A chronicle of the private and public lives of Mercy Otis Warren, one of the first historians and poets of the new American republic, and her father. (James Otis) husband (James Warren) unstable brother (James Otis, Jr.) and friends of the Otises and Warrens. Fritz, who has written histories for juveniles, is an assiduous researcher and competent assembler; this germane but bland book, however, cries out for fuller use of primary sources, especially the Warrens' correspondence with John and Abigail Adams, and Mercy's own poetry and prose. A compensatory grasp of factions and issues is lacking, though the book records the external shifts in the alignments of Massachusetts politics. Though Mercy was an energetic satirist, the psychological side of her character emerges insufficiently. Her despair over her willful and favorite son is one of the more vivid elements of the book, along with the estrangement from the Adamses and 1812 reconciliation, the sympathetically rendered collapse of Governor Thomas Hutchinson in England, and Mercy's acquaintance with a more spectacular woman of letters, Catherine Macaulay. A period piece spanning almost a century whose circumstantialities might gently engage specialists, devotees, and researchers of American social history.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1972
ISBN: 0395139457
Page Count: 440
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1972
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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