An engrossing account of an elusive artist.
The over-the-top life of a famed wilderness photographer, conservationist, and enigmatic adventurer.
An artist’s life and work are often intertwined; in the case of Peter Beard (1938-2020), the distinction was especially blurred. Boynton, a journalist and longtime friend, valiantly attempts a balanced perspective, yet the scale often tips in favor of his progressively chaotic existence. A descendent of two prominent American families, Beard was inspired by early trips to Africa and the writing of Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen). After acquiring property in Kenya in the early 1960s, he would focus much of his attention on the African wilderness. “His work, his passions, his reference points,” writes Boynton, “all have their origins in the African continent, and they were formed in that short time in Kenya’s disappearing wildlands.” Beard established himself as a gifted and fearless (sometimes reckless) wildlife photographer, and his photographs, particularly of African elephants, captured the escalating destruction of the vast wilderness. Earning acclaim for his first book, The End of the Game (1965), he also became enamored with the nightlife of New York City. With his high-society lineage and movie-star good looks, Beard attracted some of the most glamorous figures of his generation, including the likes of Mick Jagger, Jacqueline Onassis, and Truman Capote. He was married three times, and supermodel Cheryl Tiegs was his second wife. Through decades of partying, heavy drug use, and increasingly erratic behavior, his notorious escapades frequently eclipsed his creative output. Though Boynton offers due diligence to the process of Beard’s work and tracks the important milestones, we never quite get a handle on how he progressed as an evolving artist. Still, the author is convincing in his assertion that Beard will be best remembered for his work: “His place in history…will be determined not by his personal popularity, his nonstop drug ingestion, his serial womanizing, or his passionate defense of the wilderness but by his artistic legacy, and that part of his life remains the most difficult to accurately assess.”
An engrossing account of an elusive artist.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27499-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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