Book Description

In 1962, at the age of twenty-six, Trisha Brown became one of the original members of the experimental Judson Church Dance Theater in New York, and in 1970 she cofounded The Grand Union. The dancers of these radical groups, such as Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton, embraced improvisation and the use of everyday movements not usually associated with legitimate choreography. To bring her dance into the real world of objects and unpredictable events, Brown performed much of her early work outdoors. The book recalls the richness of those times, when poets, musicians, painters, and sculptors joined with dancers and choreographers in questioning the hierarchies and boundaries of their disciplines.

By the late 1970s, Brown was looking for ways to expand and open up her dances. The desire to create large-scale, complex productions led her to incorporate stage design and music as simultaneous, independent elements in her work. Collaborating with such visual artists and musicians as Laurie Anderson, Robert Ashley, John Cage, Alvin Curran, Nancy Graves, Donald Judd, Fujiko Nakaya, Robert Rauschenberg, and, most recently, Terry Winters, she created visual and musical spectacles, or "movement-images."

In this book, which accompanies a nationally touring exhibition co-organized by the Addison Gallery of American Art and the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, historians, critics, choreographers, dancers, and visual artists explore the dialogue between dance and the visual arts in Brown?s work. The contributors include Guillaume Bernardi, Trisha Brown, Simone Forti, Marianne Goldberg, Deborah Jowitt, Klaus Kertess, Laurence Louppe, Steve Paxton, Yvonne Rainer, Charles Stainback, Hendel Teicher, and Adam D. Weinberg. ... Read more

Book Description

The Book of Latina Women, by award-winning Latina journalist Sylvia Mendoza, highlights the contributions of 150 fabulous women whose accomplishments in history, science, politics, art, and entertainment-past and present-have impacted the world.

From political leaders like Eva Perón-who ruled Argentina with flamboyance and an iron fist-to pioneers like France Anne Cordova-the youngest person to ever hold the Chief Scientist position at NASA-The Book of Latina Women provides a unique perspective on Latina women from all periods in history and all walks of life.

Features profiles on such influential Latinas as:

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Essential, but not entirely up to date.
It's a great guide, I used it for my research and I wouldn't be able to proceed on it without this book. While using it, you must bear in mind that some of the entires are not bang up to date, so if you're not looking up details for a large number of people, you should only use it as a starting point to collect your data and then supplement it with internet searches. ... Read more

Book Description

Gregory Peck's acting career has spanned six decades, during which the ruggedly handsome actor has played everything from a jaunty reporter to an angry Western gunfighter, an honorable lawyer to an obsessed sea captain, a priest to a World War II bomber pilot. To every role, he has lent a depth and intelligence that have made him a permanent American icon. In Gregory Peck: A Biography, Gary Fishgall meticulously recounts Peck's influential life, revealing the effects of the actor on the film industry and of the film industry on the actor.

Although he planned on being a doctor, Peck was lured to the stage as a young man, leaving his native California for an uncertain existence as an actor in New York. After two years of study at the Neighborhood Playhouse in Manhattan, he made a successful Broadway debut in 1942, eventually returning to Hollywood to begin his new, high-profile life. His stunning movie career has included starring roles in such classics as Roman Holiday, Gentleman's Agreement, Cape Fear, Captain Horatio Hornblower, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Yearling, and Moby-Dick. After many Academy Award nominations, Peck won an Oscar in 1962 for his moving portrayal of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, his most celebrated film.

Despite his very public career, Peck remains an extremely private man. In this comprehensive biography, the first written with the actor's cooperation and drawn from extensive research as well as dozens of interviews with Peck's friends and associates, Gary Fishgall portrays him in his many guises: the lonely young son of divorced parents; the stalwart military cadet; the aspiring college thespian; the hot Hollywood newcomer pursued by Goldwyn, Zanuck, Mayer, and Selznick; and the handsome movie star charming the likes of Ingrid Bergman, Jennifer Jones, and Ava Gardner. Fishgall reveals the truth about Peck's unhappy first marriage, his struggle to keep his family together, and the blissful second marriage that has lasted more than forty years. Finally, Fishgall depicts Peck as the esteemed professional, graduating from leading man to gifted character actor, and as the concerned citizen, determined to extend himself beyond the bounds of his own profession. An ardent activist, Peck supports many charitable and political causes, and is unwavering in his desire to make the world a better place.

Renowned biographer of Hollywood giants such as Jimmy Stewart and Burt Lancaster, Fishgall brings an actor's and director's understanding of the movie industry to Gregory Peck. He takes readers behind the scenes of the star's numerous films, and he sets his story within the larger context of the changes and evolution of twentieth-century entertainment.

The tale of an American classic, Gregory Peck is a compelling, intimate account of a full and fascinating life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

An acting life
Peck's acting life earns a thorough description, movie by movie, director by director. His early life receives a bit less. Born in 1916 in La Jolla, he had a lonely, almost dysfunctional childhood, including boarding schools, distant parents, a favored grandmother, a short-lived dog for a pet, and a University of California education. He quickly moves from college in California, to a scholarship to acting school in New York, to three short, failed Broadway plays, to almost overnight success in Hollywood, kicked off by his role as a priest in "Keys to the Kingdom".

But the story is more of a diary or summary of events, including things like profits from his La Jolla Playhouse venture, calculated to the penny. Casts of summer stock plays and Hollywood movies are cataloged. Every radio broadcast seems to merit a mention.

But the story is often a bore. Peck, who apparently had some form of editorial input to the book, chimes in at times with one-sentence descriptions of people, events, and movies, but it reads more like a scribbled note he added to the Fishgall's draft text. His life, including children, affairs and failed marriages, are sidelights.

If you would like a life catalog, read this book. For entertainment and a more human portrait, watch "Twelve O'Clock High".

Thorough
This biography is very thorough, especially on Peck's acting career. As for the personal life, Fishgall gives the facts but doesn't delve into any sticky, emotional relationships if, indeed, there were any.

The acting career, however, is covered in great detail from the very beginning, so if you're more interested in the actor and the public man than in the inner man, you'll enjoy this book. I did.

A Towering Star
There is a scene in "The Old Gringo" where Gregory Peck as the title character tries to seduce spinsterish Jane Fonda with words words words. (Actually, it turned out he was only softening her up for the young Mexican general Jimmy Smits.)The Old Gringo talks about all the beautiful women he's loved over his long life and how he made them sigh into his mustache. Oh yes, we can believe it! Think of Gregory as the cynical reporter who falls in love with Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday"; or the lewd cowboy Lewt McCandles, who drives Jennifer Jones' Pearl to a "Duel in the Sun"; or the bewildered amnesia patient who makes Ingrid Bergman's cool psychologist fall madly in love in Hitchcock's "Spellbound." I thoroughly enjoyed reading Gary Fishgall's well-researched biography of this towering actor, who is just as decent and intelligent as we always imagined. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A great expedition from the warmth of your own reading chair
Arctic Son keeps the reader "involved" and teaches you about surviving the Arctic North.I learned it is not something I would like to do, with months upon months of frozen everything and darkness.This book helps you to appreciate what you have and the warmth of your own home!It is nice for this authro to write about her adventures in the Arctic and share this true life tale with us, the readers.

I recommend reading this if you are interested in exploring the world around you, especially the wild and frigid Arctic North.

Just as Good as Arctic Daughter
I couldn't wait to read this book after having enjoyed Arctic Daughter.The two adventure stories stand alone as exceptional works -- not of literature -- but of true adventure stories.I found Arctic Son to be true to Jean Aspen, the woman and adventurer.It was real in content, description of events, feelings and thoughts, and it allowed me to live out my own dream of building a cabin in Alaska without leaving home.Additionally, Arctic Son proved that even after a family comes along, adventure is still attainable and very rewarding to the soul of all.At the same time, the mental and physical risks and costs of such high adventure are made quite clear.This book was just as good, if not sweeter, than the first book.Also, it isn't necessary to read both books sequentially to understand events or motivation.

Loved this book and Arctic Daughter also...
I first heard of Jean Aspen when a condensed version of her first book, Arctic Daughter, appeared in a Reader's Digest. I have since acquired, with difficulty, my own copy of that book.I later located Arctic Son in a used bookstore.I felt the point of both books was not to elevate the art of literature, but rather to convey the life-shaping experiences of her years in the arctic, using literature as the medium.I understand Jean and Tom filmed portions of their time in Alaska during the "Arctic Son" period, and I would love to locate a copy of that, if possible.Any help out there????At any rate, both books are great to curl up with and dream about during a long winter.

Good story, fair writing, new-age philosophy, poor editing
I love reading about Alaska, and I wanted to love this book, but while the story was fascinating, the writing was tepid and the philosophy was a bit adolescent.

There is a passage in which she describes the arctic lightand the way it reminded her of classical music: to most of us, this mightmean Bartok, Poulenc or Debussy; she thought of George Winston.

It wasn'ta travesty, merely a disappointment.

Another MUST READ from Jean Aspen!
Arctic Son is every bit as enjoyable as Arctic Daughter.It was very interesting to discover how different the two trips were.Jean has a genuine talent for putting her experiences and emotions into print, whichis a real treat for the reader.Well done, Jean!!! ... Read more

Book Description

The Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Biography includes more than 18,000 people from around the globe and from all periods of history. All continents, fields of endeavor, and historical eras are richly represented: the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and Michelangelo rub shoulders with Sir V. S. Naipaul, Jesse Jackson, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Each entry begins with the person"s full name, birth and death dates, nationality, and occupation, allowing the reader to locate this most basic information at a glance. The person"s life, education, and achievements are detailed, as is information on the historical milieu in which he or she was active.
The book also includes 300 special feature boxes, which provide detailed information about a variety of noteworthy people, such as the Ottoman emperor Suleyman the Magnificent, the singer Ella Fitzgerald, the sculptor Henry Moore, and the poet Robert Burns. Quotations often impart some of the spirit of these impressive people. Readers learn that the last words of Ludwig van Beethoven, the deaf composer, were "I shall hear in heaven," and that Bruce Springsteen said of Bob Dylan, "He had the freedom and the talent to make a pop record that contained the whole world."
This is an indispensable resource for schools, libraries, and individuals who need an up-to-date and authoritative biographical reference. ... Read more

Book Description

Jan Dravecky shares her moving story of trial, depression, healing, and learning that God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Tremendous Help
This book is a tremendous help to someone (especially a Christian) suffering from loss and/or depression. It would also be a help to you if you have a friend or loved one suffering from these things. It is a very easy and quick book to read since it is written in a conversational manner. You get the feeling that you are a friend to whom Jan Dravecky is telling her story and sharing sound advice and support. The book came to me when I needed it most, and I will always be thankful for that. I am sorry the Dravecky family has been through so much, but out of their experience many will be blessed. ... Read more

Book Description

PRAISE FOR The Casebook of Forensic Detection

"Pithy, concise, and remarkably accurate."
–Science Books & Films

"Contains ample material to hold the attention and foster interest in science."
–Science Teacher

"A mystery novelist’s essential resource guide."
–Book News, Inc.

"Even the most dedicated devotee of the genre will find much that is new in these brief but exciting accounts."
–Publishers Weekly ... Read more

Book Description

The first volume in Roy Foster's magisterial biography of W.B. Yeats was hailed as 'a work of huge significance' (The Atlantic Monthly) and 'a stupendous historiographical feat' (Irish Sunday Independent). Now, the eagerly awaited second volume explores the complex poetic, political, and personal intricacies of Yeats's dramatic final decades, a period that saw the Easter Rebellion, the founding of the Irish state in 1922, and the production of Yeats's greatest masterpieces.In the conclusion of this first fully authorized biography, Foster brilliantly illuminates the circumstances--the rich internal and external experiences--that shaped the great poetry of Yeats's later years: 'The Wild Swans at Coole,' 'Sailing to Byzantium,' 'The Tower,' 'The Circus Animals Desertion,' 'Under Ben Bulben,' and many others. Yeats's pursuit of Irish nationalism and an independent Irish culture, his continued search for supernatural truths through occult experimentation, his extraordinary marriage, a series of tempestuous love affairs, and his lingering obsession with Maud Gonne are all explored here with a nuance and awareness rare in literary biography. Foster gives us the very texture of Yeats's life and thought, revealing the many ways he made poetry out of the 'quarrel' with himself and the upheaval around him. But this consummate biography also shows that Yeats was much more than simply a lyric poet and examines in great detail Yeats's non-poetic work--his essays, plays, polemics, and memoirs. The enormous and varied circle of Yeats's friends, lovers, family, collaborators and antagonists inhabit and enrich a personal world of astounding energy, artistic commitment and verve; while the poet himself is shown returning again and again to his governing preoccupations, sex and death. Based on complete and unprecedented access to Yeats's papers and written with extraordinary grace and insight, W.B. Yeats, A Life offers the fullest portrait yet of the private and public life of one of the twentieth century's greatest poets. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Messin' With Ellmann et al
I agree, largely, with what I've read here. Foster *is* an anteater, to quote one Amazon reviewer.

On the other hand, you're dealing with Yeats. Yeats was probably the most sophisticated thinker about literary persona and literary stance that Western literature has ever produced. Only Shakespeare--who, as far as we know, never theorized explicitly about any of this, much less wrote it down--surpasses him, and not by design. Such figures as Pound are nothing in comparison. It should come as no surprise that Yeats' own autobiographical material is forbidding in the extreme; if you get past that you have Ellmann to deal with, and you'd best go loaded for bear.

Foster has taken a blunderbuss, since Ellmann showed up with a rifle. Nonetheless, both approaches are invaluable. Foster's work is magisterial, even if it's not a great literary biography *taken as such*. On the other hand, it offers an incredible resource for the serious student of Yeats. Detail aside (helpful as that is to scholars) Foster makes a very good case for Yeats' persona-management in public and private, something I have come to feel is essential to understanding the poet and which, along with the occult study, has been imperfectly examined. (See Maddox's ridiculous effort for an example of this at its worst.)

Read together, though, both major biographies tend to compliment each other very nicely. Give that a try.

Te Diem
If I may be permitted to speak oxymoronically, this book as it once indispensable and utterly useless. It is indispensable for the sheer wealth and weight of fact it carries. The book constitutes a veritable rhapsody of small details, collected without due regard for relevance and with every regard for hanging on the the myriad fruits of bibliophilia. How then is it useless?It is useless because it dispenses with the immense effort - at once imaginative and cognitive - of reconstructing the relationships and the world to which the work and activity of Yeats was a response and against which he defined himself. This task of reconstruction is never only a matter of painstaking factual excavation. It is a question of reimagining a whole "field of force" (Wittgenstein) into which, so to speak, the poet was "thrown". This bok is a heroic but antiquarian leviathan. ... Read more

Book Description

"The Magic Behind the Voices" is a fascinating package of biographies, anecdotes, credit listings, and photographs of the actors who have created the unmistakable voices for some of the most popular and enduring animated characters of all time.

Drawn from dozens of personal interviews, the book features a unique look at thirty-nine of the hidden artists of show business. Often as amusing as the characters they portray, voice actors are charming, resilient people --- many from humble beginnings --- who have led colorful lives in pursuit of success. "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill"'s Mike Judge was an engineer for a weapons contractor turned self-taught animator and voice actor. Nancy Cartwright (the voice of Bart Simpson) was a small town Ohio girl who became the star protégé of Daws Butler --- most famous for Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and Quick Draw McGraw. Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine) and Minnie Mouse (Russi Taylor) are a real-life husband-and-wife team. Spanning many studios and production companies, this book captures the spirit of fun that bubbles from those who create the voices of favorite animated characters.

In the earliest days of cartoons, voice actors were seldom credited for their work. A little more than a decade ago, even the Screen Actors Guild did not consider voice actors to be real actors, and the only voice actor known to the general public was Mel Blanc. Now, Oscar-winning celebrities clamor to guest star on animated television shows and features.

Despite the crushing turnouts at signings for shows such as "Animaniacs", "The Simpsons", and "SpongeBob Squarepants", most voice actors continue to work in relative anonymity."The Magic Behind the Voices" features personal interviews and concise biographical details, parting the curtain to reveal creators of many of the most beloved cartoon voices. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

AWESOME book!
TIM LAWSON's long awaited book on CARTOON VOICE ACTORS fills a void plain and simple!We needed this book to find out a little more about the talented cartoon voice actors of the GOLDEN AGE of cartoons and also to learn a little about today's artists.GREAT BOOK!Congrats TIM and ALISA!Rick

A fine survey of voice actors and their work
The biographies, anecdotes, credit listings and photos of actors who served as the voices for popular cartoon characters are packed into The Magic Behind The Voices: A Who's Who Of Cartoon Voice Actors, making it a fine survey of voice actors and their work. Even a decade ago, many in the profession didn't even consider voice actors to be 'real actors': Magic Behind The Voices provides excellent insights from early cartoon voices down to the animation of modern times.

Long awaited book...terrific for animation fans!
I really enjoyed this book.It's well written and features a nice cross section of voice-over artists from the television and animation industry. (The list of worthy and notable voice actors is endless, so I'm sure the choice was difficult here, with space limitations a factor.)It's nice to get acquainted with some of the most talented voice actors from the world of cartoons, I only wish there were more illustrations of the artists themselves and the characters they voiced. It's a bit skimpy in that regard, but all in all, a terrific book. ... Read more

Book Description

Ride with the fire department paramedics as they race to help people who are having a really bad day, and share the laughs and the tears that come with having "the world's most glamorous job." "Quick! How Do You Dial 9-1-1?" contains episodes that are both harrowing and hilarious from the true-life experiences of Firefighter Captain Randy Nickerson of the Denton, Texas, Fire Department. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

True to life
Randy is as fantastic a writer I have ever had the privilige to meet. Being in the volunteer EMS field I can laugh with him as he meets all the different characters he helps. His sense of humor is a survivor skill in his profession. I hope to see more of his work, is it needed in our work as much as good equipment.

Cap, please write more!
Wickedly funny, should appeal to a wide variety of people, from those looking for true life paramedic books to those who like to read of strange real life incidents. Captain Nickerson is definitely the guy I'd want to respond to my 9-1-1 call.

So You Wanna Be a Fireman?
In the wake of the events of Sept. 11, our nation's true heroes have received the respect and praise they deserve on a daily basis. With this newfound glitz and glamour, I am sure that the career choice of many is to be a fireman, paramedic, or police officer.
Randy Nickerson's new book tells stories of what these people do and face on a typical day at the office. He uses true stories with a touch of humor to tell what he has experienced in his 23 years of service. The thing that distinguishes his book from others is that he tells the stories as he saw and remembers them. This allows readers to put themselves in his boots and see and feel what he did. He tells of experiences where he, his partners, and equipment defeated nature or death, but he also tells of experiences where all he could do was console the loved ones of the victims whose time on earth had expired. He tells of experiences where he was just as scared as those involved but had to hide his fear and try to save a life in a situation that no training or manual could prepare you for. He also tells of experiences that come back to him; some as a haunting memory as he passes the site of the accident and others as a greatful thanks for a job well done from the survivor or loved one. As the author puts it, his job has its ups and downs, but in what other job can you comment on the events of your day at the workplace with the following statement, "Oh nothing much. Just saved another life, that's all."
I did not want to put this book down until I finished, and even then I was left wanting more. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone, and I would definitely recommend it to someone considering a career as a fireman, paramedic, or police officer.

"If I'm in a wreck, please dial Randy Nickerson"
Author, Randy Nickerson has hit the nail on the head with his book on the ups and downs of being a fireman-paramedic. His insight from on the job experience is related so well that I now have a greater respect for all the firemen and the tremendous jobs they do, from putting up with all the crazy people, to the dangerous missions they set out on at any given moment. It is also a great book if you wonder if you have what it takes to enter into this profession. I envy his job, but at the same time I know I don't have what it takes to do his job. Randy has written this book with humor and he also shows his compassionate side as he deals with his "customers". You won't regret buying this book. My son and I fought over it back and forth for 2 days until we had both finished it. ... Read more

Book Description

In New Mexican Lives, Richard Etulain and a distinguished group of twelve collaborators re-interpret the state’s history through biography. Profiles of fourteen notable, complex characters provide a unique view into New Mexico’s development from prehistoric times to the present. Here are lives of men and women that illustrate memorable events: from Popé and the Pueblo Revolt to Spanish colonizers Juan de Oñate and Diego de Vargas; from Hispanic widows exercising their property rights to Billy the Kid and the shoot-out in Lincoln; from Mabel Dodge Luhan and her avant-garde, idealistic salon to Senator Dennis Chavez and his exercise of Hispanic political power on a national level.

By emphasizing the links between important New Mexicans and their times, this book makes history a personal story of drama and pathos played out within a larger context of pivotal events and formative ideas. For example, we see the contradictory forces compelling Chiricahua Apache Mangas Coloradas to be committed to peace while nevertheless waging ceaseless war on Mexico, Kit Carson’s struggle to find a humane way to carry out his duty to wage war on the Navajo, and Susan McSween’s valiant and determined effort to modernize a seemingly untamed town.

This book will appeal to anyone interested in knowing more about how a fascinating mix of people of various cultures have molded New Mexico’s history. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Famous New Mexicans
"New Mexican Lives"
Richard W. Etulain, Editor
ISBN 0-8263-2433-9

This book offers eleven chapters by different authors on various personalities in the history of what is now the state of New Mexico. The most interesting to me are about Tony Hillerman, Mabel Dodge Luhan, Pope and Wendell Chino.

Two of the least interesting chapters are about Billy the Kid and Kit Carson. Kathleen P. Chamberlain tells us that at least 250 books and hundreds of articles have been written about Billy the Kid, a part of a "search for a romantic old West that never existed." Barton H. Barbour describes the "powerful resonance" of Kit Carson's mythic life. In other words, the reputations of these men have as much to do with fiction as fact.

A lesser-known subject is Wendell Chino. Through Mr. Chino's leadership, the Mescalero Apaches have, perhaps, been the most successful tribe in New Mexico at becoming financially independent through the development of their gambling casino and Ski Apache resort area.

Pope was an Indian from San Juan Pueblo, who organized the revolt of 1680. Joe S. Sando, who wrote this chapter, describes this revolt as the original American revolution. It is difficult not too sympathize with the Pueblos in their rebellion against the Spanish conquerors who set about destroying everything these people held dear and exploiting them for Spain's purposes. Pope, it would appear, was a legitimate Indian hero.

Lois Palken Rudnick's chapter about Mabel Dodge Luhan is interesting. Luhan had already had several previous lives of wealth and glamour in Europe and New York prior to showing up in New Mexico. In 1918, she began an affair with Tony Lujan of Taos Pueblo, to whom she was ultimately married for thirty nine years. In Taos Pueblo, Luhan discovered a community that was a model of permanence and stability, where individual, social, artistic, and religious values were completely integrated in a way that she had not previously known. Ultimately, Luhan played a key role in promoting modern art in New Mexico and the work of people such as Andrew Dassburg, Ansel Adams, D. H. Lawrence, Georgia O'Keefe, and Frank Waters.

In the chapter on Tony Hillerman, Ferenc M. Szasz does a good job of characterizing the author's accomplishments. Hillerman, born in Oklahoma, has become a major New Mexico phenomenon as well as a literary voice for the Navajo and the American southwest in general. Szasz explains that Hillerman's themes in his sixteen novels include the following: the nuclear world and the cold war, southwestern anthropology and western history, Indian gaming, alcohol abuse, hantavirus, Indian education, and, in particular, the Navajo view of these things. Hillerman's writing, as it turns out, complements well the state's multi-million dollar tourism industry, said to employ 60,000 New Mexicans. It has been suggested that Hillerman's novels have brought more tourists to New Mexico than any other single source.

On the whole, for those interested in New Mexico, Richard Etulain has brought together some appealing reading. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Here's A Unique Topic.
Master writer and researcher Jill Jonnes is back, this time teamed with the venerable John C. Ball. Fame At Last is the culmination of an unlikely look at a five-year history of New York Times obituaries. The New York Times obits are a veritable who's who of the recently deceased; only those who've been pioneers in their chosen field earn a coveted spot in these pages. This odd subject matter makes for fascinating reading.

Jonnes and Ball developed a database for the ten thousand or so obits in their study, classifying them by occupation, education, income level, obit length, and more. When massaged, their database reveals interesting patterns about these chosen few and highlights the value of higher education, particularly at renowned ivy league schools. Chapters are broken down by field of expertise--artists, politicians, writers, inventors, criminals, musicians, educators, etc. There's something for everyone.

For each chapter, Jonnes has culled a sampling of the most compelling obits, and devotes a page or two to anecdotal musing on each. In its essence, Fame At Last is a collection of short biographies on some of the world's most creative, intelligent, productive, or infamous personalities, some of whom we're familiar with, some we're not. Surprisingly fun and illustrative. Christopher Bonn Jonnes, author of Wake Up Dead.

Comments Re:Book Titled Fame At Last
I am very impressed with the time spent to research the subject matter.The authors obviously had the perserverance and energy to devote a significant number of hours to the data collection and analysis phases.

Since I like history, I particularly liked the interesting items about indiviiduals that I have read or heard of in other media.There are some lessons to be learned from the lives of the people included in the book.

Also, the statistics bring out some interesting points regarding education, field of endeavor (Occupational Groups)and differences between the sexes and races.For example, the list of names in Table 1-4, "The Overall Apex of Fame:The Longest Obituarties," remind one of the people that have gone before us and have made a difference.

The authors are to be congratulated for providing a great read of a subject that some people shun.(Personally, I get up each morning, check the local obits and if my name is not included I go to work) ... Read more

Book Description

Alaska’s climate, extreme topography, and settlement distribution make airplanes and helicopters a crucial means of transportation. Ninety percent of this state is unreachable by road, and at least one third of Alaska’s people live in the bush. In Alaska, travel by air has always been more than just recreational and piloting has always been more than conventional. Alaska pilots are some of the most experienced and skillful aviators in the world, and they run the gamut from commercial pilots to aviation safety inspectors, from big-game guides and bush pilots to aerobatic fliers.

In Alaska’s Women Pilots: Contemporary Portraits, Jenifer Fratzke has compiled seven interviews of contemporary women aviatrices from nearly every reach of that gamut. This collection begins an important documentation of what women have contributed to the aviation industry in Alaska. Fratzke herself has been a flight attendant, flight engineer, copilot, and pilot. Through her eighteen years of experience flying in Alaska, she has tapped into Alaska’s rich and unfolding aviation history by flying with and interviewing many women pilots.

The seven oral histories she includes here explain the women’s motivations for flying; they include the descriptions and praises of mentors that made all the difference; and they recall stories of grief and stories of good fortune. Each personal history is remarkable in what it reveals of the history of aviation in Alaska and the individual contributions that history is built on. These stories are unique and inspirational; at the same time they have an echoing quality that compounds, strengthens, and supports the voices of those who have gone before (Harriet Quimby, Beryl Markham, Pancho Barnes, and many others) and those who may come after. ... Read more

Book Description

Since 1996, Richard Brookhiser has devoted himself to recovering the Founding for modern Americans. The creators of our democracy had both the temptations and the shortcomings of all men, combined with the talents and idealism of the truly great. Among them, no Founding Father demonstrates the combination of temptations and talents quite so vividly as the least known of the greats, Gouverneur Morris.

His story is one that should be known by every American -- after all, he drafted the Constitution, and his hand lies behind many of its most important phrases. Yet he has been lost in the shadows of the Founders who became presidents and faces on our currency. As Brookhiser shows in this sparkling narrative, Morris's story is not only crucial to the Founding, it is also one of the most entertaining and instructive of all. Gouverneur Morris, more than Washington, Jefferson, or even Franklin, is the Founding Father whose story can most readily touch our hearts, and whose character is most sorely needed today.

He was a witty, peg-legged ladies' man. He was an eyewitness to two revolutions (American and French) who joked with George Washington, shared a mistress with Talleyrand, and lost friends to the guillotine. In his spare time he gave New York City its street grid and New York State the Erie Canal. His keen mind and his light, sure touch helped make our Constitution the most enduring fundamental set of laws in the world. In his private life, he suited himself; pleased the ladies until, at age fifty-seven, he settled down with one lady (and pleased her); and lived the life of a gentleman, for whom grace and humanity were as important as birth. He kept his good humor through war, mobs, arson, death, and two accidents that burned the flesh from one of his arms and cut off one of his legs below the knee.

Above all, he had the gift of a sunny disposition that allowed him to keep his head in any troubles.We have much to learn from him, and much pleasure to take in his company. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Well-written, but as typical for Brookhiser, very brief
It is nice to see a new biography on a relatively neglected Founding Father, who has been portrayed (when mentioned at all) in other histories I have read as more or less a light-weight Good-Time Charlie. Clearly a lightweight wouldn't have been entrusted to draft the Constitution, yet Morris has been left in the corner to gather dust for the last two centuries.

So a new biography is certainly welcome. It is a well-written, brisk narrative, and is enjoyable enough to read, but I cannot bring myself to give it 4 stars, and it certainly doesn't merit 5 stars. Simply put, it is just too damned short! Not being well-acquainted with Morris, I would have hoped for a more thorough treatment, but in many ways, Morris' portrait remains half-completed in Brookhiser's hands.

I realize that Brookhiser is attempting to make his series on the Founding Fathers (incidentally, why only Federalists so far?) accessible to the general public, but as another reviewer observed, if you don't already have a good background in this period of history, you may be more confused than enlightened by the sparse detail in Brookhiser's treatment.

In this book's case, one needs to be well-versed in the history of both Revolutionary America AND Revolutionary France. Morris' six years in France (1789-1795; Morris didn't return to the US until late 1798) gave him a unique perspective among the Founding Fathers (Monroe didn't arrive until 1794, nor Marshall until 1797) of watching the French Revolution devolve into the Reign of Terror. In fact, Brookhiser devotes more space in his book to these six years, and if you don't know the difference between a Jacobin, a Girondist or a Montagnard you may be out of luck.

This is not to say that there isn't some good information in this book, especially where Morris' personal life is concerned. The man certainly is not boring. However, from Morris' return to the US in 1798 until his death 1816, it feels as though Brookhiser is rushing towards the finish, trying to wrap up a few loose ends as he goes along. The period from 1798-1816 deals mostly with Morris' family life; even though Morris led the last charges of Federalism in the Senate from 1800-1803, it receives only passing notice from Brookhiser.

A little over 200 pages is just too condensed to be of any real use to anyone. One doesn't need a weighty, 900-page tome to do Morris justice, but would it have killed Brookhiser to have expanded this biography to maybe 350 pages or so?

Why Can't More Biographies Be Like This?
This concise, highly readable biography resurrects Gouverneur Morris, a forgotten Founding Father, who drafted the final version of the Constitution, writing its immortal preamble, and was instrumental in the development of New York into the world's greatest city, planning both the Erie Canal and the street grid of modern Manhattan. Morris was also a notable eccentric, a one-legged Lothario who shared a mistress with Talleyrand, and ultimately married a Southern lady with an unspeakable scandal in her past.

Morris was an elitist and a man of property, like his friend Alexander Hamilton. Less egalitarian than Jefferson, he was more clearsighted than the Virginian in condemning the rankness and hypocrisy of slavery. Another reviewer calls him anti-Catholic, which is untrue. He was quite critical of Catholicism, but defeated a provision in the New York state constitution banning Catholic worship. A champion of liberty of conscience, he was a Deist, like many of the Founders, and sceptical of organized religion in general.

Richard Brookhiser is a conservative commentator and editor at the National Review. However, his historical writings are as fair-minded, sensible, and free from dogma, as his journalism is not. This brief biography reflects its subject: charming, witty, and learned.

Good biography
To most people who read of the era of the founding fathers, Gouverneur Morris is at best a peripheral character, mentioned in passing while the spotlight featured the bigger names of Washington, Adams, Hamilton, et al. Brookhiser gives us the opportunity to learn about this man and his role in early U.S. history.

Morris was generally a peripheral character in the Revolutionary Era, but he did play a significant role in the drafting of the Constitution. His writing skills put the Constitution into its essentially final form, and the Preamble is almost entirely his creation. Beyond this, however, he was a more minor political player.

A lot of this was by Morris's own choice, since he wasn't all that interested in higher office. He was an interesting enough person, in many ways more human than the semi-immortals with whom he worked with. Relatively easy-going and with a good sense of humor, Morris was also - despite a maimed hand and a missing leg - quite the ladies' man, even having an affair with one French woman who was not only married, but already the mistress to another. When he finally married late in life, he successfully avoided social pressure by choosing a wife with a bit of a reputation.

Brookhiser - a rather politically conservative writer - has a lot of sympathy for the Federalists such as Hamilton and Morris. He, nonetheless, has written a good, objective book, the best of the three of his I read (the other two were on Hamilton and the Adams family). While Morris is rightly accorded a lesser light in history, he does deserve some illumination and Brookhiser's book does the job well.

A Good Biography, but Not One of Brookhiser's Best
Does Richard Brookhiser plan to write a biography for every single Founding Father? Based on the three books of his I've read so far (on George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and now Gouverneur Morris), one can only hope so.

Brookhiser's latest biography is of a somewhat neglected Founding Father, whose greatest accomplishment was his authorship/editorial work of much of the U.S. Constitution. Late in his life, Morris also played an invaluable, but often overlooked role in pushing the U.S. to create a system of canals linking New York State's Atlantic coast with the northern interior of North America. (These canals were, once created, as important for the young country's economic growth in the early nineteenth century as railroads would be for it in the late nineteenth century.)

For a major public figure, Morris led a balanced life. His serious pursuits did not keep him from enjoying women, travel and outings, or a well-told joke. He was a good friend, especially towards those who he felt were unfairly treated by others. As Morris would drift in and out of public service throughout his life, much of the biography focuses on this personal side of the man.

Brookhiser's skill as a biographer is to reveal aspects of his subject's character with just a well-written phrase or two. He does this in a straightforward way without the need for any conceptual baggage (such as Freudianism). Few biographers nowadays are willing to be so concise or risk interpreting their subjects in such a direct manner.

But unlike with two of his previous and better-known subjects (Washington and Hamilton), Brookhiser is perhaps too brief in dealing with Morris's life. Whereas the basic outlines of both Washington and Hamilton's lives are fairly well-known to most readers, and therefore more amenable to Brookhiser's kind of abbreviation, Morris's life is not. As a result, the transitions in Morris's life covered in the book seem to rush by and background information is uneven. This is still a fine work, one I can easily recommend, but it is not as impressive as Brookhiser's earlier biographies.

A good biography of a neglected American figure
Most accounts of the American Founding are filled with tales of prim and proper Puritans or unremarkable commercial men. Not so with Gouverneur Morris (1752-1816), a New York aristocrat whose ancestral roots in this country went back to Dutch-controlled New Amsterdam. His family owned much of the Bronx in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Morris had an astonishingly varied career. A friend of George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, and Thomas Paine, Morris was the primary architect of the U.S. Constitution. He was a successful ladies' man, enjoying a succession of lovers before finally marrying in his late 50s. An expatriate in France during the French Revolution, he advised Louis XVI and wrote a constitution for that troubled nation. A senator from New York, he opposed the War of 1812 and advocated the secession of Northern states. Back in New York, while practicing law and tending to business interests, he found time to establish Manhattan's street grids and begin work on the Erie Canal. He started a family in his early 60s. Above all, he enjoyed life.

Observers make much of the fact that as a teenager Morris sustained severe burns to his right arm and later lost part of a leg in a carriage accident, but these are arguably the least interesting things about the man.

The one black mark on an otherwise admirable record was his anti-Catholicism. Brookhiser says little about it apart from arguing that Morris, a deist, wasn't as anti-Catholic as some of his Protestant colleagues. In other words, "Morris could have been worse," the author seems to say.

This is a quick and easy read. Brookhiser writes well. Still, it's not altogether clear why the author, a senior editor at the neoconservative National Review, would want to write about someone like Morris. It's not even clear that in the end the author finds him particularly appealing. Brookhiser's critical remarks about Edmund Burke and John Randolph of Roanoke, both of whom admittedly are more interesting figures, detract from the story and may turn off more conservative-minded readers.

Why is Morris important to us? America, especially New York, has changed considerably since Morris's time; some might say it has become decidedly less civilized. We live in an age of mass democracy, globalism, and consumerism where monetary values are held to be supreme, the sole measure of one's worth. The state of once-grand places like the Bronx, as Brookhiser shows in the concluding chapter, is a living symbol of this decline. If Morris was a rare enough individual in his own time, he would be inconceivable in ours. Yet, his rich life represents to modern Americans a model for a better way of living. Take heart from his cheerful fortitude, his aristocratic acceptance of life's vicissitudes, the sheer pleasure he got out of living according to God's plan. As Morris said: "To enjoy is to obey". Life is good. ... Read more

Book Description

Dressed like leather-clad rock 'n roll warriors from another planet and adorned in colorful greasepaint, KISS has sold more than 80 million albums and transfixed audiences around the world. In this shockingly revealing and comprehensive biography, the group unveils all the previously untold details of their struggling birth in New York City, to the breakthrough success of their seminal 1975 album, Alive!, to the triumphant reunion that propelled them right back to the highest ranks of music superstardom. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

GREAT READ ..EVEN FOR THOSE WITH JADED HEARTS
There would have been a time when I would have bought this off the shelf day one. Why not this time? Well firstly there is a lot of Kiss product thrown out there these days and secondly not all of it is any where near essential. So I overlooked this book for quite sometime only picking it up a couple of weeks back. Although this book certainly isn't gonna tell you a whole lot new, it is a great casual read and seems a little more balanced than Gene and Paul telling us how only "two people can drive the car from the front seats" although funnily enough I thinkthat line is in there someplace. I particularly like the recall of every song they have written and either the bands personal memory or somebody on the fringes of Kiss and their memory of the writing or recording process. The Carmen Appice recall versus everyone else in the studio for Paul's solo album is a classic example of how different people see the same thing a different way and is very amusing. The biop-styled piece on each member of the band at the peak of their career shows the fractures that were always there and how different they all were personality wise and work ethic wise. Clearly all four gentleman's heads were always off in the clouds either in ego, self dellusion or drugs. As we now know is the case, holding the original four together for as long as they did was no mean feat indeed. In my heart I believe original line up or no, the turmoil and line up changes (whether appreciated at the time or not) are what have kept the band fresh and appealing in the long haul. Buy when able for your coffee table.

hope you feel good
yeah you guys that bought this drivel..well Gen's got your money...too bad.

Same old stuff
I looked forward to readfing this book seeing as I have been a Kiss fan for over two decades. The book really didn't tell me anything new. As little new information that the book had, it did help me come to several new revelations. First of all, Kiss consists of hundreds of people. It isn't just four guys playing their own music. They play whatever they are told to play. My second conclusion is that however great of a business person Gene Simmons is, he is a puppet to the people that decide the direction of the band. Paul Stanley who is arguably the most talented of all of them is nothing but a whiner with no way of expressing himself truly. The only way for him to do that would be to go to an independent record label and strt from scratch. During the read, I felt the most sympathy for Ace and Peter, realizing that they were just normal guys who were held back by the two main egos in the band. The book consists of many interviews and it seems that every time Gene responds to something he has to take a jab at Ace or Peter. The book drags on and everything begins to sound the same after a while. So and so did this, so and so could not do that, because of this, this happened. As bad as that sounds, it does have some good stuff when the band isn't being interviewed. Sean Delaney and Bill Aucoin have some insight as to why things were the way they were at certain times in history. Many of the true writers of the songs come forth and explain what was going through their head at the time. However, I feel as a Kiss fan I was disappointed and I think this is the last that I want to know about them. I think I will just stick with my old vinyl records and pretend I don't know anything.

This Book Is Priceless - Behind the scenes of every song!!!
I got this book a few weeks ago. All I have to say is the section that goes over every Kiss album and every song is priceless. You find out which songs and albums the band loves and which ones they hate. This is a dream book if your into this type of thing. The bible of info on every Kiss song. Thats all that has to be said.

Extremely Well Written & Objective....
With tons of books swirling around regarding the now legendary KISS, it becomes very difficult to separate fact from fiction (for example, Gene & Paul really care about the fan$).
This book sheds away a lot of the bull and leaves the reader with a very objective & realistic picture of the band.Of all the books I have read on KISS, this one & Gordon G.G. Gebert's "Kiss & Tell" are far away the best. If the hardcover seems a little pricey, just search it out at your local library like I did.(Use the extra money to buy the remastered version of Ace's solo album).A must have read for anyone who had the orignal album posters from "Alive" on their bedroom wall."Ace Frehley Lead Gee-tar!" ... Read more

Reviews (1)

If You Love Baseball...
...I question that love if you do not have this book. This is the most concise collection of biographies, stats, and information about every human involved with the development, management, and participation in every Negro League that ever existed. Even players whose first name was not known is listed with at least a few words about when they played and for whom. And the players with extensive history is detailed along with stats and other great side stories about them. There is even information on the teams in the Negro Leagues, which I found most interesting. I don't know of any other book that has as much information on the lesser-known players and behind-the-scenes people in the Negro Leagues than this one. If you are a Negro League fan, you probably already have this book. But if you are a baseball fan in general, you MUST have this book. ... Read more