1992, possibly first edition, from Bob Adams, Inc.
Elizabeth Moran
Bradymania!: Everything You Always Wanted to Know about America's Favorite TV Family-- and a Few Things You Probably Didn't
Bought new for $6.95
Worn paperback
B-
Like Edelstein & Lovece's 1990 book on The Bunch, this takes a trivial approach, perhaps even more so. Yet it does have some features that the other book didn't, so I'm giving it the same grade. Some of the photos are different, and I really like the floor plans of the house (including the way that several upstairs rooms overlook the backyard, from different directions). Moran has the two-year advantage over Lovece & Edelstein, so she gets to mention not only The Real Live Brady Bunch (although she had no way of knowing Jane Lynch would make it bigger than Melanie Hutsell) but also Barry Williams's book. (She minimizes the scandalous side, in keeping with her more wholesome approach.)
Yes, we're getting ever closer to Growing Up Brady. Oh, and finally, after 20 years I got to hear "They Drive Me Brady":
http://www.ninehells.com/mjdmedia1/mjd-theydrivemebrady.mp3
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
The American Way of Birth
1992, later undated edition from Dutton/ William Abrahams
Jessica Mitford
The American Way of Birth
Original price $23.00, purchase price $3.99
Hardcover in good condition
B-
This is another book that convinced me, in my 20s, that if I ever had a baby, it would be a home birth with a midwife. As in the 1950s women's fiction and Armstrong's A Midwife's Story, the hospital practices (including the fetal monitor, which is still being used 20 years later, despite Mitford's hopes) range from insulting to life-threatening, for mother and child. Mitford traces the history of midwifery and obstetrics, the former from the Middle Ages to its comeback a couple decades before this book came out, and it's clear which she prefers. (She does admit to being uncomfortable with the spacier, hippie-ish side of some advocates, but she emphasizes the compassion and proficiency of the midwives themselves.)
Her title here is a spin on her "Death" book of three decades earlier, and she does address the financial and legal sides, as there. She discusses her own experiences, giving birth four times under very different circumstances. (When told, years later, that she must've imagined the air enema, she does research to prove that this was one birthing fad.) As always, her wry humour is apparent, if not as prevalent as in the Muckraking collection, perhaps since like death, birth is often too serious to joke about.
Mitford died four years after this book came out, her funeral costing $533.31. Her now only surviving child, Constancia "the Donk" Romilly, became an emergency-room nurse and had two sons by an African-American activist she never married, which no doubt would've shocked Farve had he been alive, and hadn't Jessica herself rebelled so much. And, yes, Deborah is alive, as 93-year-old Duchess of Devonshire. Unless I pick up a copy of her 2010 Wait for Me!...Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister (I checked it out from the library when it was released), this is it for blogging about this colourful family.
Jessica Mitford
The American Way of Birth
Original price $23.00, purchase price $3.99
Hardcover in good condition
B-
This is another book that convinced me, in my 20s, that if I ever had a baby, it would be a home birth with a midwife. As in the 1950s women's fiction and Armstrong's A Midwife's Story, the hospital practices (including the fetal monitor, which is still being used 20 years later, despite Mitford's hopes) range from insulting to life-threatening, for mother and child. Mitford traces the history of midwifery and obstetrics, the former from the Middle Ages to its comeback a couple decades before this book came out, and it's clear which she prefers. (She does admit to being uncomfortable with the spacier, hippie-ish side of some advocates, but she emphasizes the compassion and proficiency of the midwives themselves.)
Her title here is a spin on her "Death" book of three decades earlier, and she does address the financial and legal sides, as there. She discusses her own experiences, giving birth four times under very different circumstances. (When told, years later, that she must've imagined the air enema, she does research to prove that this was one birthing fad.) As always, her wry humour is apparent, if not as prevalent as in the Muckraking collection, perhaps since like death, birth is often too serious to joke about.
Mitford died four years after this book came out, her funeral costing $533.31. Her now only surviving child, Constancia "the Donk" Romilly, became an emergency-room nurse and had two sons by an African-American activist she never married, which no doubt would've shocked Farve had he been alive, and hadn't Jessica herself rebelled so much. And, yes, Deborah is alive, as 93-year-old Duchess of Devonshire. Unless I pick up a copy of her 2010 Wait for Me!...Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister (I checked it out from the library when it was released), this is it for blogging about this colourful family.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe
1992, 1993 HarperPerennial edition
Doris Lessing
African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe
Original price $13.00, purchase price $7.95
Slightly worn paperback
B
Once again, Lessing's nonfiction outdoes her fiction. It's ironic, since she's revisiting the land of her youth, then Southern Rhodesia. She even talks about how she can't remember the real name of "Mrs. Boothby," a woman she fictionalised. The past layers the present, and the four visits are in '82, '88, '89, and '91, so even the then present is layered. The book might've been strengthened by a less journaly approach, but I didn't really mind the ways she jots down whatever's on her mind-- quotes from locals, quotes from foreigners, her own observations.
As always, the thoughts on animals are probably best, although she also talks about the lives of plants and soil. Of course, the book is mostly about the people, black and white (a few mixed), of different classes, rural and urban and in between. She captures the heartbreak and the optimism of a country that was free again, after 90 years of colonialism. (A quick skim at Wikipedia shows that problems of health and corruption still exist.) She addresses sex and sexism, environmentalism and education, literacy and folk-wisdom, and much else.
Part of revisiting her past is reuniting with her conservative brother after 30 years, finding that their memories of childhood hardly overlap. I was jarred when I saw a passing reference to "my son," since Lessing (at least in the books I've read) seldom writes about her children, and when she does it's only the daughter. (She actually had three, but one died in Africa.)
Lessing is now 93, her "last novel," Alfred and Emily, published in 2008. In this five-year-old interview,
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1819637,00.html, she says, "I haven't got the the energy to write now." She also is much more negative about (still) President Mugabe than she was in the '80s and '90s. In reply to whether she's a contrarian, she says, "I tend to speak my mind, which is not necessarily a good idea. I do not think I am the soul of tact."
Doris Lessing
African Laughter: Four Visits to Zimbabwe
Original price $13.00, purchase price $7.95
Slightly worn paperback
B
Once again, Lessing's nonfiction outdoes her fiction. It's ironic, since she's revisiting the land of her youth, then Southern Rhodesia. She even talks about how she can't remember the real name of "Mrs. Boothby," a woman she fictionalised. The past layers the present, and the four visits are in '82, '88, '89, and '91, so even the then present is layered. The book might've been strengthened by a less journaly approach, but I didn't really mind the ways she jots down whatever's on her mind-- quotes from locals, quotes from foreigners, her own observations.
As always, the thoughts on animals are probably best, although she also talks about the lives of plants and soil. Of course, the book is mostly about the people, black and white (a few mixed), of different classes, rural and urban and in between. She captures the heartbreak and the optimism of a country that was free again, after 90 years of colonialism. (A quick skim at Wikipedia shows that problems of health and corruption still exist.) She addresses sex and sexism, environmentalism and education, literacy and folk-wisdom, and much else.
Part of revisiting her past is reuniting with her conservative brother after 30 years, finding that their memories of childhood hardly overlap. I was jarred when I saw a passing reference to "my son," since Lessing (at least in the books I've read) seldom writes about her children, and when she does it's only the daughter. (She actually had three, but one died in Africa.)
Lessing is now 93, her "last novel," Alfred and Emily, published in 2008. In this five-year-old interview,
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1819637,00.html, she says, "I haven't got the the energy to write now." She also is much more negative about (still) President Mugabe than she was in the '80s and '90s. In reply to whether she's a contrarian, she says, "I tend to speak my mind, which is not necessarily a good idea. I do not think I am the soul of tact."
Subliminal Ad-Ventures in Erotic Art
1992, revised edition of The Clam-Plate Orgy (1980)
Wilson Bryan Key
Subliminal Ad-Ventures in Erotic Art
Original price £10.50, purchase price 99p
Slightly worn paperback
C+ for new material
I didn't read this cover to cover, but from skimming it, the only new aspects I could see were the covers, the Introduction, the Update, and the Foreword. I found the Introduction, by an Auburn University professor, both weak and annoying, especially his assumption that the media's "sexualization" of "everything" is responsible for the spread of AIDS. (I'd argue that ignorance had much more to do with it.) The "Joe Camel" part in the Update is nice, and in fact the reason why I'm keeping this book rather than the original Clam-Plate is that the 1980 paperback has a shockingly bland cover (all text), while this has nice full-cover pictures, including of the "Smooth Character" Mr. Camel. Besides, if I were including the original material, this would probably still get a B.
Key died in 2008, at 83. Although his legacy is understandably still controversial, and I don't agree with him on all points, I appreciate his encouragement to look at art, advertising, and the world more closely. (And yes, it is odd that I apparently bought this book in the U.K.)
Wilson Bryan Key
Subliminal Ad-Ventures in Erotic Art
Original price £10.50, purchase price 99p
Slightly worn paperback
C+ for new material
I didn't read this cover to cover, but from skimming it, the only new aspects I could see were the covers, the Introduction, the Update, and the Foreword. I found the Introduction, by an Auburn University professor, both weak and annoying, especially his assumption that the media's "sexualization" of "everything" is responsible for the spread of AIDS. (I'd argue that ignorance had much more to do with it.) The "Joe Camel" part in the Update is nice, and in fact the reason why I'm keeping this book rather than the original Clam-Plate is that the 1980 paperback has a shockingly bland cover (all text), while this has nice full-cover pictures, including of the "Smooth Character" Mr. Camel. Besides, if I were including the original material, this would probably still get a B.
Key died in 2008, at 83. Although his legacy is understandably still controversial, and I don't agree with him on all points, I appreciate his encouragement to look at art, advertising, and the world more closely. (And yes, it is odd that I apparently bought this book in the U.K.)
Monday, July 29, 2013
Pogo Files for Pogophiles
1992, possibly first edition, from Spring Hollow Books
Selby Daley Kelly & Steve Thompson
Pogo Files for Pogophiles: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Walt Kelly's Classic Comic Strip
Bought newish for $19.95
Worn paperback
C+
I didn't find this as good as not only the Pogo collections but also Brian Walker's look at Nancy. It's odd, considering that Selby was Walt Kelly's widow, but there's not much here of his life, or much of a chronological approach. Also, the strips seem less funny out of context. There'll be something intriguing, like that Pogo's first newspaper was the "definitely Socialist if not Communist" New York Star, but the co-authors don't even address how this shaped Kelly's use of politics in his strip, from the surprisingly controversial late '50s stand on school attendance to the '70s embrace of environmentalism, with of course caricatures of (among others) Joe McCarthy and Fidel Castro. Some of the artwork is reproduced poorly, although that may be the fault of the originals.
At the time this book was published, the strip was in the midst of its revival, with a switch from Larry Doyle & Neal Sternecky to the team of Kelly's son and daughter. I had long since stopped reading the comics, but from what I can see here, the new versions weren't bad. (The Dan Quayle joke manages to be both specific to that time and timeless by not referring to the VP by name.)
The Pogo Fan Club mentioned in this book appears to be thriving, at http://www.pogo-fan-club.org/home.html.
Selby Daley Kelly & Steve Thompson
Pogo Files for Pogophiles: A Retrospective on 50 Years of Walt Kelly's Classic Comic Strip
Bought newish for $19.95
Worn paperback
C+
I didn't find this as good as not only the Pogo collections but also Brian Walker's look at Nancy. It's odd, considering that Selby was Walt Kelly's widow, but there's not much here of his life, or much of a chronological approach. Also, the strips seem less funny out of context. There'll be something intriguing, like that Pogo's first newspaper was the "definitely Socialist if not Communist" New York Star, but the co-authors don't even address how this shaped Kelly's use of politics in his strip, from the surprisingly controversial late '50s stand on school attendance to the '70s embrace of environmentalism, with of course caricatures of (among others) Joe McCarthy and Fidel Castro. Some of the artwork is reproduced poorly, although that may be the fault of the originals.
At the time this book was published, the strip was in the midst of its revival, with a switch from Larry Doyle & Neal Sternecky to the team of Kelly's son and daughter. I had long since stopped reading the comics, but from what I can see here, the new versions weren't bad. (The Dan Quayle joke manages to be both specific to that time and timeless by not referring to the VP by name.)
The Pogo Fan Club mentioned in this book appears to be thriving, at http://www.pogo-fan-club.org/home.html.
Honey, I'm Home!: Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream
1992, possibly first edition, from Grove Weidenfeld
Gerard Jones
Honey, I'm Home!: Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream
Original price $24.95, purchase price $12.95
Hardcover in good condition
B
Jones traces sitcoms from the days of radio, including Fibber McGee & Molly, to Fox series like Married...with Children. He's insightful and witty, as with the subtexts of Bewitched, but he unfortunately spends little time on the decade or so before this book came out. Yes, there's some on Family Ties and Cheers (both of which began in '82), and The Cosby Show and Who's the Boss? (both starting in '84), but compared to how detailed he is with the '50s (he was born in '57), it feels unbalanced. He can spare only a couple sentences for Roseanne, which I believe was the most important sitcom of the '90s.
Ironically, at the same time this book came out, its almost namesake series Hi Honey, I'm Home! was airing on Nickelodeon. HHIH in some ways anticipated Pleasantville and The Brady Bunch movies from later in the '90s, with a trapped-in-the-'50s sitcom family interacting with a modern family. (Admittedly, the situation is turned inside out in Pleasantville.) The program was co-written by Rick Mitz, whose The Great TV Sitcom Book Jones quotes. I read it years ago but never owned it. From what I recall, his perspective was much less sociopolitical than Jones's contention that sitcoms serve as a way of making people reconciled to society and thus more susceptible to advertising.
This copy came with two form letters addressed to a radio station that Jones's publicist was trying to get him on. "As Jones reminds us, the sitcoms make us laugh not only in order to entertain, but also to defuse social tension--and above all to sell the sponsor's product." Considering he was hoping to appear on KABC-AM, I can't help wondering how much if any of that message got across on the air.
Gerard Jones
Honey, I'm Home!: Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream
Original price $24.95, purchase price $12.95
Hardcover in good condition
B
Jones traces sitcoms from the days of radio, including Fibber McGee & Molly, to Fox series like Married...with Children. He's insightful and witty, as with the subtexts of Bewitched, but he unfortunately spends little time on the decade or so before this book came out. Yes, there's some on Family Ties and Cheers (both of which began in '82), and The Cosby Show and Who's the Boss? (both starting in '84), but compared to how detailed he is with the '50s (he was born in '57), it feels unbalanced. He can spare only a couple sentences for Roseanne, which I believe was the most important sitcom of the '90s.
Ironically, at the same time this book came out, its almost namesake series Hi Honey, I'm Home! was airing on Nickelodeon. HHIH in some ways anticipated Pleasantville and The Brady Bunch movies from later in the '90s, with a trapped-in-the-'50s sitcom family interacting with a modern family. (Admittedly, the situation is turned inside out in Pleasantville.) The program was co-written by Rick Mitz, whose The Great TV Sitcom Book Jones quotes. I read it years ago but never owned it. From what I recall, his perspective was much less sociopolitical than Jones's contention that sitcoms serve as a way of making people reconciled to society and thus more susceptible to advertising.
This copy came with two form letters addressed to a radio station that Jones's publicist was trying to get him on. "As Jones reminds us, the sitcoms make us laugh not only in order to entertain, but also to defuse social tension--and above all to sell the sponsor's product." Considering he was hoping to appear on KABC-AM, I can't help wondering how much if any of that message got across on the air.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Window on Love: The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fulfillment
1992, undated later edition, from Crawford House Press
Dr. Lasse Hessel
Window on Love: The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fulfillment
Original/purchase price unknown
Slightly worn paperback
C+
Few books could live up to that subtitle, and certainly this one, with only about 70 pages, some of that mediocre illustrations, couldn't. As with Dr. Comfort's book of the previous year, we keep seeing the same couple or two over and over again. More care is taken with them when they're naked, although for some reason the uncredited illustrator doesn't like to color in feet. There are also typically blurry ultrasounds, in this case of penises in vaginas, with interpretive diagrams showing what this does for the G-spot in particular. That the G-spot's existence is still controversial two decades later doesn't help.
On the plus side (or at least neutral), Hessel seems a lot less judgmental than Comfort. And he's not just about the G-spot. He also talks about how other parts can be pleasured, not just the clitoris, but the neck and so on. There's a chart that offers a Summary of Positions, rating each of the spotlighted ten on everything from "Hands free for caresses" to how good it is for a man or a woman at different points.
Probably best as a supplement, rather than an ultimate guide.
Dr. Lasse Hessel
Window on Love: The Ultimate Guide to Sexual Fulfillment
Original/purchase price unknown
Slightly worn paperback
C+
Few books could live up to that subtitle, and certainly this one, with only about 70 pages, some of that mediocre illustrations, couldn't. As with Dr. Comfort's book of the previous year, we keep seeing the same couple or two over and over again. More care is taken with them when they're naked, although for some reason the uncredited illustrator doesn't like to color in feet. There are also typically blurry ultrasounds, in this case of penises in vaginas, with interpretive diagrams showing what this does for the G-spot in particular. That the G-spot's existence is still controversial two decades later doesn't help.
On the plus side (or at least neutral), Hessel seems a lot less judgmental than Comfort. And he's not just about the G-spot. He also talks about how other parts can be pleasured, not just the clitoris, but the neck and so on. There's a chart that offers a Summary of Positions, rating each of the spotlighted ten on everything from "Hands free for caresses" to how good it is for a man or a woman at different points.
Probably best as a supplement, rather than an ultimate guide.
Born to Run Things
1992, first edition, from Villard
Tony Hendra
Born to Run Things: An Utterly Unauthorized Biography of George Bush
Original price $10.00, purchase price $3.00
Worn paperback with stains
C
This is not only unauthorized, it would probably be libelous if it were better written. As with the satirical Look Back books that Hendra co-edited, much of the humor misfires, although this book doesn't seem as aggressively unfunny as the '90s Look Back. There are times when it's almost funny, especially early on. But in its less than 100 pages, it wears out its welcome, mostly with sex humor that's not even consistent in its insults. Hendra presents Bush as effeminate, gay, bi-curious, very straight, and asexual, whatever fits that chapter. I could've done without Nancy Reagan playing Potiphar's wife with a naive George when Frank Sinatra comes to the rescue.
There's surprisingly little about Dan Quayle here, so the approach of Slansky & Radlauer's Airhead Apparent is more eagerly awaited than ever....
Tony Hendra
Born to Run Things: An Utterly Unauthorized Biography of George Bush
Original price $10.00, purchase price $3.00
Worn paperback with stains
C
This is not only unauthorized, it would probably be libelous if it were better written. As with the satirical Look Back books that Hendra co-edited, much of the humor misfires, although this book doesn't seem as aggressively unfunny as the '90s Look Back. There are times when it's almost funny, especially early on. But in its less than 100 pages, it wears out its welcome, mostly with sex humor that's not even consistent in its insults. Hendra presents Bush as effeminate, gay, bi-curious, very straight, and asexual, whatever fits that chapter. I could've done without Nancy Reagan playing Potiphar's wife with a naive George when Frank Sinatra comes to the rescue.
There's surprisingly little about Dan Quayle here, so the approach of Slansky & Radlauer's Airhead Apparent is more eagerly awaited than ever....
The Wives of Henry VIII
1992, 1993 Knopf edition
Antonia Fraser
The Wives of Henry VIII
Possibly purchased new for $25.00
Hardcover in good condition
B-
This is not as good as Fraser's 1969 book on Mary Queen of Scots, although it's about on a level with George's novel about Henry VIII. The problem is not so much that Fraser has to describe six queens rather than one. (This American edition omits the "six" of the original title.) There are redundancies, but not because of overlapping stories. In fact, Fraser does a nice job of keeping track of who is ex-queen, current queen, and would-be queen at any moment. (As in 1536, "the year of three queens.") I just didn't feel like it all came together. Even the "character" who runs throughout the interlinked stories, "monstrous" King Henry never quite made the impression that the Scottish Queen did, or Victoria in Fraser's mother's book. And Fraser's daughter Rebecca managed to make the whole Bronte family, including aunts and uncles, interesting and believable.
That said, there are nice observations, including on the six women's appearances, interests, personalities, and education. The book has fewer noticeable historical errors than George's novel, although I suppose George has the excuse of artistic licence. I also appreciated that Fraser doesn't really play favourites, finding good in each queen, and occasionally even in King Henry.
Fraser would examine a French queen in Marie Antoinette: The Journey, which we'll get to in 2001....
Antonia Fraser
The Wives of Henry VIII
Possibly purchased new for $25.00
Hardcover in good condition
B-
This is not as good as Fraser's 1969 book on Mary Queen of Scots, although it's about on a level with George's novel about Henry VIII. The problem is not so much that Fraser has to describe six queens rather than one. (This American edition omits the "six" of the original title.) There are redundancies, but not because of overlapping stories. In fact, Fraser does a nice job of keeping track of who is ex-queen, current queen, and would-be queen at any moment. (As in 1536, "the year of three queens.") I just didn't feel like it all came together. Even the "character" who runs throughout the interlinked stories, "monstrous" King Henry never quite made the impression that the Scottish Queen did, or Victoria in Fraser's mother's book. And Fraser's daughter Rebecca managed to make the whole Bronte family, including aunts and uncles, interesting and believable.
That said, there are nice observations, including on the six women's appearances, interests, personalities, and education. The book has fewer noticeable historical errors than George's novel, although I suppose George has the excuse of artistic licence. I also appreciated that Fraser doesn't really play favourites, finding good in each queen, and occasionally even in King Henry.
Fraser would examine a French queen in Marie Antoinette: The Journey, which we'll get to in 2001....
Friday, July 26, 2013
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933
1992, 1993 Penguin edition
Blanch Wiesen Cook
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933
Bought new for $14.00
Worn paperback
B
Although Cook never resolves the important question of how to pronounce Eleanor's last name (her maiden name was from the "rooze" side rather than the "rose" of her fifth cousin), she does a good job of showing the various aspects of the woman who was niece of one president and wife of another, as well as a successful politician and organizer in her own right. ER (as Cook usually refers to her, although ERR might be more accurate) was a complicated woman who didn't fit the simple stereotypes that had held some 30 years after her death, although I believe that this book (a bestseller) helped to shatter them.
Although Cook is never explicit or even definite, which is not possible considering the protectiveness of ER's privacy by friends and family, she does address the question of ER's sexuality. ER was thought of in her lifetime (including by some of her children) as almost asexual, a cause or result of FDR's philandering. The reality seems to have been more complex, but it appears that she did not fully enjoy sex-- with people other than her husband-- until she was middle-aged. She was friends and perhaps lovers with a small circle of lesbians, and FDR called their hideaway, which he helped design, "the honeymoon cottage." On the other hand, the two great loves of ER's life seem to have been with her bodyguard, Earl Miller, and her favorite reporter, Lorena Hickok. Because of that protectiveness, including the burning of letters and other important papers, some of this is of necessity speculation, but Cook makes a plausible case from the surviving clues.
She also explores how Eleanor went from a sheltered, awkward, lonely poor little rich girl (and orphan whose First Lady aunt kept her distance) to a poised and charming, as well as shrewd, "woman political boss," involved in feminism and other liberal causes. (Her father's family was Republican, like Teddy.) It was interesting to see that the political lines were drawn differently in the first third of the twentieth century, that for instance, Jane Addams (of Settlement House fame) supported TR's "Bull Moose" run for the presidency, but they had a falling out over WW I. Also, while I've been supportive of the ERA since my early teens (around the time I heard it failed to pass), Cook helped me to understand why some feminists (not just ER) opposed it, on the grounds that protective labor legislation could more easily be established for women (and children) and then extended to men, rather than immediately giving everyone the radically short work-week of 48 hours!
The timing of the book is interesting, not only because (as with Cox's Addams Family book, excuse the comparison) she was able to interview people who have since passed on (e.g. ER's last secretary, Maureen Corr, who died in 2009), but also because this book came out at the time the U.S. was about to get arguably the most controversial First Lady since ER. Betty Ford said a lot of then shocking things, but I never got the impression that she was as divisive a figure as Hillary Clinton, and Rosalynn Carter's involvement in her husband's administration doesn't seem to have been as deep at HRC's, while even Nancy Reagan seemed to upset fewer people than Hillary did. Perhaps it's not surprising that Clinton would find solace in "talking to" ER.
While this volume covers almost half a century, Volume 2, coming up in 1999, only gets us up to 1938.
Blanch Wiesen Cook
Eleanor Roosevelt, Vol. 1: 1884-1933
Bought new for $14.00
Worn paperback
B
Although Cook never resolves the important question of how to pronounce Eleanor's last name (her maiden name was from the "rooze" side rather than the "rose" of her fifth cousin), she does a good job of showing the various aspects of the woman who was niece of one president and wife of another, as well as a successful politician and organizer in her own right. ER (as Cook usually refers to her, although ERR might be more accurate) was a complicated woman who didn't fit the simple stereotypes that had held some 30 years after her death, although I believe that this book (a bestseller) helped to shatter them.
Although Cook is never explicit or even definite, which is not possible considering the protectiveness of ER's privacy by friends and family, she does address the question of ER's sexuality. ER was thought of in her lifetime (including by some of her children) as almost asexual, a cause or result of FDR's philandering. The reality seems to have been more complex, but it appears that she did not fully enjoy sex-- with people other than her husband-- until she was middle-aged. She was friends and perhaps lovers with a small circle of lesbians, and FDR called their hideaway, which he helped design, "the honeymoon cottage." On the other hand, the two great loves of ER's life seem to have been with her bodyguard, Earl Miller, and her favorite reporter, Lorena Hickok. Because of that protectiveness, including the burning of letters and other important papers, some of this is of necessity speculation, but Cook makes a plausible case from the surviving clues.
She also explores how Eleanor went from a sheltered, awkward, lonely poor little rich girl (and orphan whose First Lady aunt kept her distance) to a poised and charming, as well as shrewd, "woman political boss," involved in feminism and other liberal causes. (Her father's family was Republican, like Teddy.) It was interesting to see that the political lines were drawn differently in the first third of the twentieth century, that for instance, Jane Addams (of Settlement House fame) supported TR's "Bull Moose" run for the presidency, but they had a falling out over WW I. Also, while I've been supportive of the ERA since my early teens (around the time I heard it failed to pass), Cook helped me to understand why some feminists (not just ER) opposed it, on the grounds that protective labor legislation could more easily be established for women (and children) and then extended to men, rather than immediately giving everyone the radically short work-week of 48 hours!
The timing of the book is interesting, not only because (as with Cox's Addams Family book, excuse the comparison) she was able to interview people who have since passed on (e.g. ER's last secretary, Maureen Corr, who died in 2009), but also because this book came out at the time the U.S. was about to get arguably the most controversial First Lady since ER. Betty Ford said a lot of then shocking things, but I never got the impression that she was as divisive a figure as Hillary Clinton, and Rosalynn Carter's involvement in her husband's administration doesn't seem to have been as deep at HRC's, while even Nancy Reagan seemed to upset fewer people than Hillary did. Perhaps it's not surprising that Clinton would find solace in "talking to" ER.
While this volume covers almost half a century, Volume 2, coming up in 1999, only gets us up to 1938.
Monday, July 22, 2013
The Fire This Time: U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf
1992, first edition, from Thunder's Mouth Press
Ramsey Clark
The Fire This Time: U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf
Bought new for $21.95
Hardcover in good condition
B-
Like If You Love This Planet, this book is a downer, and of course the title has gotten more ironic over time. (Clark would call for the impeachment of both Presidents Bush.) But, maybe because I felt less personally responsible, I found this book easier to take. I will admit that one reason why I became relatively apolitical last decade is that I felt like recent history was repeating itself and it was pointless to get angry and sad all over again. So I stopped paying as much attention to world events. But rereading this book took me back to the early '90s, in a different way than rereading Faludi and Wolf. I found myself wondering why I still harbor so much hatred towards Reagan and not towards his successor. The lies, hypocrisy, and cruelty made me sad and angry as if more than 20 years hadn't passed.
I will say that the book does have some of the hallmarks of a rush job, including redundancies. Clark is not the writer Chomsky or Cockburn is, but I did appreciate in particular his look at "The Role of the American Media in the Gulf Crisis."
Ramsey Clark
The Fire This Time: U.S. War Crimes in the Gulf
Bought new for $21.95
Hardcover in good condition
B-
Like If You Love This Planet, this book is a downer, and of course the title has gotten more ironic over time. (Clark would call for the impeachment of both Presidents Bush.) But, maybe because I felt less personally responsible, I found this book easier to take. I will admit that one reason why I became relatively apolitical last decade is that I felt like recent history was repeating itself and it was pointless to get angry and sad all over again. So I stopped paying as much attention to world events. But rereading this book took me back to the early '90s, in a different way than rereading Faludi and Wolf. I found myself wondering why I still harbor so much hatred towards Reagan and not towards his successor. The lies, hypocrisy, and cruelty made me sad and angry as if more than 20 years hadn't passed.
I will say that the book does have some of the hallmarks of a rush job, including redundancies. Clark is not the writer Chomsky or Cockburn is, but I did appreciate in particular his look at "The Role of the American Media in the Gulf Crisis."
Sunday, July 21, 2013
If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth
1992, possibly first paperback edition, from Norton
Dr. Helen Caldicott
If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth
Possibly bought newish for $11.95
Slightly worn paperback
C+
This time Caldicott turns her attention towards the environment, making the point that even if we're not destroyed by nuclear power, there are other human-made threats to our lives. As such, the book is a downer, and it left me thinking at times, "Maybe I just like this planet, because I'm not willing to give up white toilet paper, junk food, or television." I think everyone should do what they can to help save the planet, but I also think she's intolerant of people who don't want to live as simply as she claims to. (And I couldn't help thinking about how she contributes to environmental degradation through frequent international travel.) Also, when I read, after a chapter on overpopulation (Caldicott has three children), a sappy description of how just looking at their baby should be enough to keep parents off drugs and alcohol, I wanted to get Anne Lamott (whose Operating Lessons is coming up in '93) in a debate with her.
All that said, I do still find Caldicott's idealism, intelligence, and bursts of humor appealing. Like with Missile Envy, take this with a grain of salt (including the outdated stats), and find what you can apply to your own life. We'll see how Caldicott came to her opinions in more depth with her 1997 autobiography, A Desperate Passion.
Dr. Helen Caldicott
If You Love This Planet: A Plan to Heal the Earth
Possibly bought newish for $11.95
Slightly worn paperback
C+
This time Caldicott turns her attention towards the environment, making the point that even if we're not destroyed by nuclear power, there are other human-made threats to our lives. As such, the book is a downer, and it left me thinking at times, "Maybe I just like this planet, because I'm not willing to give up white toilet paper, junk food, or television." I think everyone should do what they can to help save the planet, but I also think she's intolerant of people who don't want to live as simply as she claims to. (And I couldn't help thinking about how she contributes to environmental degradation through frequent international travel.) Also, when I read, after a chapter on overpopulation (Caldicott has three children), a sappy description of how just looking at their baby should be enough to keep parents off drugs and alcohol, I wanted to get Anne Lamott (whose Operating Lessons is coming up in '93) in a debate with her.
All that said, I do still find Caldicott's idealism, intelligence, and bursts of humor appealing. Like with Missile Envy, take this with a grain of salt (including the outdated stats), and find what you can apply to your own life. We'll see how Caldicott came to her opinions in more depth with her 1997 autobiography, A Desperate Passion.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
The Cat Who Wasn't There
1992, 1993 Jove Books edition
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Wasn't There
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
The "there" where Koko isn't (neither is Yum Yum of course) is Scotland. Qwill and other Moose-Countyites (plus photographer Bushy from Lockmaster) travel together, although their guide is soon killed. There's a running semi-joke in these books about Qwill's mother being a Mackintosh, and people tell him he'd look good in a kilt, although he hasn't yet succumbed. So Braun gets to present even more Scottish history than usual. Oh, and the community theater is doing Macbeth this year.
Lady Macbeth is played by Dr. Melinda Goodwinter, who's returned after three years (more like four), following the deaths of her parents. She wants to marry Qwill and resents Polly. Meanwhile Qwill is very protective of Polly (except when they argue) because of the stalker.
This picks up right after Moved a Mountain, and continues to September of that year, which is a record for a time span in these books. Oh, and we find out that Polly is a Virgo. (Qwill is a Gemini.) If Mountain is a whisker better than usual, this is a whisker worse, although not as bad as Read Backwards or Went Underground. I did like the idea of Qwill buying capes for five women, who all end up at the same awards ceremony, and some other nice touches.
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Wasn't There
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
The "there" where Koko isn't (neither is Yum Yum of course) is Scotland. Qwill and other Moose-Countyites (plus photographer Bushy from Lockmaster) travel together, although their guide is soon killed. There's a running semi-joke in these books about Qwill's mother being a Mackintosh, and people tell him he'd look good in a kilt, although he hasn't yet succumbed. So Braun gets to present even more Scottish history than usual. Oh, and the community theater is doing Macbeth this year.
Lady Macbeth is played by Dr. Melinda Goodwinter, who's returned after three years (more like four), following the deaths of her parents. She wants to marry Qwill and resents Polly. Meanwhile Qwill is very protective of Polly (except when they argue) because of the stalker.
This picks up right after Moved a Mountain, and continues to September of that year, which is a record for a time span in these books. Oh, and we find out that Polly is a Virgo. (Qwill is a Gemini.) If Mountain is a whisker better than usual, this is a whisker worse, although not as bad as Read Backwards or Went Underground. I did like the idea of Qwill buying capes for five women, who all end up at the same awards ceremony, and some other nice touches.
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain
1992, Jove Books edition from later that year
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
Booklist said that this entry is "as good as, even a whisker better, than earlier ones," and I agree. It's not enough better to move Braun into the B+ class, but I enjoyed Qwill's mountain retreat and the new cast of characters he meets. (One-shots if I remember correctly.) He's now completed five years in Moose County, which makes this 1989. The story is set in June, and we find out that his birthday is May 24th. (It doesn't say, but he must be 55 now.) Qwill needs to decide whether he'll stay in Moose County, but it's clear that, although his visit causes justice to be done, the Potato Mountains (state not mentioned but far enough away that no one has ever read his newspaper columns) will never be his home.
His stay is cut short not only by flooding but by someone stalking Polly. He actually confesses love to her! (Over the phone.) We don't know how she reacts, but Qwill's love life will be more of a focus in the next book....
Lilian Jackson Braun
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain
Probably bought newish for $4.99
Worn paperback
B
Booklist said that this entry is "as good as, even a whisker better, than earlier ones," and I agree. It's not enough better to move Braun into the B+ class, but I enjoyed Qwill's mountain retreat and the new cast of characters he meets. (One-shots if I remember correctly.) He's now completed five years in Moose County, which makes this 1989. The story is set in June, and we find out that his birthday is May 24th. (It doesn't say, but he must be 55 now.) Qwill needs to decide whether he'll stay in Moose County, but it's clear that, although his visit causes justice to be done, the Potato Mountains (state not mentioned but far enough away that no one has ever read his newspaper columns) will never be his home.
His stay is cut short not only by flooding but by someone stalking Polly. He actually confesses love to her! (Over the phone.) We don't know how she reacts, but Qwill's love life will be more of a focus in the next book....
The Copper Beech
1992, 1993 Dell edition
Maeve Binchy
The Copper Beech
Original price $6.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
C+
The title is similar to Echoes and Firefly Summer in that it doesn't seem to have much to do with the story, although I think it's meant to be a symbol of the importance of the small-town school that the tree shades. The story more reminded me of The Lilac Bus, in that it covers the same span over and over, from different perspectives, although this time it's roughly 30 years, rather than one weekend. I didn't feel that technique worked as well at novel length, especially since I didn't care for some of the characters here, or at least what was done with them.
This time the little Irish town is Shancarrig, which means "old rock," and the landscape does seem to matter more than in past novels, not just the beech but Barna Woods. Some people meet secretly in the woods, including the "old maid" (20ish) schoolteacher and the young priest, who don't quite go Thornbirds but do have sexual tension. Oh, and there's something hidden in the rockery at the rich family's home. The "where are they now" (1970) ending is weak and somewhat pointless, although it might've been more effective if Binchy had just told events in order.
If I recall correctly, the lake in The Glass Lake, coming up in 1995, actually is important to the story....
Maeve Binchy
The Copper Beech
Original price $6.99, purchase price $1.98
Worn paperback
C+
The title is similar to Echoes and Firefly Summer in that it doesn't seem to have much to do with the story, although I think it's meant to be a symbol of the importance of the small-town school that the tree shades. The story more reminded me of The Lilac Bus, in that it covers the same span over and over, from different perspectives, although this time it's roughly 30 years, rather than one weekend. I didn't feel that technique worked as well at novel length, especially since I didn't care for some of the characters here, or at least what was done with them.
This time the little Irish town is Shancarrig, which means "old rock," and the landscape does seem to matter more than in past novels, not just the beech but Barna Woods. Some people meet secretly in the woods, including the "old maid" (20ish) schoolteacher and the young priest, who don't quite go Thornbirds but do have sexual tension. Oh, and there's something hidden in the rockery at the rich family's home. The "where are they now" (1970) ending is weak and somewhat pointless, although it might've been more effective if Binchy had just told events in order.
If I recall correctly, the lake in The Glass Lake, coming up in 1995, actually is important to the story....
Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel
1992, possible first edition, although bought "new" a few years later, published by Firebrand Books
Alison Bechdel
Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel
Bought "new" for $10.95
Slightly worn paperback
B+
This is definitely a case of a sequel being better than its predecessor(s). It's funnier, sharper, and more touching. The only negative I could think of is that the introduction of handicapped new bookstore employee Thea, and Mo's awkwardness around her, are a bit heavy-handed. Other than that, there's great stuff here, from the characters' feedback strip ("Lois needs a new lover like the Pentagon needs a bigger budget") to the evolving friendships and relationships to the Gulf War. The biggest life change here is that Clarice and Toni get married. (An offpage friend named Adam loans Sparrow "his radical faerie party frock" and she looks adorable, while Mo decides to wear her usual striped tank top.) Mo and Harriet move in together but don't seem too happy, so it's not surprising that they'll later break up. After complaining that she, not Lois, is the one who needs a new lover, Ginger gets a romantic pen-pal. (And Lois gets a new lover, who's also Ginger's student.)
The featured story at the end this time is "Serial Monogamy," where Bechdel shows how she still hopes for forever love, but instead gets forever exes. (Preach it, Sister!) Ironically, due to alphabetization, this is my first book to mention the "Brady Bunch scandals," since she contrasts watching the show at age 11 with the recent revelation that "Florence Henderson admits to torrid romance with TV son during production of popular series." (As Barry Williams's book will show, it was hardly torrid, or even a romance.)
We don't have to wait the usual two years for the next DtWoF, since Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out for (in which Clarice and Toni finally have a baby) is coming up in '93....
Alison Bechdel
Dykes to Watch Out For: The Sequel
Bought "new" for $10.95
Slightly worn paperback
B+
This is definitely a case of a sequel being better than its predecessor(s). It's funnier, sharper, and more touching. The only negative I could think of is that the introduction of handicapped new bookstore employee Thea, and Mo's awkwardness around her, are a bit heavy-handed. Other than that, there's great stuff here, from the characters' feedback strip ("Lois needs a new lover like the Pentagon needs a bigger budget") to the evolving friendships and relationships to the Gulf War. The biggest life change here is that Clarice and Toni get married. (An offpage friend named Adam loans Sparrow "his radical faerie party frock" and she looks adorable, while Mo decides to wear her usual striped tank top.) Mo and Harriet move in together but don't seem too happy, so it's not surprising that they'll later break up. After complaining that she, not Lois, is the one who needs a new lover, Ginger gets a romantic pen-pal. (And Lois gets a new lover, who's also Ginger's student.)
The featured story at the end this time is "Serial Monogamy," where Bechdel shows how she still hopes for forever love, but instead gets forever exes. (Preach it, Sister!) Ironically, due to alphabetization, this is my first book to mention the "Brady Bunch scandals," since she contrasts watching the show at age 11 with the recent revelation that "Florence Henderson admits to torrid romance with TV son during production of popular series." (As Barry Williams's book will show, it was hardly torrid, or even a romance.)
We don't have to wait the usual two years for the next DtWoF, since Spawn of Dykes to Watch Out for (in which Clarice and Toni finally have a baby) is coming up in '93....
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Veronica's Passport, No. 1
1992, first edition, from Archie Comic Publications
Archie Comics (written by Robert Fleming and Kathleen Webb, illustrated by a bunch of people
Veronica's Passport, No. 1)
Bought new for $1.50
Slightly worn paperback
C
As the title suggests, Veronica travels around the world, specifically the increasingly unspecific Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, and Africa. Although Veronica can be intelligent at times, the emphasis here is on her love of shopping and flirtation. While she does have adventures, she constantly has to be rescued, including when she's twice used as bait for a kidnapping. (Little Veronica was more resourceful in the 1977 Little Archie collection.) I also got tired of the unsubtle way that information about the various locales was parceled out. Even when she's running for her life, we still have to hear about major industries and such.
None of the romances work out, although she is with a no-longer-short no-longer-bespectacled geek at the end of the Japan story. (He's white, as are most of the characters, even in Africa.) At one point, she claims (to French policemen!) that Archie is unimportant to her and she only wants to "lure him away from Betty Cooper." Even the fashions aren't that interesting.
Only for the most die-hard Veronica fans, or those curious to see how travel and technology (including the numerous video game ads) were presented to children twenty or so years ago.
Archie Comics (written by Robert Fleming and Kathleen Webb, illustrated by a bunch of people
Veronica's Passport, No. 1)
Bought new for $1.50
Slightly worn paperback
C
As the title suggests, Veronica travels around the world, specifically the increasingly unspecific Hong Kong, Paris, Japan, and Africa. Although Veronica can be intelligent at times, the emphasis here is on her love of shopping and flirtation. While she does have adventures, she constantly has to be rescued, including when she's twice used as bait for a kidnapping. (Little Veronica was more resourceful in the 1977 Little Archie collection.) I also got tired of the unsubtle way that information about the various locales was parceled out. Even when she's running for her life, we still have to hear about major industries and such.
None of the romances work out, although she is with a no-longer-short no-longer-bespectacled geek at the end of the Japan story. (He's white, as are most of the characters, even in Africa.) At one point, she claims (to French policemen!) that Archie is unimportant to her and she only wants to "lure him away from Betty Cooper." Even the fashions aren't that interesting.
Only for the most die-hard Veronica fans, or those curious to see how travel and technology (including the numerous video game ads) were presented to children twenty or so years ago.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
1991, undated later edition, from William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Naomi Wolf
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
Bought new for $21.95
Good condition hardcover, with slightly worn dustjacket
B-
While Wolf makes some good points about the ways that the media and its allies the fashion and advertising industries use unrealistic "beauty" standards to take women's money and energy, while putting the women's health at risk (notably through anorexia and liposuction), this book is not nearly as good as its peer, Backlash. (Interestingly, Wolf uses the term "backlash" almost exactly in Faludi's sense, although if I recall correctly, this book came out earlier in the year.) Among the flaws:
1. Lack of a true historical sense. While Wolf (like Faludi) draws parallels to the Victorian period at times, I would've appreciated an acknowledgement of, for instance, the health-threatening "beauty" practices of the Elizabethan period. Even when Wolf talks about the 20th century, she sometimes seems to see the problem as starting only around 1973. She should be aware, for example, of the 1950s' distorted images. (And, as Vidal's Hollywood reminds us, plastic surgery was not unknown among the rich and/or famous of the 1920s.)
2. Lack of a true (pop-)culture sense, as seen in the chapter "culture." While I suppose you could argue that Janet is "plain" on Three's Company, no one's going to say that about Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. What the pairs represent is actually girl-next-door brunette vs. glamorous blonde/redhead. That her Riverdale pair is Veronica (glamorous brunette) and Ethel (plain brunette) is revealing, since the standard pair is Veronica and Betty. And even her literary examples are off. "Nun-like" Dorothea Casaubon in Middlemarch is just as beautiful as Rosamond Vincy. Jane Fairfax is not "vapid," just simply more reserved than Emma Woodhouse. And while I suppose you could say that it's "fashionable, soulless Isabella Thorpe against Catherine Morland" in Northanger Abbey (although note, the girls are not actually in competition), I'm baffled as to who the "manipulative, 'remarkably pretty' Isabella Crawford" is that "self-effacing Fanny Price" must deal with in Mansfield Park. If Wolf means Mary Crawford, I must point out that both Bertram sisters, especially Maria, are supposed to be more beautiful than Mary, and Henry Crawford comes to prefer Fanny to Maria.
3. A melodramatic style that is sometimes inappropriate. I can understand that when it comes to women being brainwashed into harming their own bodies, Wolf is upset. But there's one passage where she makes a woman in heels and a short skirt sound like she's on the rack. And there are other overwrought descriptions.
4. Elitism and yuppie-ism. The tragedy of anorexia is not that it strikes middle- to upper-class college women more than anyone else. More women breaking the glass ceiling will only help all women if the successful women feel a sense of sisterhood with less fortunate women. And so on.
There are times that this book is great, as when she talks about the pseudo-science and quasi-religion of "skin care rejuvenation." I appreciate her calls for a third wave of feminism, which did in fact emerge at that time, thanks in part to her and Faludi, but also just to ordinary women getting both more pissed off and less discouraged. Fourth-wavers should read this book, as they should read The Feminine Mystique to understand second-wavers, but bear in mind that we third-wavers had to struggle with not only sexism but the belief that the big battles had all been won and there were no new battles to be fought. (I'm six years younger than Wolf, as opposed to nine years younger than Faludi.)
Naomi Wolf
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women
Bought new for $21.95
Good condition hardcover, with slightly worn dustjacket
B-
While Wolf makes some good points about the ways that the media and its allies the fashion and advertising industries use unrealistic "beauty" standards to take women's money and energy, while putting the women's health at risk (notably through anorexia and liposuction), this book is not nearly as good as its peer, Backlash. (Interestingly, Wolf uses the term "backlash" almost exactly in Faludi's sense, although if I recall correctly, this book came out earlier in the year.) Among the flaws:
1. Lack of a true historical sense. While Wolf (like Faludi) draws parallels to the Victorian period at times, I would've appreciated an acknowledgement of, for instance, the health-threatening "beauty" practices of the Elizabethan period. Even when Wolf talks about the 20th century, she sometimes seems to see the problem as starting only around 1973. She should be aware, for example, of the 1950s' distorted images. (And, as Vidal's Hollywood reminds us, plastic surgery was not unknown among the rich and/or famous of the 1920s.)
2. Lack of a true (pop-)culture sense, as seen in the chapter "culture." While I suppose you could argue that Janet is "plain" on Three's Company, no one's going to say that about Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. What the pairs represent is actually girl-next-door brunette vs. glamorous blonde/redhead. That her Riverdale pair is Veronica (glamorous brunette) and Ethel (plain brunette) is revealing, since the standard pair is Veronica and Betty. And even her literary examples are off. "Nun-like" Dorothea Casaubon in Middlemarch is just as beautiful as Rosamond Vincy. Jane Fairfax is not "vapid," just simply more reserved than Emma Woodhouse. And while I suppose you could say that it's "fashionable, soulless Isabella Thorpe against Catherine Morland" in Northanger Abbey (although note, the girls are not actually in competition), I'm baffled as to who the "manipulative, 'remarkably pretty' Isabella Crawford" is that "self-effacing Fanny Price" must deal with in Mansfield Park. If Wolf means Mary Crawford, I must point out that both Bertram sisters, especially Maria, are supposed to be more beautiful than Mary, and Henry Crawford comes to prefer Fanny to Maria.
3. A melodramatic style that is sometimes inappropriate. I can understand that when it comes to women being brainwashed into harming their own bodies, Wolf is upset. But there's one passage where she makes a woman in heels and a short skirt sound like she's on the rack. And there are other overwrought descriptions.
4. Elitism and yuppie-ism. The tragedy of anorexia is not that it strikes middle- to upper-class college women more than anyone else. More women breaking the glass ceiling will only help all women if the successful women feel a sense of sisterhood with less fortunate women. And so on.
There are times that this book is great, as when she talks about the pseudo-science and quasi-religion of "skin care rejuvenation." I appreciate her calls for a third wave of feminism, which did in fact emerge at that time, thanks in part to her and Faludi, but also just to ordinary women getting both more pissed off and less discouraged. Fourth-wavers should read this book, as they should read The Feminine Mystique to understand second-wavers, but bear in mind that we third-wavers had to struggle with not only sexism but the belief that the big battles had all been won and there were no new battles to be fought. (I'm six years younger than Wolf, as opposed to nine years younger than Faludi.)
Monday, July 15, 2013
The Alchemy of Race and Rights
1991, 1993 Virago Press edition
Patricia J. Williams
The Alchemy of Race and Rights
Original price unknown, purchase price $9.75
Worn paperback
B-
African-American legal scholar Williams looks at how property, race, law, and sometimes gender interrelate. I'm using the "biography" tag because she does share some of her personal history, from being the descendant of a lawyer and a twelve-year-old slave, to being refused entry at Benetton (of "United Colors"). Her style is meandering but worth sticking with. She got me thinking about Tawana Brawley for the first time in years, pitying that fifteen-year-old girl, because clearly something terrible did happen to her, but she was lost in the media circus. Williams is good at providing fresh perspectives, making us question assumptions.
Patricia J. Williams
The Alchemy of Race and Rights
Original price unknown, purchase price $9.75
Worn paperback
B-
African-American legal scholar Williams looks at how property, race, law, and sometimes gender interrelate. I'm using the "biography" tag because she does share some of her personal history, from being the descendant of a lawyer and a twelve-year-old slave, to being refused entry at Benetton (of "United Colors"). Her style is meandering but worth sticking with. She got me thinking about Tawana Brawley for the first time in years, pitying that fifteen-year-old girl, because clearly something terrible did happen to her, but she was lost in the media circus. Williams is good at providing fresh perspectives, making us question assumptions.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Saint Maybe
1991, 1992 Ivy Books edition
Anne Tyler
Saint Maybe
Possibly bought newish for $5.99
Very worn paperback
B-
The title character, Ian, starts out in 1965 as a typical teen with a typical family. Then he makes the mistake of jumping to a conclusion about his new sister-in-law, Lucy. (That her youngest child is not her husband's. Actually, Lucy is just a shoplifter.) Brother Danny kills himself, and Lucy dies a few months later. Out of guilt, and on advice from the reverend of the Church of the Second Chance, Ian ends up raising the baby and the two older children. Even after the children are grown, Ian hesitates to live an independent life, although he sometimes wonders if he made the right choices. (Joining the church, dropping out of college, giving up premarital sex, as well as raising the kids.) The third-person perspective alternates between him and the other family members, mostly Lucy's kids. And the story ends in 1990, when Ian is a new father by his younger wife, who's similar to Muriel of Accidental Tourist.
While there were things I liked about the book, not just most of the characters but the believable details (any late '60s to late '70s child knows those third-rate day camps), I did have issues with it, including Ian's passivity. (Ironically, Tourist's Mason makes more active decisions.) At one point, he almost agrees to go to Bible college, just because the reverend wants a successor. Also, I found the interchangeability, gizmo-loving, and fractured English of the "foreigners" a bit wacky-sitcom-neighborly. And I felt like we were asked to be invested in characters who disappeared from the novel (particularly Ian's first girlfriend, and to some extent his older sister and her alphabetically-named brood).
Overall, not Tyler at the top of her game, but still worth reading. Ladder of Years coming up in 1995. (Yes, the same year we'll return to Smiley and Tan.)
Anne Tyler
Saint Maybe
Possibly bought newish for $5.99
Very worn paperback
B-
The title character, Ian, starts out in 1965 as a typical teen with a typical family. Then he makes the mistake of jumping to a conclusion about his new sister-in-law, Lucy. (That her youngest child is not her husband's. Actually, Lucy is just a shoplifter.) Brother Danny kills himself, and Lucy dies a few months later. Out of guilt, and on advice from the reverend of the Church of the Second Chance, Ian ends up raising the baby and the two older children. Even after the children are grown, Ian hesitates to live an independent life, although he sometimes wonders if he made the right choices. (Joining the church, dropping out of college, giving up premarital sex, as well as raising the kids.) The third-person perspective alternates between him and the other family members, mostly Lucy's kids. And the story ends in 1990, when Ian is a new father by his younger wife, who's similar to Muriel of Accidental Tourist.
While there were things I liked about the book, not just most of the characters but the believable details (any late '60s to late '70s child knows those third-rate day camps), I did have issues with it, including Ian's passivity. (Ironically, Tourist's Mason makes more active decisions.) At one point, he almost agrees to go to Bible college, just because the reverend wants a successor. Also, I found the interchangeability, gizmo-loving, and fractured English of the "foreigners" a bit wacky-sitcom-neighborly. And I felt like we were asked to be invested in characters who disappeared from the novel (particularly Ian's first girlfriend, and to some extent his older sister and her alphabetically-named brood).
Overall, not Tyler at the top of her game, but still worth reading. Ladder of Years coming up in 1995. (Yes, the same year we'll return to Smiley and Tan.)
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Kitchen God's Wife
1991, 1992 Ivy Books edition
Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife
Original price $5.99, bought used for unknown
Falling apart paperback
B-
While this is an improvement over The Joy Luck Club in that it focuses on one mother & daughter pair, it unfortunately doesn't give enough of the daughter's perspective. The bulk of the novel is Winnie/Weili telling her daughter Pearl of her terrible first marriage to a man who turns out to be (probably) Pearl's father. But it's mostly narrative, with no comments by Pearl until near the end. It seems like Tan still hasn't found the best way to tell her stories. Also, while the husband here is not quite the monster that the father was in Thousand Acres, I had the same issue as I did with that novel: while there are such terrible men in the world, and women (and men) who suffer with them, writers of Smiley's and Tan's intelligence should be able to give their villains more motivation than a weak "that's how they were raised."
We'll get to The Hundred Secret Senses shortly after Moo....
Amy Tan
The Kitchen God's Wife
Original price $5.99, bought used for unknown
Falling apart paperback
B-
While this is an improvement over The Joy Luck Club in that it focuses on one mother & daughter pair, it unfortunately doesn't give enough of the daughter's perspective. The bulk of the novel is Winnie/Weili telling her daughter Pearl of her terrible first marriage to a man who turns out to be (probably) Pearl's father. But it's mostly narrative, with no comments by Pearl until near the end. It seems like Tan still hasn't found the best way to tell her stories. Also, while the husband here is not quite the monster that the father was in Thousand Acres, I had the same issue as I did with that novel: while there are such terrible men in the world, and women (and men) who suffer with them, writers of Smiley's and Tan's intelligence should be able to give their villains more motivation than a weak "that's how they were raised."
We'll get to The Hundred Secret Senses shortly after Moo....
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
A Thousand Acres
1991, 1992 Fawcett Columbine edition
Jane Smiley
A Thousand Acres
Bought newish for $12.00
Slightly worn paperback
C+
While I still prefer this to King Lear, I can see why I don't read it more often, and why Smiley's Moo (which we'll get to in 1995) has always been more enjoyable. Even more than with Lear, there are no sympathetic characters here. We might feel sorry for them at different points, but they all do wrong things, from taking the wrong side to adultery and even attempted murder. The Lear figure is not simply mad (both insane and angry) but verbally and physically abusive. He beats and molests at least two of his daughters.
The narrator Ginny (Goneril) doesn't even remember the molestation till about halfway through the book. While I don't entirely discount the concept of "repressed memory," I found it implausible here, particularly since Ginny was 14 at the time and seems to have no other memory gaps. (One of my friends was repeatedly molested at age 3 and remembered it vividly.) I also found Ginny and beloved sister Rose (Regan) mutually betraying each other forced. If the book had set up that it was a world where you can't trust anyone, I might've been more OK with it, but after awhile it felt like Smiley was just heaping one unpleasant-to-horrific incident on top of another.
So why the C+? Well, the soap-operatics do have a certain appeal. (There's also cancer and infertility.) At the same time, Smiley is good at describing things, from fields to food, capturing Carter-era farm life. This won the Pulitzer, but I wish it were either more believable, or trashier. With Moo as I recall, she takes a more satiric note and nothing truly terrible happens.
Jane Smiley
A Thousand Acres
Bought newish for $12.00
Slightly worn paperback
C+
While I still prefer this to King Lear, I can see why I don't read it more often, and why Smiley's Moo (which we'll get to in 1995) has always been more enjoyable. Even more than with Lear, there are no sympathetic characters here. We might feel sorry for them at different points, but they all do wrong things, from taking the wrong side to adultery and even attempted murder. The Lear figure is not simply mad (both insane and angry) but verbally and physically abusive. He beats and molests at least two of his daughters.
The narrator Ginny (Goneril) doesn't even remember the molestation till about halfway through the book. While I don't entirely discount the concept of "repressed memory," I found it implausible here, particularly since Ginny was 14 at the time and seems to have no other memory gaps. (One of my friends was repeatedly molested at age 3 and remembered it vividly.) I also found Ginny and beloved sister Rose (Regan) mutually betraying each other forced. If the book had set up that it was a world where you can't trust anyone, I might've been more OK with it, but after awhile it felt like Smiley was just heaping one unpleasant-to-horrific incident on top of another.
So why the C+? Well, the soap-operatics do have a certain appeal. (There's also cancer and infertility.) At the same time, Smiley is good at describing things, from fields to food, capturing Carter-era farm life. This won the Pulitzer, but I wish it were either more believable, or trashier. With Moo as I recall, she takes a more satiric note and nothing truly terrible happens.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Popcorn and Sexual Politics: Movie Reviews
1991, possibly first edition, from The Crossing Press
Kathi Maio
Popcorn and Sexual Politics: Movie Reviews
Original price $8.95, purchase price $4.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I found this equal to Feminist in the Dark, although I used to prefer it, perhaps because I'd seen more of the movies. This time of course, due to the quirks of alphabetization, I kept comparing it to Kael's Movie Love, which seems to cover roughly the same period. Although the two of course don't agree on everything (Maio surprisingly is the one who likes Heathers), they are in accord on Another Woman, The Good Mother, Postcards from the Edge, and Working Girl, if not always for the exact same reasons, at least syncing up more than either does with Ebert. My favorite moment in this collection is when she tells of a coworker who "suggested in no uncertain terms that I review Working Girl and 'tear it apart.' Okay, Laura, this one's for you." (When I saw the movie recently, it made me much angrier than Fatal Attraction did a week later, but that's partly because I prefer comedies and in an odd sort of way take them more seriously than dramas.)
A few years after this book came out, Maio landed here: http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/dkathimaio.htm. She seems to post a few sci-fi/fantasy movie reviews a year, most recently zapping Oz the Great and Powerful on the grounds of both feminism and fandom. It's good to know she's still fighting the good fight.
Kathi Maio
Popcorn and Sexual Politics: Movie Reviews
Original price $8.95, purchase price $4.95
Very worn paperback
B-
I found this equal to Feminist in the Dark, although I used to prefer it, perhaps because I'd seen more of the movies. This time of course, due to the quirks of alphabetization, I kept comparing it to Kael's Movie Love, which seems to cover roughly the same period. Although the two of course don't agree on everything (Maio surprisingly is the one who likes Heathers), they are in accord on Another Woman, The Good Mother, Postcards from the Edge, and Working Girl, if not always for the exact same reasons, at least syncing up more than either does with Ebert. My favorite moment in this collection is when she tells of a coworker who "suggested in no uncertain terms that I review Working Girl and 'tear it apart.' Okay, Laura, this one's for you." (When I saw the movie recently, it made me much angrier than Fatal Attraction did a week later, but that's partly because I prefer comedies and in an odd sort of way take them more seriously than dramas.)
A few years after this book came out, Maio landed here: http://www.sfsite.com/fsf/dkathimaio.htm. She seems to post a few sci-fi/fantasy movie reviews a year, most recently zapping Oz the Great and Powerful on the grounds of both feminism and fandom. It's good to know she's still fighting the good fight.
Movie Love: Complete Reviews, 1988-1991
1991, undated later edition, from William Abrahams
Pauline Kael
Movie Love: Complete Reviews, 1988-1991
Probably bought newish for $14.95
Worn paperback
B-
This book came out just after Kael retired at 71, due to Parkinson's disease. She lived another decade, and published the compendium For Keeps, which we'll get to in 1994, but this is basically it for then-new reviews. As such, it's funny to not only see future Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves pop up (as the twenty-nine-year-old writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys), but get Kael's take on the Disney "comeback" vehicle The Little Mermaid ("a bland reworking of old Disney fairy tales, featuring a teenage tootsie in a flirty seashell bra"). This collection is a bit of a come-down from the peak of Hooked, but it still has interesting insights and the occasional great quote. Thanks to her opinion of Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves, my ex-husband and I used to sing "Feathers in his hair, feathers in his head" to the tune of the Cowsills' "(I Love) The Flower Girl." With For Keeps, we'll be going all the way back to '64, so even though the last few years will be a repetition of the other Kael collections I own, it should be interesting. Besides, her reviews definitely stand up to repeat readings.
Pauline Kael
Movie Love: Complete Reviews, 1988-1991
Probably bought newish for $14.95
Worn paperback
B-
This book came out just after Kael retired at 71, due to Parkinson's disease. She lived another decade, and published the compendium For Keeps, which we'll get to in 1994, but this is basically it for then-new reviews. As such, it's funny to not only see future Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves pop up (as the twenty-nine-year-old writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys), but get Kael's take on the Disney "comeback" vehicle The Little Mermaid ("a bland reworking of old Disney fairy tales, featuring a teenage tootsie in a flirty seashell bra"). This collection is a bit of a come-down from the peak of Hooked, but it still has interesting insights and the occasional great quote. Thanks to her opinion of Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves, my ex-husband and I used to sing "Feathers in his hair, feathers in his head" to the tune of the Cowsills' "(I Love) The Flower Girl." With For Keeps, we'll be going all the way back to '64, so even though the last few years will be a repetition of the other Kael collections I own, it should be interesting. Besides, her reviews definitely stand up to repeat readings.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
1991, 1992 Vintage Books edition
Molly Ivins
Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
Original price $13.00, purchase price $5.95
Very worn paperback
B-
This book understandably reminded me of Roy Blount, Jr.'s collections, as well as Linda Ellerbee's And So It Goes. Like Ellerbee, Ivins is a Texan feminist and has had to figure out how to not make that a contradiction in terms. Ivins seems to appreciate that the prejudice and stupidity in Texas are right on the surface, not hidden like in the urban North, but so are the kindness and down-to-earthness More than Ellerbee (who had to develop a network smoothness) but as much as Blount, Ivins has a folksy style, rich in often pungent imagery.
Unlike Blount, her essays are mostly on politics, local as well as national. She's funny on Reagan but even more on Bush of course. And it's interesting to see such nationally known Texans as Ross Perot and Ann Richards pop up. She also explains the importance of football and cheerleaders, and of course food, in Texas. I found the book slowly improved as it went on. I didn't laugh out loud, but I was grinning more and more.
We've got her Nothin' But Good Times Ahead ahead in 1994. For now, this completes a bookshelf, although I'll probably do some shifting by the time I finish '91.
Molly Ivins
Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?
Original price $13.00, purchase price $5.95
Very worn paperback
B-
This book understandably reminded me of Roy Blount, Jr.'s collections, as well as Linda Ellerbee's And So It Goes. Like Ellerbee, Ivins is a Texan feminist and has had to figure out how to not make that a contradiction in terms. Ivins seems to appreciate that the prejudice and stupidity in Texas are right on the surface, not hidden like in the urban North, but so are the kindness and down-to-earthness More than Ellerbee (who had to develop a network smoothness) but as much as Blount, Ivins has a folksy style, rich in often pungent imagery.
Unlike Blount, her essays are mostly on politics, local as well as national. She's funny on Reagan but even more on Bush of course. And it's interesting to see such nationally known Texans as Ross Perot and Ann Richards pop up. She also explains the importance of football and cheerleaders, and of course food, in Texas. I found the book slowly improved as it went on. I didn't laugh out loud, but I was grinning more and more.
We've got her Nothin' But Good Times Ahead ahead in 1994. For now, this completes a bookshelf, although I'll probably do some shifting by the time I finish '91.
Me: Stories of My Life
1991, 1992 Ballantine edition
Katharine Hepburn
Me: Stories of My Life
Original price $5.99, purchase price $3.95
Very worn paperback
B-
As I noted with Rosalind Russell's biography, she and Hepburn were born close in age and locale, to big close-knit families. Hepburn lived and worked much longer, not dying till over a decade after this book came out, at age 96. This isn't a biography per se, in that she does skip back and forth through years and even decades, just telling stories about the people and experiences in her life, notably her parents and Spencer Tracy. It seems odd that she and Tracy never discussed their feelings, in 27 years together, and her definition of "love" is very selfless, without any expectation that it should be reciprocal. He was separated from his wife before he met Hepburn, but Kate never encouraged him (a Catholic) to get a divorce. Still, their relationship seems to have worked for them, on and offscreen.
Tracy aside, Hepburn admits she was always very self-involved (as the title suggests), focusing on her career and interests. Even when she went to talk to a troubled Judy Garland (at L. B. Mayer's suggestion), she didn't think it would do much good. Hepburn's parents were liberals involved in women's rights, including birth control, and she remained a liberal herself, yet she preferred John Wayne to the "creeps" who came along in the '60s and later. (She doesn't name names, so I don't know if she's thinking of Peter Fonda or Dustin Hoffman or who.) Despite her independence, she took a lot from men, as shown in the long script-like chapter, "Willie Rose and His Maserati." (She's trying to present him as a charming younger man, but he comes across as a jerk.)
She does talk about her movies of course. She's hard on Sylvia Scarlet (Cary Grant's performance aside), but I like that movie more than The Philadelphia Story. I do agree with her on the greatness of Little Women and African Queen. Still, the most interesting parts of the book are before she went to Hollywood.
Katharine Hepburn
Me: Stories of My Life
Original price $5.99, purchase price $3.95
Very worn paperback
B-
As I noted with Rosalind Russell's biography, she and Hepburn were born close in age and locale, to big close-knit families. Hepburn lived and worked much longer, not dying till over a decade after this book came out, at age 96. This isn't a biography per se, in that she does skip back and forth through years and even decades, just telling stories about the people and experiences in her life, notably her parents and Spencer Tracy. It seems odd that she and Tracy never discussed their feelings, in 27 years together, and her definition of "love" is very selfless, without any expectation that it should be reciprocal. He was separated from his wife before he met Hepburn, but Kate never encouraged him (a Catholic) to get a divorce. Still, their relationship seems to have worked for them, on and offscreen.
Tracy aside, Hepburn admits she was always very self-involved (as the title suggests), focusing on her career and interests. Even when she went to talk to a troubled Judy Garland (at L. B. Mayer's suggestion), she didn't think it would do much good. Hepburn's parents were liberals involved in women's rights, including birth control, and she remained a liberal herself, yet she preferred John Wayne to the "creeps" who came along in the '60s and later. (She doesn't name names, so I don't know if she's thinking of Peter Fonda or Dustin Hoffman or who.) Despite her independence, she took a lot from men, as shown in the long script-like chapter, "Willie Rose and His Maserati." (She's trying to present him as a charming younger man, but he comes across as a jerk.)
She does talk about her movies of course. She's hard on Sylvia Scarlet (Cary Grant's performance aside), but I like that movie more than The Philadelphia Story. I do agree with her on the greatness of Little Women and African Queen. Still, the most interesting parts of the book are before she went to Hollywood.
Friday, July 5, 2013
The Civilization of the Goddess
1991, first edition, from Harper San Francisco
Marija Gimbutas
The Civilization of the Goddess: The World of Old Europe
Bought new for $60.00
Good condition hardcover
C+
This has some stunning Neolithic artwork, often in the form of pottery, although there are also statues and tools. Even in just two or three colors, the spiral, checked, etc. designs are almost hypnotic. Now, am I reacting to them because I find geometric and other repeated patterns visually and perhaps emotionally pleasing, or is this some atavistic instinct that's been handed down a few millennia?
I ask because Gimbutas, with terms like "definitely," "undoubtedly," "without question," etc., sees her interpretations as the only sensible ones. But I kept wondering, How do you know that's how they thought 6000ish years ago? Yes, there's lots of "evidence," but where does the meaning come from? At best, she can argue backwards from legends that have lasted into modern times.
This is not to say that what I'll call the cavemacho-ites are right. But just because someone's wrong, doesn't make you right. I'm sympathetic to her view, and the lack of skeletons with violent deaths until the "Kurgan era" is compelling. But how do we know what "owl eyes" meant to the people who decorated with them?
I still would've given this book a B- --the descriptions of what they ate, wore, and lived in at different points in different regions are fascinating-- but there are over 100 pages of boring notes etc. As I pointed out in the review of Great Cosmic Mother, nonfiction writers can make their background materials interesting, too. (Backlash is a recent example, with some nice tidbits tucked away there.) I also want to punish the book for being such an unwieldy coffee-table tome, but I suppose that's necessary for all the material it contains. Pity she didn't do more with that material.
Marija Gimbutas
The Civilization of the Goddess: The World of Old Europe
Bought new for $60.00
Good condition hardcover
C+
This has some stunning Neolithic artwork, often in the form of pottery, although there are also statues and tools. Even in just two or three colors, the spiral, checked, etc. designs are almost hypnotic. Now, am I reacting to them because I find geometric and other repeated patterns visually and perhaps emotionally pleasing, or is this some atavistic instinct that's been handed down a few millennia?
I ask because Gimbutas, with terms like "definitely," "undoubtedly," "without question," etc., sees her interpretations as the only sensible ones. But I kept wondering, How do you know that's how they thought 6000ish years ago? Yes, there's lots of "evidence," but where does the meaning come from? At best, she can argue backwards from legends that have lasted into modern times.
This is not to say that what I'll call the cavemacho-ites are right. But just because someone's wrong, doesn't make you right. I'm sympathetic to her view, and the lack of skeletons with violent deaths until the "Kurgan era" is compelling. But how do we know what "owl eyes" meant to the people who decorated with them?
I still would've given this book a B- --the descriptions of what they ate, wore, and lived in at different points in different regions are fascinating-- but there are over 100 pages of boring notes etc. As I pointed out in the review of Great Cosmic Mother, nonfiction writers can make their background materials interesting, too. (Backlash is a recent example, with some nice tidbits tucked away there.) I also want to punish the book for being such an unwieldy coffee-table tome, but I suppose that's necessary for all the material it contains. Pity she didn't do more with that material.
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