That inspiration aside, Warmly Inscribed doesn’t amount to much.
Miscellaneous adventures in the book trade, some exciting, most not.
The Goldstones, husband-and-wife antiquarian booksellers well known for writing books about books (Slightly Chipped, 1999, etc.), have apparently never experienced a book-related incident that has somehow not made it into the pages of one or another of their memoirs. This collection includes, for instance, anecdotes about a chipped tooth and the wonders of super glue, sparsely attended book signings, the long memory of Southerners when it comes to the Civil War, the perils of buying books online, the contents of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library and of the Library of Congress’s Rare Books Room, and the notations on highly collectible novelist Michael Ondaatje’s 1974 wall calendar. A few of these anecdotes are meaningful and of interest to bibliophiles and literary scholars alike; most, however, are not—especially when they’re seasoned with such pabulum as “when your book is rejected, so is a piece of your soul.” A sad failure of storytelling comes with their longish account of the strange career of one Ken Anderson, who transformed an autodidact’s love for the literary modernists into a briefly thriving career manufacturing and selling the forged autographs of Ernest Hemingway, William Butler Yeats, T.S. Eliot, and Ezra Pound—a story that could have taken wings if written by the likes of Nicholas Basbanes or Alberto Manguel, but falls flat on the page in the Goldstones’ hands. The best moments come sporadically, in the form of data that will send collectors scurrying to their libraries to see whether they have a first American edition of Cold Mountain (worth a few hundred dollars) or a first UK edition of the inaugural volume in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (worth something like $30,000).
That inspiration aside, Warmly Inscribed doesn’t amount to much.Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-312-26268-X
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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