double biography.

Although I'm not really into architecture past How I Met Your Mother reruns on Netflix, I was intrigued by a book that featured the two iconic architects who dominated the 20th century between the both of them. Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) and Philip Johnson (1906-2005) and would love to know what they ate for breakfast because they both lived an awfully long time and I don't think they were solely fueled by their egos. Just kidding. About one of them.

Architecture's Odd Couple by Hugh Howard is a biography that features two men in the same profession who only overlapped briefly in their careers. They were both super talented, polar opposites, yet, they needed each other. For inspiration. For competition. Howard tells both life stories, but waits until the end to put in perspective all that each man accomplished in his career. And although one man was obviously greater than the other, I still enjoyed reading about both.

not your average fifties housewife.

In honor of National Women's Day tomorrow and March being Women's History Month, I am pleased to review journalist, Rachel Cooke's Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties because it's the perfect fit and a great read for those interested in history, that era, and British women who break the mold.

All ten women celebrated in this book are trailblazers who left the home and values of that time period to become whomever they wanted to be, opening up possibilities to the women who came after them wanting to do the same. Sheila Van Damm became a racecar driver during a time when it was more deadly than ever. Rose Heilbron was Britian's first high court judge and extremely well respected. Joan Werner Laurie was a magazine editor and a lesbian. She edited women's interest stories that no one would typically speak about.

Her Brilliant Career is a collection of ten mini-biographies that will leave you in awe.

bio of the queen.

I have a healthy obsession with the royal family like any pureblood American girl. I cried when Princess Diana died, I watched the Royal Wedding live, I wonder how Queen Elizabeth has lived so long. It's all very normal.

Having never read up on Queen Elizabeth's childhood, I was extremely excited to read and review Young Elizabeth: The Making of the Queen by Kate Williams. It was like she wrote it just for me, which every reader will appreciate. Princess Elizabeth of York was born in April, 1926...and so on and so forth. Williams touches on her family, her ascendance to the throne at age 25 (which has always impressed me as she's been crushing it ever since), and surprisingly some royal gossip which you will eat right up. The bio is a bit hefty, but when you've been alive 90 years, that happens.

behind every great man...

Abraham Lincoln is in my family tree. Don't be jealous, I bet if you looked far enough back you will find someone cool in your family tree as well. But since we are basically cousins, I have a soft spot for any historical books based on Lincoln, the latest being, Lincoln's Boys: John Hay, John Nicolay, and the War for Lincoln's Image by Joshua Zeitz.

 

 

For those of you (like me) who are not super familiar with John Hay and John George Nicolay, the first part of the book will catch you up on their lives. Their youth is written separately, they were both writers and they came to become part of Lincoln’s inner circle after his election in 1860 as his official secretaries. Honestly, this book is more about Hay and Nicolay than President Lincoln himself, which works because they were the closest people to him other than his family. They helped shaped Lincoln into the kind of president he was. The kind of president who was remembered so fondly. They were kind of like Lincoln's Olivia Pope. And continued to support his memory after his death. Zeitz created a readable and engaging bio that I found very enjoyable to read.

 

I was able to visit the Lincoln Monument for the very first time in DC a few weekends ago. It was extremely cool being in our nation's capital. Especially so close to Memorial Day. So much history.

the freshest.

When you see the name Duke Ellington, you think JAZZ, but Mr. Ellington was so much more than a pianist, band leader, composer...he was an ORIGINATOR of big-band jazz music in the early 1920's. Jazz musician turned author, Terry Teachout is known for his fab bios and doesn't disappoint in Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington. This author is nothing if not honest, and he's not afraid to tell you what you don't want to hear. That being said, don't let the personal stuff get in the way of your opinion of Ellington as a musician/composer. No, he wasn't the best husband, but he was the best damn jazz composer pretty much ever...with the help of his bandmates. Hey, the man was smart and knew how to make hits like no one else. Credit where credit is due. Ellington was a musical genius who struggled to gain respect, not only for himself, but for his race. Teachout was a little judgy if you ask me, but if your best friend wrote your biography it would be pretty boring.

what happens when a novelist writes a biography, perfection.

Joan of Arc believed that God had chosen her to lead France to victory in its long-running war with England. So this peasant girl convinced Charles of Valois to allow her to dress up like a man and lead his French army into battle that ended in victory over the English in the Hundred Years' War. Then of course when she was 19 she was tried and burnt at the stake for witchcraft because of all of her running around claiming that she was the virgin destined to save France from its enemies. This was one badass virgin; whether hearing voices is sorcery or not, Joan of Arc risked everything for her country and Kathryn Harrison's Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured is my favorite account of her life to date. In this book Joan of Arc is viewed as an historical figure, and Harrison does not romanticize her like so many others. It's very factual, interesting, and will be such a great resource to use in the classroom.

catholic bios.

I never really paid much attention to Catholics until I began traveling around Europe. You can't go to mass in Notre Dame and not appreciate Catholicism, and you especially can't go to the Vatican City while in Roma and NOT appreciate the Pope. It's sacrilegious. I am still not Catholic, but I've got respect. People of God is a brand new series of inspiring biographies published by Liturgical Press. Each volume offers a compelling and honest narrative of the life of an important twentieth or twenty-first century Catholic. First up is Oscar Romero: Love Must Win Out by Kevin Clarke.

Oscar Romero was one of the great prophets of the 20th century. While acting as Archbishop of San Salvador in the 1970's, Romero began to speak out on behalf of the poor and the victims of repression, which caused A LOT of conflicts. He became the "Voice of the Voiceless" which is most likely what lead to his assassination in 1980. Kevin Clarke does an excellent (and credible) job of relaying the background behind such a remarkable life.

a great president who you probably forgot about.

Author Amity Shlaes sets the record straight regarding President Calvin Coolidge and his not so positive reputation in her biography appropriately titled, Coolidge. For those of you who did not pay attention in history class, Calvin Coolidge was the thirtieth president of the United States and served during the 1920's, ending his term in 1929, just as the Great Depression was beginning. Coolidge was a quiet man, and people judged him for it. However, he worked behind the scenes to reduce federal debt and income taxes which favored middle class growth. Shlaes is adamant in her opinion that Coolidge was not responsible for the Depression, including statistics proving that the blame lay in the later presidents who prolonged the economic decline. 

Apparently Coolidge is most remembered for being cold and lazy, probably because he didn't babble on about everything he was planning on doing on live television, interrupting people's favorite television shows. I for one, would have appreciated him. There are some strong points of view, but I honestly believe that Shlaes has given us the most well-researched biography of Coolidge that anyone has ever read.

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a family’s world history.

So many people think they have fantastic lives. Some of them even write a book about it. 50% of these people shouldn’t. I am not one of them, and neither is David Laskin. In his nonfiction narrative titled The Family: Three Journeys into the Heart of the Twentieth Century, Laskin tells the story of his family and to make it interesting, the story spans over 150 years. Wise choice, Mr. Laskin. Our characters are Jewish family members from Europe (Russia and Poland), Israel, and America, and their three separate stories are told in chronological order, through WWI , WWII, and beyond.

Laskin followed his family history through decades of births, marriages and deaths. We meet each person born in each generation and learn of their hopes and dreams. Some became entrepreneurs, some traveled to the Holy Land, and most endured war and depression. The Family is a book about survival, and between its history and Laskin’s writing, it will pull you right in.

the queen nobody knows about.

Alison Weir’s biography on Queen Elizabeth of York titled Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World is actually quite good considering there hasn’t been much written on this woman’s life, thus not much to go on. There were a few more “may have’s” than I would have liked, leading me to believe that no one really knows exactly who this queen was, but really how well do we know anyone from the past?

Personally, I enjoy how Elizabeth of York reads like a Life & Style magazine article about the Queen, her children, husband, and the times they lived in. Some historians may not enjoy the abundance of details and Weir’s literary writing style, making this history lesson much less of a bore, but I appreciate it!

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1. Follow this blog :)

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3. Contest ends 2/5!

more than the best hitter in baseball history.

Ted Williams is well known for his achievements in baseball. He was no stranger to home-runs and was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame. Author Ben Bradlee Jr. shares with us other sides to this baseball hero, sides that are bigger than the game, in his biography The Kid: The Immortal Life of Ted Williams.

William’s childhood was painful. He grew up in San Diego with a never present father who eventually abandoned the family. His mother was also terribly neglectful, preferring to spend her time soliciting money for the Salvation Army rather than spend time with her children. Williams found solace in baseball, and he wanted to be the best. But Williams was more than just a baseball player.  He spent 5 years of his baseball career, during his prime playing periods, serving as a pilot for the Marines in WWII and in Korea. He did a lot for his country, his race, and his fans. However, this isn’t a biography about a man who did everything right. His personal relationships were atrocious, and Bradlee made sure that this biography was honest, including interviews from multiple family members and people close to Williams who is still honored in the bio despite his faults.

cinderella don't live here no mo.

In Princesses Behaving Badly: Real Stories from History without the Fairy-Tale Endings by Linda Rodrigues McRobbie, no one breaks into song, and no one has little birdies braid their hair every morning. There are no fairy godmothers, and no perfect hair days. Princesses Behaving Badly tells the story of real life princesses (or royalty), the good, the bad, and the really ugly.

The book is separated into several chapters such as Warriors, Usurpers, Schemers, Survivors, Partiers, Floozies, and Madwomen, each sharing mini-biographies of royal ladies who should have been given a poisoned apple by an ugly old lady. Okay, maybe not all of them, but definitely Princess Stephanie von Hohenlohe who was a Nazi spy. McRobbie definitely sheds some light on the more raunchy women of history, and I like that.

scholarly yet readable.

In New York City’s 1920’s white women who came to Harlem to in hopes to embrace black culture were dubbed “Miss Anne”. In Miss Anne in Harlem: The White Women of the Black Renaissance writer and scholar, Carla Kaplan portrays six women who had the guts to head to the streets, raising hot button issues of race, gender, class and sexuality during that time period.

Lillian E Wood, Josephine Cogdell Schuyler, Annie Nathan Meyer, Charlotte Osgood Mason, Fannie Hurst and Nancy Cunard had an impact on the Harlem Renaissance that is seemingly hidden in the past. Their six biographies are well-written, and yet have some complexities, are full of insight on these women that history apparently forgot about. Kaplan does an excellent job of resurrecting stories that every feminist can be proud of.

the literal crazy and rich.

Crazy Rich by Jerry Oppenheimer is the story of the famous Johnson family. You know, the ones who brought you the Band-Aid and Johnson's Baby products that make your baby smell like a baby.  Not surprising to many of you I’m sure, but the Johnson’s have a lot of issues, and Oppenheimer is happy share all of the dysfunction so that we can feel better about our own families – 500 pages of it.

This biography begins as most do, at the beginning. The Johnson dynasty originated with three relatively uneducated, but ambitious brothers, Robert, James, and Edward Mead Johnson. Crazy Rich includes the glory, along with all of the scandals, tragedies, and misfortune. We are talking generations of skeletons here people, a giant mess. I know we shouldn’t be entertained by other people’s bad luck…but it’s just toooooo crazy not to participate. Sorry Johnson’s.

“Hi, I’m Ang Lee, and if I don’t make movies I’m going to die.”

After watching Life of Pi, I have become wildly intrigued with Ang Lee, who directed the film. It was so damn fantastic, not all thanks to Lee, but he did bring the novel to life. A few Lee lovers have put together a biography titled The Philosophy of Ang Lee (edited by Robert Arp, Adam Barkman, and James McRae), which examines this director's infamous works.

Lee is one of the most talented and diverse directors in world cinema. This cinematic bio is divided into two sections, The Eastern Philosophy of Ang Lee, and The Western Philosophy of Ang Lee, and covers films from Sense and Sensibility (1994), to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), to Brokeback Mountain (2005), to present day Life of Pi. Lee has a reputation of pushing cultural boundaries in his films, the editors of his bio leave nothing out.

you don't have to be rich to be my girl.

I am a Generation Y girl, I missed the whole Generation X boat by a few years, but I still appreciated Prince in the 90's. Well, his music, his appearance made me slightly uncomfortable if I'm going to be honest. Only because I had never seen a man in such tight clothes before, looking so feminine. I was just a kid. I probably shouldn't have even been watching MTV, who was babysitting me anyway?

Toure, who apparently only needs one name to be recognized, wrote a kick ass short biography on Prince titled I Would Die 4 U. While reading, I learned that Prince is older than my mother, and that their generation never really "got" him, but the gen Xers were just sitting around, waiting to be entertained, ready for something different. Then out walked Prince, and here we are. Toure mentions how Prince preached in a lot of ways, writing lyrics that touched on God and evil. Gen Xers weren't religious in the traditional sense, but Prince, with his evangelistic music, became a religion. Toure bases his biography on WHY Prince became an icon. Why did gen Xers need him so much? Well, because they were unconventional, so they were drawn to someone like that.

You see a lot of Toure's take on Prince's life in this biography. It's not long or incredibly detailed, so don't expect it to be.

wishing i could scribble for a living.

Just in case you didn’t know, in August of 1869, thirty-three-year-old Samuel Clemens – or as he was later known, MARK TWAIN moved to Buffalo, New York. Um, that’s where I live! Mark Twain is one of my all-time favorite authors. I borrow his words often because he was so damn brilliant and insightful. Anyways, THE Mark Twain spent 18 whole months here in Buffalo, and Thomas J. Reigstad tells us all about it in Scribblin’ for a Livin': Mark Twain’s Pivotal Period in Buffalo.

Author, and long-time Buffalo State College professor, Reigstad, now retired, is Buffalo's definitive "Twain expert" and he shares with us his research and extremely hard work in this very readable history of Twain's time living in Buffalo from 1869-1871. A lot happened in Twain’s life during his year and a half in Western New York. Twain arrived in Buffalo in mid-August 1869 as a bachelor and left as a married man with an infant son. He arrived as an enthusiastic co-editor and co-owner of a newspaper and left as a man who would never practice journalism again. Other Twain biographers wrote Buffalo off, while Reigstad did an excellent job uncovering truth to the myths others have missed.

can the real jane austen please stand up?

The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne is not your average biography. Byrne tells her story by taking an item that Jane Austen owned, used or would have seen and uses it as a springboard to discuss the different aspects of her life and her family. The objects that Byrne describes allow the reader to glimpse Austen's life from a perspective somewhat over her shoulder. The first object Byrne describes is an engraving of Lyme Regis, a West Dorset coastal village, showing us Austen’s love of the sea. Also included is an East Indian shawl that introduces some of Austen's more exotic relatives. And her notebooks containing her youthful writings show how her family nurtured her writing. This strategy causes the biography to jump around a bit, but it’s still a genius idea with impeccable research.

I learned a lot. For example did you know that Jane Austen, contrary to what people might expect, was firmly not of the belief that there is only one person in the world whom you can love? I find this comforting.

This biography is different, informative, and fun to read. Three of my favorite things.

science, affairs, intrigue.

A man writing a biography about a woman...I'm sure it happens more than I notice, but it's still fun to see.

William Souder has written an engrossing new biography on Rachel Carson, the superstar of narrative environmental nonfiction, titled On a Farther Shore: The Life and Legacy of Rachel Carson. Souder draws a portrait of cultural and political life in the middle of the 20th century and places Carson squarely at the center of it. It was a different time for science and a different time for science writers. I find science rather boring, honestly, which is why I was extremely intrigued when I read on to find how spicy Carson's life actually was. In 1954, her and Dorothy Freeman began a very passionate relationship, that was anything but platonic. Carson wrote Silent Spring in which she meticulously described how DDT entered the food chain and accumulated in the fatty tissues of animals, including human beings, and caused cancer and genetic damage, WHILE she had cancer herself. This chick was wild, and I'm glad a voice that was so unpopular in her day, has become so popular now.

african american history in the capitol.

I had never really thought of a street having a history until my friends and I re-made the Beatles Abbey Road album cover when we were in London. When you think about it, anything of consequence that happens outside usually happens on a street. Therefore, streets have more history than one might think. I mean, my entire childhood was spent on my neighborhood streets. Whoa, epiphany happening over here. Blair A. Ruble is someone who understands the significance of a street and its history, so much in fact that he wrote a biography about one.

Here’s a little background: In its cultural heyday, U Street was known as Black Broadway, housing the largest African American community in Washington D.C. The neighborhood includes the works of African American architects, including John Lankford, who was then referred to as the "dean of black architecture" and noted for the True Reformer Building at 1200 U Street NW. U Street has long been a center of Washington's music scene, with the Lincoln Theatre, Howard Theatre, Bohemian Caverns, and other clubs and historic jazz venues. I don’t know how many streets have biographies written about them, but U Street's is definitely the hippest.

Talk about STREET credibility. Ha, yeah that was me being funny.