by Stephen Watts ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 30, 2022
Fascinating correspondence, illuminated by thorough research, despite a later loss of focus.
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The letters of a 19th-century immigrant and pioneer are transcribed and contextualized by his descendent in this absorbing debut epistolary biography by Watts.
Charles Watts was born in Epping, near London, in 1812. Along with family friend William Abrehart, the 23-year-old boarded the Montreal in late 1835 hoping to escape poverty in a new life. The pair arrived in New York in January 1836, and on arrival, Charles began writing letters to his family in England, many of which were addressed to his brother, Edward. The letters discuss a broad range of matters—details about his new life as a farmer after recognizing the agricultural prospects of relocating to Illinois, and opinions on slavery, the Oregon boundary dispute, and the Irish Potato Famine. Charles eventually convinced Edward to join him in Illinois, and when leaving England, Edward brought his brother’s treasured letters with him. At the turn of the millennium, the letters came into the hands of author Watts, Charles’ great-great-grandson, who began transcribing the documents as part of his genealogical research. Twenty-two of Charles’ letters survived, spanning 1836-68, and are now archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. The author notes the ways Charles’ lengthy letters revealed the “travails, beliefs, and attitudes of one of the millions of working-class English emigrants” who risked everything for a better life. Divided into three sections, the book first describes Charles’ life, “anchored” by his correspondence, provides deeper background information, and addresses the family’s genealogical quest itself.
Charles’ letters add valuable individual details to our understanding of 19th-century transnational migration. The immigrant eloquently describes his daily struggle to establish himself in the New World, and it’s difficult not to be taken by his openness and tenacity: “It is but little over 5 years since I commenced farming steadily for myself, I had then every thing to learn, every thing to make, every thing to buy, and nothing to buy with—to dig my way inch by inch.” The author’s commentary deftly contextualizes the letters, drawing on well-researched historical detail to elucidate the struggle faced by farmers like Charles: “Nearly impassable roads limited the ability to get what remained to market. Making matters still worse, the 1851 crop was coming to harvest, causing crop prices to plummet.” The study goes marginally awry toward its close, when the author elaborates on particulars that may be of significance to his family alone: “Charles’s letters provide the only hint we have of the bitter relationship that developed between Mary Ann Aland and Anthony Alma’s children from his first two marriages.” The focus broadens to become more of a genealogical study of the Watts family, whereas Charles, his letters, and the immigrant experience provide the true points of interest. The biography would benefit from the omission or abbreviation of the work’s final section, which addresses the research conducted by the author and his family. Still, for those interested in 19th-century American history, this book provides a vital window into the everyday life and concerns of immigrants.
Fascinating correspondence, illuminated by thorough research, despite a later loss of focus.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1544531946
Page Count: 604
Publisher: Houndstooth Press
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton illustrated by Henry Sene Yee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
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New York Times Bestseller
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
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by Brandon Stanton photographed by Brandon Stanton
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by Brandon Stanton ; photographed by Brandon Stanton
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by Pamela Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
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New York Times Bestseller
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
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