Rebirth of the story of Isis and Osiris in modern times: the 12th book by Cott (Wandering Ghost, 1991, etc.), a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and Parabola. Drawing on various sources, from Plutarch to Joseph Campbell to Norman Mailer's Ancient Evenings (``the most volatile and audacious version...in modern times''), Cott retells the story of Isis and Osiris, twin sister and brother, wife and husband, goddess and god—a simple story with many twists. Osiris seems to be the god of resurrection and Isis goddess of the mother principle—or, Cott says, so it seems in modern eyes. He interviews Dr. James P. Allen, a noted author of Egyptian creation myths and an associate curator of the Department of Egyptian Art at the Metropolitan Museum, who goes quite finely into family ties among the gods but thinks that the anal insemination of Set by Osiris and of Osiris by Set did not mean that sodomy was acceptable to ancient Egyptians. At Clonegal Castle, Ireland, Cott joins with Olivia Robertson and her brother Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, archpriestess and hierophant, who have their own Temple of Isis and spearhead a revival for worship of the Egyptian gods with the Fellowship of Isis, an organization of some 11,000 people living in 60 countries, including Ireland, Japan, Nigeria, the US, India, and New Zealand. Despite bad vibes in the tabloids, the 70-plus Olivia insists that ``We don't have orgies, we have ecstasies.'' Cott also visits the Ammonite Foundation in Egypt; and the Isis and Osiris Workshop in Edmonton, Canada, run by psychologists of archetypes, Evangeline Kane and her husband Franklin, who give the myth absorbing Jungian interpretations. More journalistic than inspired or in any way convincing.
Pub Date: Feb. 15, 1994
ISBN: 0-385-41797-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
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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