A touching, idiosyncratic collection of stories, recipes, and photos documenting a man’s life.
This biography/memoir focuses on the life of a civic-minded New Jersey dentist.
In this wide-ranging book, Katherine Batsis pays tribute to her husband, Andrew, who was born in Brooklyn in 1941. His family moved to New Jersey, and he graduated from that state’s College of Medicine and Dentistry in 1967. The same year, he married the author. Andrew became a member of Kiwanis International in 1971. He was a dentist for 35 years and a longtime Kiwanis enthusiast. He attended numerous conventions and served in many ways, including as a trustee of Kiwanis International and as the leader of the Key Club for high school students for six years. Andrew, who died in 2005, loved gardening, music, baseball, and photography. This volume is divided into three main parts, with the first section providing a transcript of the speeches delivered and letters read at his memorial service. Friends, family, employees, and fellow Kiwanis members all spoke about his kindness. The second part offers a collection of anecdotes in mostly chronological order about Andrew and the author. The work recounts that Andrew looked like Santa Claus to children (“His round face housed two sparkling blue eyes and a nicely trimmed white beard, moustache, and hairline. His rounded belly shook when he laughed whole-heartedly”). Andrew often delivered gifts to reinforce the resemblance. This section is the longest of the three and is mostly from the author’s perspective, though she has provided letters solicited from friends. The third part presents a short history of Kiwanis International and an account of Andrew’s involvement in that civic organization. The meticulous book also offers condolence letters from Kiwanis members in this section. Intriguing and useful appendices feature favorite recipes, including for the Greek pastry finikia, and family photographs. The author has compiled a moving tribute to her husband, dedicating half of the proceeds from the sale of the volume to the New Jersey Kiwanis Foundation. This highly personal, well-organized work will mostly appeal to Andrew’s family, friends, patients, and colleagues, who will relish reading the richly detailed anecdotes and discovering more about his private life. Readers who did not know Andrew may enjoy learning about a remarkable man’s life, family, and civic organizations in New Jersey.
A touching, idiosyncratic collection of stories, recipes, and photos documenting a man’s life.Pub Date: May 30, 2023
ISBN: 9798886151282
Page Count: 362
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.
A carefully curated personal portrait.
First ladies’ roles have evolved significantly in recent decades. Their memoirs typically reflect a spectrum of ambition and interests, offering insights into their values and personal lives. Melania Trump, however, stands out as exceptionally private and elusive. Her ultra-lean account attempts to shed light on her public duties, initiatives, and causes as first lady, and it defends certain actions like her controversial “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” jacket. The statement was directed at the media, not the border situation, she claims. Yet the book provides scant detail about her personal orbit or day-to-day interactions. The memoir opens with her well-known Slovenian origin story, successful modeling career, and whirlwind romance with Donald Trump, culminating in their 2005 marriage, followed by a snapshot of Election Day 2016: “Each time we were together that day, I was impressed by his calm.…This man is remarkably confident under pressure.” Once in the White House, Melania Trump describes her functions and numerous public events at home and abroad, which she asserts were more accomplished than media representations suggested. However, she rarely shares any personal interactions beyond close family ties, notably her affection for her son, Barron, and her sister, Ines. And of course she lavishes praise on her husband. Minimal anecdotes about White House or cabinet staff are included, and she carefully defuses her rumored tensions with Trump’s adult children, blandly stating, “While we may share the same last name, each of us is distinct with our own aspirations and paths to follow.” Although Melania’s desire to support causes related to children’s and women’s welfare feels authentic, the overall tenor of her memoir seems aimed at painting a glimmering portrait of her husband and her role, likely with an eye toward the forthcoming election.
A slick, vacuous glimpse into the former first lady’s White House years.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781510782693
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2024
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