria Books

ISBN: 1982104155

hardcover, 272 pages

BREAK SHOT: MY FIRST 21 YEARS – James Taylor

Posted by Daniel on April 29, 2020
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Having been a fan of James Taylor’s music for many, many years, I knew a small but fair bit about him. I was delighted to see this autobiography available from Audible so that I could learn more, and to hear it from him directly.

Taylor’s narrative jumps back and forth in time and you really need to pay attention. He will occasionally talk about his wife … meaning his current wife – while then talking about some the things that happened to him in the past.

Taylor had a lot of ups and downs throughout his life, including an unhealthy family. Taylor admits that they grew up privileged (and you really get a sense of that through some of the things the family does), but like any family, they had their share of troubles. He says at the very beginning that of he and his four siblings, three of them “ended up in psychiatric hospitals and a fourth should have. Drug and alcohol addiction tore us up.”

Through the narration we hear names of familiar artists – Carly Simon, Danny Kortchmar, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Peter Asher, Joni Mitchell – some of them he got to know well before they became famous, some of them already well established.

Hearing about his escapade with the shiester producer who had Taylor and his band (The Flying Machine) record an album but then did nothing with it until Taylor began to make a name for himself and then released the album, with no profits going to the band.

I knew that James Taylor was one of the first artists signed to the Beatles’ new label, Apple Records, but hearing his telling of the meeting was really interesting.  And I had to laugh when he mentioned that he had to call his father and beg him to sign the contract because, as Taylor puts it, the British were a bit more concerned about things like contracts than the Americans were at that time, and James was still a minor at the time.

And that’s what really struck home.  As we listen to the 90 minute autobiography and all the things that this man did, good and bad, the people he met, and the work that he’d begun, we are then reminded at the end, that this is just James Taylor’s first twenty-one years.

I enjoyed this and, especially given its length, I can see me listening to it again.

Looking for a good book? James Taylor’s autobiographical audiobook, Break Shot: My First 21 Years is an aural delight. A biography, with music by the author, and told by the author, is not something you get a chance to listen to very often.

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Break Shot: My First 21 Years: An Audio Memoir

author: James Taylor

narrator: James Taylor

original music: James Taylor

publisher: Audible Original

length: 1 hour, 33 minutes

THE BATTALION ARTIST – Janice Blake

Posted by Daniel on February 27, 2020
Posted in: NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

For three years, three months, and three days, Nat Bellatoni of Massachusetts served in the South Pacific during World War II. Nat was a young artist and served with the Navy Seabees on different islands during the war, often not allowed to tell his loved ones where he was.  As time allowed, even on short breaks, Nat would sketch his surroundings.  Some of those sketches  now see print, thanks to author Janice Blake, and Nat’s daughter Nancy Bellatoni.

Th sketches here are just that … sketches.  But they range from a couple of quickly drawn lines to quite detailed works. It really is like paging through a sketchbook. This kind of first-hand account, from the ‘average’ enlisted man, is a rare treat. We get an honest (not media-hyped) look at the war and the men who served, and because of his locations, a sweet look at the Pacific islands.

The book is a little heavy with pre-book information.  We have a full page dedication, a foreward, a note, a preface, and an introduction. Clearly everyone connected with the publication wanted to have something to say, which is too bad because we don’t really need this much preface to a book. There is also an afterward, two ‘abouts,’ acknowledgments, and an additional resources list in this 120 page book.

The information about Nat and his life is compact, but serves the book just right. We want to know a little bit about the man who made the art, but we don’t need an in-depth biography. We’re putting a face and a history to one of the hundreds of thousands of men who served our country during a great war. Janice Blake does this nicely.

I would have liked even more artwork. I was hoping to find more of a coffee-table art book with art on every page, but while there is a lot of art, there are also a fair number of photos here as well, giving the book a slight feel of not really being sure what sort of book this is.  A history book? A biography? An art book?  It’s a little bit of all three, but that’s trying to do a lot in 120 pages. Blake does manage to balance this well, but I never quite got away from the feeling that the book was going back and forth on what it was trying to present.

I liked the timelines included, showing us where in the world Nat was station during the war and what Nat painted during that time.

Overall, a really good book.

Looking for a good book? The Battalion Artist by Janice Blake is a good look at one Navy Seabee during World War II, and his sketchbooks from his time in the South Pacific and should appeal to war historians, as well as those who like art books and those who enjoy biographies.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Battalion Artist: A Navy Seabee’s Sketchbook of War in the South Pacific, 1943–1945

author: Janie Blake

artist: Natale Bellatoni

publisher: Hoover Institution Press

ISBN: 0817922245

hardcover, 120 pages

THE BEATLES ON THE ROOF – Tony Barrell

Posted by Daniel on December 6, 2019
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

How do you write an entire book about an incident that last only a couple of hours? By using the moment as the center point and moving outward, like the ripples in a pond.

I’ve been seeing a fair number of books about The Beatles in the last few years and I suspect there’s a bit of a rush to gather as many first-hand accounts as possible before we lose access to those who were there for The Beatles’ various moments. This is no exception and author Tony Barrell nicely captures the memories of as many people involved in the actual performance on the rooftop, the people who worked in the the Apple Records building at the time, people who worked in the offices around Apple Records whose afternoon was interrupted by the loud music, and those who were either passing by or those who rushed to the scene when word got out that The Beatles were playing some new songs, live at the Apple Records building.

For those of us who have even a modest interest in The Beatles (and if you didn’t why would you consider this book?) we probably now a few basic things about the ‘concert on the roof.’ First, ‘concert’ is a bit of a misnomer.  It wasn’t a concert as much as it was a recording session. And filming was a means to an end … a way to fulfill an obligation for a film.  But it was quite spur of the moment, and we get some good inside information from those who worked at Apple.  Sometimes the information is contradictory, but that definitely adds to the ‘realness’ of the moment.

Things we don’t often think about when we talk about an event such as this are the non-players who are affected.  Reading about the neighbors who were annoyed by the loud music and the disruption caused by people standing around to watch and listen at first seems inconceivable, but of course it makes a certain amount of sense.  Only those of us who are Beatles fans would prioritize the impromptu concert/recording session over any other daily business.

I enjoyed reading about some of the other people who were there at the recording. From secretaries who wanted to be a part of this momentous occasion to assistant engineer Alan Parsons.  Barrell even manages to get comments from some of the police who we remember from the film coming to stop the playing.  What I didn’t know before this was that someone had previously checked in with the local police station and were told that if the owners of the building didn’t complain, they wouldn’t have a problem with it.  Since the Beatles owned the building, they assumed they were good to play.

When I’ve watched the film, I’ve wondered why there weren’t more people around (aside from the smaller space) and this is addressed as well (concerns about the roof being able to support the weight).

This was an interesting book and while the distinction is slight, this was more about a moment in time, featuring The Beatles, than it was about The Beatles specifically. We don’t really get as much about the Fab Four themselves as we might in many other books written about the group.  But we do get a number of first-hand accounts about what it was like being there, and the reactions to this group who didn’t perform in public much any more, making a surprise rooftop appearance.

Looking for a good book? The Beatles On the Roof by Tony Barrell explores reactions from many different people to The Beatles’ noted rooftop concert.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Beatles on the Roof

author: Tony Barrell

publisher: Omnibus Press 

ISBN: 1785585789

paperback, 192 pages

TOMBSTONE – Tom Clavin

Posted by Daniel on November 29, 2019
Posted in: MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Tombstone, the city, holds a bit of magical appeal to me.  I find that I am enjoying reading history books more and more (perhaps because I’ve got more of it myself?) and I absolutely love the American Southwest for its landscape and history and few cities in this region have more history that Tombstone, Arizona.

My knowledge of the gunfight at the OK Corral, I realize, comes from popular culture (as provided in films and television) and not from the history books, so I was very glad to correct that with Tom Clavin’s book.

What Clavin has done is taken the pivotal gunfight and researched the heck out of the history of all the primary, secondary, and even tertiary people involved, giving us a glimpse of the character traits of each individual (were they prone to fighting or over-reacting, were they easy to anger or did they often look for alternatives?)

There are so many more people involved in the ordeal than were at the corral and there was a history among the players that weaves back and well before any of them arrived at Tombstone, Arizona. It’s a complicated web and quite fascinating to discover.

Clavin’s research is immaculate.  It is fascinating how much of a trail we all leave and that Clavin was able to track down so much information about these people, from the 1800’s, and put together a time-line of where and when people worked or met one another is absolutely incredible.  Like a lot of modern bio-history books, there is a bit of the author making assumptions about the words spoken or the intentions behind an action (usually based on general human motivations), but it was nice to read him at least once admit to not knowing why someone proceeded the way that they did, but instead offered up a couple of different possible explanations based on their history.

In addition to his tremendous research, Clavin’s writing style is smooth and his sense of storytelling moves this history from moment to moment with wonderful anticipation and ease.  It is easy to read this book in a short amount of time, but you might not want to so that you can really absorb all the information proved.

Looking for a good book? Tombstone, by Tom Clavin, provides more information about the city, famous for its noted gunfight, and the people involved, than you ever imagined. This is a book not to be missed if you have even the most remote interest in history.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Tombstone: The Earp Brothers, Doc Holliday, and the Vendetta Ride from Hell

author: Tom Clavin

publisher: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 1250214580

hardcover, 400 pages

THE BEATLES FROM A TO ZED – Peter Asher

Posted by Daniel on November 22, 2019
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

It surprises me a little bit that publishers are still pumping out books about The Beatles … but it surprises only a little bit.  The lifespan of finding an audience is likely on the wane, as are the people who will have had a first-hand encounter worth telling.

This particular book is unique because it’s presented in alphabetical order (sort of), and because it’s written by Peter Asher.  For those who don’t know, Peter Asher is A) half of the 1960’s pop duo Peter & Gordon (whose first [and biggest] hit was “World Without Love” in 1964 – written by Paul McCartney), and 2) the brother of Jane Asher who was Paul McCartney’s girlfriend through much of the mid-1960’s.

During this period (early to mid-1960’s) Paul McCartney lived with the Asher’s and so Peter has a very unique view point for a number of McCartney moments.  Hearing about the early versions of songs coming from his room, or how McCartney would walk into his room and come out an hour or so later with a finished masterpiece.  This is the kind of Beatles memory that we’ve never heard before and generally makes this book worth reading for Beatles aficionados.

One of the pleasant quirks to the book is that Asher (who is an extremely bright person) plays fast and loose with the alphabet and the Beatles catalog.  For instance, when Asher discusses “All You Need Is Love” it is not found under the letter “A” but under the letter “T.” “T”?!  I won’t explain why, but it makes sense in the context of how Asher presents this book.

Also, the alphabet is not just used to discuss song titles, but other aspects of the Beatles and their lives and history.  “G” for instance brings Asher to discuss Germany and the Beatles’ time there. “S” talks about the Ed Sullivan show.

What is also nice to note is that the book doesn’t focus solely on The Beatles as a group, but songs, concerts, and/or events that are a part of each Beatle’s solo career or work with another group (i.e. Wings, Traveling Wilburys, etc) are also often brought up through Asher’s discourse.

While I am a Beatles fan, I can’t say that I’m a Beatlemaniac or deeply knowledgeable about the Fab Four.  I can’t quote anything about their history (I can’t even quote most of their songs), but I enjoy their music, and as an avid reader, I enjoy reading about them. This book was a very easy read. Given the format, I found that when I had a moment to read something, but couldn’t get involved in a story, I could pick this up and get a good, short read.

Looking for a good book? The Beatles From A to Zed by Peter Asher is a clever, fresh look at The Beatles by someone who is able to offer to new insight to The Beatles’ history.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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The Beatles from A to Zed: An Alphabetical Mystery Tour

author: Peter Asher

publisher: Henry Holt & Company

ISBN: 1250209595

hardcover, 272 pages

SUPER BOYS – Brad Ricca

Posted by Daniel on November 20, 2019
Posted in: GRAPHIC NOVEL, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Well this was informative!

It’s pretty hard not to know who the character of Superman is, but naming the creators of Superman might be much more challenging to most people.  Fans of comics and graphic novels likely already know of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and even someone like myself – very much on the outer fringe of comic/graphic novel reading – knew about the long battle Siegel and Shuster had to retain (or regain) the rights to the character.

Biographer Brad Ricca has done some exhaustive research and we get a look at these two young men from their early school days, to the high school days when the early characteristics of Superman could be found.

Starting as a fan and writing letters science fiction magazines, it was clear that Jerry was a go-getter and a planner and he thought he’d get rich writing stories. When he Jerry met Joe, he saw someone who could illustrate his stories and together, like many high school boys who dram of making it big doing something they love, the multiple ways that a dream can crash never occurred to them.

Small successes built up and they were producing stories for comics at a fantastic rate, and making good (for them, at the time) money.  But it was a difficult period in publishing (when isn’t it?) and sometimes they worked on hand-shake agreements or with promises for more later.  And through innocence and bad choices, they gave away their rights to what would become one of the most iconic figures in all of pop culture. And once those rights were gone, Jerry and Joe weren’t essential to be part of the story-telling process, and while their creation would make millions of dollars for a publisher, Joe and Jerry were often challenged just to find work.

Joe and Jerry’s story is quite sad, and not all that unusual for those working in this industry. Much of their later lives are spent challenging the rights to Superman and trying to get their due and even now, at the end of this book, their families are trying to get these rights maintained.

The story of the lawsuits goes on a bit too long for me – though I recognize that this is what consumed Jerry for much of his life.  Still, I found his early years – the environment in which he grew to become a writer – the most fascinating.

This is a really well-written biography. It is thorough and doesn’t really manage to take sides (in the debate about rights ownership), which is nice.  Yes…it’s about Joe and Jerry and there is going to be some bias toward their being allowed to cash in on their character, but Ricca himself doesn’t outright say that.  He lets Jerry say it.

Definitely worth reading.

Looking for a good book? Super Boys by Brad Ricca is a solid biography of the creators of Superman, from their early days before Superman, to their decades-long battle for the rights to their greatest creation. It is fascinating and well written.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster–the Creators of Superman

author: Brad Ricca

publisher: St. Martin’s Press

ISBN: 0312643802

hardcover, 423 pages

LITTLE CREATURES – Ana Gerhard

Posted by Daniel on October 17, 2019
Posted in: CHILDREN'S, ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

When you can educate a child while you are entertaining her or him, then you’ve succeeded.  Little Creatures, by Ana Gerhard does this with gusto.

Introducing a child to an art form, especially something in the ‘classics’ (i.e. classical music, art, literature) is often a challenge (typically because a child is exposed to so much pop culture in everyday life) but what Gerhard does is select a subject that children can identify with … animals and insects. Fortunately there have been a few composers and compositions that draw inspiration from the animal kingdom from which Gerhard has to choose.

Some of these selections are fairly obvious – “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov and “The Frog” by Hayden and “Two Insect Pieces” by Britten – and some much less so – “Israel in Egypt” by Handel, “Bardic Sounds” by Mertz, and “Sensemayá” by Revueltas.

Each selected piece (there are twenty) gets one brief description and a double page spread of artwork (beautifully and wildly created by Mauricio Gómez Morin). In the description, we typically learn a little about the animal selected, how the composer uses that animal’s sound in the selected audio piece, and maybe a little bit about the composer.

Selected musical terms are highlighted and there is a glossary at the back of the book that is quite helpful.

While targeted to a child, unless the adult reading this to/with the child is quite familiar with the classical music world (I am not) then there is plenty for the adults to learn here as well, and this book seems to cater to we adults almost as much or more than to the youngsters.  There is a section of the book with a mini biography of all the composers included in this volume, as well as a timeline of the composers’ lives and the period of music in which they composed.

The book comes with a CD with sections of the selected works (and a listening guide inside the book). I have to admit that there were a few selections in which I simply could not hear the animal represented, but I recognize that this may not be true for all readers/listeners.  I would have liked longer works on the CD, but I recognize the many challenges with that.  Certainly most of the selected works can be found with a couple of quick online searches or by visiting a library with CD selections.

There is a lot to like about this book and it will be great to have on the bookshelf, but at the same time it feels like it is missing just a little something more.  For me, it’s the lack of story to draw the child in. Non-fiction is okay for children – it can be great! – but I still feel like for a child to sit and listen to someone reading to them they need to be drawn in by more than just the pictures, and the two or three paragraphs about each selected work just isn’t captivating enough for the multiple readings a picture book usually provides.

Looking for a good book? If you are looking to encourage your child to appreciate classical music, or even if you want to learn more yourself, Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music by Ana Gerhard, with art by Mauricio Gómez Morin, is a splendid choice. But the lack of a catchy narrative surrounding each piece may have some youngsters grow bored during the reading. This may be better for the older reader, despite the picture book format.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

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Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music

author: Ana Gerhard

artist: Mauricio Gómez Morin

publisher: The Secret Mountain

ISBN: 2924774551

hardcover (with CD), 62 pages

PLAYING TO THE GODS – Peter Rader

Posted by Daniel on September 30, 2019
Posted in: ENTERTAINMENT, MEMOIR, NON-FICTION, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Sarah Bernhardt. Eleonora Duse. Most people are familiar with Sarah’s name, even if they don’t know why she is famous. Only a few dedicated history or theatre buffs probably know the name of Eleonora Duse. But at one time their rivalry was watched and reported internationally and the art of acting, as we know it today, largely came about through this clash of theatre titans.

Biographer Peter Rader has written an excellent account of both actresses, their history, their rise (and fall [and rise again]) in the theatre world, their extremely different approaches to acting, and their rivalry.

Sarah Bernhardt is likely one of the first actors to understand that the press/media could be put to good use and that there really was no such thing as ‘bad press.’ She became bigger than life and made sure that the media, everywhere she went, knew of her ‘oddities’ such as traveling wit a tiger or sleeping in coffins. These things got her attention and attention meant curiosity, and curiosity meant ticket sales to the shows she was performing.  But odd as it seems, Sarah’s art of acting was based on a style that today we would dismiss as wooden with huge gestures and, as was the style of the time, required very specific poses to suggest very specific moods and reactions.

Most of today’s actors are familiar with, and generally study a style of acting known as the Stanislavski Method (or just “The Method” as in “Method” acting).  Stanislavski developed that style from watching Eleonora Duse. Duse, a fair bit younger than Bernhardt, ‘felt’ her characters and became the characters rather than just displaying canned poses.

While it might seem strange to us today, Sarah’s style of acting was considered most appropriate, while Eleonora’s was shocking and disturbing to many. But Eleonora had her supporters (including theatre reviews such as Oscar Wilde) and the two great actresses would clash many times, including a time in France when they would appear in the same role, in the same play, in theatres across the street from one another.

This really was an engrossing, fascinating read. Rader captures a really pivotal time in the theatre world, commanded by two women – one largely forgotten despite the fact that it was her style that we still see today.

Although it might seem like this has a very specific interest (acting) I strongly recommend this to anyone interested in biographies or history as Rader really captures a lot about this time period (mid-to-late 1800’s to the early 1920’s).

This had me wanting to learn more about both women and I’ve watched the very few YouTube videos of their few movies.

Looking for a good book? Playing to the Gods by Peter Rader is a tremendous biography of two actors whose styles clashed as one method of acting was on the way out and another was just coming into fashion. But this is more than a book about acting and two famous actresses, it’s also a book about the struggle and rise of two women in an era when women weren’t allowed to take leadership roles.

The book is nicely illustrated with photos.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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Playing to the Gods: Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, and the Rivalry That Changed Acting Forever

author: Peter Rader

publisher: Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 1476738378

hardcover, 277 pages