A sympathetic, discerning portrait of a publishing titan.
The life story of the complex man at the forefront of British publishing.
With access to archival sources and interviews, Harding, author of Blood on the Page and Hanns and Rudolf, creates an interesting biography of George Weidenfeld (1919-2016), the publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat who had “a bottomless appetite for social engagement.” As co-founder of the esteemed publishing house Weidenfeld & Nicolson, he was an influential cultural figure from 1948, when the firm began, until his death. Born in Austria, the only child of doting parents, he fled to London in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution. Soon, he found a position with BBC’s Overseas Intelligence Department, and in 1942, he co-authored The Goebbels Experiment: A Study of the Nazi Propaganda Machine, which convinced him that “he loved the process of publication” more than “the hard work of writing.” With Nigel Nicolson as editor and investor, publishing became Weidenfeld’s life’s work. His aim was “to publish authors whose voices were normally shunned by mainstream publishers: the mavericks, the scandalous, the subversive.” Harding focuses each chapter on a book from their impressive list, including Nabokov’s Lolita, which raised the challenge of censorship; Herzog, by the prickly Saul Bellow; Mary McCarthy’s The Group, which some readers found scandalous; James Watson’s Double Helix; Isaiah Berlin’s The Hedgehog and the Fox, the firm’s first commercial success; and Weidenfeld’s autobiography. His personal life was volatile: His first marriage to the wealthy Jane Sieff, in 1952, ended in 1955 because of his “casual infidelities.” Their daughter was born in 1953. A tempestuous love affair with the wife of Cyril Connolly led to a marriage that lasted only two years. His third wife was an American heiress; they divorced, too. His fourth wife outlived him. Harding recounts Weidenfeld’s lifelong commitment to Israel’s fortunes and his numerous philanthropic endeavors. Knighted in 1969, he became a baronet in 1976, honored, finally—though controversially—by the British establishment.
A sympathetic, discerning portrait of a publishing titan.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9781639364466
Page Count: 456
Publisher: Pegasus
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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
PERSPECTIVES
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
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