Arts & Humanities

"As a small boy, I already dreamed of dancing," Vladimir Malakhov explains in this visual tribute to his life and art. At 18, he became the youngest soloist at the Moscow Classical Ballet and has since danced with several prestigious institutions, including the Vienna State Opera Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, and the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Since 2004, he has been artistic director for the Berlin State Ballet. With brief biographical sketches of Malakhov's life, this fine, oversize book's strength is the collection of photographs by Blum, who was granted exclusive access to photograph Malakhov and his ensemble in the nude. For more than 20 years, Blum has devoted his work to the themes of music, dance, and art, and he has freelanced for magazines such as Der Spiegel, Stern, Time, and Vanity Fair. VERDICT Blum has captured the grace and poetry of movement of an exquisite ballet dancer. This will appeal to anyone interested in classical dance and photography.—Raymond Bial, First Light Photography, Urbana, IL

Okimono are small decorative ivory carvings similar to but larger than netsuke. During the Meiji period (1868–1912), they were made expressly for wealthy Western clients who favored traditional subjects and figures that reflected Japanese life, such as artisans, entertainers, samurai, fishermen, children, animals, Buddhist figures, and mythological creatures. The uniqueness of each carving is dictated by the size and shape of the ivory and, of course, by the skill of the artisan. Bordignon, an antiques dealer since 1991 and a member of the British Antique Dealers Association, features over 120 delicate okimono from the collection of Chicagoan A.M. Kanter, along with a miscellany of bronze, silver, and shibayama (mosaic inlay) metalwork pieces. A cursory introduction to Meiji craftsmanship is followed by dazzling full-page photographs of each object, with a description, dimensions, signature in English and Japanese, provenance, and small photo of the signature block on the opposite page. Many tell a story or legend in a playful, humorous fashion. Appendixes cover artists, signatures, and ivory collecting and care. VERDICT This specialized study that emphasizes the beauty and variety of okimono carvings will be important for Asian art historians and collectors.—Russell T. Clement, Northwestern Univ. Lib., Evanston, IL

According to the foreword by Earl A. Powell III, the director of the National Gallery of Art, Washington (NGA), the Meyerhoff Collection "is one of the greatest collections ever to focus on American painting of the postwar era." It centers on works by modernists such as Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Frank Stella; abstract expressionists like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock; and contemporary artists including Howard Hodgkin. Instead of using one of the standard modes of organization (by artist, medium, or chronology), Cooper, the NGA's new curator of modern and contemporary art, arranged the exhibition and catalog according to ten themes and devices of modern art: scrape, concentricity, line, gesture, art on art, drip, stripe to zip, figure or ground, monochrome, and picture the frame. This fresh arrangement provides readers with a new lens through which they can see and appreciate art. VERDICT Colorful plates and concise, instructive essays make this an enjoyable, light read that American postwar-era art lovers must check out.—Jennifer Pollock, Univ of Cincinnati Lib.

While traveling and photographing the Andean highlands of Peru, Wood—a passionate amateur photographer and worldwide traveler—died suddenly. Graphic designer Cox and Johnson (president of the board of directors, Taos Ctr. for the Arts) have compiled her posthumously published images of Peru with contemporary Mexican amate paper designs and the poetry of Chilean writer Pablo Neruda, which is printed in both English and Spanish. As the title suggests, the book functions as a kind of tribute to Wood and to her personal search for spiritual growth. VERDICT This lavish, highly designed book draws deeply from Neruda's poems, which beautifully complement Wood's first and only book of photographs. Recommended for poetry fans and general readers.—Shauna Frischkorn, Millersville Univ., PA

Minsky, founder of the Center for Book Arts and an award-winning book artist, is distinctly qualified to present this loving examination of an overlooked art form. A perceptive introductory essay makes excellent use of both small illustrations within the text and reference to larger illustrations in the main body of the book to offer perspective on the place of these works and their often anonymous creators within the context of the trends in art and design of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In one example, Minsky speculates that a striking 1881 cover by Edwin Austin Abbey might be considered as a new starting date for Art Nouveau. The excellent full-page, full-color illustrations do justice to the works of art, while the introductory text points out details of design and composition that might otherwise be overlooked by a casual examination of the images. A small, useful reference section at the end shows artists' monograms. VERDICT A beautiful, reasonably priced book that rewards multiple viewings. Graphic designers, book collectors, and art history buffs make up the obvious audience for this volume, but general readers will also delight in the striking illustrations.—Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY

Starr, California state librarian emeritus and professor of history at the University of Southern California, is most famous as the author of the monumental seven-volume series on the history of California, "Americans and the California Dream." His latest book is accurately illustrated, readable, and rewarding. Detailed studies of the Golden Gate Bridge have been produced before—most notably Allen Brown's Golden Gate: Biography of a Bridge (1965) and John van der Zee's The Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge (1986). But Starr's stellar book encompasses politics, finances, design, art, photography, film, construction, history, bibliography, and even suicide, which occurs about every other week. VERDICT This short, pithy book is highly recommended for general nonfiction readers as an exciting history of a grand architectural landmark.—Peter S. Kaufman, Boston Architectural Coll.

Hastings, the British biographer of Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, and Rosamond Lehmann, has produced a richly detailed and meticulously researched biography of Maugham (1874–1965), who was one of the most popular novelists and dramatists of the first half of the 20th-century. Employing many never-before-used archival materials, she covers all facets of the author's life and works. Maugham himself was opposed to a biography during his lifetime and destroyed many of the letters sent to him. His passionate but stormy relations with Gerald Haxton and Alan Searle, who were his secretaries and companions, are exhaustively examined along with his troubled marriage, friendships, rivalries (both literary and personal), and relations with other renowned authors and celebrities. While Hastings admits that Maugham was not a great writer, she sympathetically describes his major plays, stories, and novels, revealing his strengths as an observer of life in England and other countries and his unerring portraits of people and their individual stories. VERDICT Highly recommended for students of early 20th-century literature and readers interested in the private lives of famous writers. (Photographs and index not seen.)—Morris Hounion, NYC Coll. of Technology Lib., CUNY

When David Foster Wallace went on tour to promote his staggering hit/work of genius Infinite Jest, reporter Lipsky followed. The resulting several day-long interview was supposed to be for a Rolling Stone article that never materialized. Fortunately, a year and a half after Wallace took his own life, Lipsky has published a transcript of the interview in its entirety. The resulting book gives us a glimpse into the mind of one of the great literary masters of the end of the 20th century; a man who had achieved international fame and felt deeply ambivalent about it. But what shines through even more is his deep passion for writing and ideas and his kind, gentle nature. VERDICT Anyone looking to read the musings of a larger-than-life literary figure will be disappointed; instead we get a portrait of a slightly troubled Midwestern man who happened to have a tremendous gift. Many fans of Wallace's writing come to think of him as a friend—by the time they have finished Lipsky's moving book, they will undoubtedly feel that even more strongly. Highly recommended.—Ned Resnikoff, Library Journal

This collection opens with pages of pithy tributes—a preamble to a full course of essays, letters, and stories about Mark Twain, along with rarely seen pencil sketches and drawings of him. Fishkin (director, American studies, Stanford Univ.; Lighting Out for the Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain and American Culture), a prominent Twain scholar, gathers a surprising number of eclectic voices from around the world—16 pieces are previously untranslated and resonant of his influence over more than a century. The anthology hosts a conversation among expected and unexpected notables: Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburo Oe tells of his intrigue with Huck Finn during the time when America and Japan were at war; Grant Wood, painter of American Gothic, recalls his consequential boyhood reading of Huckleberry Finn; and Hal Holbrook describes his research as he prepared for his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight! Entries are ordered chronologically; each introduces the writer with a short, enjoyable backstory about the piece. With a source listing and index to works. VERDICT This is an affordable, richly distinct, and essential anthology for all American literature collections.—Katharine A. Webb, Ohio State Univ. Libs., Columbus

Morgan (I Celebrate Myself: The Somewhat Private Life of Allen Ginsberg), the author of several books on Beat literature, takes his title from Ginsberg's Howland employs a wide focus to portray the remarkable group of writers and artists that became known as the Beat Generation. He suggests that Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gary Snyder, Gregory Corso, William Burroughs, and others had such divergent aims and styles that they cannot properly be considered a literary movement. Instead, he sees them as a circle of friends who loved literature and were united by Ginsberg. The book traces their entrances to and exists from one another's lives, documenting their involvement with forces that were to reshape American society in the second half of the 20th century, including the freespeech, antiwar, gay liberation, and environmental movements. VERDICT Morgan makes a strong case that Ginsberg was the glue that held the group together. A solid contribution to Beat studies, this lively history will interest scholars and general readers alike. Highly recommended.—William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY

August Wilson's "Twentieth-Century Cycle," also known as the "Pittsburgh Cycle," consists of ten plays that chronicle the African American experience by decade from the 1900s to the 1990s. This collection of essays is a companion to Nadel's May All Your Fences Have Gates, which focuses on the first five plays in the cycle (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, and Two Trains Running). Here, the spotlight is turned to the other five plays, which complete it (Seven Guitars, Jitney, King Hedley II, Gem of the Ocean, and Radio Golf). The plays are considered from a variety of perspectives and set in cultural, historical, and social contexts as well as within the entire cycle. Several of the contributors, including Nadel, are also represented in the earlier compilation. The substantial list of works cited supplies ideas for further reading and study of this seminal playwright. VERDICT Recommended for literature and performing arts students.—Carolyn M. Mulac, Chicago P.L.

Hee Haw was an American television phenomenon for 20-plus years. Beginning on CBS in 1969 and becoming syndicated in 1972, its distinctive concept of country humor and charm garnered disdain from some network executives. Popular country music stars, original scripts, and a talented group of comedians made this show a hit in the ratings and secured its place in television history. Never having watched the show does not diminish this entertaining story of how it was created, marketed, and saved by syndication. Aylesworth, one of the cocreators of Hee Haw, has written an engaging and funny account of the show's rise and final demise. The colorful cast of characters and their backstage antics and idiosyncrasies are amusingly described. VERDICT While this is an extremely well-written and entertaining story, it may appeal only to a small audience of readers nostalgic for the 1970s–80s show. A minimal purchase.—Rosalind Dayen, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL

With more than 300 color illustrations, this marvelous book is bound to be regarded as an encyclopedic, standard history of stage setting and scenery. Brockett's name will be familiar to students and scholars, notably for his History of the Theatre, now in its tenth edition; Linda Hardberger (founding curator, Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts, McNay Art Museum) brings an expertise in art history; and Margaret Mitchell (theater arts, Univ. of the Incarnate Word) is a scenic and costume designer. They survey stage design from the Greeks to the present and show that the use of technology in service to the theatrical arts has been constant. The final chapters cover the design and technologies available in the 20th and 21st centuries, and the descriptions of the designers' (and programmers') art are breathtaking. VERDICT This example of theatrical scholarship at its best (with a bibliography to match) will serve as an important supplement and update to Richard Leacroft's Theatre and Playhouse, George C. Izenour's Theater Technology, and Vern Adix's Theatre Scenecraft. Highly recommended.—Larry Schwartz, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Moorhead

Calamar (president, Go Music) and music journalist Gallo, both passionate fans and industry veterans, take a nostalgic look back at the history of record stores and what makes them distinctive. Packed with quotes from musicians, shop owners, and fans, this volume is a treat for readers, with its inside look at the importance of vinyl in people's lives throughout the 20th century. Major vinyl shops such as Tower Records, Rhino Records, and Bleecker Bob's are profiled. Nearly every page is graced with vintage photographs and interesting sidebars filled with facts, from the format history of recorded music over the century to vinyl oddities. The authors stress the importance of record stores as community meeting places and discuss the demise of the record industry, the rise of digital music, and the comeback of vinyl thanks to bands releasing limited-edition vinyl singles. VERDICT An essential book that both educates and entertains. For music industry history buffs, nostalgic baby boomers, and younger DJs and music nerds.—Troy Reed, Southeast Regional Lib., Gilbert, AZ

Every great artist deserves a great biography, and Swing Era bandleader and clarinetist Artie Shaw finally has one. Previous books focused mainly on his music, but that represents only his public identity. One of the most interesting aspects of Shaw's life was that while his fame came from the music he made, his personal happiness did not. Most musicians play until the gigs dry up or their life ends, but Shaw stepped away at the height of his powers, and Nolan (Ross MacDonald: A Biography) reveals many of the reasons for this. Conducting interviews with friends, colleagues, and the man himself, Nolan examines the full breadth of Shaw's life. VERDICT Considering Shaw's early literary desires, his many marriages, and the intellectual intensity that led him to become one of the most famous or infamous figures in jazz, Nolan has crafted a well-written, highly entertaining, and informative biography. [A "Book Cheer" pick; see the 2/4/10 edition of our enewsletter BookSmack!—Ed.]—Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA

Finally, a book that gets right to the heart of comedians who choose to enter the unforgiving realm of the satirist—brave men and women who dare to question the unfairness of government politics or the human social condition. Provenza, cocreator and codirector of the film The Aristocrats, interviews 60 comedians. Well-known humorists Lenny Bruce, Bill Maher, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Robin Williams, Stephen Colbert, Lily Tomlin, and Margaret Cho all have something very important in common—the ability to make people think. Provenza's interviews are short, direct, and incisive and give readers an immediate understanding of what drives these satirists to risk controversy and their careers for their fellow human beings. Dion provides wonderfully stark photographs to accompany each interview. The book ends with a special tribute to the late comic genius George Carlin. VERDICT In direct, insightful snapshots of the often misunderstood branch of comedy known as satire, those who follow in the footsteps of Mark Twain and Jonathan Swift reveal how they pay the price for their honesty and wit.—Richard A. Dickey, Washington, DC

Svendsen (philosophy, Univ. of Bergen, Norway; A Philosophy of Fear) is painfully aware of the world's atrocities, but he doesn't think the main problem is "demonic" evil, by which he means deliberate intent to oppose someone's "living a life both meaningful and worth striving for." His argument about human actions that impinge on meaningful and worthwhile life is much involved with Hannah Arendt's concept of stupid evil, but he ultimately agrees with the long Christian tradition that evil is a privation, a lack of something—mostly rationality and the universality that a common rationality fosters. Svendsen adequately illustrates the role played by irrationality in the evils that make today's news, but he does not carry his thesis through to what looks like its logical conclusion: the world is divided between those who think evil can be stamped out with guns and jails and those who take the privation doctrine seriously and think evil can be dealt with only by finding out what is missing and repairing it. VERDICT An intelligent, well-written book that makes a good start at addressing the problem of crime via a philosophy of evil.—Leslie Armour, Dominican Univ. Coll., Ottawa, Ont.

Following his powerful debut, A Question of Freedom: A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison, Betts releases his premiere poetry collection. In this Beatrice Hawley Award-winning book, he shares the unabashed story of life in prison: "A mandatory minimum that leaves/ years swollen into the thirty seconds/ it took to kill & reasons are worthless once/ cuffs close wrists." The young protagonist's poverty-stricken, violent upbringing seems to have destined him for incarceration but does not prepare him for the fear, loneliness, and shame that accompany jail: "This knife-slim/ boy beneath me, bought with my last/ pack of blows; my pencil thin ice/ pick hinting silver in my clenched fist." Betts's poetry is both beautiful and painful. VERDICT Combining the gritty realism of Donald Goines's books with the simple yet lyrical eloquence of Nikki Giovanni's poetry, this collection defies convention by appealing to lovers of urban fiction and contemporary poetry.—Ashanti White, Fairbanks, AK

Carson (Autobiography of Red) traverses the intimate territory of familial past with text, photographs, drawings, and other ephemera that explore her relationship with her brother Michael, who fled to Europe to avoid a jail sentence on drug charges and died years later in Copenhagen. A scholar of ancient Greek, Carson uses the definitions and etymologies of Greek terms to ground the story of her brother's life and death. These definitions, which appear on right-hand pages, often serve a function similar to that of a Greek chorus—they foreshadow or illuminate various parts of Michael's story, whose text appears on the left-hand pages. Intercut with graphical elements, this book differs from many avant-garde texts in that it compels the reader to use a range of different sensory faculties to interpret the story being told. VERDICT Equal parts visual art, verse, and memoir, this bold tale of exile and estrangement will be indispensable for poetry readers.—Chris Pusateri, Jefferson Cty. P.L., Lakewood, CO

In this thoroughly delightful collection, Hayes invites readers to share his experience and especially his sense of the African American experience through the eyes of such alter egos as Lighthead, Bullethead, Tankhead, and Orpheus. "I already know the difference/ between hearing and listening," one narrator says, and if they are paying attention, readers will, too, in poems that acquire their power through humor and music, the rhythm of a line, the cadence of a song whether that song be a sonnet or a litany of "Twenty-six Imaginary T-shirts" or an homage to the likes of Marvin Gaye or Gwendolyn Brooks. In Hayes's two Golden Shovel poems, he ends his own lines with Brooks's words. Further evidence of Hayes's innovation can be seen in three Pecha Kucha (pe-chak-cha) poems, a take on the Japanese phrase for chitchat and a kind of business presentation. Hayes delivers his narratives in 20 short stanzas, each a short take on a subject. "How, with pipes of winter/ lining his cognition, does someone learn/ to bring a sentence to its knees?" Terrance Hayes does. VERDICT Highly recommended for contemporary collections.—Karla Huston, Appleton Art Ctr., WI

In poems set along the border, Sáenz (Calendar of Dust) reports his feelings—indeed, rage—about a variety of sociopolitical topics, including immigration. Using a conversational strategy, he delivers declarative, prosy lines, and the resulting confusion between poetry and speechmaking will blur the poet's voice for some readers. In most of these poems, Sáenz plays the role of performer or stand-up comedian in front of a zealous audience. His bitterness is reinforced by the overuse of certain words, such as spit: "Lenin! Lenin! ... Ahh, he's dead/ dead/ spit" and "This will give me an excuse to spit / When I am reading New York Times Book Review." Poetry of anger has a long and honorable tradition, as exemplified recently by the Beats and Ginsberg in particular, but Sáenz is not always so successful in finding intense language and rich poetic imagery. VERDICT These poems will interest readers who enjoy heated political poetry and share Sáenz's convictions, but the moralizing tends to undermine the concept of poetry as an intellectual and passionate process to capture and reshape life.—Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL

"Each night is different. Each night the same./ Sometimes I pull the trigger. Sometimes I don't." Turner fascinated and unsettled many with his first collection, Here, Bullet, featuring poems of wide-eyed wonder and honest introspection from the frontlines of the war in Iraq. This volume continues his mission, bringing the hard realities of war and its consequences home. "Some nights I twitch and jerk in my sleep./ My lover has learned to face away." Turner's intention is neither to romanticize nor to protest the war but simply to bring its ironies and madness, its sad and difficult truths, into the light—a light that perhaps will exorcise the demons. "I imagine/ she's far away and we don't use the word love.// While she sleeps, helicopters/ come in low over the date palms." The telling of these stories would seem to demand as much courage as having lived them. In sharp, straightforward, yet lyrical language, Turner exposes the many costs of war. Perhaps the most costly: there can be no forgetting some sights and sounds. VERDICT Highly recommended for all readers of contemporary poetry and to those interested in war literature.—Louis McKee, Painted Bride Arts Ctr., Philadelphia

Gulley is most widely known for his homespun and humorous stories in his best-selling Front Porch Tales as well as the heartwarming "Harmony" series of novels. A Quaker minister, he here presents his third book on religion, deliberately and carefully laying down his beliefs, knowing that many Christians will vehemently disagree with his views on salvation, Jesus, and organized religion. He imagines what the Church would be like if Christians were more concerned about following Jesus's example than judging others or believing the right doctrine. His effortless and uncomplicated style allows for easy reading over some heavy material. The questions he has placed in a section at the end of the book are obviously meant to facilitate group discussion. VERDICT While Gulley is convincing, most traditional Christians will have a hard time getting past his admission that he no longer believes in the basic tenets of Christianity, such as the virgin birth, the divinity of Jesus, or the Trinity. Christian readers accepting of Gulley's nontraditional views and interested in issues of social justice will be attracted to this book.—Holly S. Hebert, Rochester Coll. Lib., MI

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. Markham (Virginia Theological Seminary; Understanding Christian Doctrine) has written a rational defense of Christian belief in response to recent atheist books rather than a treatise against those books, as the subtitle suggests. Although claiming to be respectful and faithful to the arguments of his opposition, Markham frequently fails on both counts, taking several unnecessary shots ("Fortunately, most atheists are not rational") and misrepresenting key points (e.g., their views on Islam and Dawkins's account of the anthropic principle). Furthermore, he sometimes overreaches and oversimplifies (e.g., claiming that all successful art and music are evidence of God and doing hermeneutical gymnastics around tough biblical passages). That said, the book is not without merit. Markham's comparison of Nietzsche to the New Atheists is particularly insightful, and moderate Christians will find plenty of useful apologetic material on the reasonableness of classical, nonfundamentalist Christianity. VERDICT This book will be enjoyed by academically minded believers looking to bolster their arguments against atheism. However, it is probably too theological for most general readers and not likely to persuade many nonbelievers.—Brian T. Sullivan, Alfred Univ., NY