Angels may not die, but they will surely wish for suspended animation until the last copy of this book is shredded. Ronald Reagan's daughter has already wasted her parents in earlier books (The Way I See It, not reviewed, etc.). Now she has come 180 degrees, and having found God, she gives the credit to her father. Or maybe she has confused her father with God—it's not altogether clear. Blessedly, Davis's report of her epiphany is short—and shallow. In this volume, the Great Communicator is so often portrayed as lifting his blue eyes to the heavens that he seems to be reading the Great TelePrompTer in the Sky. Davis's turnaround began when her father was shot by John Hinckley. She visited him in the hospital, she says, and heard him say that his healing was dependent on forgiving the gunman. ``I remember telling him,'' she says, ``you're the best Christian around.'' Gradually, she began to reinterpret stories and incidents from her childhood. For instance, a remark made by her father after her grandfather's funeral—``Why are you crying''—comes to be seen as peaceful acceptance of death rather than insensitivity. Stories of horseback rides with her father in the California hills, troubled dreams, fables of angels, and advice on ``talking to God'' emerge as antidotes to the author's earlier tales of misunderstanding and neglect. According to Davis, the ailing President Reagan is grateful when his troubled children come home for family holidays, but the stiffly worded forewords that he and Nancy have prepared for this book suggest that old wounds are still tender. Neither mentions their daughter, the author. Looking for enlightenment about presidential fathers as spiritual guides? Wait until Chelsea gets a little older. ($120,000 ad/promo; author tour)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-06-017324-6
Page Count: 128
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1995
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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