Blogcritics Category: Books: Biography

Book Review: Ways Of Escape by Graham Greene

Philip Spires — Mon, 5 Jan 2009 23:42:05 EST

Graham Greene�s development as a writer is described in this, his autobiography. While he denies his genius, Greene constantly if disarmingly reaffirms it.
Ways Of Escape is one of the most rewarding and, surprisingly, surprising reads one might encounter. On the face of it, the book is Graham Greene’s artistic, literary autobiography. A second half and companion volume for A Sort Of Life, Ways Of Escape deals chronologically with Graham Greene’s works, his inspiration and his development...

Book Review: Please Please Me by Gordon Thompson and Dusty! Queen of the Postmods by Annie J. Randall

Holly Hughes — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 08:20:32 EST

Two college professors dissect the music of the 1960s British Invasion, with varying results.
I’ll admit it, there’s always at least one book about British pop culture on my bedside table, whether it’s a tell-all Beatles bio or some esoteric volume of Kinks arcana. We navel-gazing boomers love to read about our own pop past, which is probably why the normally sober Oxford University Press has seen fit to publish these two...

Book Review: The Letters of Allen Ginsberg by Bill Morgan, editor

Jade Blackmore — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:01:28 EST

Reveals the life and times of the legendary Beat poet and his contemporaries with highlights from over 50 years of correspondence.
Few literary figures transcend their fame with the written word and become political and/or pop culture icons. Allen Ginsberg achieved this feat. Even non-readers recognize the name and/or his photo from his appearances with Dylan during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour, the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video or even the truncated...

Book Review: Smart Blonde - Dolly Parton by Stephen Miller

Anna Creech — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 01:27:45 EST

This unauthorized biography may satisfy inquiring minds until Parton finishes her impending autobiography.
In his acknowledgments, author Stephen Miller makes it clear that his book, Smart Blonde: Dolly Parton, is not an authorized biography of the singer, songwriter, and actress. Despite not being able to interview Parton or most of her closest associates for the book, he has been able to gather an impressive collection of anecdotes and factual...

Book Review: Finding Iris Chang - Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind by Paula Kamen

Tim Gebhart — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 07:57:49 EST

A friend looks at Iris Chang's life and why the bestselling author would take her own life at age 36.
Iris Chang seemed to have it all: bestselling and critically acclaimed author at age 29, successful and sought after public speaker, attractive and motivated woman, married for more than 10 years and with a young child, and considered by many as among America's best young historians. Yet in November 2004, Chang committed suicide at age 36. Her...

Book Review: Twice As Good - Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power by Marcus Mabry

Daddypundit — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 11:32:56 EST

Newsweek editor Marcus Mabry examines the life of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and how she rose to power and influence.
Of all the members of the outgoing Bush administration, the one who is probably most respected and simultaneously least well known is Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. In his book, Twice as Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to Power, Marcus Mabry (chief of correspondents and senior editor at Newsweek) delves into her past to discover who she is...

Book Review: Human Landscapes From My Country - An Epic Novel In Verse By Nazim Hakmet

Richard Marcus — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:07:12 EST

Hikmet has created a panoramic view of Turkey and her people.
Epic poems were things they used to write in the olden days to record the deeds of heroes and recount the histories of earth shattering events. They most definitely were never about the likes of you and me, nor did they bother themselves with the minutiae of everyday life. Even if they ever did talk about lessor mortals, they were written in...

Book Review: Marie Antoinette - The Last Queen of France by Evelyne Lever

Natalie Bennett — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:03:45 EST

No, she wasn't faithful, but the reasons for that were understandable, and human.
There are few subjects that divide historians as much as Marie Antoinette – who probably, incidentally, never actually said "let them eat cake". Those of the anti-monarchical, pro-Revolutionary, or just plain misogynist school, are convinced that she was a nymphomaniac, traitorous bad mother with no redeeming qualities whatsoever....

Book Review: The Real Queen of France - Athenais and Louis XIV by Lisa Hilton

Natalie Bennett — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:56:39 EST

We can do with positive, approving accounts of powerful women � particularly those who've started from practically nowhere.
There's no doubt about the top position that a woman could reach in France in the time of Louis XIV, the Sun King, at least by her own efforts. That supreme goal was to be the king's official maitresse en titre, the king's official mistress. Louis in his long reign had just three. It is the middle of these, Athenais, or to give her...

Book Review: The Price - My Rise and Fall As Natalia, New York's #1 Escort by Natalie McLennan

Lynda Lippin — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:56:28 EST

I was drawn in by The Price - the sex, the drugs, the cash, the luxury hotels, the celebrities, athletes, and generally wealthy men.
I don't think anybody missed the scandal when New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught using the high priced call girl service NY Confidential for his favorite call girl, Ashley Alexandra Dupre. Ultimately Jason Itzler and all of the principles of NY Confidential were arrested and the ring was broken, but before the bust the ride was...