Arts & Humanities Reviews, November 15, 2010
Arts & Humanities Reviews, November 15, 2010 Nov 15, 2010
Arts
Bouvet, Vincent & Gérard Durozoi. Paris Between the Wars, 1919–1939: Art, Life & Culture. Vendome, dist. by Abrams. Nov. 2010. 416p. illus. index. ISBN 9780865652521. $50. FINE ARTS
In this handsomely illustrated book, French art historians Bouvet and Durozoi chronicle the cultural history of Paris from the end of World War I to the eve of World War II. Chapters cover every aspect of Parisian culture during the period. The book begins by exploring the social aspects of everyday life, covering subjects ranging from the expansion of the city’s parks to the political side with the rise of the popular front and left-wing politics through which workers’ pay and hours were significantly improved. The text also delves into cultural topics such as architecture, design, fashion, film, photography, literature, music, theater, and major intellectual movements like Dadaism and surrealism and events such as the Decorative Arts Exhibition of 1925 and the International Exhibition of 1937. VERDICT While not giving any one particular cultural topic more attention than the others, the authors succeed in providing a general overview of and feeling for this rich period. Recommended for readers interested in 20th-century French culture.—Sandra Rothenberg, Framingham State Univ., MA
Burry, Jane & Mark Burry. The New Mathematics of Architecture. Thames & Hudson, dist. by Norton. Nov. 2010. 272p. illus. ISBN 9780500342640. $55. ARCHITECTURE
Roughly five years ago, Harvard’s K. Michael Hays wrote a telling essay, “Architecture by Numbers,” on the growing worldwide compact between digital design and architectural design. This book surveys the growing landscape of current and forthcoming digital design—about 30 projects—to reveal the continuing reach of this new algorithmic “science” of design into architecture. Ironically, few of the designs and buildings illustrated here can be wholly divorced from natural phenomena, such as schisms, chaos, fractals, fluids, streamlines, hyperbole, topology, etc. Simultaneously, much of it is also minimally and typologically mathematical. This book is merely a digitally produced portfolio of specific projects and works, aimed at the international audience of designers and clients, both students and practitioners. The main interests are mathematics and geometries. The book does not contain any of the historical or humanistic interpretation found in Antoine Picon’s most recent Digital Culture in Architecture, which powerfully circumscribes the current style into “a Second Enlightenment.” VERDICT Fans of this theory of architecture will be interested.—Peter S. Kaufman, Boston Architectural Coll.
Evans, Mike with Paul Palmer-Edwards. The Art of British Rock: 50 Years of Rock Posters, Flyers and Handbills. Frances Lincoln, dist. by PGW. 2010. 256p. illus. index. ISBN 9780711231269. $35. GRAPHIC ARTS
London-based writer and broadcaster on pop music and culture Evans, writing with musician and designer Palmer-Edwards, here gathers art associated with British rock music from the mid-1950s to the present. Divided chronologically and arranged by designer within the various eras, the beautifully reproduced color images tell stories about the fashion and politics of their respective times, the changing environments and technologies of playing music, and the promotional milieu surrounding that industry. Although many images and designers’ names will be familiar from album-cover art, Evans doesn’t attempt to chronicle that design aspect, wisely concentrating instead on posters and other promotional materials while commenting succinctly on the various eras and personalities to provide important context. The contemporary examples, showing graphic creativity to be alive and well, retain a hint of nostalgia for earlier days when music and graphic design worked together in a vibrant, creative environment. VERDICT A reasonably priced, well-done, engaging volume that could easily become a standard source on the subject. Knowledgeable and informative without being stuffy, it offers plenty to love for collectors, rock fans of all ages, graphic designers, and anybody’s boomer aunt.—Mark Woodhouse, Elmira Coll. Lib., NY
Hodgson, Michael. Recycling & Redesigning Logos: A Designer’s Guide to Refreshing & Rethinking Design. Rockport: Quayside. 2010. 192p. photogs. ISBN 9781592536115. pap. $30. GRAPHIC ARTS
Unlike many available books on logo design, Hodgson’s work focuses on customer interactions. Specifically, he looks at real-life situations that required revising an organization’s design strategy to stay relevant with customers. Hodgson provides case studies showing how designers responded to given problems, as well as interviews with designers who worked on major commissions. One good example was completed by Ph.D, a Design Office, the Santa Monica firm where Hodgson is the principal and creative director. His group designed a visual identity to reflect the growth of Inner-City Arts, a Los Angeles arts-education complex that began as a program for young children but later expanded to offer programs for a wider age range. The new identity focuses on sophistication and replaces a design scheme that reflected the youth and innocence of its early students. This attractive book is well written, with appropriate depth and touches of wit. An added thumbnail gallery of logos at the end is nice; however, an index would have been helpful. VERDICT Highly recommended for professional graphic designers and design students.—Eric Linderman, Euclid P.L., OH
Littlefield, David & Will Jones. Great Modern Structures: 100 Years of Engineering Genius. Carlton, dist. by Sterling. Dec. 2010. 304p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781844428144. $50. ARCHITECTURE
Littlefield (Modern Architecture: London) and Jones (New Transport Architecture) enthusiastically survey 70 modern structures worldwide for the centenary of the UK-based Institution of Structural Engineers. The structures are grouped by height, span, volume, surface, and power. Many are or have been tallest, longest, or largest of their type. Others are pioneers in form, materials, or techniques. There is diversity in the selections, which range from train tunnels to telecommunications towers, and most of the structures embody beauty or rightness. U.S. examples include the Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, TWA Flight Center, and Hoover Dam. Each subject is given a color pictorial spread with text description and sidebar specifications. The authors caution that definitive measurements for comparison can be difficult to obtain. VERDICT This collection highlights much impressive design (and construction technique) produced by engineers over a century. It will appeal to engineering and architecture students as well as the general public.—David R. Conn, Surrey P.L., B.C.
Pennington, Estill Curtis. Lessons in Likeness: Portrait Painters in Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley, 1802–1920. Univ. Pr. of Kentucky. Dec. 2010. c.256p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780813126128. $50. FINE ARTS
Roaming the frontiers in the beginnings of the 19th century were many itinerant artists—principally portraitists—struggling to make a living. They unknowingly provided a lasting visual record of the personalities and families working to bring a new society to the American landscape. An especially fecund area of activity by these mostly self-taught painters was the Ohio River Valley and Kentucky Bluegrass Region, where the lore of Daniel Boone and pride in the antebellum arcadia fueled popular demand for family portraits. John James Audubon and George Caleb Bingham were among the more notable individuals working in a tradition extending through the 20th century. Drawing on Louisville’s Filson Historical Society’s large collections, Pennington (William Edward West, 1788–1857: Kentucky Painter) has compiled a valuable record of artist biographies and artworks, covering the long century from the nation’s beginnings through the Great War. VERDICT Because Pennington recounts how this more esoteric aspect of art history took place within a historical backdrop of extraordinary political, social, and economic upheaval, he makes something recondite far more accessible and engrossing. Useful to readers interested in 19th-century Americana and Kentucky history.—Douglas F. Smith, Berkeley P.L., CA
Saunders, David. H.J. Ward. Illustrated Pr. Nov. 2010. 272p. illus. ISBN 9780982004135. $39.95. FINE ARTS
Pulp historian Saunders digs deep into the tragically short life of prolific illustrator H.J. Ward. Beginning his professional art career as a cartoonist for the Philadelphia Enquirer in the early 1930s, Ward found his true calling when making the first of what eventually would be an avalanche of sales to pulp magazines. He soon became the artist of choice, painting covers for numerous tawdry mystery and Western monthlies. His art eventually adorned hundreds of covers for a plethora of publications before his untimely death from lung cancer at age 35. The text here is richly detailed, but the real feast is the art; Saunders includes lush reproductions of hundreds of covers as well as 100 original paintings, 80 drawings, and photos—and they are glorious! VERDICT These images are of their time, and some might view scantily clad babes threatened by gun-toting thugs and spear-wielding savages as too politically incorrect (nonetheless, they’re gorgeous), but there are also more tame illustrations of the Lone Ranger, the Green Hornet, and Superman for balance. Saunders’s gangbusters volume will knock the socks off pulp-art fans.—Mike Rogers, Library Journal
Whyte, Mary. Working South: Paintings and Sketches by Mary Whyte. Univ. of South Carolina. Feb. 2011. c.128p. illus. ISBN 9781570039669. $49.95; pap. ISBN 9781570039676. $29.95. FINE ARTS
This volume is a companion catalog for a traveling exhibition of watercolors inspired by America’s fading industrial era and blue-collar laborers painted by South Carolina artist Whyte (Alfreda’s World). A brief foreword by Martha Severens (curator, Greenville Cty. Museum of Art), acknowledgements, and an introduction are followed by plate after plate of colorful images of Southerners, who are mostly hard at work as cotton pickers, crabbers, boat builders, textile mill workers, and the like. Accompanying some of the plates are diarylike entries by Whyte that relay her subjective experience of a particular place and/or a poignant conversation she had with a particular sitter. VERDICT Readers interested in watercolor as a medium and in vanishing American industries might enjoy this exhibition and accompanying catalog.—Jennifer H. Pollock, Coll. of DAAP Lib., Univ. of Cincinnati
Literature
Bishop, Elizabeth. Elizabeth Bishop and The New Yorker : The Complete Correspondence. Farrar. Feb. 2011. c.560p. ed. by Joelle Biele. illus. index. ISBN 9780374281380. $35. LIT
Bishop (1911–79) was the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize (1969) and the National Book Award for poetry (1970). The New Yorker championed her poetry from the outset of her career, and this correspondence, spanning 1934 to 1979, is between Bishop and her editors Charles Pearce (1939–44), Katherine Angell (1945–61), and Howard Moss (1962–79). The New Yorker editors were as knights to their Bishop. They nurtured her talent, afforded her the protection of steady financial support, and safeguarded her interests during her residence in Brazil. The letters, at once polite and solicitous, are also earnest commentaries and dissections of her work. The editors parsed stanzas and sentences, questioned Bishop’s punctuation, and suggested textual changes that Bishop accepted as often as she rejected. The letters are a revelation in how solitary, private creation is made public through the editorial process. Biele (White Summer) is a poet and Bishop scholar whose introduction and annotations are indispensable in elaborating the evolution of this process. VERDICT For enthusiasts of Bishop’s work and devotees of The New Yorker.—Lonnie Weatherby, McGill Univ. Lib., Montreal
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. Divine Art, Infernal Machine: The Reception of Printing in the West from First Impressions to the Sense of an Ending. Univ. of Pennsylvania. Dec. 2010. c.336p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780812242805. $45. LIT
Eisenstein’s seminal The Printing Press as an Agent of Change traces the history and effects of early printing in western Europe. Now Eisenstein explores Western attitudes toward the evolution of print over the centuries, starting with responses to Gutenberg’s invention and continuing through the advent of the ebook. Just how little opinions about publication, in its evolving forms, have changed over the centuries both startles and amuses. Eisenstein reveals 16th-century texts that complain of information overload and of readers preferring lurid entertainment. Glorifying the best of a previous era by condemning the worst of one’s own age is not new. Critics have long prematurely buried the book as a moribund media, a trope familiar to us today. While Eisenstein’s previous work was crucial to historians of the printed book, her new one has a metafocus on reactions to publishing rather than on the spread of printing from movable type. Taken together, the books paint a robust historical portrait of our greatest invention. VERDICT This not only makes for fine survey material for undergraduate mass media or cultural history classes but is recommended for all serious readers in media history and the history of cultural opinion and all concerned with placing today’s concerns over print vs. digital in their historical context.—Megan Curran, Univ. of Southern California Lib., Los Angeles
Proulx, Annie. Bird Cloud: A Memoir. Scribner. Jan. 2011. c.256p. ISBN 9780743288804. $26. LIT
When a cherished dream—to make real one’s vision of hearth and home in the vastness that is Wyoming—actually materializes, then one has to come to terms with the realities of cliffs and rivers and a “Falling Cow” incident. As Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Proulx (“Brokeback Mountain”) became dissatisfied with an adequate house in a funky, small Wyoming town by the cross-country ski trails of the Snowy Mountains, she became drawn to the rabbit brush grasslands and rocky cliffs along the North Platte River, on the outskirts of Saratoga, WY, a landscape that spoke to and seduced her. Her memoir reflects upon the resulting act of creation, the design and construction of her new home, called Bird Cloud, an integration of art and nature that became sanctuary for her working library and writing space. VERDICT When reality confronts dream and one must notice the rocks, stones, sticks, and bones of everyday life, when Proulx relates the history, prehistory, and natural history of the land, that’s when this memoir takes wing upon the Wyoming wind. Recommended for all builders of the Western dream.—Nathan E. Bender, Laramie, WY
Performing Arts
Kanfer, Stefan. Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart. Knopf. Feb. 2011. c.304p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780307271006. $26.95. FILM
Few stars of Hollywood’s golden era have endured as long as Humphrey Bogart. Beginning in 1930, his film career spanned more than 25 years, the first ten of which were spent in generally unworthy potboilers. Comparatively few of his films were really memorable, and, physically, he was unprepossessing; however, he seems to speak anew to each successive generation and remains an iconic film figure. Many books have been written about him, but almost none has captured the man and the source of his magic as well as this latest from Kanfer (Somebody: The Reckless Life and Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando). VERDICT In this possibly definitive Bogart biography, Kanfer convincingly presents the reasons for the actor’s continuing relevance. He has uncovered relatively few new facts, but his eminently readable style makes the long-known details seem fresh again. This sprightly biography will appeal to film buffs and a large segment of the general reading public as well. [Four-city tour; see Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/10.]—Roy Liebman, formerly with California State Univ., Los Angeles
Lynskey, Dorian. 33 Revolutions per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day. Ecco: HarperCollins. Apr. 2011. c.656p. photogs. discog. bibliog. ISBN 9780061670152. pap. $19.99. MUSIC
In his first book, British music critic Lynskey delves into the protest song movement from 1939 to the present. Dividing the time into discrete sections, he focuses on particular examples but also provides information on related songs. The author traces the historical context, using valuable contemporary sources and quotations from the artists. We encounter both the familiar (e.g., Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”) and the more obscure as Lynskey explores the repertoire, from jazz to folk to punk to hip-hop and beyond, and its effect on society. He wisely does not limit himself unduly, including several songs from outside the United States, and he treats sensitive topics in a balanced, careful manner. The extensive bibliography, list of songs and albums mentioned, and 100 additional recommended songs are useful resources, and a short chapter on earlier protest songs helps ground the narrative. VERDICT Readers who lived through these decades will respond to familiar artists and songs, and Lynskey’s flowing prose and well-turned phrases bring the times to life. He is especially adept at integrating the songs into the wider social milieu, which extends the appeal to cultural historians as well as music lovers.—Barry Zaslow, Miami Univ. Libs., Oxford, OH
Simone, Alina. You Must Go and Win. Faber & Faber. Jun. 2011. c.256p. illus. ISBN 9780865479159. pap. $14. MUSIC
Memoir writing is an exercise in authority. The genre allows a writer the ability to move away from being the observer of one’s life to becoming its central figure and creator. As the heroine of her own narrative, Simone embodies several identities in a single book: Russian emigrant, musician, and daughter. Within each of these roles, she negotiates the expectations placed on her by others as well as herself through hilarious anecdotes. However, as her stories unfold, the reader comes to see Simone as a figure motivated more by the need to understand than to entertain. In her search to uncover the musical past of the Skoptsy, a secret sect in imperial Russia, Simone carefully retells their history, aligning it with her own. At the memoir’s core is a protagonist yearning to establish musical connections to her past. VERDICT Simone’s earnest desire to represent individuals honestly leads to detailed character descriptions that enliven the people in her memoir. In addition to Simone’s fans, readers who enjoy Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors) will appreciate this book. [Author tour; Simone’s third album will also be released in June 2011.—Ed.]—Joshua Finnell, Denison Univ. Lib., Granville, OH
Sinatra, Barbara. Lady Blue Eyes: My Life with Frank Sinatra. Crown Archetype. Mar. 2011. c.400p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780307382337. $24.99. MUSIC
Barbara Sinatra, the fourth and final wife of Frank Sinatra, offers a heartfelt and moving memoir. She starts with her small-town Missouri youth; modeling career; stint as a Vegas showgirl; first marriage to a wealthy gambler, Zeppo Marx; and growing infatuation with her neighbor Frank Sinatra, whom she married in 1976 and lived with until his death in 1998. Relating her interactions at countless dinner parties, tennis matches, and golf outings, the author captures the personalities of such insiders as Gregory Peck, Spiro Agnew, Dean Martin, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. She casts Frank as a loving, volatile, generous, and obsessive creative genius who surrounded himself with a coterie of understanding and compliant friends to shield him from the constant pressures of his iconic status. VERDICT Though shedding little new light on Frank Sinatra musically, this memoir ably captures the character of the singer and provides an enjoyable romp through pop culture of the 1950s–80s. It complements the autobiographies of Sinatra’s daughters, Nancy (Frank Sinatra, My Father, o.p.) and Tina (My Father’s Daughter).—Dave Szatmary. Univ. of Washington, Seattle
Spivak, Jeffrey. Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley. Univ. Pr. of Kentucky. (Screen Classics). Dec. 2010. c.408p. illus. index. ISBN 9780813126432. $39.95. FILM
A singular figure in film history, “dance director” Busby Berkeley won fame for designing kaleidoscopic dance routines for the “all singing, all dancing” era of early talking pictures. In the pre–Motion Picture Production Code days, his erotic yet innocent numbers diverted moviegoers during the depths of the Depression. Film reviewer Spivak presents the first major biography of Berkeley, covering his busy, turbulent life on and off the screen. He was known for his alcoholism, abusive treatment of actors and dancers, multiple marriages, a suicide attempt, and a deadly car crash that required the services of high-priced Hollywood lawyer Jerry Giesler. But Berkeley was respected for his work ethic, creativity, and cost-cutting abilities. Though his career faded in the 1950s, the 1960s nostalgia boom and a successful stage production of No, No, Nanette brought him renewed appreciation. VERDICT In this thoroughly researched book, drawn in part from Berkeley’s unpublished autobiography, Spivak shows a keen understanding of Berkeley’s talents but does not ignore his flaws. His biography illuminates a fertile period in American film history; recommended for knowledgeable movie buffs.—Stephen Rees, formerly with Levittown Lib., PA
Philosophy
Dworkin, Ronald. Justice for Hedgehogs. Belknap: Harvard Univ. Jan. 2011. c.500p. index. ISBN 9780674046719. $35. PHIL
Dworkin (law & philosophy, New York Univ.; jurisprudence, Univ. Coll., London; Is Democracy Possible Here?) bases his title and theme here on ancient Greek poet Archilochus’s line that “the fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.” That one big thing for Dworkin is “value,” more specifically and principally, “ethical and moral values.” He starts by asking, “What causes you to have the opinions you do about right and wrong, and where do these opinions come from?” He devotes the rest of this long book to trying to satisfactorily answer these deep questions. To do so he reviews pertinent thinking from writers—philosophers, poets, playwrights, composers, historians—both ancient and contemporary. VERDICT The narrative is convoluted and encumbering and reads like a philosopher’s lecture delivered to an audience rather than to the reader; it will be a tough read for any but the very philosophically informed. Because of this, lay readers attracted by the book’s title would probably find it ultimately puzzling. The advanced nature of the philosophical thought makes this book most suited for academic ethics collections, for which it is highly recommended.—Leon H. Brody, Falls Church, VA
Rorty, Richard. An Ethics for Today: Finding Common Ground Between Philosophy and Religion. Columbia Univ. Nov. 2010. c.112p. bibliog. ISBN 9780231150569. $17.95. PHIL
Rorty, who died in 2007, delivered this piece as a lecture at the University of Turin in September 2005, confronting the view of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, that a dictatorship of relativism threatens civilization. To the contrary, Rorty claims, those who agree with Ratzinger wrongly seek to anchor their ethical ideals in a supposed world that exists beyond our ordinary human world, thus carrying forth a program that has beguiled philosophers since Plato. Instead, says Rorty, we should view our ideals as aspirations rather than vainly seek a guarantee for them in an underlying structure of the world. Likewise in error is the quest for secure foundations for knowledge. Instead, following William James and John Dewey, we should be guided by what works in practice. Religion can be pursued as a private vision or practice, but to inject it into the public sphere is dangerous. The book includes an introduction by Gianni Vattimo (philosophy, Univ. of Turin), a foreword by Jeffrey Robbins (religion & philosophy, Lebanon Valley Coll.), and a conclusion by G. Elijah Dann (formerly, philosophy, Univ. of Toronto, Mississauga) sympathetically discussing Rorty’s views on religion. VERDICT This striking presentation of Rorty’s influential thoughts will be of value to those grounded in the study of philosophy, religion, and their interaction.—David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., OH
Wallace, David Foster. Fate, Time, and Language: An Essay on Free Will. Columbia Univ. Dec. 2010. c.240p. ed. by Steven M. Cahn & Maureen Eckert. ISBN 9780231151566. $60; pap. ISBN 9780231151573. $19.95. phil
This is the late Wallace’s previously unpublished senior undergraduate philosophy thesis (1985, Amherst Coll.). He writes on the classical philosophical problem of fatalism, which is essentially the problem of asserting individual free will. As an undergraduate Wallace learned the logic needed to refute a claim of fatalism and the need to propose new logical systems for making his argument against fatalism. This book includes New York Times Magazine editor James Ryerson’s introductory essay to establish context; a republication of philosopher Richard Taylor’s essay to which Wallace was specifically responding; and a number of previously published papers that feature objections to fatalism or refutations by fatalists, e.g., an essay by coeditor Cahn (philosophy, Columbia Univ.). VERDICT Wallace’s senior thesis is accessible to all who have a basic understanding of logic. This book is for any reader who has enjoyed the works of Wallace and for philosophy students specializing in fatalism.—Jim Hahn, Univ. of Illinois Lib., Urbana
Poetry
Nichols, Travis. See Me Improving. Copper Canyon. Dec. 2010. c.69p. ISBN 9781556593123. pap. $15. POETRY
In this second collection (after Iowa), Nichols, an editor at the Poetry Foundation, investigates how one can shape meaning in an elusive yet dense reality. Nichols creates a new world in which things yearn to be liberated from the referential power of the outside—something he ensures by using surreal imagery fostered by loose strings of thoughts, anecdotes, data, and odd pictorial scenes: “I yell, ‘Ding Dong!’ and the sky bursts/ open like a boil and a branch flies/ from my mouth and plunges into a cloud.” The poet writes with a dramatic sense of reality, which can imperil his poetic insight. Yet he displays fine skills for detecting lively details to form a fresh poetic tapestry, and the poems could be read as a registry machine of fast-moving objects that fight vainly to be grouped and labeled just to revolt against the confinement of the labeling itself. One cannot escape noticing that some of the poems share the apocalyptic mood of the great absurd literature. VERDICT Nichols writes admiring poetry about the richness of what we see and experience. Recommended for all poetry readers.—Sadiq Alkoriji, South Regional Lib., Broward Cty., FL
Rivard, David. Otherwise Elsewhere. Graywolf. Jan. 2011. c.88p. ISBN 9781555975739. pap. $15. POETRY
The poems in Rivard’s fifth collection (after 2006’s Sugartown) often find their beginnings in small, mundane things—a broken shoelace, a squirrel’s nest, a tricycle bell—that provide fragile platforms for dense, melancholic meditations on an apparently tragic but never quite explicit human condition. Improvisational in technique, they hint at vaguely portentous philosophical insights but instead founder in a quicksand of accumulating, unremarkable images (as in “Lay It Down”) and awkward syntax (“And this is often/ what happens whenever you open a door at large & get wet/ near trees the rain has so many different tasks for.”) Self-directed or addressed to people in the poet’s personal circle (“Note to Myself,” “Birthday”), the work suggests an egocentric perspective that serves to distance the poet rather than foster the reader’s empathy with “the grief of everyday/ homemade human failure.” VERDICT The occasionally surprising figure (“rotisserie light of noon”) and “superfluous pathos” aren’t enough to erase the sense that these are notebook jottings prematurely poured into poetic molds.—Fred Muratori, Cornell Univ. Lib., Ithaca, NY
Roberson, Ed. To See the Earth Before the End of the World. Wesleyan Univ. Nov. 2010. c.170p. ISBN 9780819569509. $22.95. POETRY
“[T]he earth turns and we look out at different/ stars from the different places. We ride, it/ moves past and over us.” In this newest volume, Roberson (City Eclogue) asks readers to consider the earth, whether natural or human-made, real or myth, offering a unique vision from “The black crown of a sparrow/ a thumb print on/ the air” to a view of Lake Michigan from the facade of the John Hancock Building to a man wearing a poncho of chickens. In poems that proceed snakelike across a page or in traditional flush-left frames, Roberson’s images and ideas are startling and complex, often difficult in their dreamlike qualities. His lines have been accurately described as syntactically double-jointed and labyrinthine—and, as with any maze, readers must find a hold, an outside wall to guide them through Roberson’s sometimes surreal vision of the earth. That “hold” may be the earth itself, as Roberson asks readers to consider the intricacies of his design, the persistent ideas that shape the world of these poems—microcosm, music, and mosaic. “Don’t believe the writing on the package,/ it’s more difficult than it says.” VERDICT Recommended for contemporary poetry readers.—Karla Huston, Appleton, WI
Scalapino, Leslie. The Dihedrons Gazelle-Dihedrals Zoom. Post-Apollo. Dec. 2010. 176p. illus. ISBN 9780942996722. pap. $29. POETRY
Publishers and educational institutions are fond of genres whose labels serve to make works of literature easier to sell or easier to teach. Scalapino (Zither & Autobiography) spent her entire life writing books that confounded such labels. Her latest was produced though a process of alexia, or word-blindness. With the aid of a dictionary, Scalapino entered into a trancelike state in which “meaning, choice, and inhibition” were overridden, as the dictionary’s cauldron of words suggested the direction of the book. Here, time manifests itself not as a linear plot but as something that pushes forward, only to be pulled back into the past in a series of recursive loops. As in the mash-ups of music or digital art, we see characters pass from a tenuous present into a future comprising snippets of recycled time. VERDICT Featuring artwork by Kiki Smith and Jess, this adventurous amalgam of sf, poetry, and visual art will fascinate those for whom literature is more than the sum of its subject headings.—Chris Pusateri, Jefferson Cty. P.L., Lakewood, CO
Stein, Melissa. Rough Honey. American Poetry Review, dist. by Copper Canyon. 2010. c.96p. ISBN 9780977639557. $23; pap. ISBN 9780977639595. $14. POETRY
Winner of the APR Honickman First Book Prize, this book was chosen by Mark Doty, who praises Stein’s poetry as a “proposition against coherence.” The poems rush at the reader in a kind of verbal frenzy of twisted metaphors and combined words. In their intensity, they recall an M.C. Escher print with its mirror images and optical illusions; Stein herself refers to Escher’s technique with “blackwhite cubes, tableau enormous, picnic/ tablecloth but undulating” (“Whitewater”). But in Stein’s world, it’s not stairs that seem to go everywhere and nowhere; it’s the auditory illusion and allusion, as well as the half-thoughts that make a kind of subliminal message. Sex, childbirth, religion, violence—Stein’s poems contain multitudes, which she shapes into dramatic monolog, sonnets, pantoums, and free verse. Some poems use synesthesia, while others rely on nouns that appear to be in apposition but are not. VERDICT Reading these poems is difficult—like coming late to an unfamiliar play. One has to make sense of the action while the characters are developing and the plot is unfolding. Only those who favor language poetry will make the effort.—Diane Scharper, Towson Univ., MD
Religion
Haycock, Brian. Dharma Road: A Short Cab Ride to Self-Discovery. Hampton Roads. Nov. 2010. c.256p. ISBN 9781571746351. pap. $16.95. REL
Do we really need another introduction to Zen? Yes, if it’s well done and effective—and this one is. In each brief chapter, Haycock, who was a cabdriver in Austin, TX, for many years, considers one component of that experience and applies Zen teachings to it. For example, in “The Eightfold Freeway,” he discusses how as a new cabby he gradually built up a detailed “map” of the city in his mind. “The Eightfold Path of Buddhism,” likewise, is a kind of map for good behavior leading to enlightenment: a Zen meditator will elaborate on each of the eight steps just as one elaborates on a mental map of an area. Haycock’s first book is both entertaining and shot through with the wisdom that comes from experience—and in some ways that is what Zen is really about, coping with the ups and downs of ordinary daily experiences and on the way becoming enlightened. As a cabdriver, of course, Haycock met (and coped with) all sorts of people in all manner of emotional states. VERDICT This is a worthwhile and informative read for those interested in understanding Zen not in its historical religious perspective but as a life philosophy and system of meditation.—James F. DeRoche, Alexandria, VA
Paulson, Steve. Atoms and Eden: Conversations on Religion and Science. Oxford Univ. Nov. 2010. c.352p. ISBN 9780199743162. pap. $17.95. REL
Public discourse on science and religion can sometimes yield more heat than light, but radio journalist Paulson (executive producer, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Wisconsin Public Radio) brings his informed layperson’s curiosity to these radio conversations he had with significant voices in the scientific and religious communities. While the “new atheists” are on display, contrary voices are here as well: religious scholars Karen Armstrong and Elaine Pagels and theologian John Haught, as well as scientists with religious convictions such as Francis Collins and Simon Conway Morris. But Paulson’s interviews take readers beyond the usual cast of characters to include Islamic, Buddhist, and philosophical voices, as well as perspectives from various academic disciplines: history, sociobiology, and brain science. Questions about the nature of religious experience and the adequacy of science to explain reality recur in many interviews. Krista Tippett’s Einstein’s God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit is another new book on this topic. VERDICT These transcripts capture the excitement of the radio series from which they are drawn. They stimulate the imagination, broaden the knowledge of all but the most widely informed readers, and clarify key issues and perspectives in the tensions between science and religion. Recommended.—Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL
Taylor, Anthony. The Sacred Sites Bible: The Definitive Guide to Spiritual Places. Sterling. Dec. 2010. 400p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781402777486. pap. $14.95. REL
Religious tourism has inspired many recent books about pilgrimage and sacred sites. Taylor (director, Alliance for Lucid Living) has created a guide to over 100 natural and human-made sacred sites, here grouped and color coded in sections by type of site. Each entry includes a color photo and a key showing map location, spiritual tradition, date of construction, and when to visit, along with lucid and accessible descriptive text. As with many guidebooks, there are historical details that are incorrect. For example, for the Baha’i holy sites, Taylor erroneously calls ‘Abdu’l-Baha “Abdul” with an incorrect death date, also mistakenly asserting that the Baha’i faith is the most widely practiced religion in Samoa. Taylor does not explain the reasoning behind his site selection. Religious experts in particular faiths may wonder why some sites were chosen over others (Taylor does not include the Taj Mahal as a sacred site and disclaims in his introduction the “Definitive” in the subtitle). VERDICT Albeit with some factual errors and exclusions, this is a well-organized and attractive guidebook for spiritual tourists thinking about where to travel.—William P. Collins, Library of Congress
Sports & Recreation
Clee, Nicholas. Eclipse: The Story of the Rogue, the Madam and the Horse That Changed Racing. Bantam UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. 2010. 352p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780593059845. pap. $24.95. SPORTS
This British import, shortlisted in the UK for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, is the story of one of the greatest racehorses of all time. Journalist and racing enthusiast Clee reveals to readers the wild and crazy racing world of the saucy 1700s in Great Britain, where Eclipse was bred, raced, and put to stud. Ninety-five percent of horses racing today have Eclipse in their male racing line! He was first owned by a meat salesman and then by an Irish rogue, Dennis O’Kelly, who became rich via gambling and Eclipse. O’Kelly was also the companion of one of England’s most famous and successful madams, Charlotte Hayes. In England at that time, social classes were able to mix in only three worlds: racing, gambling, and brothels. In spite of his wealth and ownership of Eclipse, O’Kelly was never allowed membership in the Jockey Club owing to his low social status. With color illustrations, a pedigree of Eclipse, and a list of racing terms and definitions. VERDICT Clee has done a great deal of research and tells a marvelous story. His book is sure to appeal to horse and horse-racing fans and English history buffs. Highly recommended.—Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville, AL
Hawley, Samuel. Speed Duel: The Inside Story of the Land Speed Record in the Sixties. Firefly. Nov. 2010. 360p. photogs. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781554076338.pap. $24.95. SPORTS
In the 1960s, young American hot-rodders, working in garages and backyards, mounted a challenge to the World Land Speed Record (LSR) long held by gentlemen British racers like Malcolm Campbell and John Cobb. Best known among them was Craig Breedlove, a movie-star-handsome young Californian with his “Spirit of America” jet-powered car. Chief challenger was Art Arfons, a drag racer from rural Ohio in his “Green Monster.” Also in pursuit of the record were Walt Arfons, Art’s estranged brother; Athol Graham in his homemade “City of Salt Lake”; and Nathan Ostich, a doctor who designed and drove his “Flying Caduceus” as a hobby. Hawley (The Imjin War: Japan’s Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt To Conquer China) captures the seat-of-the-pants excitement and terror of crashes at 600 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. VERDICT This well-told overview of the car culture of the 1960s, with photos of the legends of the LSR, is a gripping read that will provide a jet-fueled adrenaline rush to racing fans and readers who enjoy social history in the style of Mark Kurlansky and Erik Larson.—Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI
Hockey Hall of Fame. Official Guide to the Players of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Firefly. Nov. 2010. c.544p. photogs. index. ISBN 9781554076628. pap. $19.95. SPORTS
Hockey fans throughout North America will enjoy this beautiful and richly illustrated record of the lives and careers of the nearly 400 players, builders, and on-ice officials whose signal contributions to hockey, and not merely the National Hockey League, have led to their enshrinement in the Hall of Fame located in Toronto. Beginning with Sid Abel and concluding with Steve Yzerman, the interested reader is treated to a brief account of the exploits of these fascinating athletes, enhanced here by the inclusion of photos depicting long-ago greats in their varied equipment and arenas. Notable as well are the vignettes explaining interesting trivia—such as “Who was born in Australia or Taiwan?”—and answers to trick questions such as which cities possess a small-size Stanley Cup trophy. The compilation of information on the female and European Hall of Famers is also noteworthy. VERDICT This is a perfect addition to the reference and sporting sections of school and public libraries; for all hockey fans, young and old.—Gilles Renaud, Cornwall, Ont.
