Photo by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Book Description

Sammy Davis, Jr. will forever be remembered as one of America's finest entertainers. An all–around performer who could sing, dance, and act, Davis broke racial barriers in the entertainment world and became the only non–white member of the Rat Pack. Only now, however, is Davis's talent as a photographer finally being recognized. In this previously unpublished collection of black and white photography, readers will be fascinated by Davis's portrayals of A–list performers, iconic world leaders, and scenes from everyday life. Davis's subjects include dozens of classic celebrities–such as Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, and James Dean–who are often photographed at their most casual and revealing moments.

Accompanying the pictures is an assortment of remembrances by Burt Boyar, a longtime friend and traveling companion of Davis who collaborated with the entertainer on both of his autobiographies. Through a series of memorable anecdotes, Boyar reflects on Davis's many achievements as well as the private moments they shared as friends. Along with Davis's candid shots of ordinary life–from a group of children laughing to a baseball game at the Washington Monument–these stories reveal a side of the performer far removed from his Rat Pack persona.

The release of this book will also coincide with the release of Burt Boyar's upcoming documentary, Sammy Speaks, created from his extensive archive of taped conversations with the star.

Customer Reviews:

One Eyed Visionary.......2007-09-25

Few have personified the phrase "self-made man" as did legendary entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925-1990). The world remembers Davis for his varied and extraordinary accomplishments as an actor, singer, musician, dancer, and comedian.

But hardly anyone outside his circle of friends and family has been familiar with his photography--until now. With this hefty book, interspersed with reminisces by longtime friend Burt Boyar (who co-wrote Davis's autobiographies Yes I Can and Why Me?), his old fans and a new generation can revel in hundreds of images that reveal yet another significant facet of Davis's far-reaching talents.

Though Photo lacks the singular thematic focus of books published by such photographer-celebrities as Dennis Hopper and Gerry Spence, that's no drawback for this posthumously published volume. Rather, it pulls the reader into the exciting world of nightclubs, casinos, and Beverly Hills homes in which Davis moved, mostly from the late 1940s through early '70s. A voracious shutterbug, he took his photography seriously: his compositions are strikingly iconic, employing sophisticated use of line and form. Yet, his pictures are mostly snapshots--in the best sense of the word: they capture their subjects spontaneously, and his joie de vivre suffuses his work. Think of it as a highly stylized family album packed with candid portraits of "Rat Pack" pals Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop, Peter Lawford, and Shirley MacLaine, as well as other famous friends like Nat "King" Cole, Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh, Sidney Poitier, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jerry Lewis, and Bill Cosby.

Among the more touching aspects of this book are the portraits of his actual family: his parents, his second wife May Britt and their children, and his third wife (and widow) Altovise Gore Davis. The most poignant are the many shots of actress Kim Novak, the first great love of Davis's life, who was forced by Columbia Pictures studio chief Harry Cohn to break off their relationship (interracial relationships were strictly taboo in 1950s Hollywood, not to mention in society generally).

One photograph, despite its matter-of-fact framing, is particularly chilling. Through the window of a passenger train en route to Miami, Davis snapped a picture of an elderly white gentleman on a station platform holding a cigarette, standing before a pair of double doors over which the foreboding phrase "WHITE WAITING ROOM" is painted. Davis's photographic abilities and inclinations were such that we see a mostly glamorous world through his eye. Thus, when we arrive at this jarring image, it's impossible not to apprehend it from his point-of-view--and also not to feel the sense of injustice that he must have experienced in the Jim Crow South as he clicked the shutter.

As Davis's show business career took off, many venues--even north of the Mason-Dixon Line--were happy to let blacks perform onstage; but the same headliner artists weren't even permitted to drink at the bar, use a dressing room, or occupy one of their hotel rooms. Photographs from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial, and portraits of politician friends Senator Robert Kennedy and President Richard Nixon, give silent witness to Davis's largely forgotten achievements as an outspoken civil rights advocate.

Photo is a coffee-table book that won't spend much time on the coffee table if your houseguests are anything like mine. Because of a car crash in 1954, Sammy Davis, Jr., was left with only one eye. But what an eye this cat had!

Great book, intresting facts, great, candid shots!!!!.......2007-08-09

This book is so fun. It has so many candid great photo's, really intresting history on Sammy Davis Jr. and his relationship's. I really enjoyed this book. Great coffee table book.

For Photograghy Fans Too!.......2007-06-22

I originally picked up this book as a curiosity and found its links to a bygone era utterly fascinating. The subject matter, i.e., rat pack photos were wonderful but the photographic mastery of Davis Jr. is, I think, equally as stunning. A look into Davis Jr.'s remarkable life is given by him in the way, like other great photographers, he insightfully choses to document and communicate with his subjects through the lens. Again, like many great photographers, the images are powerful and soft, crisp and dazzling. More talent revealed from a man who had more in his baby finger than most of us have coursing through our entire bodies.
Bravo. Well done.

Photo by Sammy Davis Jr........2007-05-28

An excellent "coffee table" book that graphically recalls the fifties and sixties, and the hedonistic style of the Rat Pack and Sammy's many friends and colleagues. Beautifully captures the mood and style of the period.

Great photos complement this wonderfully written book!.......2007-04-21

An extremely fun book that reminds the reader of a very happy period of US entertainment history (including old Hollywood, the Rat Pack, and more). Lets the reader see Sammy's world from the camera's view, and what a great world it must have been. Boyer is a talented writer and put together a fabulous collection of photos. A perfect book for the coffee table that includes some great stories to go with the rare photos. A must have for any fan of mid-century Hollywood.

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story

Average customer rating:

Klosterman=Hipster Jerk
It's Only Rock and Roll
Hilarious...
This is a great book IF.....
Snooze

Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
Chuck Klosterman
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743264460

Download Description

For 6,557 miles, Chuck Klosterman thought about dying. He drove a rental car from New York to Rhode Island to Georgia to Mississippi to Iowa to Minneapolis to Fargo to Seattle, and he chased death and rock 'n' roll all the way. Within the span of twenty-one days, Chuck had three relationships end -- one by choice, one by chance, and one by exhaustion. He snorted cocaine in a graveyard. He walked a half-mile through a bean field. A man in Dickinson, North Dakota, explained to him why we have fewer windmills than we used to. He listened to the KISS solo albums and the Rod Stewart box set. At one point, poisonous snakes became involved. The road is hard. From the Chelsea Hotel to the swampland where Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane went down to the site where Kurt Cobain blew his head off, Chuck explored every brand of rock star demise. He wanted to know why the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing...and what this means for the rest of us.

Customer Reviews:

Klosterman=Hipster Jerk.......2007-09-18

I picked up this book after reading "Fargo Rock City", and I was still undecided about Klosterman as an author. This book cemented my opinion that Chuck Klosterman is an idiot. This book has nothing to do with the title, or even the supposed subject of the book.

This is supposedly about Klosterman's journey to places where famous rock stars died. He goes to these places, but his reaction everytime is the same. He doesn't care, he's unimpressed, he'd rather think, talk, and write about himself.

What this book shoud really be called is "I'm a Hipster Jerk Who Sucks With Women", because that is what you get. 275 pages of Klosterman explaining how he has three women, but can't decide between them, all the while talking about how he hates his life, and ripping on any band that has ever had anything good said about them (and proclaiming that Motley Crue is the best band ever). Don't waste your time unless you like guys who sound like eighth graders who think they know everything about everything.

It's Only Rock and Roll.......2007-09-07

I got this book because it was recommended by a friend, and I have to tell you, it was one great recommendation. I could not put this book down. Chuck Klosterman (a writer for "Spin" magazine) sets off on a cross-country road trip following the pathways of rock and roll death. From the site where Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane crashed to Kurt Cobain's hometown to the site where more than 90 Great White fans died in club inferno, Klosterman's journey is like taking a road trip with your best college friend, playing your favorite tunes and discussing why you love rock music, as well as endlessly analyzing your (all too often) failed relationships, and just seeing what America has to offer.

Klosterman is funny, engaging, witty, and a slightly more upbeat version of Dave Eggers (for those of you who loved his book, "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius"). Or maybe he's a slightly more melancholy Dave Eggers...you read the book and decide for yourself. A lot of Klosterman's journey focuses on three relationships, which distracts somewhat from the main rock and roll focus. Still, Klosterman has a great writing style and a depth of music knowledge that are an unbeatable combination. His music tastes may not agree with your own, but with 600 CDs piled into his car for this road trip, you're sure to find something about which you will agree with Klosterman. Despite the morbid theme for this road trip, I assure you, you won't soon forget the journey.

Hilarious..........2007-09-06

I found this book absolutely hysterical! Like another reviewer said, you need to be a part of Klosterman's narrow audience in order to really "get" the humor. For instance, there is a part in the book where he relates each of his ex-girlfriends to a member of KISS. This makes sense completely if you are a KISS fan or are at least vaguely familiar with the members, but makes no sense if you aren't.

If you're a music fan who interprets the entire world through guitar-shaped goggles, Klosterman is for you.

This is a great book IF............2007-07-05

So far I've read two books by Chuck Klosterman: "Fargo Rock City"; this one. And I've noticed that while his books get generally good ratings, here on Amazon, that some reviewers rate them really low. I think there is a reason for this: Chuck writes to a kind of narrow audience, and you're either part of that audience or you're not.

To best understand Chuck Klosterman's books you need to be a male Hard Rock fan, born between roughly 1952 and 1978. You also need to have some high school sports experience, maybe played basketball, football, baseball, hockey, or ran track. And you also need to be a bit of a nerd, at least in the eyes of women, so that you've had some rough dating experiences.

If you fit the mold, Chuck Klosterman is your humorist. I really had to laugh at his humorous take on high school football coaches; the life advice that he got from the old bar patron in Montana; his troubles with the women that he has dated; and the way that he can question and even make fun of the music that it is still obvious that he loves so much.

So if you've never been that much of a smoothy in your relationships with women; have played sports, and been a sports fan, but can still laugh a little at what goes on in the world of sports; and KISS, Def Leppard, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam still mean a lot to you, Chuck Klosterman is a genius humorist, and you will totally get what he's talking about. If these conditions don't apply to you, I'm not sure how well you will receive these books.

Another thing, maybe by the blurb on the back of the book jacket, you think this book is about Chuck Klosterman's pilgrimages to Rock N Roll death sites, like: the site of the Buddy Holly crash; Graceland where Elvis died; Kurt Cobain's suicide house; and whatnot... And while he mentions visiting these sites, to write an article for his employer at the time, the Rock magazine Spin, the incidents in this book are more about his journeys between the Rock N Roll death sites, and rememberences of his youth that come back to him during the long drives. So the stories are more about ex-high school/college girlfriends; ex-young adulthood girlfriends; crazy waiters/waitresses; bartenders and bar patrons; motel employees; gas station attendants met along the way; and the memories of school sports; school newspapers; and other things from the past. Then there are the musings on national monuments: "Why does anyone care about seeing the Washington Memorial?"; and wondering about the happenings in tourist towns: "Would you ever come to a Minnesota, lakeside tourist town thinking that you were going to find handmade, Tiawannese silk fabrics, yet this town of 1,500 has three stores that sell that. Imagine that?"

Hope this helps ya'll evaluate whether you want to read them or not.

Snooze.......2007-06-21

"My thoughts are unoriginal," Chuck Klosterman states on page 73 (hardback). That was my conclusion by page 3.

Affecting a Kerouacesque randomness with Bangsian hipness, Klosterman grinds through a passionless, pretentious diary in which nothing of significance occurs. It's possible to write about nothing but oneself (Burroughs sure could) but a unique voice and a lifetime of living, not to mention serious literary skill, is required to pull it off. Not Klosterman. Well, I never cared much for the stuff in Spin, but at least that material, however slight and evanscent, is edited; this book, however, just runs and runs ... like a forgotten motel room faucet.

Oh, yay.

Average customer rating:

My son loved it!!
excellent deal
Mistake
Nothing and everything all at once
Perfect Book for a Perfect Band!!!

Gorillaz: Rise of the Ogre
Gorillaz
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594489319
Release Date: 2006-11-02

Book Description

"I tell you what, right, I can guarantee you're going to get some real juicy bits of Gorillaz info. I'll probably slag off loads of people, too. It'll be packed full of great shots from the sets of our videos, gigs, rehearsals, interviews...you name it. It's all in there. So place your order up front kids, this book going to be a scorcher!" - Gorillaz bass-slayer Murdoc Nicalls. This stunning, full-colour hardback will be the most unique rock autobiography ever published. Gorillaz have always been as much about the visuals as they are about the music, and the autobiography will be a feast for the eyes. Featuring brand new art from and designed by Jamie Hewlett, this is the full story of Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel Hobbs for the first time. Included will be their emailing with their motley crew of collaborators, from Ike Turner to Sean Ryder, and accounts of the gigs, the movie (for the first time), the videos and the website - including the low down on Kong Studios, their legendary HQ. It is an essential purchase for a legion of fans.

Customer Reviews:

My son loved it!!.......2007-08-06

My son has wanted this book for months. he earned enough money himself and wanted me to drive him 30 miles to borders. ilooked on amazon and found it $5 cheaper with free overnite shipping. Perfect!

excellent deal.......2007-06-13

The delivery of this porduct arrive around a month from the day the purchase was made. The product arrived in excellent conditions and this product was better than I expected.

Mistake.......2007-05-27

I unfortunately expected comic book from Jamie Hewlett rather than this huge story, so I was dissapointed. The book is nicely made and the story is very belivable since the characters are described very good - it looks like they really exist. But if you expect Jamie's early work like Tank Girl or Get the Freebies from Face magazine, this is not to be your choice.

Nothing and everything all at once.......2007-04-11

Probably the most concise visual history of the published work Jamie has done for this project as of yet and a great work of humorous fiction in it's own right. Continues the tradition of creating a surrealistic reality for the band where existing people coexist and interact with Murdoc, 2D, Noodle and Russel. Won't find much in terms of concept art (some early drawings though) or how Jamie and Damon masterminded the project but a definite pick-up for any Gorillaz fan.

Perfect Book for a Perfect Band!!!.......2007-03-20

I have liked Gorillaz since I first saw there video on MTV for "Clint Eastwood". There videos and there music just drew me in and never will let me go. Now with this book this answers all the burning questions Gorillaz fans have been wanting to know. It has a great set of chapters and great artwork and pictures to go along with the book. Considering this book is almost 300 pages long and is a very nice hardback book for its cost its not a bad price. It also tells on upcoming things especially in the future. Just us fans can hope that Gorillaz will stay around for a very long time to come.

Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood

Average customer rating:

Mixed results for an unevenly written book.
It's the 60's Again
Better than "White Bicycles"
Interesting look at L.A. and Hollywood in the 1960's - 1980
Rockin Good Time

Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll's Legendary Neighborhood
Michael Walker
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0571211496
Release Date: 2006-05-16

Book Description

In the late sixties and early seventies, an impromptu collection of musicians colonized a eucalyptus-scented canyon deep in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles and melded folk, rock, and savvy American pop into a sound that conquered the world as thoroughly as the songs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones had before them. Thirty years later, the music made in Laurel Canyon continues to pour from radios, iPods, and concert stages around the world. During the canyon’s golden era, the musicians who lived and worked there scored dozens of landmark hits, from "California Dreamin’" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" to "It’s Too Late," selling tens of millions of records and resetting the thermostat of pop culture.

In Laurel Canyon, veteran journalist Michael Walker tells the inside story of this unprecedented gathering of some of the baby boom’s leading musical lights—including Joni Mitchell; Jim Morrison; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; John Mayall; the Mamas and the Papas; Carole King; the Eagles; and Frank Zappa, to name just a few—who turned Los Angeles into the music capital of the world and forever changed the way popular music is recorded, marketed, and consumed.

Customer Reviews:

Mixed results for an unevenly written book........2007-09-11

In the summer of 1972 forces that had been building for decades coalesced to give us the opening strains of the Eagles' "Take It Easy" and Country-Rock went from being a musical undercurrent to being a pop phenomena that affected music, fashion and the culture of young adults for the rest of the '70s. Strangely, in the early '80s this musical phenomena vanished much more quickly than it had appeared leaving little to mark its passing until the Eagles reunion in 1994. Now, over 30 years later there are any number of books telling the story of how Folk, Country, Rock and (to some extent) Blues all came together in LA's Laurel Canyon to make LA the musical promised land which bred this phenomena. Likewise, these books explain how it all collapsed into a heap as cocaine inflated egos clashed and creativity was overtaken by monetary concerns and other realities.

Of the books I've read on the subject of the LA music scene in the '60s and '70s this one perhaps best explains the poisonous effects of cocaine and other vices on the whole scene yet he seems to resist the conclusion that the absolute freedom of the times opened the door to its eventual demise. Michael Walker refers to the culture of the '50s as if it were a nasty communicable disease and he seems genuinely surprised that the free spirits of Laurel Canyon weren't able to change the world to their liking and eventually they too had to conform to reality just as their forebears did.

This brings me to my greatest problem with this book, it seems to be written from the viewpoint of someone who wishes he was there and feels as if he missed out. While he is honest in pointing out that drug-related crime and prostitution surfaced in spite of the tidal wave of idealism that existed at that time he seems to write from a viewpoint of wistful nostalgia for something he never actually was a part of. He seems to believe in the fantasy even though he is chronicling its failure. Accounting for the fact that the author is a Chicagoan that relocated to Laurel Canyon helps to explain this; at least to me. The author (and this book) seem divided; one foot rooted in the past "glories" of the era he writes about while the other foot cautiously treads the reality of the present. It's as if part of the author is wishing that some of the old crew would show up in his yard and start partying while the other half of him would call the police in a heartbeat if they did.

I wouldn't warn anyone off of buying this book, it is in fact very informative, but it is nonetheless uneven. It is a book I would recommend to a true afficinado of the subject but not as a sole purchase if you want to read about Country-Rock. A few other books you might enjoy are: Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock, Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends and To The Limit: The Untold Story Of The Eagles.

It's the 60's Again.......2007-09-06

The 1960's music scene in Los Angeles comes vividly alive in this account of the rock world that thrived in Laurel Canyon. This is a must-read for anyone (like me) who grew up listening to CSN&Y, Frank Zappa, the Mamas and the Papas, Joni Mitchell and others. It's amazing to think that all this talent and more converged in one place at one special time. Michael Walker provides a thorough accounting of the birth and death of Laurel Canyon as a rock colony in a captivating and insightful way. You can almost smell the marijuana wafting from the book! These truly were the good old days, probably never to be seen again. A great read!

Better than "White Bicycles".......2007-08-22

Put on your wire-rimmed granny glasses when reading "Laurel Canyon", an affectionate and breezy evocation of the area that virtually birthed the "laid back" California musical sounds of the 60's and 70's.

Author Michael Walker painstakingly constructs a portrait of this sequestered piece of real estate, with its narrow, winding roads, quaint bungalows, and eucalyptus trees. It came to serve as a refuge, salon, and social laboratory for the Western fringe of the Woodstock generation.

A whole rogues' gallery of rock stars, groupies, club owners and passers-thru is recreated, to accurately reflect the milieu of people that interacted, "back in the day." You'll get a ringside seat at Frank Zappa's audition of Alice Cooper, see David Crosby careening down the road, cape flying, on his motorcycle, and find Arthur Lee of "Love" tripping on a hill top.

It's heady stuff. And don't believe the snide comment about "a magazine piece" from Publishers Weekly. Yes, there may be a resemblance to the kind of recreations of times and places that "Vanity Fair" publishes... but I view that as a GOOD thing. The writing in "Laurel Canyon" is crisp--it's juicy and it flows. It has flair, it's not prosaic, and that's what you want in a book about places where great music originated. Grab a glass of vintage wine and enjoy.

***Recommended cds to accompany reading:

"Ladies of the Canyon", Joni Mitchell
"Deja Vu", Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
"Blues From Laurel Canyon", John Mayall
"Forever Changes", Love
"Permanent Damage", the GTOs
"Jackson Browne" ("Saturate Before Using"), Jackson Browne

Interesting look at L.A. and Hollywood in the 1960's - 1980.......2007-08-12

Laurel Canyon is a good two sitting read that offers the reader an insightful perspective into the world of West Hollywood and LA over a roughly 20 year period. The writing style seemed odd at times, but overall not a great obstacle. For some reason Walker finds it necessary to elevate the importance of the LA music scene and culture while purposely downplaying or omission of the San Francisco Bay Area's colossal influence on 1960's musical and cultural significance with such bands as The Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Country Joe and The Fish, Sly and The Family Stone, Blue Cheer, Quicksilver Messenger Service etc.). Walker seems to consider "L.A Citizen" Janis Joplin more of a fixture of LA than San Francisco despite Janis' extended stay and musical development with Big Brother and The Holding Company and shacking up with the Grateful Dead in the Haight. The music scene and draw to LA/Hollywood was largely reciprocal to the movie industry presence there where as the cultural development in San Francisco in the 1960 was he next phase of the 1940-50's Jazz and Beat movements - think Kerouac. From the famous Psychedelic light shows (Glenn McKay and The Brotherhood of Art at the Fillmore and Winterand (The Last Waltz) Cow Palace (Rust Never Sleeps movie), Candlestick Park (Last Beatles Concert) to the 1960's rock art; Stanley Mouse, Robert Crumb (keep on truckin'), Golden Gate Park (first love-ins), Electric Kool-Aid acid test, Purple Haze (Stanley Owsley (bear)) etc.. All roads lead to San Francisco in the 1960's ..

Rockin Good Time.......2007-08-11

This is a fascinating book and the author ties in history and anecdotes to make an interesting story of the tie between Southern California and Rock and Roll in the late 60s and early 70s. I saw many of these bands perform in those years and it was nice to learn the "story behind the story." Mama Cass Elliott put Graham Nash in touch with Steve Stills and David Crosby and the rest is musical history, as they say. Graham Nash has many kind words to say about her. Nice book, but short on details about individual bands and their artistry.

Beneath the Diamond Sky: Haight Ashbury 1965 1970

Average customer rating:

4 1/2* Psychedelic Music and Culture in 1960's S.F.
Quite Disappointed
Yawn and great disapointment!
It's beautiful, man!
beautiful addition for all libraries

Beneath the Diamond Sky: Haight Ashbury 1965 1970
Barney Hoskyns
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684841800

Book Description

Tells the story of Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, in the years 1965-1970, the years "the Haight" emerged as the mecca of the countercultural scene. Hoskyns begins his history of this 8-block-wide area during the Beat period, which created the aesthetic for the psychedelic period that followed. He goes on to document the era's end with the defining moment of Altamont. Between these signal events, he analyzes the place & the people that became the catalyst for the greatest social revolution of 20th-century America. Includes more than 100 reproductions of the great bands, the fashions, & the psychedelic posters/artwork

Customer Reviews:

4 1/2* Psychedelic Music and Culture in 1960's S.F........2004-10-25

This nicely illustrated musical history explains how the "psychedelic" sound of mid- to late- 60's San Francisco bands (e.g., the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Janis Joplin, Country Joe and the Fish, Moby Grape, and others) were an extension of folk music with roots in 1950's beat culture. Thus, Kesey, Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burrows figure prominently in the book, giving the music its foundation, it's apolitical ethos, and (as Hoskyns repeatedly emphasize) its acid and other drugs. The author's most fascinating and best writing occurs when he explores the roots and evolution of the San Francisco sound, and its love/hate relationship with the subcultures in which it was embedded.. For example, his analysis of the tension between the Berkeley radicals and the hippies is surprisingly astute and well documented (especially since there is inadequate analysis in much of the book).

The end of the psychedelic scene is a familiar and shallow account that includes legions of teen runaways, rampant drugs and violence, and, (must we hear this again?) the conveniently symbolic disaster at Altamount. More instructive is his description of how the music industry co-opted the scene (with help from musicians who actually wanted to make money!), the organizational talent of promoter Bill Graham who competed with the established but looser "Family Dog" outfit, the overdoses, and the dissolution of the beat-inspired ethos. Hoskyns writes that some of this was dissolution was inevitable, as the once young hippie musicians became the establishment, and a new generation rebelled against it. However, while San Francisco was a major part of the 60's scene, it was not the only part, and Hoskyns doesn't place it within the national context of the Nixon presidency, the increasing military/police complex, and the growing politicalization and militancy of women and other disenfranchised groups.

More importantly, for a music history Hoskyns' musical analysis is fairly weak, you don't get an idea of what the music was like, nor is there much discussion of how the groups differed. But that would have required a more serious, even scholarly book. "Beneath the Diamond Sky" is meant to appear a bit trippy, with different fonts and font SIZES and various tie-dye colors thrown in to replicate the feeling of the period. This mostly doesn't work; it's too much artifice, but at least you get some feeling for the creative impulse of the time. Finally, the book would have been better with a epilogue tracing what more of what happened to the S.F. musical and cultural leaders after the 60's ended, and what their influence has been on others.

However, that's not really what this book is about (despite its excellent early cultural analysis). The book is best for its great photographs of these seminal musicians and cultural icons in their prime, including pictures of street scenes, posters, and free concerts at Golden Gate park Still, the book can be annoying because of typos and other mistakes, and seemingly contradictory statements. It appears there was no single Haight Ashbury scene, and that's why this book may offend some who were actually there. However, I can strongly recommend this for its photos, and as an introduction to the subject (especially if you can find it used or discounted}. A short bibliography--but no discography!--may encourage further research into "Hashbury" history. Note: The book title is taken from Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tangerine Man."

Quite Disappointed.......2001-08-30

I am quite pleased I ordered a used copy of this book, and would have been quite disappointed if I had paid the [money on the] price tag.. Nice photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at ...Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.

Yawn and great disapointment!.......2001-08-30

...Great photos and much ado about music. In short, I lived in the Haight-Ashbury during those wonderful years. And this book reflects nothing of what life was really like. At all, to us that were not directly tied to a band. I partied at 710 Ashbury and other places. I had hopes this would address what street life was truly like back then. It does not.

It's beautiful, man!.......1999-07-10

If you are like me, the subject matter of Beneath the Diamond Sky will be quite familiar turf: Haight-Ashbury in the sixties. In this case familiarity does not breed contempt. It breeds Love (as in "Summer of"). This bygone pop culture big bang has never been more concisely or attractively typified as in this book.

I fell in love with this book at first sight. I held it in my hands and yea, it was beautiful. I paged through it's rainbow-hued, lavishly illustrated pages and was filled with Satisfaction. I read the text and it was Righteous, dude. I admired the posters and buttons, rare photos and it was all very far out. This is a very reassuring book, a chronicle of the time when the universe swirled psychodynamically around Haight-Ashbury. It betokens all things Hippie and San Francisco without being sugar-coated.

Previous books addressing this topic have not found the right mix of form and content. "Summer of Love" by Joel Selvin, for instance was a pop history document which lacked the design and illustrative qualities of this book. Also, Selvin tended to rewrite things to the chagrin of the psychedelic cognoscenti enough to bring doubt upon the enterprise. "Diamond Sky" tends to neglect revisionism in favor of what is actually known.

Hoskyns does an admirable job of running all of the characters across the page for our scrutiny. The quotes, the deeds, the legends are all covered. I can't quibble with any of it, it's there and its familiar and as I stated before, it is beautifully presented. Hello to Jerry, Janis, Skip, Grace, Chet et. al.

Barney Hoskyns is a very adept pop music writer whose work appears quite often in 'serious pop music' magazines like Mojo. What I like about him here is that he doesn't seem to intrude upon the luminous subject matter at all. He lets the Haight speak for itself, which it continues to do quite well.

beautiful addition for all libraries.......1999-07-03

This book is small in size only! Author Barney Hoskyns' historical narrative of San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury 1965-1970 reads like a fascinating novel. I read this book in one siting and when I reluctantly turned the last page I suddenly realized that I had just received an intense lession in California history and the world of music. What a joy! I went out and bought three more copies for some close friends. Buy it!

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Average customer rating:

Killer, meng
a complete history
Quilting threads of Hip Hop
Overall an excellent book
the best academic Hip-Hop Book you will find

Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation
Jeff Chang , and D.J. Kool Herc
Manufacturer: Picador
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312425791
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Amazon.com

Many good books have been written about the history of hip-hop music and the generation that nurtured it. Can't Stop Won't Stop ranks among the best. Jeff Chang covers the music--from its Jamaican roots in the late 1960s to its birth in the Bronx; its eventual explosion from underground to the American mainstream--with style, including DJs, MCs, b-boys, graffiti art, Black Nationalism, groundbreaking singles and albums, and the street parties that gave rise to a genuine movement. But the book is about more than beats and rhymes. What distinguishes his book from the pack is Chang's examination of how hip-hop has shaped not only pop music, but American history and culture over the past 30 years. He shows how events such as urban flight, race riots, neighborhood reclamation projects, gang warfare in the Bronx and Los Angeles, and grassroots movements that influenced political agendas are as integral a part of the hip-hop story as the music itself. He also charts the concurrent rise of hip-hop activism and the commodification of the music and the ideological clashes that developed as a result.

Based on hundreds of interviews and over a decade of work as a respected music journalist, Chang offers colorful profiles of the lives and influences of "the trinity of hip-hop music"--Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and DJ Kool Herc--along with many other artists, label executives, DJs, writers, filmmakers, and promoters. Impressive in its scope, Can't Stop Won't Stop is a lively and sharply written exploration of the power of hip-hop to unite people across generational, racial, and economic lines. --Shawn Carkonen

Book Description

Forged in the fires of the Bronx and Kingston, Jamaica, hip-hop has been a generation-defining global movement. In a post-civil rights era rapidly transformed by deindustrialization and globalization, hip-hop gave voiceless youths a chance to address these seismic changes, and became a job-making engine and the Esperanto of youth rebellion. Hip-hop crystallized a multiracial generations worldview, and forever transformed politics and culture. But the epic story of how that happened has not been told....until now.

Customer Reviews:

Killer, meng.......2007-05-24

As a literate college graduate who loves hiphop and reading, this book bridges the gap by bringing a history of the movement and the place that, more or less, made hiphop. The initial chapters about NYC and Jamaica from the sixties onward really clarified the scene for me: white flight, the major NYC highway projects and the civil strife in Jamaica created a cauldron of creative activity in the center of the greatest city in the world, among its poorest citizens. This book rules, quite simply. I read it over a weekend, while downloading a lot of the music along with it, immersing myself in an epoch and a movement that I have only begun to truly appreciate in the last 3-4 years. Excellent and highly recommended.

a complete history.......2007-03-21

Chang's history of hip-hop starts at the beginning (in the 70s) and examines the phenomenon from musical, cultural, and political viewpoints. His main strength is that he refrains from discussing "current" events, lest the book become dated too quickly. Indeed, only the last couple of chapters deal with the last ten years, and at that it's a cursory look. Chang's writing is outstanding, if a little too focused on certain acts (Public Enemy seems to take up the entire mid-section of the book), but his depth of knowledge of his subject matter and his manner for conveying it are excellent. His primary weakness is that he has a definite political slant to his work, occasionally dropping his journalistic guard to take shots at right-wing causes/politicians. It doesn't get in the way of the text, but it does get annoying. It's hard to write a history of a person/event/phenomenon that is ongoing that actually seems like a history, but Chang has done an excellent job doing just that.

Quilting threads of Hip Hop.......2007-02-25

After reading Chang's book Can't Stop Won't Stop it is amazing how all the pieces come together. He writes with an amazing breadth that captures politics, sociology, history, economics, globalization, exploitation, capitalism, racism, media tricks, etc. and how they have all contributed to the formation of hip-hop and the resulting culture. As I came of age in the mid 90's I became transfixed with gangsta rap and inner city culture, I never realized how all the afore mentioned concepts made up an entire culture that connects with audiences all around the globe or the economics that helped regenerate a struggling economy and an evaporating job landscape. As the new century comes into full swing it is astounding to think of the power hip hop still holds and the mouths it feeds.

As I dig deeper into the sociology of this last statement I can't help but think while hip hop has revived industries like music, fashion, and film and laced corporate pockets with green the conditions that breed hip hop still have not changed. The current Bush Administration is continuing where Reagan and his pops left off by gutting social programs and destroying education while offering hope through the army only to die for a country that doesn't give a damn about a better tomorrow only a richer, whiter one. Hip Hop heads are still seen as criminals in broader society, still harassed by police and still followed around the stores their culture helps feed.

Perhaps Hip Hop can be the vehicle that delivers a unified front to reclaim this country from corporate interests and the carnivorous capitalist system. It has the power to reach audiences of every creed and the prophets to deliver the message.

Jeff Chang is a prophet of history. Thanks for writing this book and teaching me about my past. Because if you love hip hop this history is a part of you.

Overall an excellent book.......2006-10-22

Previous reviewers have already brought out the strengths of the book, so I won't extensively repeat them. For me, it was important that he located the development of hip hop in socio-economic contexts of the last few decades. Some were disappointed that this book was not a mindlessly celebratory litany of great artists, but a critical history of great art made by real people with real conflicts. I think we need less cheerleaders and more thoughtfulness.

While everyone has topics that they would like to see addressed, I was surprised that the author overlooked a major controversy in hip hop: the shootings of Tupac and Biggie. I am not nitpicking here, this was more important than the KRS-ONE/MC Shan dispute, y'know? This caused a great deal of anguish within hip hop and reverberated outside of it. Besides refocuing the question of violence in hop hop, it re-raised questions about the relationships between art, race, communitty and commerce.

Perhaps in future editions, something could be added?

the best academic Hip-Hop Book you will find.......2006-09-20

Jeff has doen an amazing job chronicling the culture from a academic perspective with the right amount of authenticity. He is not some egghead in a tower. He has started his own label and grinded it out in Hip-Hop. But he still has the intellectual desire to examine Hip-Hop with the proper historical angle.

I have read a lot of books on Hip-Hop and this is best. Amateurs - start here. Vets - brush up on your knowledge here.

Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison, Volume 1

Average customer rating:

Excellent Collection
I AM IN LOVE WITH JIM!
Strangely beautiful and mesmerizing...hypnotic
Mesmerizing , Magical, Mystical Poetry
Haunting

Wilderness: The Lost Writings of Jim Morrison, Volume 1
Jim Morrison
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679726225
Release Date: 1989-12-17

Book Description

Compiled from the literary estate of the singer who brought a wildly lyrical poetry of the damned to the world of rock 'n' roll. Includes unpublished poems, drawings, photos, and a candid self-interview.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Collection .......2007-05-17

This book is by far one of the best books of poetry I have had the pleasure of reading. Recommended to anyone that not only love's poetry but are interested in enter deeper into the mind of Jim Morrison.

I AM IN LOVE WITH JIM!.......2007-02-18

Jim Morrison is my favorite artist, idol, poet, male, and anything else. He is such an amazing person and his art is truly appreciated. Not only was he hot and sexy-he can actally write! Enclosed are his lyrics and deep emotions-a great read with a bunch of friends by a fire at night. You will love all these poems and the photos of the amazing beast himself-Jim Morrison himself revealed.

Strangely beautiful and mesmerizing...hypnotic.......2005-10-15

I love this book and you don't have to be a lover of poetry to admire and appreciate the poems contained in this book. Jim Morrison was a man who was deeply committed to his art. As the lead singer and lyricist of The Doors (one of the greatest rock bands of all time) he took special care that his lyrics as well as his poems aim to release people from the constraints of what is normal and that we as people should follow our own destiny and draw our own conclusions and live our life the way that we want it. Jim Morrison was a tortured, confused and misunderstood soul but nevertheless a genius. An enigma and legend that will live on forever. The lizard king, the electric poet cannot and will not be silenced ever... as long as his music and poetry continues to thrive in all who appreciate and love his unique and captavating artistry. Get this book and you will not disappointed.

Mesmerizing , Magical, Mystical Poetry.......2005-07-11

Jim Morrison was a poet far, far ahead of his time. His words evoke dancing, metaphorical images that bloom in your mind like rare hothouse flowers. You can feel the angst, pain and beauty of his soul in these poems.

If you love poetry, this book is a must-have. I keep it by my bed and read it every night. I've had some pretty awesome dreams, too!

Haunting.......2005-06-22

The words and images in this book have a way with your mind. They stick in your subconscious as if they are the stories your ancestors told around the campfire.

Jim Morrison's poetry is a mix of Greek mythology, and Shamanic mysticism. Throw in some books from long ago that are deep in the blood of mankind, and you end up with Morrison.

His poetry does not talk about himself. Instead he writes about archetypical themes in a modern setting. His setting was the 60's, which provided a lot of material: Vietnam, new drugs, the Women's Rights Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement.

All of these things were ripping at the fabric of America (and humanity). Morrison's poetry attacks these chaotic times head on. However, he writes as if he were a 19th century poet in the mold of Lord Byron, or Arthur Rimbaud. He achieved his goal, and a place in history.

Pop Dreams: Music, Movies, and the Media in the American 1960's (Harbrace Books on America Since 1945)

Average customer rating:

brief and well written

Pop Dreams: Music, Movies, and the Media in the American 1960's (Harbrace Books on America Since 1945)
Archie Loss
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0155041460

Book Description

In one compact volume, POP DREAMS analyzes the trends, events, and personalities that influenced American culture from 1945 to 1970. The discussion broadens students' understanding of major events in popular culture by putting those events in historical context.

Customer Reviews:

brief and well written.......2005-08-25

This little book could easily have been a fully fledged tome. Loss surveys the popular American media in the 1960s. He shows how it echoed and in turn fed back on the burning issues of the times. The Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.

There is discussion of politics at the Federal level, with the actions of US Presidents being key events. But Loss manages to tie this all into a narrative that also encompasses analysis of the rock and roll scene and the counterculture.

The book is aimed at an undergraduate or high school reader, as a quick synopsis of trends that Loss traces back to 1945 and the emergence of the US from the Second World War. He hopes to whet the reader's appetite for more detailed reading of these vast topics.

Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation

Average customer rating:

An Absorbing and Enlightening Page-Turner, with Few Errors
Absolutely riveting
what an amazing book
This one's for the radio geeks
All Hail Rock 'n Roll!

Something in the Air: Radio, Rock, and the Revolution That Shaped a Generation
Marc Fisher
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375509070
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

A sweeping, anecdotal account of the great sounds and voices of radio–and how it became a bonding agent for a generation of American youth

When television became the next big thing in broadcast entertainment, everyone figured video would kill the radio star–and radio, period. But radio came roaring back with a whole new concept. The war was over, the baby boom was on, the country was in clover, and a bold new beat was giving the syrupy songs of yesteryear a run for their money. Add transistors, 45 rpm records, and a young man named Elvis to the mix, and the result was the perfect storm that rocked, rolled, and reinvented radio.

Visionary entrepreneurs like Todd Storz pioneered the Top 40 concept, which united a generation. But it took trendsetting “disc jockeys” like Alan Freed, Murray the K, Wolfman Jack, Cousin Brucie, and their fast-talking, too-cool-for-school counterparts across the land to turn time, temperature, and the same irresistible hit tunes played again and again into the ubiquitous sound track of the fifties and sixties. The Top 40 sound broke through racial barriers, galvanized coming-of-age kids (and scandalized their perplexed parents), and provided the insistent, inescapable backbeat for times that were a-changin’.

Along with rock-and-roll music came the attitude that would literally change the “voice” of radio forever, via the likes of raconteur Jean Shepherd, who captivated his loyal following of “Night People”; the inimitable Bob Fass, whose groundbreaking Radio Unnameable inaugurated the anything-goes free-form style that would come to define the alternative frontier of FM; and a small-time Top 40 deejay who would ultimately find national fame as a political talk-show host named Rush Limbaugh.

From Hunter Hancock, who pushed beyond the limits of 1950s racial segregation with rhythm and blues and hepcat patter, to Howard Stern, who blew through all the limits with a blue streak of outrageous on-air antics; from the heyday of summer songs that united carefree listeners to the latter days of political talk that divides contentious callers; from the haze of classic rock to the latest craze in hip-hop, Something in the Air chronicles the extraordinary evolution of the unique and timeless medium that captured our hearts and minds, shook up our souls, tuned in–and turned on–our consciousness, and went from being written off to rewriting the rules of pop culture.

Customer Reviews:

An Absorbing and Enlightening Page-Turner, with Few Errors.......2007-09-30

I had to read this book twice. The first time I started with the Jean Shepherd section, then skipped around. After I made it through all the pages, I didn't want the book to be over, so I read it from beginning to end. That is how absorbing Something in the Air is; Fisher has put together fascinating strings of anecdotes and facts, well-cemented with narrative and a bit of his own opinion, and given us the evolution of radio as experienced by listeners, station owners, management, deejays, and other air personalities, and he's shown us all the angles--legal, commercial, esthetic, and ethical.

The book won't please everyone, and anyone who reads it is going to say "What about ____?" and "Why didn't he tell the story of _____?" The answer to that is, of course, that everything wouldn't fit into the book. Having written quite a bit on radio history, I can tell you that Fisher's research and interviews probably left him with half again as much material as he put into the book. That's always the burden of the competent author: what do put in and what do I leave out?

As other reviewers have pointed out, there are a few errors here and there. I won't dwell on those; the book is so valuable that they are of little consequence. It would be nice if the author posted an errata sheet at his blog, though.

And I have to say that the story of the WOR I, Libertine hoax that Jean Shepherd and Ian Ballantine perpetrated, aided and abetted by Theodore Sturgeon's ghost-writing, is worth the price of the book on its own. And there are other anecdotes that equal that one.

Fisher might have overdone some of the topics, falling at the feet of radio "gods," for instance. But I was pleased to see that he didn't harp on Don Imus or Howard Stern to please readers, nor did he haul out other celebrities the way some overly self-conscious writers feel obligated to do when writing about the famous.

Did I mention how good the writing is? Good enough to keep you turning the pages. Fisher is a good stylist. He also has a journeyman technique, as illustrated by the fascinating build-up to Rush Limbaugh's triumph. Among other things.

There's nothing more to say, other than this book does for radio what Michael Korda's Another Life did for book publishing.
--Mike

Absolutely riveting.......2007-08-27

This is less a review and more an enthusiastic recommendation. As a Brit, many of the presenters' names in this book (apart from, say, Stern and Limbaugh) meant little to me but I still found this book absolutely unputdownable. This is testament to a) my radio "geekiness" and - more importantly - b) Marc Fisher's skills as a writer, historian and storyteller. A fascinating history of radio in the US with many a good story tucked away in the endnotes. Highly recommended.

what an amazing book.......2007-07-24

Everyone should read this compelling book by Marc Fisher. It brilliantly uses radio to tell the story of Americans in the last several decades. Funny, powerful, commanding, and lyrical, Fisher is a beautiful storyteller.

This one's for the radio geeks.......2007-07-08

For anyone who's interested in the history & future of radio,look no further-Marc Fisher has written the ultimate history of the medium-Definitely worth your time & money.

All Hail Rock 'n Roll!.......2007-06-20

Simply stated, "Something in the Air" is the best book on Radio I've ever read. Congratulations to Marc Fisher on a wonderful skip through time without a single trip. Excelsior!"

Peter Cavanaugh

wildwednesday.com

Average customer rating:

Madonna IS art!!
More than just a "coffee table" book! Don't judge this book just by its cover! Devour it... bon appetite!
A Must for Madonna Fans - Fun for Art Lovers
Even a non-Madonna fan will enjoy this book

Madonna in Art
Mem Mehmet
Manufacturer: Chaucer Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1904957005

Book Description

In 1977, Madonna Louise Ciccone moved from Michigan to New York City, re-christening herself simply ‘Madonna’. Six years of hard work in the clubs of Manhattan with a succession of bands propelled her to the forefront of the New York scene. In 1983, her self-titled debut album was released, and the hit singles ‘Holiday’ and ‘Borderline’ soon followed. Then came seventeen consecutive top ten hits, a further ten albums, and roles in nineteen feature films, from her debut in the 80’s classic Desperately Seeking Susan to the steamy thriller Body of Evidence. Multitalented, controversial in her own proud sexuality and a dedicated campaigner for sexual tolerance, Madonna is one of the great Millennial Icons, a one-woman pop phenomenon who has pushed back and blurred the boundaries of the music, film and fashion worlds.

‘Madonna in Art’ is a celebration of the Pop Goddess at every stage of her career. A testament to her unique global impact, it features work by over a hundred artists, including Andrew Logan, Bruni, Sebastian Kruger, Al Hirschfeld, Donna Lief and Peter Howson. These images range across every role Madonna has played on the world stage, from erotic dancer to the dignified figure of Eva Peron in Evita.

Customer Reviews:

Madonna IS art!!.......2007-01-21

Fantastic hard-cover book with work by artists all over the world. Some of the stuff is really beautifully done - you've gotta have this!

More than just a "coffee table" book! Don't judge this book just by its cover! Devour it... bon appetite!.......2006-06-07

I am a librarian. Over the decades, I have had many art books pass through my hands. The compilation of fine artists by the author is glorious! The author's rigorous research in finding the artists whom he chose to be included within, certainly substantial.
In particular, the artist Susan Victor of murrrbeast.com, is
included in this book. It is about time that someone recognized her exceeding works. I would highly recommend this book -- especially to those in academia; the field of commercial art;
and anyone who simply loves art.

A Must for Madonna Fans - Fun for Art Lovers.......2004-10-30

I bought a book in 1984 called "Marilyn In Art". I always loved to every now and then flip through it because it was so much fun to see the different ways these artists drew or painted (etc) the same subject. I happen to be a longtime Marilyn fan.
From what I understand, the author (compiler) of this book, Mem Mehmet, is friends with the author of the twenty year old Marilyn book, Roger G. Taylor (who also did an "Elvis In Art"). I had the paperback version of the Marilyn book, but was lucky enough to get the hardcover version of "Madonna In Art". I am also a Madonna fan (not as much as a Marilyn fan, but...), this book is a MUST for any fan of Madonna! Fantastic, fun renditions of Madonna in every style imaginable, which also makes it great for any artist or art lover. Along with each piece of art is a quote from Madonna herself or a celebrity or author, etc. about some aspect of the superstar which is fun to read. Unlike my paperback "Marilyn In Art" book, the hardback version of this is of the highest quality. Beneath the attactive book cover, the name is embossed in silver metallic ink (which is used throughout the book). Would make a wonderful gift for Madonna fans, artists, art lovers!!! I'd scoop up the hardcover before it's only available in paperback!

Even a non-Madonna fan will enjoy this book.......2004-10-26

I've never been a fan of Madonna's music, but have admired her willingness to constantly re-invent herself. This new art book shows how others in the art world have viewed Madonna throughout her career. There are sketches, water colors, oils, and works from many other mediums with the artist's unique view on who (or in some cases, what) Madonna is.

If you love art, or love Madonna, this is the book for you. And it makes a perfect gift as well!

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