Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler's Tales
By Linda Ballou, http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
ISBN 978:1449971526
ISBN 978-1449971526
Price $14.95
Available at Amazon.com and Kindle Reader editionas well as all major online distribution sites. Signed copy with free shipping at author’s site: http://www.lindaballouauthor.com/
Reviewed by Bonnie Neely, editor of RealTravelAdventures.com e-zine and top Amazon Reviewer
Lost Angel Walkabout by Linda Ballou is one of the most beautifully written travel books I have ever read. Linda tells her personal experiences of her many travels in different continents and environs. She is well-known as a top adventure travel writer, and her tales of her intrepid soul's search for beauty in the wilds and her ability to rouse physically to any demands of the setting will thrill the reader. She increased my desire to become more physically fit so that I could do some of the things she is daring and fit enough to do. She grew up in Alaska and has always loved horses. Her travel tales about returning to that wonderful environ and her experiences in many different places which involved riding horses are so beautifully inspiring. Linda also leads walkabouts in Los Angeles. I highly recommend her book as a treasure you will want to read, and then to re-read aloud to anyone who might want to listen. Her use of words is very commanding and her descriptions so vivid you will feel you have traveled alongside her and seen all the beauty of the surroundings which she so deeply appreciates. This is a MUST READ!
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Monday, 9 August 2010
Sunday, 8 August 2010
Military Memoir Is Military Writers Society of America Gold Medal Winner
An American Knight
Subtitle: The Life of Col. John Ripley
ISBN-10: 1877905410
ISBN-13: 978-187790541
Category: Biography, Military
By Norman Fulkerson
Publisher: The American TFP
$14.95
REVIEWED BY John Horvat originally for TFP
"There are plenty of books that tell the soldier’s story and take the reader beyond media accounts by showing the human face of war.
However, there are few books that go beyond the soldier’s story. That is not to say the soldier’s story is not inspiring. However, these are times that clamor not only for soldiers but heroes. People need story of moral leadership from those who can get things done on any field of battle.
An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC is one such story. Author Norman J. Fulkerson has written a riveting cradle-to-grave biography of Col. John W. Ripley that engages, inspires and motivates. In his warm and appealing style, Mr. Fulkerson not only tells of a true Marine legend of the Vietnam era, he tells the story of an American knight.
At first glance, this portrayal might seem difficult. Knights are supposed to be riding white horses and wearing shining armor not combat fatigues. Knights usually aren’t Americans since they belong to times past. Yet Mr. Fulkerson seems to relish the paradox as he tells his story.
Indeed, Col. Ripley was an archetypal American. His upbringing in a small town America is all apple pie. One is treated to accounts of his mischievous “Huckleberry Finn” childhood adventures that warm the heart with a glimpse of those simpler “cracker barrel” times. John Ripley’s story starts like that of so many other energetic youth who lived on the wild side of things during the fifties. And it may well have ended there.
But then, suddenly we see a change in John Ripley. He comes to represent another no less archetypal American – that heroic American with a can-do attitude, relentless drive and solid patriotism. One sees him join the Marines, enter the U.S. Naval Academy, and deploy in distant Vietnam where he became a living legend.
Here the archetypal American meets the knight.
One can definitely see the knight in the feats of Col. Ripley. He is most commonly known for his heroic action in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive of 1972, where he faced down over 30,000 North Vietnamese and 200 enemy tanks. Praying to God for help, Ripley proceeded to blow up the Dong Ha Bridge, preventing the enemy from crossing.
As stunning as the Dong Ha story is, there are only a few chapters dedicate to this feat. However, it is obvious that Mr. Fulkerson is not just telling the story of a Marine legend; he is telling the story of a real knight.
Knights do more than just fight battles. They fight that most important of all struggles: the battle against themselves. With unshakable faith in God, they overcome their defects and vices and present a role model of spotless character to a society in need of them. They go beyond the call of duty and sacrifice themselves for the common good on any battlefield. They live up to a code of chivalry that our permissive society believes impossible to follow.
And thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents Col. Ripley as a true knight. Inside the pages of his book, one finds the devout manly Catholic, the faithful husband, the loving father, and the Southern gentleman. One sees the commander, the warrior and leader. There is also the administrator, scholar and mentor.
There is one field of battle where Col. Ripley excelled and that was the field of public opinion. This knight was not afraid to voice his opinions even when they went against the “politically correct” opinion of the times. When testifying before Congress, he did not waver in expressing his opposition to homosexuality in the military and women in combat. Such moral battles are often more terrible than those of the physical battlefield!
Thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents a figure who is both American and knight. He proves that such a portrayal need not be a paradox. It should rather be a model.
An American Knight is an inspiring story but it is also a challenge. In these times of political correctness, it challenges all Americans to have the moral courage of someone who stands firm. When so many wilt and waver, it calls upon all to find and look to an uncommon human type – the knight – for the kind of moral leadership needed to weather the storms ahead.
--
"There are Two Types of Pain in this World: The Temporary Pain of Discipline, or the Permanent Pain of Regret" -- anonymous
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Subtitle: The Life of Col. John Ripley
ISBN-10: 1877905410
ISBN-13: 978-187790541
Category: Biography, Military
By Norman Fulkerson
Publisher: The American TFP
$14.95
REVIEWED BY John Horvat originally for TFP
"There are plenty of books that tell the soldier’s story and take the reader beyond media accounts by showing the human face of war.
However, there are few books that go beyond the soldier’s story. That is not to say the soldier’s story is not inspiring. However, these are times that clamor not only for soldiers but heroes. People need story of moral leadership from those who can get things done on any field of battle.
An American Knight: The Life of Colonel John W. Ripley, USMC is one such story. Author Norman J. Fulkerson has written a riveting cradle-to-grave biography of Col. John W. Ripley that engages, inspires and motivates. In his warm and appealing style, Mr. Fulkerson not only tells of a true Marine legend of the Vietnam era, he tells the story of an American knight.
At first glance, this portrayal might seem difficult. Knights are supposed to be riding white horses and wearing shining armor not combat fatigues. Knights usually aren’t Americans since they belong to times past. Yet Mr. Fulkerson seems to relish the paradox as he tells his story.
Indeed, Col. Ripley was an archetypal American. His upbringing in a small town America is all apple pie. One is treated to accounts of his mischievous “Huckleberry Finn” childhood adventures that warm the heart with a glimpse of those simpler “cracker barrel” times. John Ripley’s story starts like that of so many other energetic youth who lived on the wild side of things during the fifties. And it may well have ended there.
But then, suddenly we see a change in John Ripley. He comes to represent another no less archetypal American – that heroic American with a can-do attitude, relentless drive and solid patriotism. One sees him join the Marines, enter the U.S. Naval Academy, and deploy in distant Vietnam where he became a living legend.
Here the archetypal American meets the knight.
One can definitely see the knight in the feats of Col. Ripley. He is most commonly known for his heroic action in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive of 1972, where he faced down over 30,000 North Vietnamese and 200 enemy tanks. Praying to God for help, Ripley proceeded to blow up the Dong Ha Bridge, preventing the enemy from crossing.
As stunning as the Dong Ha story is, there are only a few chapters dedicate to this feat. However, it is obvious that Mr. Fulkerson is not just telling the story of a Marine legend; he is telling the story of a real knight.
Knights do more than just fight battles. They fight that most important of all struggles: the battle against themselves. With unshakable faith in God, they overcome their defects and vices and present a role model of spotless character to a society in need of them. They go beyond the call of duty and sacrifice themselves for the common good on any battlefield. They live up to a code of chivalry that our permissive society believes impossible to follow.
And thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents Col. Ripley as a true knight. Inside the pages of his book, one finds the devout manly Catholic, the faithful husband, the loving father, and the Southern gentleman. One sees the commander, the warrior and leader. There is also the administrator, scholar and mentor.
There is one field of battle where Col. Ripley excelled and that was the field of public opinion. This knight was not afraid to voice his opinions even when they went against the “politically correct” opinion of the times. When testifying before Congress, he did not waver in expressing his opposition to homosexuality in the military and women in combat. Such moral battles are often more terrible than those of the physical battlefield!
Thus, Mr. Fulkerson presents a figure who is both American and knight. He proves that such a portrayal need not be a paradox. It should rather be a model.
An American Knight is an inspiring story but it is also a challenge. In these times of political correctness, it challenges all Americans to have the moral courage of someone who stands firm. When so many wilt and waver, it calls upon all to find and look to an uncommon human type – the knight – for the kind of moral leadership needed to weather the storms ahead.
--
"There are Two Types of Pain in this World: The Temporary Pain of Discipline, or the Permanent Pain of Regret" -- anonymous
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Friday, 6 August 2010
"Crestmont" Delivers Multi-Layered Read
Crestmont
By Holly Weiss
Historical Fiction
ISBN978-1-935188-10-0
Reviewed by Shelley Stout, author of Radium Halos, for Goodreads
In Holly Weiss’ debut novel, 22-year-old aspiring singer Gracie Antes discovers the meaning and the rewards of hard work. She applies for a position as housemaid at the lakeside Crestmont Inn in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania in 1925. Her employer Margaret Woods, daughter of the creator and designer of the inn, sees something special in the young, naïve Gracie. During the next two years, these vastly different women bond in a special way through hardship, family strife, and responsibilities.
Gracie has one goal in mind—to earn enough money to fulfill her dream to become a singer. At first, she saves her meager earnings, but soon discovers life away from home comes with expenses. Gracie must find a way to fit in and slowly makes friends with her coworkers, but when Margaret Woods takes a fall, breaking her arm, Gracie leaves the staff dormitory to live with Margaret, her husband William, and their two young daughters. While there, Gracie learns what it takes to manage and run the Crestmont Inn, and her dreams must be put on hold.
Weiss creates distinctive characters through realistic description and believable dialogue. The staff at the Crestmont Inn includes unique individuals, from whom Gracie learns and matures as a young woman. When Gracie becomes the caregiver to a neighboring older woman in poor health, she discovers her own inner strengths.
Further, Weiss does a superb job of creating a distinct narrative world for the reader. Her details are authentic and engaging, invoking the aromas of the massive inn kitchen and the beauty and grandeur of the Pennsylvania countryside. One can almost see the morning sun reflecting off the lake, “like tinsel on the trees near the shore.” The building and grounds create the canvas for this finely woven tapestry—the inn itself becomes one of the main characters.
Crestmont is a debut novel for the history buff or for anyone who enjoys entering a past world and remaining there. An enjoyable stay at the inn, with ample staff to meet your needs.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Holly Weiss
Historical Fiction
ISBN978-1-935188-10-0
Reviewed by Shelley Stout, author of Radium Halos, for Goodreads
In Holly Weiss’ debut novel, 22-year-old aspiring singer Gracie Antes discovers the meaning and the rewards of hard work. She applies for a position as housemaid at the lakeside Crestmont Inn in Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania in 1925. Her employer Margaret Woods, daughter of the creator and designer of the inn, sees something special in the young, naïve Gracie. During the next two years, these vastly different women bond in a special way through hardship, family strife, and responsibilities.
Gracie has one goal in mind—to earn enough money to fulfill her dream to become a singer. At first, she saves her meager earnings, but soon discovers life away from home comes with expenses. Gracie must find a way to fit in and slowly makes friends with her coworkers, but when Margaret Woods takes a fall, breaking her arm, Gracie leaves the staff dormitory to live with Margaret, her husband William, and their two young daughters. While there, Gracie learns what it takes to manage and run the Crestmont Inn, and her dreams must be put on hold.
Weiss creates distinctive characters through realistic description and believable dialogue. The staff at the Crestmont Inn includes unique individuals, from whom Gracie learns and matures as a young woman. When Gracie becomes the caregiver to a neighboring older woman in poor health, she discovers her own inner strengths.
Further, Weiss does a superb job of creating a distinct narrative world for the reader. Her details are authentic and engaging, invoking the aromas of the massive inn kitchen and the beauty and grandeur of the Pennsylvania countryside. One can almost see the morning sun reflecting off the lake, “like tinsel on the trees near the shore.” The building and grounds create the canvas for this finely woven tapestry—the inn itself becomes one of the main characters.
Crestmont is a debut novel for the history buff or for anyone who enjoys entering a past world and remaining there. An enjoyable stay at the inn, with ample staff to meet your needs.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Lenny Kleinfeld Publishes Police Procedural Mystery
Title: Shooters and Chasers
Author: Lenny Kleinfeld
Genre: Mystery Category: Police procedural
ISBN-10: 1594147396 ISBN-13:978-1594147395
Reviewed bt Beth Crowley for MurderByType.wordpress.com and Amazon
Publisher's rating: 5 stars
Reviewer's rating:5 stars
SHOOTERS & CHASERS has everything one would want in a thriller. The shooters are (sort of) identified right at the beginning. The chasers, Chicago Homicide detectives Mark Bergman and John Dunegan, enter the scene soon after. The shooters are sociopaths and the chasers are the kind of characters that I want to meet again. I do hope there is another book on the way.
The book opens in August, 2002 with Meelo Garcia prowling restlessly in a motel room. He can't leave because Oscar told him he can't.
In the second chapter, Naguib Darwahab, a Chicago cabbie originally from Cairo, picks up famed architect Wilson Willets. As Willets is walking toward his house, he is killed by a mugger. Darwahab risks his life by scratching the mugger down his left arm but the murderer runs off and there is nothing that can be done to help Willets.
From that point the books takes off, introducing a cast of characters that is large but who are so distinct that the reader has no problem keeping everyone straight. The plot moves from street crime to the very richest of the rich in Los Angeles and a contest sponsored by the Los Angeles Fine Arts Museum. Along the way there are other murders, a mysterious Englishman, assassins, a public defender who suggests that the murder has elements of the Kennedy assassination, and two police forces, Chicago and Los Angeles, that are not made to look crooked or inept. And...the book is funny. Kleinfeld writes wonderful dialogue even when the dialogue is interior. I don't know how many times I had to stop reading, laugh, catch my breath, and start the process all over again before I could continue reading.
This is a book that will appeal to just about anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers. This is an author who deserves a wide readership. SHOOTER & CHASERS is a wonderful way to spend a day.
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Author: Lenny Kleinfeld
Genre: Mystery Category: Police procedural
ISBN-10: 1594147396 ISBN-13:978-1594147395
Reviewed bt Beth Crowley for MurderByType.wordpress.com and Amazon
Publisher's rating: 5 stars
Reviewer's rating:5 stars
SHOOTERS & CHASERS has everything one would want in a thriller. The shooters are (sort of) identified right at the beginning. The chasers, Chicago Homicide detectives Mark Bergman and John Dunegan, enter the scene soon after. The shooters are sociopaths and the chasers are the kind of characters that I want to meet again. I do hope there is another book on the way.
The book opens in August, 2002 with Meelo Garcia prowling restlessly in a motel room. He can't leave because Oscar told him he can't.
In the second chapter, Naguib Darwahab, a Chicago cabbie originally from Cairo, picks up famed architect Wilson Willets. As Willets is walking toward his house, he is killed by a mugger. Darwahab risks his life by scratching the mugger down his left arm but the murderer runs off and there is nothing that can be done to help Willets.
From that point the books takes off, introducing a cast of characters that is large but who are so distinct that the reader has no problem keeping everyone straight. The plot moves from street crime to the very richest of the rich in Los Angeles and a contest sponsored by the Los Angeles Fine Arts Museum. Along the way there are other murders, a mysterious Englishman, assassins, a public defender who suggests that the murder has elements of the Kennedy assassination, and two police forces, Chicago and Los Angeles, that are not made to look crooked or inept. And...the book is funny. Kleinfeld writes wonderful dialogue even when the dialogue is interior. I don't know how many times I had to stop reading, laugh, catch my breath, and start the process all over again before I could continue reading.
This is a book that will appeal to just about anyone who likes mysteries and thrillers. This is an author who deserves a wide readership. SHOOTER & CHASERS is a wonderful way to spend a day.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Political Science Book Reviewed
Title: Redoubts
Author: Richard J. Johnson
Genre: Nonfiction Political Science
Publisher: CreateSpace (March 13, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1451546467
ISBN-13: 978-1451546460
Review originally published by Richard J. Jonson at New-Books-Reviewed (setup before coming across your site... :) )
Redoubts offers a realistic, non-“PC” examination of the course of western civilization and the forces working against it. A three-tour (military and civilian) Vietnam veteran, former stockbroker, and security specialist, the author explores a number of historical, political, economic, scientific, and cultural topics; providing his positions and unique ideas accentuated with reflections based on a lifetime of personal experiences. The book’s underlying tone harkens the West back to common sense, traditional moral values, individual liberty, minimal government and away from globalist elites' strategy for social change and concentration of power. Available on Amazon.com
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Author: Richard J. Johnson
Genre: Nonfiction Political Science
Publisher: CreateSpace (March 13, 2010)
ISBN-10: 1451546467
ISBN-13: 978-1451546460
Review originally published by Richard J. Jonson at New-Books-Reviewed (setup before coming across your site... :) )
Redoubts offers a realistic, non-“PC” examination of the course of western civilization and the forces working against it. A three-tour (military and civilian) Vietnam veteran, former stockbroker, and security specialist, the author explores a number of historical, political, economic, scientific, and cultural topics; providing his positions and unique ideas accentuated with reflections based on a lifetime of personal experiences. The book’s underlying tone harkens the West back to common sense, traditional moral values, individual liberty, minimal government and away from globalist elites' strategy for social change and concentration of power. Available on Amazon.com
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Writer Talks About Reading Books Meant for Other Industries
Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Published by HowToDoItFrugally.com
Cover by John Quinn
Launched at the National Stationery Show at Javits Center, NY
Reviewed by Sylvia McClain
Sylvia McClain wrote this note to me after we had a discussion about Twitter for writers and I told her I though she would get lots from my new book on Tweeting, even though it isn't written specifically for writers! She made me pretty happy when she wrote back:
Carolyn:
Just read your book on tweeting and what struck me most is Branding, Branding, and more Branding. Whew! Where do I begin? No, I am not a retailer but as you said, there might be something in it for writers, too!
The book, Frugal and Focused Tweeting, said:
YOUR TWITTER MONIKER is as important for your Twitter branding as it is for your e-mail addresses.
My Epiphany:
Duh! was my first thought; no one knew that my Twitter Moniker "rpmenter" stood for RPM Enterprises (my company name) but me. What everyone knew me by was "Scribal Press," my company imprint publishing name, my Web site and my news calendar of writer events. So before I could finish reading the book, I jumped online and immediately changed my Twitter Moniker everywhere not just on Twitter, from "rpmenter" to "Scribal Press." So my Twitter name is now www.twitter.com/scribalpress.
In Chapter Two, page 30, of Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers, you suggested:
I will make ____ useful contacts a week. Twitter contacts include possible customers, but connecting with vendors, bloggers who write about shopping, and business editors at print and online media, etc., can be equally profitable in the long run.
My Epiphany:
I had no idea what number to use but it made me take notice and start thinking.
In Chapter Three, page 36, Frugal and Focused Tweeting talked... about branding using our Twitter biographies and you gave an example of what you would use for your own store.
I needed to go do a new bio on my Twitter account. Why? Branding that's why.
In Chapter Four, page 57, Frugal and Focused Tweeting said:
Tweet about new blog posts, newsletter editions, Web pages. More on this when we talk about integrating your marketing efforts in Chapter Seven.
My Epiphany:
Why I have never thought of this is beyond me.
Anyway, yes you were right again. There is something in this book for everyone, even those who don't think they want to to tweet.
Sincerely,
Sylvia McClain
Blogging at View Points at http://sylviaspeaks.blogspot.com
Book Reviewer at MyShelf.com and Atlantic Publishing Company
Now available, the 2nd Edition of The Write Life
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Published by HowToDoItFrugally.com
Cover by John Quinn
Launched at the National Stationery Show at Javits Center, NY
Reviewed by Sylvia McClain
Sylvia McClain wrote this note to me after we had a discussion about Twitter for writers and I told her I though she would get lots from my new book on Tweeting, even though it isn't written specifically for writers! She made me pretty happy when she wrote back:
Carolyn:
Just read your book on tweeting and what struck me most is Branding, Branding, and more Branding. Whew! Where do I begin? No, I am not a retailer but as you said, there might be something in it for writers, too!
The book, Frugal and Focused Tweeting, said:
YOUR TWITTER MONIKER is as important for your Twitter branding as it is for your e-mail addresses.
My Epiphany:
Duh! was my first thought; no one knew that my Twitter Moniker "rpmenter" stood for RPM Enterprises (my company name) but me. What everyone knew me by was "Scribal Press," my company imprint publishing name, my Web site and my news calendar of writer events. So before I could finish reading the book, I jumped online and immediately changed my Twitter Moniker everywhere not just on Twitter, from "rpmenter" to "Scribal Press." So my Twitter name is now www.twitter.com/scribalpress.
In Chapter Two, page 30, of Frugal and Focused Tweeting for Retailers, you suggested:
I will make ____ useful contacts a week. Twitter contacts include possible customers, but connecting with vendors, bloggers who write about shopping, and business editors at print and online media, etc., can be equally profitable in the long run.
My Epiphany:
I had no idea what number to use but it made me take notice and start thinking.
In Chapter Three, page 36, Frugal and Focused Tweeting talked... about branding using our Twitter biographies and you gave an example of what you would use for your own store.
I needed to go do a new bio on my Twitter account. Why? Branding that's why.
In Chapter Four, page 57, Frugal and Focused Tweeting said:
Tweet about new blog posts, newsletter editions, Web pages. More on this when we talk about integrating your marketing efforts in Chapter Seven.
My Epiphany:
Why I have never thought of this is beyond me.
Anyway, yes you were right again. There is something in this book for everyone, even those who don't think they want to to tweet.
Sincerely,
Sylvia McClain
Blogging at View Points at http://sylviaspeaks.blogspot.com
Book Reviewer at MyShelf.com and Atlantic Publishing Company
Now available, the 2nd Edition of The Write Life
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Sunday, 1 August 2010
Tweeting Anyone? Paul Vogel Reviews for Midwest Books
Unknown
01:44
midwest book review, Nonfiction: Business, Nonfiction: Retailing, Nonfiction: Tech, Paul T. Vogel (reviewer)
0
MBR Bookwatch: June 2010
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
Vogel's Bookshelf
Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
HoJoNews@aol.com
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
9781451546149, $17.95,
www.amazon.com
Reviewed by Paul T. Vogel for Midwest Review
No 'brick and mortar' business can survive in today's marketplace without including the advances in communications technology represented by the computer, the internet, web sites, the Blackberry, Facebook, blogging, and now -- twittering. That's why Carolyn Howard-Johnson's "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" should be considered mandatory reading for all business managers over the age of 30. And that's because younger generations than that, the phenomena of twittering is already well established and near universally entrenched. Using 'social media' communications technology is vital for successfully competing in the marketplace regardless of the services or products being offered to a consuming public. "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" is a 130-page compendium of invaluable, practical, instruction, tips, and techniques for integrating this new technology into marketing and management, maximizing results for publicity, promotion, advertisements, and sales; customer relations; internal communications, and more, making "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" an invaluable and highly recommended addition for personal, professional, academic, and community library instructional reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
Vogel's Bookshelf
Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
HowToDoItFrugally Publishing
HoJoNews@aol.com
www.howtodoitfrugally.com
9781451546149, $17.95,
www.amazon.com
Reviewed by Paul T. Vogel for Midwest Review
No 'brick and mortar' business can survive in today's marketplace without including the advances in communications technology represented by the computer, the internet, web sites, the Blackberry, Facebook, blogging, and now -- twittering. That's why Carolyn Howard-Johnson's "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" should be considered mandatory reading for all business managers over the age of 30. And that's because younger generations than that, the phenomena of twittering is already well established and near universally entrenched. Using 'social media' communications technology is vital for successfully competing in the marketplace regardless of the services or products being offered to a consuming public. "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" is a 130-page compendium of invaluable, practical, instruction, tips, and techniques for integrating this new technology into marketing and management, maximizing results for publicity, promotion, advertisements, and sales; customer relations; internal communications, and more, making "Frugal And Focused Tweeting For Retailers" an invaluable and highly recommended addition for personal, professional, academic, and community library instructional reference collections and supplemental reading lists.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Saturday, 31 July 2010
New First in a Mystery Series Reviewed
Title: Blood of the Wicked
Author: Leighton Gage
Genre: Mystery Category: Police Procedural
ISBN-10: 156944702
ISBN-13: 978-156947709
Review Originally Published: Murder By Type 6/28/2010
Amazon Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Murder By Type Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Beth Crowley for Murderbytype.wordpress.com
BLOOD OF THE WICKED opens with the assassination of a Catholic bishop. Moments after he steps off a helicopter in Cascatas to dedicate a church, Bishop Antunes is killed by a sniper’s shot. His death immediately pits the Landless Workers’ League, the poor, against the land owners, the very rich, who want to it believed that the murder was a plot by the League.
The church in Brazil is divided into those who follow the rules set by the Vatican and those who are still in sympathy with the principles of liberation theology. Gage makes reference to the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was shot while offering Mass in San Salvador. Romero was becoming increasingly supportive of the liberation theology movement, which interprets the teachings of Christ as calling for liberation from economic, political, and social conditions that deprive the poor of basic necessities and human decency. The military in San Salvador took responsibility for the death of Romero but which side, the landless workers or the land owners, had the most to gain by the clergyman’s death. Bishop Antunes, murdered before he stepped into the church building, was an unknown quantity. Did he support the Landless Workers’ League in violation of the directives from Rome or did he support the land owners who controlled the government?
Mario Silva, Chief Inspector for Criminal Matters for the federal police of Brazil, is called upon to bring the matter of the bishop’s murder to a quick and successful close. To the politicians who try to influence Silva, that means finding the killer among the landless workers. But, once in Cascatas, Silva’s case expands to include drug peddling, the emergence of a serial killer, the deaths of those who try to learn the truth, and a population in terror of its police.
There is a great deal of blood in this story and there is a seemingly endless parade of the wicked. There are few heroes either, including Silva, a man with a strong moral code but a code, nonetheless, that recognizes the corrupt and ineffectual justice system in his country. He is a man who has also been motivated by vengeance. There are heroes in unexpected places but even the heroes are bathed in the blood of the wicked.
Leighton Gage has written a story that demands that once started, must be finished without interruption. As flawed as Mario is, he is the image of right against might. When it seems that all the depravity has been revealed, there is still more. The church harbors saints and sinners and sometimes they are the same people. Those sworn to serve and protect the people are the worst perpetrators of violence against the innocent. Gage does what seems impossible and brings the story to an end that is real and just when there isn’t any hope for justice.
BLOOD OF THE WICKED is the first in the Mario Silva series. The reader can only hope that the author has a long and prolific career.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Author: Leighton Gage
Genre: Mystery Category: Police Procedural
ISBN-10: 156944702
ISBN-13: 978-156947709
Review Originally Published: Murder By Type 6/28/2010
Amazon Rating: 4 1/2 stars
Murder By Type Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Beth Crowley for Murderbytype.wordpress.com
BLOOD OF THE WICKED opens with the assassination of a Catholic bishop. Moments after he steps off a helicopter in Cascatas to dedicate a church, Bishop Antunes is killed by a sniper’s shot. His death immediately pits the Landless Workers’ League, the poor, against the land owners, the very rich, who want to it believed that the murder was a plot by the League.
The church in Brazil is divided into those who follow the rules set by the Vatican and those who are still in sympathy with the principles of liberation theology. Gage makes reference to the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was shot while offering Mass in San Salvador. Romero was becoming increasingly supportive of the liberation theology movement, which interprets the teachings of Christ as calling for liberation from economic, political, and social conditions that deprive the poor of basic necessities and human decency. The military in San Salvador took responsibility for the death of Romero but which side, the landless workers or the land owners, had the most to gain by the clergyman’s death. Bishop Antunes, murdered before he stepped into the church building, was an unknown quantity. Did he support the Landless Workers’ League in violation of the directives from Rome or did he support the land owners who controlled the government?
Mario Silva, Chief Inspector for Criminal Matters for the federal police of Brazil, is called upon to bring the matter of the bishop’s murder to a quick and successful close. To the politicians who try to influence Silva, that means finding the killer among the landless workers. But, once in Cascatas, Silva’s case expands to include drug peddling, the emergence of a serial killer, the deaths of those who try to learn the truth, and a population in terror of its police.
There is a great deal of blood in this story and there is a seemingly endless parade of the wicked. There are few heroes either, including Silva, a man with a strong moral code but a code, nonetheless, that recognizes the corrupt and ineffectual justice system in his country. He is a man who has also been motivated by vengeance. There are heroes in unexpected places but even the heroes are bathed in the blood of the wicked.
Leighton Gage has written a story that demands that once started, must be finished without interruption. As flawed as Mario is, he is the image of right against might. When it seems that all the depravity has been revealed, there is still more. The church harbors saints and sinners and sometimes they are the same people. Those sworn to serve and protect the people are the worst perpetrators of violence against the innocent. Gage does what seems impossible and brings the story to an end that is real and just when there isn’t any hope for justice.
BLOOD OF THE WICKED is the first in the Mario Silva series. The reader can only hope that the author has a long and prolific career.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Comedian Ruth Buzzi Reviews "Dear Austin"
Dear Austin – A Letter To My Son
by David M. Perkins
Non-fiction / Parenting
ISBN-13: 978-1453655399
www.davidmperkins.com
Amazon.com listing
Genre: Nonfiction
5 Stars
Reviewed by Ruth Buzzi for Amazon.com
"Taking parenting to a new level, this book expresses what we all should have heard from our Dads when we first left home.
My Dad encouraged me to follow my dreams and, at the age of 17, put me on a plane to California to attend college at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts. Some were skeptical, some laughed at my intentions. But Dad gave me the honor of trusting my judgment and loving me enough to let me go and follow my dreams. I was the first member of my family to have ever flown on an airplane, and had never even been away at summer camp.
Five decades later, I have a wonderful career behind me and not only lots of wonderful memories, a few nice recognitions of my work including the Television Hall of Fame, a Golden Globe award and 5 Emmy nominations. It didn't happen overnight, it took a few years....but the first day I was actually on national television as a comedic actress on the Garry Moore Show was, tragically, the same day we buried my Dad. A wonderful, thoughtful and insightful man, Angelo Buzzi is still with me, to this day, with his words of inspiration and encouragement.
The author of this book shares with the reader a parting letter with his son, who's also going off to college for the first time, and these are words of wisdom, brutal honesty, and encouragement in the stark light of reality. This book took me back to the day at the airport when I hugged my Dad and thanked him for believing in me. His words helped make me what I am today, and I'm sure Austin will set his goals very high and reach a great many of them, based on the way his father empowered him with this letter.
I strongly recommend this – it's a perfect gift for anyone graduating from college or high school, or for any parent you may know who holds the reigns a little too tightly on someone with great potential but who's not blessed with enough freedom to learn to fly."
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
by David M. Perkins
Non-fiction / Parenting
ISBN-13: 978-1453655399
www.davidmperkins.com
Amazon.com listing
Genre: Nonfiction
5 Stars
Reviewed by Ruth Buzzi for Amazon.com
"Taking parenting to a new level, this book expresses what we all should have heard from our Dads when we first left home.
My Dad encouraged me to follow my dreams and, at the age of 17, put me on a plane to California to attend college at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts. Some were skeptical, some laughed at my intentions. But Dad gave me the honor of trusting my judgment and loving me enough to let me go and follow my dreams. I was the first member of my family to have ever flown on an airplane, and had never even been away at summer camp.
Five decades later, I have a wonderful career behind me and not only lots of wonderful memories, a few nice recognitions of my work including the Television Hall of Fame, a Golden Globe award and 5 Emmy nominations. It didn't happen overnight, it took a few years....but the first day I was actually on national television as a comedic actress on the Garry Moore Show was, tragically, the same day we buried my Dad. A wonderful, thoughtful and insightful man, Angelo Buzzi is still with me, to this day, with his words of inspiration and encouragement.
The author of this book shares with the reader a parting letter with his son, who's also going off to college for the first time, and these are words of wisdom, brutal honesty, and encouragement in the stark light of reality. This book took me back to the day at the airport when I hugged my Dad and thanked him for believing in me. His words helped make me what I am today, and I'm sure Austin will set his goals very high and reach a great many of them, based on the way his father empowered him with this letter.
I strongly recommend this – it's a perfect gift for anyone graduating from college or high school, or for any parent you may know who holds the reigns a little too tightly on someone with great potential but who's not blessed with enough freedom to learn to fly."
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Wesley Britton Compares Beatles Books
The Beatles: The Biography
By Bob Spitz
Little, Brown and Co., 2005
Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America
By Jonathan Gould
Random House, 2007
Review by: Wesley Britton originally posted at Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook
One might have thought that by 2005, new biographies of The Beatles would have become major exercises in the redundant. Still, they keep coming, and it seems the history and legend are an apparent bottomless well of fascination for writers and readers alike. From time to time, such titles do warrant attention for their fresh perspectives to the saga, and Bob Spitz and Jonathan Gould both deserve close readings, albeit for very different reasons.
After the admittedly sanitized and truncated authorized bio by Hunter Davies in 1968, the elephant in the room arrived in 1981 with Philip Norman’s Shout!, which purported to be as detailed and researched as any one volume history can be. But Shout! was marred with a clear bias toward the contributions of John Lennon. Over the years, Norman took heed to criticisms of his lack of objectivity, and in 2005 put out an updated version which allegedly cleans up that misstep and includes more recent events in the lives of Paul, George, and Ringo.
For my money, in 1984 Peter Brown and Stephen Gaines’ The Love You Make did Norman a few turns better as Brown was not only an insider to the original events, but maintained an access to participants that gave his book a bit more depth and a more balanced overview. Then, of course, the 2000 Anthology claimed to be the final word on the subject, the story told by the lads themselves. Along the way, we got books on individual Beatles on their own—my favorite remaining Pete Shotton’s 1987 memories of John in In My Life. So, what would be left for a new historian to uncover all these years later?
To Bob Spitz’s credit, he returned to primary sources to more-or-less retell the story from scratch, supplementing the public records with new interviews and documents Albert Goldman didn’t use in his largely discredited bio of John Lennon. Strangely, while Spitz refers to a number of sources throughout the text and notes, he barely mentions Norman. This is most surprising, especially in the notes, leaving the reader to infer reasons why Shout! doesn’t count. Well, it does. While it’s been years since I read the first edition, I did notice matters Norman explored but Spitz didn’t, such as more on the come-and-go drummers in the early days and what the Beatles did in their off hours in Hamburg. I especially remember one chapter on “Apple Scruffs” where Norman talked with the star-struck girls who haunted Beatles HQ. While not essential to the Beatles story, Norman clearly went into corners Spitz didn’t.
The major distinction between these books is mainly that of emphasis and not so much the minutia of who did what and when. Spitz tells the story with detailed economy, revealing little new I noticed, although his conversations with Liverpool contemporaries like Rory Storm do add perspectives about the band’s place in the club scene in the very early ‘60s. I did spot Spitz trimming off tales that couldn’t be confirmed. For example, one tale repeated in many sources is that Stu Sutcliffe’s brain hemorrhage was caused by a beating after a Beatles concert. While Spitz notes the occasional violence the band suffered on the road, he makes no direct connection to Sutcliffe’s later health and the beatings, and rightly so. Without medical records ascribing Sutcliffe’s decline to a specific concussion, there’s no tangible evidence to support the myth that Sutcliffe was the first Beatle martyr. I could be wrong, but Spitz may have more on the private life of Brian Epstein than previous histories. The tragedy and surprising emptiness of his life are sketched in increasingly sad detail, ending with an overdose that was almost a foregone conclusion. Oh, as with most reliable sources, Spitz doesn’t even mention the story of a youthful record buyer coming to NEMS looking for a Beatle record, the first time Epstein supposedly heard of the band. The evidence clearly shows that Epstein sold and advertised in Mersey Beat, a local paper that promoted the group in nearly every issue.
Very unlike Norman, the trail Spitz traces is about a band largely led by Paul McCartney after Beatlemania, John Lennon being the most reluctant Beatle once heroine and Yoko come into play. In fact, without Spitz editorializing any points, Yoko Ono once again takes on her “Dragon Lady” garb, her presence the obvious impetus for the band’s latter day turmoil in the studio. This isn’t to say George’s understandable resentments and Paul’s heavy-handedness aren’t on display—in fact, Bob Spitz should be credited with the most balanced and most human history of a group that soared very high based on its talents and timing before plummeting due to naivety, a lack of business acumen, drugs, leeches, egos, and the loss of the energy and commitment that bonded the Fabs together in the first place.
In short, Bob Spitz’s biography is as good as a blow-by-blow account of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in one book can be. Anyone who knows the story will find few new surprises, but perhaps will have a different take on events, perhaps.
But revelations are aplenty in Jonathan Gould’s occasionally superb Can’t Buy Me Love. Gould isn’t interested in a day-by-day retelling of the saga. Instead, Gould focuses on the music and the cultural and sociological contexts that influenced the group and shaped their destinies while showcasing why they were able to break new ground both intuitively and deliberately. No where else have I read the linguistic background for the Liverpool accents, and how the Beatles emphasized their Northern heritage in their public speaking. Gould makes original observations such as noting “All You Need is Love” did debut on the international “One World” broadcast, but few Americans knew about it or saw it. The special was only sporadically aired on a number of Public Broadcasting stations in the states, the song following apparently boring sequences such as the ins and outs of soybean farms. I didn’t know “And Your Bird Can Sing” had nothing to do with girls but was instead John Lennon’s response to a press release in which Frank Sinatra mocked the Beatles. According to Gould, the partnership of John, Paul, and George in songwriting and playing was unique as it all happened among themselves as an insulated group of teenagers listening to and imitating records , not as musicians who came together later in life mixing and blending their influences.
Gould elaborates on many points long discussed by critics, such as the idea that America responded so deeply to the Beatles because of the emotional grief after the death of President Kennedy. But Gould nails down this speculation by quoting authorities who discovered that teenagers, more so than any other demographic, reacted to the assassination so strongly. Likewise, the idea that Decca executives fouled up badly when they rejected the group and Capitol Records were tone deaf when they drug their feet turned out to be very rational decisions at the time. As Gould states simply, the “Beatles choked” during their Decca auditions. No news there, but if Decca had signed them, then we wouldn’t have had the guiding hand of George Martin in the studio. No “Please Please Me” and likely no Beatlemania. Had Capitol issued “Please Please Me” when it was new, then the timing of the British Invasion would not have coincided so perfectly with an American cultural climate so receptive to the Beatles. Not to mention the fact Meet The Beatles was a far superior debut than Please Please Me.
I suspect most readers will find Gould’s study one to skim as many sections take their time to explore the definitions of terms like “charisma” and “mod” and thus the tome often takes on the tone of a reference volume. Other sections showcase Gould’s considerable musical knowledge, analyzing the anatomy of many of the Beatles most significant numbers. But Gould’s conclusions are more than arguable—he praises “Here, There, and Everywhere” as being a songwriting departure for the group and offers any number of technical and lyrical comments that are either tedious or overblown. For Beatle fans, such observations can serve as a bit of a game—that sounds right, no, don’t buy that at all . . .
Both these volumes demonstrate there are still writers who can offer new twists and insights into the story of the greatest rock band of all time, but I still suspect the well is drying. As those who were there disappear and memories dim, the only new perspectives will be about the Beatles place in the present and future, not the past.
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Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” which features interviews with a wide range of entertainers. Past programs are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. He is also author of four books on espionage and runs www.spywise.net. Wes teaches English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Bob Spitz
Little, Brown and Co., 2005
Can’t Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America
By Jonathan Gould
Random House, 2007
Review by: Wesley Britton originally posted at Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook
One might have thought that by 2005, new biographies of The Beatles would have become major exercises in the redundant. Still, they keep coming, and it seems the history and legend are an apparent bottomless well of fascination for writers and readers alike. From time to time, such titles do warrant attention for their fresh perspectives to the saga, and Bob Spitz and Jonathan Gould both deserve close readings, albeit for very different reasons.
After the admittedly sanitized and truncated authorized bio by Hunter Davies in 1968, the elephant in the room arrived in 1981 with Philip Norman’s Shout!, which purported to be as detailed and researched as any one volume history can be. But Shout! was marred with a clear bias toward the contributions of John Lennon. Over the years, Norman took heed to criticisms of his lack of objectivity, and in 2005 put out an updated version which allegedly cleans up that misstep and includes more recent events in the lives of Paul, George, and Ringo.
For my money, in 1984 Peter Brown and Stephen Gaines’ The Love You Make did Norman a few turns better as Brown was not only an insider to the original events, but maintained an access to participants that gave his book a bit more depth and a more balanced overview. Then, of course, the 2000 Anthology claimed to be the final word on the subject, the story told by the lads themselves. Along the way, we got books on individual Beatles on their own—my favorite remaining Pete Shotton’s 1987 memories of John in In My Life. So, what would be left for a new historian to uncover all these years later?
To Bob Spitz’s credit, he returned to primary sources to more-or-less retell the story from scratch, supplementing the public records with new interviews and documents Albert Goldman didn’t use in his largely discredited bio of John Lennon. Strangely, while Spitz refers to a number of sources throughout the text and notes, he barely mentions Norman. This is most surprising, especially in the notes, leaving the reader to infer reasons why Shout! doesn’t count. Well, it does. While it’s been years since I read the first edition, I did notice matters Norman explored but Spitz didn’t, such as more on the come-and-go drummers in the early days and what the Beatles did in their off hours in Hamburg. I especially remember one chapter on “Apple Scruffs” where Norman talked with the star-struck girls who haunted Beatles HQ. While not essential to the Beatles story, Norman clearly went into corners Spitz didn’t.
The major distinction between these books is mainly that of emphasis and not so much the minutia of who did what and when. Spitz tells the story with detailed economy, revealing little new I noticed, although his conversations with Liverpool contemporaries like Rory Storm do add perspectives about the band’s place in the club scene in the very early ‘60s. I did spot Spitz trimming off tales that couldn’t be confirmed. For example, one tale repeated in many sources is that Stu Sutcliffe’s brain hemorrhage was caused by a beating after a Beatles concert. While Spitz notes the occasional violence the band suffered on the road, he makes no direct connection to Sutcliffe’s later health and the beatings, and rightly so. Without medical records ascribing Sutcliffe’s decline to a specific concussion, there’s no tangible evidence to support the myth that Sutcliffe was the first Beatle martyr. I could be wrong, but Spitz may have more on the private life of Brian Epstein than previous histories. The tragedy and surprising emptiness of his life are sketched in increasingly sad detail, ending with an overdose that was almost a foregone conclusion. Oh, as with most reliable sources, Spitz doesn’t even mention the story of a youthful record buyer coming to NEMS looking for a Beatle record, the first time Epstein supposedly heard of the band. The evidence clearly shows that Epstein sold and advertised in Mersey Beat, a local paper that promoted the group in nearly every issue.
Very unlike Norman, the trail Spitz traces is about a band largely led by Paul McCartney after Beatlemania, John Lennon being the most reluctant Beatle once heroine and Yoko come into play. In fact, without Spitz editorializing any points, Yoko Ono once again takes on her “Dragon Lady” garb, her presence the obvious impetus for the band’s latter day turmoil in the studio. This isn’t to say George’s understandable resentments and Paul’s heavy-handedness aren’t on display—in fact, Bob Spitz should be credited with the most balanced and most human history of a group that soared very high based on its talents and timing before plummeting due to naivety, a lack of business acumen, drugs, leeches, egos, and the loss of the energy and commitment that bonded the Fabs together in the first place.
In short, Bob Spitz’s biography is as good as a blow-by-blow account of John, Paul, George, and Ringo in one book can be. Anyone who knows the story will find few new surprises, but perhaps will have a different take on events, perhaps.
But revelations are aplenty in Jonathan Gould’s occasionally superb Can’t Buy Me Love. Gould isn’t interested in a day-by-day retelling of the saga. Instead, Gould focuses on the music and the cultural and sociological contexts that influenced the group and shaped their destinies while showcasing why they were able to break new ground both intuitively and deliberately. No where else have I read the linguistic background for the Liverpool accents, and how the Beatles emphasized their Northern heritage in their public speaking. Gould makes original observations such as noting “All You Need is Love” did debut on the international “One World” broadcast, but few Americans knew about it or saw it. The special was only sporadically aired on a number of Public Broadcasting stations in the states, the song following apparently boring sequences such as the ins and outs of soybean farms. I didn’t know “And Your Bird Can Sing” had nothing to do with girls but was instead John Lennon’s response to a press release in which Frank Sinatra mocked the Beatles. According to Gould, the partnership of John, Paul, and George in songwriting and playing was unique as it all happened among themselves as an insulated group of teenagers listening to and imitating records , not as musicians who came together later in life mixing and blending their influences.
Gould elaborates on many points long discussed by critics, such as the idea that America responded so deeply to the Beatles because of the emotional grief after the death of President Kennedy. But Gould nails down this speculation by quoting authorities who discovered that teenagers, more so than any other demographic, reacted to the assassination so strongly. Likewise, the idea that Decca executives fouled up badly when they rejected the group and Capitol Records were tone deaf when they drug their feet turned out to be very rational decisions at the time. As Gould states simply, the “Beatles choked” during their Decca auditions. No news there, but if Decca had signed them, then we wouldn’t have had the guiding hand of George Martin in the studio. No “Please Please Me” and likely no Beatlemania. Had Capitol issued “Please Please Me” when it was new, then the timing of the British Invasion would not have coincided so perfectly with an American cultural climate so receptive to the Beatles. Not to mention the fact Meet The Beatles was a far superior debut than Please Please Me.
I suspect most readers will find Gould’s study one to skim as many sections take their time to explore the definitions of terms like “charisma” and “mod” and thus the tome often takes on the tone of a reference volume. Other sections showcase Gould’s considerable musical knowledge, analyzing the anatomy of many of the Beatles most significant numbers. But Gould’s conclusions are more than arguable—he praises “Here, There, and Everywhere” as being a songwriting departure for the group and offers any number of technical and lyrical comments that are either tedious or overblown. For Beatle fans, such observations can serve as a bit of a game—that sounds right, no, don’t buy that at all . . .
Both these volumes demonstrate there are still writers who can offer new twists and insights into the story of the greatest rock band of all time, but I still suspect the well is drying. As those who were there disappear and memories dim, the only new perspectives will be about the Beatles place in the present and future, not the past.
---
Reviewer Dr. Wesley Britton is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” which features interviews with a wide range of entertainers. Past programs are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. He is also author of four books on espionage and runs www.spywise.net. Wes teaches English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Mosquito Marketing Recommended for Authors
Mosquito Marketing
By Michelle Dunn
ISBN 1453605304
Self Published
I have a motto: "Reading one book on book promotion is never enough."
Thus, I recommend Michelle Dunn's Mosquito Marketing, a book full of book-marketing essentials. Though I seldom weigh in on this blog myself, here is the heartfelt recommendation I wrote to Michelle, complete with disclaimer:
Dear Michelle:
Congratulations on a job well done! In the writing. In the accumulation of knowledge. And in the production. I shall recommend Mosquito Marketing to my UCLA students and my clients--every single one of them!
Yes, you may use that as an endorsement, though you may not want to because I am in the book. Thus I may appear biased. The thing is, I would have said the same thing even if I had no part in it! (-:
So, it's going up on my Web site (the Resources for Writers section) right now! And into my recommendation list for my students. Soon. (-:
Thank you so much. Mosquito Marketing (ISBN 1453605304) will be a valued part of books I am part of--ones that I keep in a special reference (and brag!) library. Great work!
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Michelle Dunn
ISBN 1453605304
Self Published
I have a motto: "Reading one book on book promotion is never enough."
Thus, I recommend Michelle Dunn's Mosquito Marketing, a book full of book-marketing essentials. Though I seldom weigh in on this blog myself, here is the heartfelt recommendation I wrote to Michelle, complete with disclaimer:
Dear Michelle:
Congratulations on a job well done! In the writing. In the accumulation of knowledge. And in the production. I shall recommend Mosquito Marketing to my UCLA students and my clients--every single one of them!
Yes, you may use that as an endorsement, though you may not want to because I am in the book. Thus I may appear biased. The thing is, I would have said the same thing even if I had no part in it! (-:
So, it's going up on my Web site (the Resources for Writers section) right now! And into my recommendation list for my students. Soon. (-:
Thank you so much. Mosquito Marketing (ISBN 1453605304) will be a valued part of books I am part of--ones that I keep in a special reference (and brag!) library. Great work!
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Friday, 16 July 2010
Meander Scar
By Lisa Lickel
Inspirational Romance/Contemporary
ISBN: 978-1-934912-23-2
Reviewed by Shawna K. Williams, originally for Amazon
I truly loved and appreciated this book. Every bit of it -- story, plot, writing, setting, and characters! I'll be honest, sometimes I get tired of reading another romance with a formulaic feel. (Boy meets girl, they hate each other for some reason, but they can't stop thinking about each other. They get together and everything is great for a while, but either boy or girl has some dark secret that threatens to tear them apart. It does, but then they work it out and everybody lives happily ever after.)
Okay, it's not that there's anything wrong with that. There are plenty of entertaining stories that are molded around that setup. But since I do read so many, when I come across a well written book, where the story is molded around characters and events on several different levels, I'm hooked. I'm not just hooked, I'm enamored.
And I'm enamored with Meander Scar.
Everything about it was unique. And I don't mean weird. The story had its own individual mold and that's because the pacing and drama was completely controlled by the characters. This gave it a true to life feel with plenty of depth, complexity, and total believability. And it took me on an emotional journey -- which was heart-wrenching in places -- but also moved me on a deep level.
From the very beginning Lisa Lickel gives the reader something to think about by introducing Ann's situation, where her life is in a state of limbo. From there, we get to chew on the controversy of romance and age difference. There are lessons in grief, lessons in letting go, lessons in closure and forgiveness - lessons in faith. I just loved this book!
One of the most touching parts in the story is near the end, when Mark discovers a diary of Ann's. It's a journey of her feelings and insecurities from the moment he came back into her life, and when he read it, I wanted to cry.
If any of you have read Nicholas Sparks', A walk to Remember, you may recall that it ends with a single, powerful line. There's some speculation as to what actually happens, but that line offers the reader tremendous hope. The ending to Meander Scar has a similar feel. I thought it was perfect.
Reviewer Biography:
Shawna K. Williams - Grace-Inspired Fiction
No Other, May, 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
In All Things, Nov., 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
Orphaned Hearts, Dec., 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
http://shawnakwilliams.com/
http://shawnawilliams-oldsmobile.blogspot.com/
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Lisa Lickel
Inspirational Romance/Contemporary
ISBN: 978-1-934912-23-2
Reviewed by Shawna K. Williams, originally for Amazon
I truly loved and appreciated this book. Every bit of it -- story, plot, writing, setting, and characters! I'll be honest, sometimes I get tired of reading another romance with a formulaic feel. (Boy meets girl, they hate each other for some reason, but they can't stop thinking about each other. They get together and everything is great for a while, but either boy or girl has some dark secret that threatens to tear them apart. It does, but then they work it out and everybody lives happily ever after.)
Okay, it's not that there's anything wrong with that. There are plenty of entertaining stories that are molded around that setup. But since I do read so many, when I come across a well written book, where the story is molded around characters and events on several different levels, I'm hooked. I'm not just hooked, I'm enamored.
And I'm enamored with Meander Scar.
Everything about it was unique. And I don't mean weird. The story had its own individual mold and that's because the pacing and drama was completely controlled by the characters. This gave it a true to life feel with plenty of depth, complexity, and total believability. And it took me on an emotional journey -- which was heart-wrenching in places -- but also moved me on a deep level.
From the very beginning Lisa Lickel gives the reader something to think about by introducing Ann's situation, where her life is in a state of limbo. From there, we get to chew on the controversy of romance and age difference. There are lessons in grief, lessons in letting go, lessons in closure and forgiveness - lessons in faith. I just loved this book!
One of the most touching parts in the story is near the end, when Mark discovers a diary of Ann's. It's a journey of her feelings and insecurities from the moment he came back into her life, and when he read it, I wanted to cry.
If any of you have read Nicholas Sparks', A walk to Remember, you may recall that it ends with a single, powerful line. There's some speculation as to what actually happens, but that line offers the reader tremendous hope. The ending to Meander Scar has a similar feel. I thought it was perfect.
Reviewer Biography:
Shawna K. Williams - Grace-Inspired Fiction
No Other, May, 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
In All Things, Nov., 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
Orphaned Hearts, Dec., 2010. Desert Breeze Publishing
http://shawnakwilliams.com/
http://shawnawilliams-oldsmobile.blogspot.com/
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Entertainment Reviewer Talks about Book on Eric Clapton, George Harrison and More
Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me
(Titled Wonderful Today for U.K. edition.)
By Patti Boyd and Penny Junor
Harmony Books, Aug. 2007
Reviewed by: Wesley Britton originally posted at Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook
Rock muses are a unique breed of women, at least in terms of those who’ve been immortalized in the words and melodies of those they inspired. Perhaps the best sampling would be the most select of all rock and roll women’s clubs—Beatle wives. After all, they came from a wide range of backgrounds—a Japanese artist, New York photographer, a Liverpool-bred hairdresser . . . there was even Heather Mills, once a seemingly fairy-tale consolation for a grieving songster. Then, in a flash, she publicly devolved into a shrill gold-digger of epic proportions. Mills not only made Nicole Smith seem a rank amateur in the profession, her stint on Dancing With The Stars made it clear, if anyone needed further evidence, that the term “star” now has less meaning than many rocker’s vows of marital fidelity. But I digress.
Going back in time, there were the ballads of John and Yoko, Paul and Linda, and then the apparently mature unions of Ringo and Barbara, George and Olivia. Each of these are stories unto themselves, each as distinct as the couples involved. And before them were the ballads of the first Beatle wives—Cynthia, Maureen, Patti Boyd, and, more or less, Jane Asher. All their stories are as well known as any aspect of the Beatle myth and each shared something in common—being married to big-time rock stars meant dealing with young men enjoying sexual opportunities that were the envy of mere mortals like thee and me. In addition, these women lived with huge chunks of lonely time where their mates were out on the road or lost in their own worlds when they did come home. All this is on record, as it were, in multiple books and histories. So, what can another autobiography offer that pulls back the curtains and shed new light on the old legends?
In terms of who did what and when and with whom, Patti Boyd doesn’t have much new to share. How could she? Even before meeting George Harrison on the set of A Hard Day’s Night, she was becoming a “star” in her own right, a model with a growing list of impressive photographic credentials. As Cynthia Lennon observed in her own memoir, A Twist of Lennon (1978), this was one reason the Liverpool wives—Cyn and Maureen—had misgivings about the new Beatle lass. After all, they had been there from the beginning and George bringing a sexy model into the fold seemed a bit of showing off. No wonder that Patti’s memories don’t focus much on Cynthia, but Maureen turns out to be the picture of betrayal—first a seeming close friend, then the Beatle wife who jumped beds from the drummer to the guitarist, not only under Patti’s nose but in her own house.
Again, nothing new in these stories. They simply remind us that in this circle of friends, women were as disposable as pillowcases, and the male bonds of musicians trumped all else. How else could Ringo, George, and then Eric Clapton remain close collaborators for decades after their best mates stole their girls? Patti’s descriptions of life with George does shed some insight into this mindset largely because of her own perseverance and own repeated forgiveness of her men. After all, life with George did bring with it the highest of highs in every sense of the word. Patti’s travelogue of her adventures in the ‘60s is filled with some of the excitement of those days, especially the physical and spiritual journeys in India. The years of 1966 and 1967 were expansive for both the Harrisons, with Patti joining her husband in vegetarianism, TM, and Eastern mysticism. Well, it was actually Patti who introduced George to the idea of meeting the maharishi mahesh yogi which means she was the one to light the spark that became the “Year of the Guru” which, in turn, opened the doors for all things ultimately called New Age.
Then, as with all Beatle matters, things fell apart on the home front. Here, I did get the sense I was getting new glimpses into the psychology of George. What is clear is his obsessive nature that led him into taking hours to chant and meditate, then party to the hilt, then meditate and chant to the extreme, and so on. Patti understood the withdrawal she felt when George was apparently in a creative state, but saw herself shut out when, even sharing the same house, she didn’t have a husband to communicate with. Later, she blames herself for not putting her foot down and insisting on the pair working on their relationship. But there was this fella named Eric Clapton and a song called “Layla.”
In Patti’s account, and I doubt she intended this, EC comes across as even less sympathetic than he did in his own autobiography, which coincidently was published at the same time. (See my review posted here Nov. 24, 2009.) In Clapton’s own words, the ‘70s onward were all periods of addiction, first heroine, then alcohol. He admits that wooing Patti was torturous, but once he had her, he relegated her to being his domestic housekeeper for whom appreciation just wasn’t in him. Patti was in a position where the house gardener ignored her and her allowance was entirely dependent on Clapton’s management. For me, one moment said it all—when Clapton’s son Connor was born. For Eric, he was consumed with joy. For Patti, it was astonishing her husband would want her to share his feelings considering Connor was born to another woman with whom Eric still wanted to share time. Here was Patti, childless, seeking medical help for the miracle that would make her a mother. Here was Eric, trumpeting a birth that should have prompted Patti to send him packing.
That finally does happen, and here’s where the comparison with Heather Mills comes in. After years of Patti suffering with Eric’s nearly monthly brushes with death, Clapton and his manager, Roger Forrester, hung her out to dry with minimal support. To a degree, this ended up being to Patti’s betterment as she was forced to find a new career, and she found creative fulfillment switching from modeling to photography.
While she didn’t make this comparison herself, one of her final passages struck me. Patti described the difference between illusion and reality, that of being a model posing for pictures and being the woman who had to try to live up to the expectations people had of the faces they saw on magazine covers. In her later years, Patti had found contentment not trying to live the image. For me, this seemed a parallel for the woman called “Layla” created by EC and the woman he finally conquered. The image inside his creative heart inspired him—but the real Patti Boyd was just another needle in his arm. We listeners have a similar relationship with the musicians who gave us the songs that defined our lives. We have the imagery and sounds we treasure juxtaposed against the reality upon which the transcendent was based. For Patti and Eric, the song “Wonderful Tonight” had a power only those two can understand, joyous when things are good, painful when they weren’t. For most of us, the lady who looks wonderful tonight is someone in the here and now, at least hopefully so. For me, all these years “Something” was just one of George’s classic songs—now I hear it wondering how George Harrison could have neglected, ignored, and then lost this wonderful muse. Likewise, in the harsh light of day, do we listeners lose the creative mysteries immortalized in the songs we brought into our hearts?
Well, a survivor named Patti Boyd didn’t. The best thing about her book is that she is now her own muse. Not a bad place to end up.
---
Dr. Wesley Britton is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” which features interviews with a wide range of entertainers. Past programs are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. He is also author of four books on espionage and runs www.spywise.net. Wes teaches English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
(Titled Wonderful Today for U.K. edition.)
By Patti Boyd and Penny Junor
Harmony Books, Aug. 2007
Reviewed by: Wesley Britton originally posted at Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook
Rock muses are a unique breed of women, at least in terms of those who’ve been immortalized in the words and melodies of those they inspired. Perhaps the best sampling would be the most select of all rock and roll women’s clubs—Beatle wives. After all, they came from a wide range of backgrounds—a Japanese artist, New York photographer, a Liverpool-bred hairdresser . . . there was even Heather Mills, once a seemingly fairy-tale consolation for a grieving songster. Then, in a flash, she publicly devolved into a shrill gold-digger of epic proportions. Mills not only made Nicole Smith seem a rank amateur in the profession, her stint on Dancing With The Stars made it clear, if anyone needed further evidence, that the term “star” now has less meaning than many rocker’s vows of marital fidelity. But I digress.
Going back in time, there were the ballads of John and Yoko, Paul and Linda, and then the apparently mature unions of Ringo and Barbara, George and Olivia. Each of these are stories unto themselves, each as distinct as the couples involved. And before them were the ballads of the first Beatle wives—Cynthia, Maureen, Patti Boyd, and, more or less, Jane Asher. All their stories are as well known as any aspect of the Beatle myth and each shared something in common—being married to big-time rock stars meant dealing with young men enjoying sexual opportunities that were the envy of mere mortals like thee and me. In addition, these women lived with huge chunks of lonely time where their mates were out on the road or lost in their own worlds when they did come home. All this is on record, as it were, in multiple books and histories. So, what can another autobiography offer that pulls back the curtains and shed new light on the old legends?
In terms of who did what and when and with whom, Patti Boyd doesn’t have much new to share. How could she? Even before meeting George Harrison on the set of A Hard Day’s Night, she was becoming a “star” in her own right, a model with a growing list of impressive photographic credentials. As Cynthia Lennon observed in her own memoir, A Twist of Lennon (1978), this was one reason the Liverpool wives—Cyn and Maureen—had misgivings about the new Beatle lass. After all, they had been there from the beginning and George bringing a sexy model into the fold seemed a bit of showing off. No wonder that Patti’s memories don’t focus much on Cynthia, but Maureen turns out to be the picture of betrayal—first a seeming close friend, then the Beatle wife who jumped beds from the drummer to the guitarist, not only under Patti’s nose but in her own house.
Again, nothing new in these stories. They simply remind us that in this circle of friends, women were as disposable as pillowcases, and the male bonds of musicians trumped all else. How else could Ringo, George, and then Eric Clapton remain close collaborators for decades after their best mates stole their girls? Patti’s descriptions of life with George does shed some insight into this mindset largely because of her own perseverance and own repeated forgiveness of her men. After all, life with George did bring with it the highest of highs in every sense of the word. Patti’s travelogue of her adventures in the ‘60s is filled with some of the excitement of those days, especially the physical and spiritual journeys in India. The years of 1966 and 1967 were expansive for both the Harrisons, with Patti joining her husband in vegetarianism, TM, and Eastern mysticism. Well, it was actually Patti who introduced George to the idea of meeting the maharishi mahesh yogi which means she was the one to light the spark that became the “Year of the Guru” which, in turn, opened the doors for all things ultimately called New Age.
Then, as with all Beatle matters, things fell apart on the home front. Here, I did get the sense I was getting new glimpses into the psychology of George. What is clear is his obsessive nature that led him into taking hours to chant and meditate, then party to the hilt, then meditate and chant to the extreme, and so on. Patti understood the withdrawal she felt when George was apparently in a creative state, but saw herself shut out when, even sharing the same house, she didn’t have a husband to communicate with. Later, she blames herself for not putting her foot down and insisting on the pair working on their relationship. But there was this fella named Eric Clapton and a song called “Layla.”
In Patti’s account, and I doubt she intended this, EC comes across as even less sympathetic than he did in his own autobiography, which coincidently was published at the same time. (See my review posted here Nov. 24, 2009.) In Clapton’s own words, the ‘70s onward were all periods of addiction, first heroine, then alcohol. He admits that wooing Patti was torturous, but once he had her, he relegated her to being his domestic housekeeper for whom appreciation just wasn’t in him. Patti was in a position where the house gardener ignored her and her allowance was entirely dependent on Clapton’s management. For me, one moment said it all—when Clapton’s son Connor was born. For Eric, he was consumed with joy. For Patti, it was astonishing her husband would want her to share his feelings considering Connor was born to another woman with whom Eric still wanted to share time. Here was Patti, childless, seeking medical help for the miracle that would make her a mother. Here was Eric, trumpeting a birth that should have prompted Patti to send him packing.
That finally does happen, and here’s where the comparison with Heather Mills comes in. After years of Patti suffering with Eric’s nearly monthly brushes with death, Clapton and his manager, Roger Forrester, hung her out to dry with minimal support. To a degree, this ended up being to Patti’s betterment as she was forced to find a new career, and she found creative fulfillment switching from modeling to photography.
While she didn’t make this comparison herself, one of her final passages struck me. Patti described the difference between illusion and reality, that of being a model posing for pictures and being the woman who had to try to live up to the expectations people had of the faces they saw on magazine covers. In her later years, Patti had found contentment not trying to live the image. For me, this seemed a parallel for the woman called “Layla” created by EC and the woman he finally conquered. The image inside his creative heart inspired him—but the real Patti Boyd was just another needle in his arm. We listeners have a similar relationship with the musicians who gave us the songs that defined our lives. We have the imagery and sounds we treasure juxtaposed against the reality upon which the transcendent was based. For Patti and Eric, the song “Wonderful Tonight” had a power only those two can understand, joyous when things are good, painful when they weren’t. For most of us, the lady who looks wonderful tonight is someone in the here and now, at least hopefully so. For me, all these years “Something” was just one of George’s classic songs—now I hear it wondering how George Harrison could have neglected, ignored, and then lost this wonderful muse. Likewise, in the harsh light of day, do we listeners lose the creative mysteries immortalized in the songs we brought into our hearts?
Well, a survivor named Patti Boyd didn’t. The best thing about her book is that she is now her own muse. Not a bad place to end up.
---
Dr. Wesley Britton is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents” which features interviews with a wide range of entertainers. Past programs are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. He is also author of four books on espionage and runs www.spywise.net. Wes teaches English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Wesley Britton's Hot-Off-The-Press Review of "Beach Boys"
Endless Summer: My Life with the Beach Boys
By Jack Lloyd
Bear Manor Media
ISBN-10: 1-59393-xxx-x (alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 973-1-59393-xxx-x (alk. paper)
(Release scheduled for Late July 2010)
Reviewed by Wesley Britton originally for “Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook"
Of all the rock memoirs I’ve read this year, Jack Lloyd’s slice of the ‘60s is one of my favorites. For one matter, Lloyd knows readers want to know about the subject of his book’s title, so Endless Summer isn’t a full-blown autobiography. Lloyd doesn’t bog the early chapters down with his upbringing and his book ends when his tenure with the Beach Boys was over. So readers will quickly realize Lloyd is acting as a narrator of what he saw during some important years in rock history with a minimum of details about his own personal life. As a result, Lloyd says his account is a “tell some,” not “all” book.
More importantly, Lloyd provides a perspective into the music of the ‘60s very different from the usual memories of musicians or their girlfriends or wives. His role was, depending on what hat he was wearing, as a personal manager/promoter/producer who got into the entertainment business selling programs, watching the box office, arranging concert dates, and sitting in the office writing publicity and paying bills. In his early days, he got to know folks involved with the Smothers Brothers before he began spending considerable time on the road. Lloyd’s duties expanded to keeping a careful eye on the Beach Boys in general and drummer Dennis Wilson in particular, especially in the after-hours bars and speakeasys. It was a life in planes, hotels, getting the boys to the gig on time and finding food when the show was over. It was a life with unusual lessons. For example, Lloyd learned it’s better to hire prostitutes on the road—professionals don’t blackmail or come back with paternity suits. Check ages on driver’s licenses before letting the girls in the room. Be wary of girls who sleep with rock stars or their entourage in hopes of getting a record contract. And be more careful still with the locals who don’t always want to pay their bills.
The Beach Boys weren’t the only band Lloyd worked with, and much of his book is anecdotes about Sonny and Cher, Jim Morrison, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Buffalo Springfield, and others. It’s the story of an era when road managers and producers had a viable role in entertainment. Often using the band’s own funds, they made money from percentages and selling souvenir books. They had to be creative when ticket sales were low and invent publicity on the spot. Lloyd had to put out fires like fighting Canadian tax collectors dogging the band for cuts of concert revenues. Some of all these stories can be skimmed—not every stopover, drunken evening, or sexual encounter is entertaining. As Lloyd was mainly involved with the Beach Boys on tour, he has little to say about Brian Wilson as his time was spent with Bruce Johnson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and, again, the wild drummer, Dennis Wilson. So there are no studio insights nor discussions of song composition or production. As other books cover this ground, this isn’t a criticism—merely a clarification of Lloyd’s scope. He was the guy who traveled ahead of the band to make sure the gigs ran smoothly and hopefully lucratively and he was the man calling radio stations to fill in where the record label failed. Remember, there was a time when Beach Boys LPs weren’t selling and the late ‘60s was an era when the group seemed out of step with current trends. In short, Lloyd was the guy who looked after the band’s interests while they were engaged in orgies, binges, performing, or preparing for tours. Whether he became a friend of the group remains an open question. When he moved on to greener pastures, no one seemed to notice. That’s rock ‘n roll.
If all this sounds like stories for a select audience, Lloyd has an engaging style and keeps the anecdotes coming at a fast clip. There’s plenty of humor and surprising twists. Whether you’re a Beach Boys fan or not, Endless Summer offers a perspective into rock history new to me, at least. The Stones had fun with their “Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man”—Lloyd demonstrates such bands wouldn’t have gotten very far without him.
Details and ordering information.
~ Dr. Wesley Britton has written four books on espionage in the media and is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents.” Many of his reviews are posted at www.spywise.net and his radio interviews are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
By Jack Lloyd
Bear Manor Media
ISBN-10: 1-59393-xxx-x (alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 973-1-59393-xxx-x (alk. paper)
(Release scheduled for Late July 2010)
Reviewed by Wesley Britton originally for “Wesley Britton’s Entertainment Scrapbook"
Of all the rock memoirs I’ve read this year, Jack Lloyd’s slice of the ‘60s is one of my favorites. For one matter, Lloyd knows readers want to know about the subject of his book’s title, so Endless Summer isn’t a full-blown autobiography. Lloyd doesn’t bog the early chapters down with his upbringing and his book ends when his tenure with the Beach Boys was over. So readers will quickly realize Lloyd is acting as a narrator of what he saw during some important years in rock history with a minimum of details about his own personal life. As a result, Lloyd says his account is a “tell some,” not “all” book.
More importantly, Lloyd provides a perspective into the music of the ‘60s very different from the usual memories of musicians or their girlfriends or wives. His role was, depending on what hat he was wearing, as a personal manager/promoter/producer who got into the entertainment business selling programs, watching the box office, arranging concert dates, and sitting in the office writing publicity and paying bills. In his early days, he got to know folks involved with the Smothers Brothers before he began spending considerable time on the road. Lloyd’s duties expanded to keeping a careful eye on the Beach Boys in general and drummer Dennis Wilson in particular, especially in the after-hours bars and speakeasys. It was a life in planes, hotels, getting the boys to the gig on time and finding food when the show was over. It was a life with unusual lessons. For example, Lloyd learned it’s better to hire prostitutes on the road—professionals don’t blackmail or come back with paternity suits. Check ages on driver’s licenses before letting the girls in the room. Be wary of girls who sleep with rock stars or their entourage in hopes of getting a record contract. And be more careful still with the locals who don’t always want to pay their bills.
The Beach Boys weren’t the only band Lloyd worked with, and much of his book is anecdotes about Sonny and Cher, Jim Morrison, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Buffalo Springfield, and others. It’s the story of an era when road managers and producers had a viable role in entertainment. Often using the band’s own funds, they made money from percentages and selling souvenir books. They had to be creative when ticket sales were low and invent publicity on the spot. Lloyd had to put out fires like fighting Canadian tax collectors dogging the band for cuts of concert revenues. Some of all these stories can be skimmed—not every stopover, drunken evening, or sexual encounter is entertaining. As Lloyd was mainly involved with the Beach Boys on tour, he has little to say about Brian Wilson as his time was spent with Bruce Johnson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and, again, the wild drummer, Dennis Wilson. So there are no studio insights nor discussions of song composition or production. As other books cover this ground, this isn’t a criticism—merely a clarification of Lloyd’s scope. He was the guy who traveled ahead of the band to make sure the gigs ran smoothly and hopefully lucratively and he was the man calling radio stations to fill in where the record label failed. Remember, there was a time when Beach Boys LPs weren’t selling and the late ‘60s was an era when the group seemed out of step with current trends. In short, Lloyd was the guy who looked after the band’s interests while they were engaged in orgies, binges, performing, or preparing for tours. Whether he became a friend of the group remains an open question. When he moved on to greener pastures, no one seemed to notice. That’s rock ‘n roll.
If all this sounds like stories for a select audience, Lloyd has an engaging style and keeps the anecdotes coming at a fast clip. There’s plenty of humor and surprising twists. Whether you’re a Beach Boys fan or not, Endless Summer offers a perspective into rock history new to me, at least. The Stones had fun with their “Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man”—Lloyd demonstrates such bands wouldn’t have gotten very far without him.
Details and ordering information.
~ Dr. Wesley Britton has written four books on espionage in the media and is co-host of online radio’s “Dave White Presents.” Many of his reviews are posted at www.spywise.net and his radio interviews are archived at www.audioentertainment.org/dwp.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Great Travel Reading for Women
Title: Serendipity House
Author: Joyce DeBacco
ISBN: 978-1-935013-98-3
Genre: women’s fiction w/romance
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Price: List $5.95 e-book only
Reviewed by Meg Kinsella of The Romance Studio
5 hearts out of 5
Sylvie Gardner is running from a controlling mother and a wedding she has discovered she doesn't want when she finds Serendipity House. Alexander Clemenceau is the private investigator hired by her ex-fiance to find her. Serendipity House is a bit rundown and full of unique seniors but Sylvie now has a place to find herself and perhaps the trust to love someone.
Joyce DeBacco has done a wonderful job of dealing with such deep emotional issue as mother-daughter conflicts. She does an excellent job in making you both see and feel with the heroine who feels she has never made her mom happy. We have all had the experiences she describes so accurately in the book. This book deals with all the different interpersonal relationships we have and we see Sylvie grow and become a stronger better person through these relationships. I really enjoyed this book even when I was cringing from reading some of the conversations between mothers and daughters. I felt a bit like I was sitting in the corner listening.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
Author: Joyce DeBacco
ISBN: 978-1-935013-98-3
Genre: women’s fiction w/romance
Publisher: Wild Child Publishing
Price: List $5.95 e-book only
Reviewed by Meg Kinsella of The Romance Studio
5 hearts out of 5
Sylvie Gardner is running from a controlling mother and a wedding she has discovered she doesn't want when she finds Serendipity House. Alexander Clemenceau is the private investigator hired by her ex-fiance to find her. Serendipity House is a bit rundown and full of unique seniors but Sylvie now has a place to find herself and perhaps the trust to love someone.
Joyce DeBacco has done a wonderful job of dealing with such deep emotional issue as mother-daughter conflicts. She does an excellent job in making you both see and feel with the heroine who feels she has never made her mom happy. We have all had the experiences she describes so accurately in the book. This book deals with all the different interpersonal relationships we have and we see Sylvie grow and become a stronger better person through these relationships. I really enjoyed this book even when I was cringing from reading some of the conversations between mothers and daughters. I felt a bit like I was sitting in the corner listening.
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've loved. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by author names, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the index handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using the widget below:
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