Scratch a Pulitzer Prize winner, find a former Hallmark Card employee with a troubled past and a passion to write. Early on in this spirited handbook for beginners, Rhodes (The Making of the Atomic Bomb, 1986, etc.) introduces the concept of a palimpsest, a manuscript written on more than once, with the earlier writing perhaps still legible. Such are the rules of the game the author operates under in constructing this multifaceted work. On the surface sits a workmanlike narrative that offers solid advice on the craft of writing and covers all the important bases: motivation, voice, structure, research, and getting published. Rhodes teaches by example and in doing so shows he also knows how to sell: Within the first 100 pages he manages to plug or provide juicy paragraphs from eight of his published books and a work-in- progress. Beneath this discourse shines an anthology of meditations, poems, and anecdotes on writing by a menagerie of the gifted, including Anthony Trollope, Fran Lebowitz, Walt Whitman, and Sherwood Anderson. In the base layer of the book lurk the closet skeletons of Rhodes's psyche, revealed in a small handful of frightening autobiographical asides with which he somehow cannot resist shocking his pupils. When an early novel had trouble getting off the ground, suddenly his ``old flirtation with suicide returned.'' Similarly, comments about a ruined previous marriage and a painful childhood are presented with such matter-of-fact casualness during the course of instruction that one has trouble knowing just where and how to focus one's attention. Rhodes plainly states that anyone can write. But his subconscious seems to be whispering that it helps if you have suffered.
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-14095-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Morrow/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
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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