“The best biography of Lord Byron ever written,” according toPoet Laureate W. S. Merwin, is now back in print afterdecades. Of the hundreds of books on Byron and his work, not one has beendevoted to the immediate aftermath of his life; and yet it is thesefirst twenty posthumous years that yield the most unexpected andexciting discoveries about the character of the poet and thebehavior of those who once surrounded him—wife, sister, friends,enemies. With the burning of his memoirs almost as soon as news of his deathreach England in May 1924, there began the sequence of impassionedcontroversies that have followed one another like the links in achain ever since. What sort of man was the begetter of thesedramas? Unflagging in energy and acumen, Doris Lang- ley Mooresifts the various witnesses, their motives and credentials, and notonly reveals how much questionable evidence has been accepted butdevelops a corrected picture that appeals and persuades. Drawing upon a very large amount of unpublished material
Contributors include Harold Bloom, Jules Feiffer, John Guare,Norman Mailer, Peter Matthiessen, Maggie Paley, Richard Price,James Salter, Robert Silvers, William Styron, Gay Talese, CalvinTrillin, Gore Vidal, and 200 other Plimpton intimates Norman Mailer said that George Plimpton was the best-loved man inNew York. This book is the party that was George’s life–and it’s abig one–attended by scores of famous people, as well aslesser-known intimates and acquaintances. They talk about his life:its privileged beginnings, its wild and triumphant middle, itsbrave, sad end. They say that George was a man of many parts: the“last gentleman,” founder and first editor of The ParisReview, the graceful writer who brought the NewJournalism to sports, and Everyman’s proxy boxer,trapeze artist, stand-up comic, Western movie villain, and Playboy centerfold photographer. George’s last years were awesome, truly so. His greatest gift wasto be a blessing to others–not all, truth be told–and that giften
As the boomer generation moves onward through the milestonesof life, 1960s nostalgia holds tremendous meaning today. Andnothing more eloquently symbolizes the counterculture era than thepeace sign. How did this simple sketch become so powerful an image?Peace: The Biography of a Symbol tells the surprising story of thesign in words and pictures, from its origins in the nucleardisarmament efforts of the late 1950s to its adoption by theantiwar movement of the 1960s, through its stint as a mass-marketedcommodity and its enduring relevance now. As the symbol’s popularity blossomed, so did an entiregeneration, and author Ken Kolsbun’s expertly selected images—fromhis own collections as well as a variety of historicalarchives—illustrate both the sign itself and the larger historythat it helped to shape. Along the way, the book recounts thecontroversy inspired by the peace symbol, bringing to light severaltrials that challenged its very existence. Drawing on exclusivearchival interviews with Ger
It’s Just Begun: The Epic Journey of DJ Disco Wiz, Hip Hop’sFirst Latino DJ is a gritty and gripping tale of one man’sstruggles to not only survive, but to triumph over adversity andabuse that will make your blood run cold. By conqueringunimaginable obstacles, Wiz offers inspiration to anyone who hasever wondered, “Why me?”
He had a number one hit at eighteen. He was a millionaire withhis own record label at twenty-two. He was, according to Tom Wolfe,“the first tycoon of teen.” Phil Spector owned pop music. From theCrystals, the Ronettes (whose lead singer, Ronnie, would become hissecond wife), and the Righteous Brothers to the Beatles (togetherand singly) and finally the seventies punk icons The Ramones,Spector produced hit after hit. But then he became pop music's mostfamous recluse. Until one day in the spring of 2007, when his namehit the tabloids, connected to a horrible crime. In Tearing Downthe Wall of Sound , Mick Brown, who was the last journalist tointerview Spector before his arrest , tells the full story ofthe troubled musical genius.
With this collection of short and fascinating biographicalpieces, the award-winning biographer of Coleridge and Shelleyoffers a fascinating glimpse into the mysterious art ofbiography. When researching, Richard Holmes has often become captivated byfigures peripheral to his main subject, literary forays that hecouldn’t resist. These tales–the forbidden love of John StuartMill, the bizarre novel of Oscar Wilde’s tragic grand-uncle, Scottand Zelda Fitzgerald’s nightmarish yet cathartic final trip toParis–are part of what comprises Sidetracks, a marvelously originalthat includes letters and travelogues, radio plays, essays, andminature biographies. This book is a rare literary feast and anexploration of the creative processes of one of our most preeminentbiographers.
