If you’ve ever thought being in the royal family sounds like a nightmare, this book leaves no doubt.
Two members of the royal press corps give a close account of the Windsor-Markle marriage.
Though royal family members cannot authorize a biography, it’s hard to imagine a more supportive work than this. Scobie and Durand will convince readers that after what Harry and Meghan have been through at the hands of the press, the British people, and the rest of the royal family, they deserve a dose of compassion. Though there are no major bombshells, the authors add previously unknown nuances to what appeared to be a modern fairy tale. They offer details of Harry and Meghan’s first date, many of their takeout orders, who said “I love you” first, Meghan’s awkward early encounters with William and Kate, and their decision not to use a night nurse for baby Archie. Readers seeking dirt should look elsewhere. Here’s what passes for a “confession”: “To this day, Harry doesn’t like wearing a tie. He once confessed to the authors of this book, ‘We need to liven these things up, make them more fun and interesting.’ ” Some details are straight out of "Rumpelstiltskin": Meghan’s wedding veil was a “tulle-and-silk creation so delicate and of such pure white that workers had to wash their hands every thirty minutes over the five hundred hours it took to complete.” But fairy tales don’t typically end with the prince and princess turning in their resignations. What went wrong? Race and class set the stage for failure as the senselessly cruel media wrestled the couple to the mat and made sure they could not get up. “My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” Harry said in a statement not long after his son was born. “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer seen or treated as a real person.” As the story ends with the beleaguered couple fleeing to Los Angeles ahead of the pandemic travel shutdown, one can only hope they have found the freedom suggested by the title.
If you’ve ever thought being in the royal family sounds like a nightmare, this book leaves no doubt.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-304610-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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
IN THE NEWS
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