1979, 1980 Dell edition
Lee Israel
Kilgallen
Original price $2.95, purchase price unknown
Very worn and falling apart paperback
B
Israel tells the life of the clever but naive, controversial gossip columnist/crime reporter/What's My Line? panelist. This is one of the few biographies I own or have even read that seems to spend about an equal amount on every decade of the subject's adulthood, but then it was an eventful life, with 23-year-old "Dolly Mae" in a round-the-world race that started on the Hindenburg, and the 50-year-old getting an exclusive interview with Jack Ruby, as part of her investigation into JFK's assassination. Kilgallen's death in 1965 is still unresolved, although Israel floated a few theories back in '79.
I've read this book a few times, although it's yet another biography of a celebrity that I didn't know much about before. (I'd seen a few What's My Line? episodes, as well as her uncredited cameo in 1964's Pajama Party.) She seems to have been much brighter and open-minded than Hedda and Louella, although definitely still with blind spots. Israel does a good job in showing Kilgallen in all her complexity, and it's certainly an entertaining and thought-provoking read.
While Israel is a good writer (although she or her editor let through a typo of "girls" for "curls"), this reading I found myself a bit frustrated with some of the conclusions Israel jumps to without enough evidence, although there are definitely some odd circumstances surrounding Kilgallen's death, including how she was dressed and who first discovered the death. (She was "found dead" at least twice.) Kilgallen's whole life was filled with secrecy, from the affairs of herself and her husband, to a judge's abrupt statement that a not-yet-tried defendant was guilty, which Dorothy told no one of publicly until a decade later, unwilling to break a confidence.
Adding to the oddity, when I Googled Lee Israel, I found out that in 1991 she committed forgery of Noel Coward's letters, because "she was jobless, broke and living in a fly-infested apartment with her 21-year-old cat, Jersey." She fooled many, until the FBI trapped her. It's the sort of story that Kilgallen herself would've enjoyed reporting.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
I'm in Training to be Tall and Blonde
1979, possibly first edition, from St. Martin's Press
Nicole Hollander
I'm in Training to be Tall and Blonde
Original price $4.95, purchase price unknown
Paperback with worn out binding
B-
One thing about being middle-aged, Sylvia (the snarky, chain-smoking couch potato/barfly) no longer seems as cynical as she once did. In fact, other than the references to Carter and other then-current leaders, as well as a few fashions and hairstyles, this collection is not as dated as it should be. Even the title still sums up the dominant cultural ideal for women. (Only it should include "thin" of course). And yet, just reading these women saying the unsayable is encouraging. What better sign of hope to end on than this final exchange?
PATIENT: Doctor! I want to have my cake and eat it, too!
THERAPIST: Good.
Nicole Hollander
I'm in Training to be Tall and Blonde
Original price $4.95, purchase price unknown
Paperback with worn out binding
B-
One thing about being middle-aged, Sylvia (the snarky, chain-smoking couch potato/barfly) no longer seems as cynical as she once did. In fact, other than the references to Carter and other then-current leaders, as well as a few fashions and hairstyles, this collection is not as dated as it should be. Even the title still sums up the dominant cultural ideal for women. (Only it should include "thin" of course). And yet, just reading these women saying the unsayable is encouraging. What better sign of hope to end on than this final exchange?
PATIENT: Doctor! I want to have my cake and eat it, too!
THERAPIST: Good.
The '80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade 1980-1989
1979, Workman edition from later that year
Edited by Tony Hendra, Christopher Cerf & Peter Elbling
Art directed by Michael Gross
(with many contributors, including Jeff Greenfield, Harry Shearer, and Valerie Curtin)
The '80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade 1980-1989
Original price $6.95, purchase price $4.50
Worn paperback with broken spine
C+
Like the Harvard Lampoon book on college, this isn't as funny as I remember. (One line about the fish sleeping with the fishes used to crack me up.) It's still somewhat impressive how the contributors managed to cover so many aspects of American society (there's a bit on "The World"), and be consistent and yet get nearly everything deliriously wrong. (The story of a pregnant Cher being dragged into court for smoking in public is not all that different from the "fetal rights" cases discussed in Backlash, particularly the pregnant Seattle woman who in 1991 "ordered a single drink in a bar [and was] hounded and lectured by two servers," only in real life the woman sued and the servers were fired.)
As with the Lampoon book, there are times when I can't tell if they're parodying sexism and more so racism, or indulging in them. There are some things that make me smile, like the debate over the "scrotal orgasm," and references to the "novel by an obscure English writer" that inspired the movie hit of the decade, 1984! But I found my attention wandering too often for a book filled with interesting topics and lots of pictures. Many of the latter are poorly done (I suspect literal cut and paste), although the Great Wall of Central Park is pretty convincing even in color.
Edited by Tony Hendra, Christopher Cerf & Peter Elbling
Art directed by Michael Gross
(with many contributors, including Jeff Greenfield, Harry Shearer, and Valerie Curtin)
The '80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade 1980-1989
Original price $6.95, purchase price $4.50
Worn paperback with broken spine
C+
Like the Harvard Lampoon book on college, this isn't as funny as I remember. (One line about the fish sleeping with the fishes used to crack me up.) It's still somewhat impressive how the contributors managed to cover so many aspects of American society (there's a bit on "The World"), and be consistent and yet get nearly everything deliriously wrong. (The story of a pregnant Cher being dragged into court for smoking in public is not all that different from the "fetal rights" cases discussed in Backlash, particularly the pregnant Seattle woman who in 1991 "ordered a single drink in a bar [and was] hounded and lectured by two servers," only in real life the woman sued and the servers were fired.)
As with the Lampoon book, there are times when I can't tell if they're parodying sexism and more so racism, or indulging in them. There are some things that make me smile, like the debate over the "scrotal orgasm," and references to the "novel by an obscure English writer" that inspired the movie hit of the decade, 1984! But I found my attention wandering too often for a book filled with interesting topics and lots of pictures. Many of the latter are poorly done (I suspect literal cut and paste), although the Great Wall of Central Park is pretty convincing even in color.
Belshazzar: A Cat's Story for Humans
1979, 1982 Bard edition
Chaim Bermant
Illustrated by Meg Rutherford
Belshazzar: A Cat's Story for Humans
Original price $2.50, purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
C+
This is the tale of a British, "Jewish" (he eats kosher, mostly) cat, so it's of interest for that reason, but "Bell" has such an unpleasant personality (without a charming Morris side) that it was hard to have much sympathy for him even when his luck goes bad. The illustrations are quite good though. I've seen this listed as a children's book online, and it is a very short book, but it would probably only appeal to an unsentimental, slightly jaded preteen, who likes to look at pictures of cute animals.
Chaim Bermant
Illustrated by Meg Rutherford
Belshazzar: A Cat's Story for Humans
Original price $2.50, purchase price unknown
Worn paperback
C+
This is the tale of a British, "Jewish" (he eats kosher, mostly) cat, so it's of interest for that reason, but "Bell" has such an unpleasant personality (without a charming Morris side) that it was hard to have much sympathy for him even when his luck goes bad. The illustrations are quite good though. I've seen this listed as a children's book online, and it is a very short book, but it would probably only appeal to an unsentimental, slightly jaded preteen, who likes to look at pictures of cute animals.
The Two: A Biography
1978, 1979 Bantam edition
Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace
The Two: A Biography
Possibly purchased new for $2.50
Very worn paperback
B-
The father and daughter of The Book of Lists family tell the story of the original "Siamese" twins, Chang & Eng. They do a good job of showing the world of the early to mid 1800s, from Siam to North Carolina, and I like how they reveal the sense of humor and intelligence of the twins, but there were certain things that I didn't feel were adequately explained. No, not how the twins fathered a total of twenty-one children, but how they reconciled their own experiences of discrimination with their ownership of black slaves. Yes, I understand that they came to identify heavily with the Southern culture that they married into, but considering how they struggled to maintain their own freedom and independence from their original managers, didn't they have any empathy for their "servants"? The Wallaces don't even raise the question. Also, the book seemed to rush through the second half of their sixty-two years, not even covering their post-"retirement" tours in much detail compared to their original exhibits.
This completes 1978, which now holds the record for most posts, 21. It's a record that will stand for the moment, but I'm sure it will be broken in less than a decade.
Irving Wallace and Amy Wallace
The Two: A Biography
Possibly purchased new for $2.50
Very worn paperback
B-
The father and daughter of The Book of Lists family tell the story of the original "Siamese" twins, Chang & Eng. They do a good job of showing the world of the early to mid 1800s, from Siam to North Carolina, and I like how they reveal the sense of humor and intelligence of the twins, but there were certain things that I didn't feel were adequately explained. No, not how the twins fathered a total of twenty-one children, but how they reconciled their own experiences of discrimination with their ownership of black slaves. Yes, I understand that they came to identify heavily with the Southern culture that they married into, but considering how they struggled to maintain their own freedom and independence from their original managers, didn't they have any empathy for their "servants"? The Wallaces don't even raise the question. Also, the book seemed to rush through the second half of their sixty-two years, not even covering their post-"retirement" tours in much detail compared to their original exhibits.
This completes 1978, which now holds the record for most posts, 21. It's a record that will stand for the moment, but I'm sure it will be broken in less than a decade.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Doonesbury's Greatest Hits: A Mid-Seventies Revue
1978, undated later edition, from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
G. B. Trudeau
Doonesbury's Greatest Hits: A Mid-Seventies Revue
Original price unknown, purchase price $7.95
Worn paperback
B
As with the earlier collection, Doonesbury remains more interesting and likable than funny. I could've done without so much of Zonker's "Uncle" Duke, but at least his adventures in Samoa and China give him good foils. Joanie continues to be the most changeable character, finishing up law school and then going to work for the winner in a congressional campaign that Joanie's roommate runs in. She also finds love with reporter Rick Redfern, after a false start with a gay friend. As elsewhere, Trudeau handles gay issues with respect and humor. Zonker, Mike, Mark, and B.D. continue to be perpetual college students, which Trudeau lampshades a bit. Interestingly, Mike's second wife, Kim, is introduced as a Vietnamese baby orphan adopted by L.A. Jews in 1975, although retcon would later reduce their age difference.
As I noted in my earlier review, this "mid-seventies" collection (actually covering 1975 to '77) is more pop-cultural, with not only Rick humiliated by his stint at People magazine, but Mark shifting to lighter topics on his radio show, such as jogging. Still, such issues as racism and feminism are further pursued, sometimes in tales of Zonker's 18th-century ancestors, tying in with the Bicentennial. There's no question that Mr. Harris is the star of the strip at this point, with not only the front cover but illustrations introducing each year, as well as being either focus of his own plot threads or support in the plot threads of others, including his talking plants. The title character doesn't seem to do much beyond answer the phone and watch TV. Not only is Nichole fading out as a character, but B.D. and Boopsie are given very little to do, separately or together. Rock star Jimmy Thudpucker and his pregnant wife Jenny are much more prominent than many of the original characters. Luckily, at this point anyway, the second team is equally interesting. We'll see how I feel about the next collection, which finishes off the Carter years.
This is my 500th review, so it's time to update the stats. As of A Child's Garden of Graffiti (1971), we had
1 F
3 F+s
2 D-s
5 D's
10 D+s
15 C-s
21 C's
73 C+s
126 B-s
101 B's
37 B+s
6 A-s
We did get a new F+, but no more D-s or D's. There's a new D+, another C-, and 5 more C's. There are 30 more C+s and 38 more B-s, but only 17 more B's and 6 more B+s. I said at the time, "I haven't seen an A- since Right Ho, Jeeves (1934). Hopefully that will change as we get deeper into the 1970s." And indeed in 1973 there was another A-.
G. B. Trudeau
Doonesbury's Greatest Hits: A Mid-Seventies Revue
Original price unknown, purchase price $7.95
Worn paperback
B
As with the earlier collection, Doonesbury remains more interesting and likable than funny. I could've done without so much of Zonker's "Uncle" Duke, but at least his adventures in Samoa and China give him good foils. Joanie continues to be the most changeable character, finishing up law school and then going to work for the winner in a congressional campaign that Joanie's roommate runs in. She also finds love with reporter Rick Redfern, after a false start with a gay friend. As elsewhere, Trudeau handles gay issues with respect and humor. Zonker, Mike, Mark, and B.D. continue to be perpetual college students, which Trudeau lampshades a bit. Interestingly, Mike's second wife, Kim, is introduced as a Vietnamese baby orphan adopted by L.A. Jews in 1975, although retcon would later reduce their age difference.
As I noted in my earlier review, this "mid-seventies" collection (actually covering 1975 to '77) is more pop-cultural, with not only Rick humiliated by his stint at People magazine, but Mark shifting to lighter topics on his radio show, such as jogging. Still, such issues as racism and feminism are further pursued, sometimes in tales of Zonker's 18th-century ancestors, tying in with the Bicentennial. There's no question that Mr. Harris is the star of the strip at this point, with not only the front cover but illustrations introducing each year, as well as being either focus of his own plot threads or support in the plot threads of others, including his talking plants. The title character doesn't seem to do much beyond answer the phone and watch TV. Not only is Nichole fading out as a character, but B.D. and Boopsie are given very little to do, separately or together. Rock star Jimmy Thudpucker and his pregnant wife Jenny are much more prominent than many of the original characters. Luckily, at this point anyway, the second team is equally interesting. We'll see how I feel about the next collection, which finishes off the Carter years.
This is my 500th review, so it's time to update the stats. As of A Child's Garden of Graffiti (1971), we had
1 F
3 F+s
2 D-s
5 D's
10 D+s
15 C-s
21 C's
73 C+s
126 B-s
101 B's
37 B+s
6 A-s
We did get a new F+, but no more D-s or D's. There's a new D+, another C-, and 5 more C's. There are 30 more C+s and 38 more B-s, but only 17 more B's and 6 more B+s. I said at the time, "I haven't seen an A- since Right Ho, Jeeves (1934). Hopefully that will change as we get deeper into the 1970s." And indeed in 1973 there was another A-.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Fads: America's Crazes, Fevers & Fancies
1978, undated later edition, from Crowell
Peter L. Skolnik, with Laura Torbet & Nikki Smith
Fads: America's Crazes, Fevers & Fancies, from the 1890's to the 1970's
Original price $5.95, purchase price $3.50
Worn paperback with "mutilation" by me (I put Zeppo's face over George Harrison's, and of course Groucho's over John Lennon's)
B-
In very roughly chronological order, Skolnik and friends trace over a century of America's fads. (Despite the subtitle, they actually start back in the 1860s, with croquet and roller skates.) Their definition of "fads" includes not just wacky products and practices,but enthusiasms that are political or spiritual. They offer explanations for why things caught on and then faded away, and in some cases, as with table tennis, came back again and again. They discuss how large a fad was-- some were very local-- and how people reacted, as with protests against goldfish-swallowing.
Beatlemania is of course is one of the fads, which is how I came to mutilate one page. (As I recall, I was overly impressed by parallels between the Marx Brothers and the Beatles.) As with Schaffner, the resurgence of Beatle fanship is also recognized. Also like Schaffner's book, there's full nudity, in the former case that of John & Yoko, here of several streakers.
Although the book doesn't address fads beyond 1976, there are a couple mentions of Carter (including a caricature of him brushing the Washington Monument with a toothbrush), and this amusing prediction: "We can speculate, but only precariously, about future fads: punk rock; more sophisticated computer games; satin boxing shorts a la Rocky; mopeds; and a fourth great roller-skating renaissance." Not bad, guys, not bad at all, although I'm sure roller discos weren't quite what you were expecting.
Peter L. Skolnik, with Laura Torbet & Nikki Smith
Fads: America's Crazes, Fevers & Fancies, from the 1890's to the 1970's
Original price $5.95, purchase price $3.50
Worn paperback with "mutilation" by me (I put Zeppo's face over George Harrison's, and of course Groucho's over John Lennon's)
B-
In very roughly chronological order, Skolnik and friends trace over a century of America's fads. (Despite the subtitle, they actually start back in the 1860s, with croquet and roller skates.) Their definition of "fads" includes not just wacky products and practices,but enthusiasms that are political or spiritual. They offer explanations for why things caught on and then faded away, and in some cases, as with table tennis, came back again and again. They discuss how large a fad was-- some were very local-- and how people reacted, as with protests against goldfish-swallowing.
Beatlemania is of course is one of the fads, which is how I came to mutilate one page. (As I recall, I was overly impressed by parallels between the Marx Brothers and the Beatles.) As with Schaffner, the resurgence of Beatle fanship is also recognized. Also like Schaffner's book, there's full nudity, in the former case that of John & Yoko, here of several streakers.
Although the book doesn't address fads beyond 1976, there are a couple mentions of Carter (including a caricature of him brushing the Washington Monument with a toothbrush), and this amusing prediction: "We can speculate, but only precariously, about future fads: punk rock; more sophisticated computer games; satin boxing shorts a la Rocky; mopeds; and a fourth great roller-skating renaissance." Not bad, guys, not bad at all, although I'm sure roller discos weren't quite what you were expecting.
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