Book Description
A documented screenplay of the Oliver Stone film, complete with historical annotation, with 340 research notes and 97 reactions and commentaries by Norman Mailer, Tom Wicker, Gerald R. Ford, and many others. "It's a lesson in craft to watch JFK on video while reading along, charting what got cut, softened, and rethought." -Entertainment Weekly
Customer Reviews:
Quite Literally, Arlen Specter Didn't Come Up With The "Single-Bullet Theory" -- The Autopsy Doctors Sprouted The "SBT" Seeds.......2006-01-09
In Oliver Stone's 1991 motion picture "JFK" (and in this book version of that film), a major stepping "stone" to "conspiracy" that's used by Mr. Stone (and nearly all other conspiracy theorists who have studied the John F. Kennedy assassination since that sad event occurred in 1963) is the contention that the controversial "Single-Bullet Theory" is and was a completely preposterous myth that could never have happened in a million lifetimes, and was placed into the Warren Commission's final report re. the Kennedy assassination solely out of NECESSITY. I, however, cannot disagree more strongly with such an allegation.
While it's true that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is given the most credit for having come up with the "Single-Bullet Theory" to explain the simultaneous wounding of President Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally -- as a point of fact, the "SBT" was in reality "More Than Half Way Home" (so to speak) as early as November 23rd, 1963 (well before Mr. Specter had ever gazed at any of the evidence in the JFK assassination case).
Why? --- Because the seeds that ultimately sprouted the wholly-acceptable and utterly-logical "Single-Bullet Theory" are right there in the November 1963 autopsy report signed by Drs. Humes, Boswell, and Finck.
It wasn't Arlen Specter who just arbitrarily decided (on a whim or ON HIS OWN) that a single bullet had gone completely through the upper back of President Kennedy and had exited his throat in the front. It was the AUTOPSY DOCTORS who made this critical determination on November 23, 1963 (one day after Kennedy's death and the FIRST DAY when ALL available and required information had been assembled and evaluated by the autopsy doctors; i.e., the first day when Drs. Humes, Boswell, and Finck had any knowledge at all that a bullet hole had been located in the front of President Kennedy's neck).
The remainder of the SBT was, of course, pieced together in the early portions of 1964 by Specter (and probably other WC people as well) while utilizing other important information and evidence surrounding the assassination.
The WC testimony of Robert Frazier of the FBI was an integral part of the "SBT puzzle". Frazier testified to the very important information about there having been no limousine damage in the rear-seat areas of the vehicle, proving that no bullet or bullets had penetrated the back seats or the Connally "jump" seats; nor did any whole or nearly-whole bullet(s) come to rest anywhere near JFK's or Connally's seats on 11/22/63.
And there's, of course, the other vital (bodily) link in the "SBT chain" -- John Connally's body and his wounds (with the "elongated" entry wound on the Governor's back being a tell-tale sign that the bullet which struck Mr. Connally almost certainly had hit something or someone else first before entering the Governor's back); plus the lack of ANY bullets in Connally's body (and none found in JFK's body either, which was determined at his autopsy); and the determination by Connally's doctor (Dr. Shaw) that Connally's wounds were all most likely caused by just one single bullet.
Which leads us to the ONLY BULLET ever discovered anywhere near the victims that could have been linked in any fashion to the wounds sustained by Kennedy and/or Connally (the non-fatal wounds to JFK that is) -- famous Bullet #CE399, which was found on a stretcher at Parkland Hospital by Darrell Tomlinson prior to 2:00 PM (CST) on 11/22/63, which would have been a ludicrous time for any conspirator(s) to have wanted to "plant" such a bullet -- because it was WAY TOO SOON to know for certain if OTHER missiles would be recovered from either of the victims, other bullets which (if found) would have rendered a "Planted CE399" completely useless and superfluous and, above all, PLOT-BLOWING!
CE399 was linked to Lee Harvey Oswald's Mannlicher-Carcano rifle (to the exclusion of every weapon ever made), and, via NAA analysis, that very same bullet has been linked (with near certainty) to the bullet fragments removed from the wrist of wounded Governor Connally.
Given all of the above (in its totality), can someone please explain how in the "Real World" (where most of the population resides) the Warren Commission could have come to any conclusion OTHER than the Single-Bullet scenario to explain all of these above-mentioned factors?
Obviously, they could not have explained the wounds themselves (and the wounds' physical arrangement on the two victims' bodies)....and the lack of bullets....and the lack of limo damage via ANY other logical and reasonable way -- other than to say what the Warren Commission ultimately did say: One single missile (CE399) travelled through John Kennedy's upper body, exited his throat, entered John Connally's back (sideways), traversed the Governor's chest (taking out a rib en route), exited the Governor's chest just below the right nipple, continued on its flight into Connally's right wrist, then exited the wrist where it became spent in the Governor's left thigh .... where it then was dislodged at some point (in the car or in the hospital), ending up on Governor Connally's stretcher, where the bullet was then discovered by hospital employee Darrell Tomlinson at approximately 12:50 PM to 12:55 PM, Dallas time, on November 22nd, 1963.
But the literal genesis of the Single-Bullet Theory lies NOT within the Warren Commission or Arlen Specter specifically -- it lies in the autopsy report itself, a report which was signed by three different doctors WEEKS before the Warren Commission even began to assemble its panel of counsel members and legal assistants (which didn't occur until mid-December 1963).
Let's have a look (verbatim) at just exactly what was determined to be the truth concerning the details of President Kennedy's back and neck wounds as of November 23, 1963 (six days before the Warren Commission was even created):
"Summary: Based on the above observations, it is our opinion that the deceased died as a result of two perforating gunshot wounds inflicted by high-velocity projectiles, fired by a person or persons unknown. The projectiles were fired from a point behind and somewhat above the level of the deceased. .... The fatal missile entered the skull above and to the right of the external occipital protuberance. .... The other missile entered the right superior posterior thorax above the scapula and traversed the soft tissues of the supra-scapular and the supra-clavicular portions of the base of the right side of the neck. This missile produced contusions of the right apical parietal pleura and of the apical portion of the right upper lobe of the lung. The missile contused the strap muscles of the right side of the neck, damaged the trachea, AND MADE ITS EXIT THROUGH THE ANTERIOR SURFACE OF THE NECK. As far as can be ascertained, this missile struck no bony structures in its path through the body."* (Added emphasis my own.)
* = From Page 6 of the Official Autopsy Report on President John F. Kennedy (aka: "Pathological Examination Report"); Bearing the signatures of all three doctors who were present at JFK's 11/22/63 autopsy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Maryland; Signed by: Commander James J. Humes, Commander J. Thornton Boswell, and Lt. Col. Pierre A. Finck.
--------------
The above passages from John F. Kennedy's official medical legal autopsy report absolutely destroy the idea spouted by conspiracy theorists of TWO separate bullets striking the back and neck areas of President Kennedy. And, in essence, this reference to an 'Into-The-Back-And-Out-The-Neck' bullet path, as described by JFK's autopsy doctors, results in (literally) two-thirds of the "Single-Bullet Theory" being purported just ONE DAY after Kennedy's death. The "two-thirds" being -- An OFFICIAL explanation by the autopsy doctors themselves linking .... #1.) The entry wound on JFK's upper back to .... #2.) The exit wound on the front of his neck.
Why it is that the word of ALL THREE of these pathologists who signed off on the Official Autopsy Report describing the wounds of a murdered American President are tossed into the nearest ash can by virtually ALL conspiracy promoters is something I have a difficult time reconciling (except to say that the "CTers" desperately NEED that autopsy report to be dead-wrong in order to further the notion that THREE separate bullets struck JFK and John Connally that day in Dallas, instead of just the one "SBT" missile).
But the OFFICIAL record is crystal clear regarding the back and neck wounds to President Kennedy....and has been crystal clear since November of 1963.
To repeat this ultra-important point -- The doctors said that just ONE bullet passed clean through John F. Kennedy!!
Therefore -- unless every last one of these three autopsy doctors are (to a man) hopeless and utter incompetents or all three of them are lying scumbags who would deliberately falsify the most important autopsy report any of them would ever sign in their entire lives -- then the very first (and verifiably-TRUE) seeds and important links to the Single-Bullet Theory lie in that 1963 Autopsy Report -- and not just in Arlen Specter's mind (nor in any unsubstantiated "theory" placed on the table by Mr. Specter alone, as many CTers seem to believe).
Conspiracy theorists should begin to accept the obvious -- that "obvious" being: the Single-Bullet Theory is the most logical and valid scenario to explain the seven wounds sustained by John F. Kennedy and John B. Connally in Dealey Plaza. And it is the ONLY possible explanation of the event that stands up to critical scrutiny, detailed analysis, and common-sense interpretation of the evidence when the ENTIRE batch of Single-Bullet-favoring evidence is gathered together in the same place.
Denying this fact is to play Oliver Stone's game -- a game highlighted by mystery killers firing from the Grassy Knoll, unexplainable disappearing bullets, and a series of bullet holes (made by THREE different gunmen) in TWO different victims that mirror a SINGLE-BULLET EVENT so closely as to be deemed "perfect" for the adoption of the "SBT" in the months following the shooting.
And I ask with the utmost sincerity -- Who in their right mind would have any desire to play that conspiracy-filled game of impossible-to-pull-off nonsense? Not I, that's for certain.
an epic, the least to say........2004-03-04
Among all the stories which popup every day, this is one story that we should tell our children exactly how and why it happened, the book as the movie did, presented the whole enigma in such a fantastic realistec way, you feel actually living with the characters breathing with them, at times joining in discussions... the complexity and huge number of names and sides in the story means it is not for teatime at all, you really need to concentrate well with this one.
The event was a trajidy no question about it, and what the late Mr.Garrison tried to do was to prevent what we are witnessing nowadays by disclosing the truth, to tell the truth is a courageous mission, to stick to it and face such enormous powers ready to do any thing even kill the president is even harder.
I do recommend that we should have a copy of this story whether as a book or as film, for the sake of history which is always twisted by the claws of the most powerful .
Travesty.......2002-09-04
This is an absolute travesty. Every possible conspiracy element - discredited or not - is added in. Garrison's investigation of the innocent Clay Shaw - the least substantive theory - is the platform for Stone's delusions. And it would HAVE to be about the Vietnam War wouldn't it !
Take one example, the three tramps arrested in Dealey Plaza: Stone has them armed in the film , but they were not connected in any way and were later released.Read Anthony Summers instead and ignore this rubbish.
"Even The Shooters Don't Know".......2001-02-24
"JFK, The Book of the Film "is really an extraordinary achievement....
The screenplay incorporates practically every rumor, fact, factoid, and theory regarding the events of November 22, 1963.
Almost every line of dialouge is meticulously footnoted....
The second half of the book is a compendium of op-ed articles both in defense of and attacking (as in the case of Tom Wicker, Alexander Cockburn, et al) both Oliver Stone and the film. At times these attacks seem both humorless and hysterical ("hey guys..it's a MOVIE!")
Though the book is ten years old, I find myself taking it off the shelf every six months or so to browse both the screenplay and the media barrage surrounding it.
A great book!
Exhilirating and thought-provoking.......2000-10-01
Possibly the smartest screenplay ever written for an American political film. People tend to respond to this movie according to their own beliefs and conspiracy theories, instead of respecting the brilliant technique with which screenwriters Oliver Stone & Zachary Sklar bring these familiar events to new life. Not for the literal-minded, perhaps, but a brilliant construction, a movie that shakes up assumptions and makes you think. Worth a second look, on video and on paper.
Average customer rating:
- pretty good book (for the time)
- An interesting content deals with an interesting subject
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Dangerous Knowledge: The JFK Assassination in Art and Film (Culture and the Moving Image Series)
Art Simon
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1566393795 |
Book Description
Beginning with a description of a poster for a punk band and ending with a critique of the movie JFK, this work marshals an impressive array of cultural information in attempting to provide an overall history of the genre. Simon closely examines images and films, relating them to the continuing struggle over the authoring and interpretation of the story of Kennedy's death.-Library Journal
Customer Reviews:
pretty good book (for the time).......2007-02-21
As the leading civilian authority on the U.S. Secret Service (and President Kennedy's interaction with the agency), I was much interested in this book by Art Simon. I really like the perspective he takes on the case---as seen through the lens of film, art, and culture. That being said, while interesting reading, this book will not move you to any great depth. Still, I commend him for his unique thoughts on the case. vince palamara
An interesting content deals with an interesting subject.......2000-05-25
It is a good book. However, i wish that the author explored more, as well, the political influence on the information allowed to be released in the mentioned movies and art work.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Cineaste, published by Cineaste Publishers, Inc. on March 22, 1996. The length of the article is 1604 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Dangerous Knowledge: The JFK Assassination in Art and Film. (book reviews)
Author: Christopher Sharrett
Publication:
Cineaste (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 1996
Publisher: Cineaste Publishers, Inc.
Volume: v22
Issue: n2
Page: p59(2)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Southern Historical Association on November 1, 2001. The length of the article is 551 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: False Witness: The Real Story of Jim Garrison's Investigation and Oliver Stone's Film JFK. (Book Reviews).(Review)(Brief Article)
Author: David W. Moore
Publication:
Journal of Southern History (Refereed)
Date: November 1, 2001
Publisher: Southern Historical Association
Volume: 67
Issue: 4
Page: 904(1)
Article Type: Book Review, Brief Article
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Thomson Gale on May 1, 2006. The length of the article is 540 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination.(Book review)
Author: James N. Giglio
Publication:
Journal of Southern History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 72
Issue: 2
Page: 523(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
It's not quite as witty as a Porter song (who could equal the incomparable Cole?), but this thorough biography honors the Broadway musical's worldliest, most intelligent composer by taking him seriously. Voluminous research buttresses William McBrien's portrait of a charmed life scarred by tragedy. Born in 1891, Porter left his wealthy family in Indiana to thoroughly enjoy himself at Yale University in Connecticut, where his sassy songs gave the Midwestern outsider social clout. Although exclusively homosexual, Porter was nonetheless devoted to the wealthy widow he married in 1919, and McBrien's narrative of their 1920s travels through Europe captures the glamorous sheen of their life together. Porter had some early success with shows like Fifty Million Frenchmen, but his sustained run of hits began in 1932 with Gay Divorce, continuing through the '50s and Kiss Me Kate. The author liberally quotes from Porter's deliciously naughty lyrics, reminding us how corny most show tunes seem when compared to "Love for Sale" or "Anything Goes." McBrien's painful account of the ghastly aftermath of a 1937 riding accident, which left Porter in pain that ended only with his death in 1964, reveals a quiet, uncomplaining stoic whose substance matched his dazzling style. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
In his life and in his music, Cole Porter was "the top"—the pinnacle of wit, sophistication, and success. His songs—"I Get a Kick Out of You," "Anything Goes," and hundreds more—were instant pop hits, and their musical and emotional depths have made them lasting standards.
William McBrien has captured the creator of these songs, whose life was not merely one of wealth and privilege. A prodigal young man, Porter found his emotional anchor in a long, loving, if sexless marriage, a relationship he repeatedly risked with a string of affairs with men. His last eighteen years were marked by physical agony but also unstinting artistic achievement, including the great Hollywood musicals
High Society,
Silk Stockings, and
Kiss Me Kate (recently and very successfully revived on Broadway). Here, at last is a life that informs the great music and lyrics through illuminating glimpses of the hidden, complicated, private man.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but not great........2006-02-20
I suppose the challenge of reading a biography is slogging through the parts of the person's life in which you have little interest. As a musical theatre performer, I was most interested in the chapters devoted to the genesis of Porter's shows - to me, these were the most interesting, and seemingly well researched. The rest of it, particularly his early life, did not quite spark my interest. I did find the ending chapters - dealing with Cole's descent into melancholy and illness - to be touching. I did gain some insight into the glamorous world of Mr. Porter's time - quite the polar opposite to the Great Depression and WWII. In the sense that I admire books that give me a glimpse into a world different from my own, I liked it.
Night and Day this is the one Cole biography to read.......2004-08-19
Night and Day this is the best biography of the great Cole Porter (1891-1964). Porter was the scion of a wealthy family from Peru, Indiana. As a lad he excelled in music making and
graduated with a degree from Yale University. After a year of Law School at Harvard the travel loving Porter journeyed to Paris. He wed Linda Lee Thomas a wealthy woman several years his senior. Porter was gay and the marriage to Linda was sexless. The couple did love one another and Porter was never the same following Linda's death in 1954.
Porter wrote one fabulous musical after another for over 40 years. He lived in luxury with staff to attend his every need. He had a wide circle of friends from among the cultural and literary elite but was an aloof, fastidious, secretive man. Porter was a hard man to know and this biography is about as close as we will ever get to the inner core of the composer.
Porter was a genius in the witty line, the fetching tune and had the ability to make Broadway take notice during his fabulous career.
His life was placid but painful following his fall from a horse and the amputation of a leg. He was alcoholic and probably took durgs.
McBrien is an English professor who has written a well cratede book rich in anecdote. The book is well illustrated with photos from the Porter legacy. Several of Cole's famed lyrics are recorded to the delight of the reader.
With the new movie on Cole Porter this is a good supplement to the film. Well recommended.
A Memorable Biography of a Brilliant Artist.......2004-06-11
Cole Porter (1891-1964) determinedly created the image of an extremely wealthy man who traveled the world, played with the rich and famous, and now and then wrote a Broadway show or two for the pure pleasure of it. But although he was in some respects a shallow man who lived largely for personal pleasure, he was also a very driven and complex one, a man whose fame on the stage did not come easily and who faced a series of horrific hurdles in his private life.
Porter risked his grandfather's ire--and the family fortune he controlled--by settling on a career in music, and while he earned early fame at Yale through his compositions, his first Broadway venture, See America First, was a humiliating fiasco. Homosexual in an era when it was flatly unacceptable, he would marry to retain respectability and forge a remarkable emotional (if completely platonic) relationship with wife Linda Lee Thomas--even while conducting a series of same-sex affairs that would prove frustratingly superficial. Near the height of his career, a horseback riding accident would leave him crippled and in physical agony for the rest of his life, and the pressures of pain and keeping up appearances would plunge him into fits of depression that seemed to border on the psychotic.
Biographer William McBrien is meticulous in his research and his recreation of Porter's very high society, and in other hands such a weight of knowledge might plunge a book into absolute impenetrability--but although McBrien sometimes errs by flooding the reader with inconsequential detail, by and large he keeps a fine balance on his very difficult subject, tracing the arc of Porter's life from Indiana to Yale to New York to Europe to Hollywood, tracing the arc of his career from the humiliating fiasco of Porter's first Broadway show "See America First" to the brilliance of such successes as "Anything Goes" and "Kiss Me Kate."
In the process McBrien not only seems to capture Porter, but an entire era as well--a world of sharp sophistication when terms like "star" and "toast of two continents" and "gentlemen" still had meaning, when the "have-nots" danced to the tempo of the "haves" and the wealthy went slumming for a thrill. Filled with numerous photographs and large chunks of Porter's memorable lyrics, this is one biography that truly does its subject justice.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
READ IT!.......2003-01-11
WILLIAM McBRIEN has done it;he has given all the PORTER fans of this world the biography they were waiting for for thirty-four years.What this book gives us is an accurate account of the composer's life including his well known homosexuality, even if he married for respectability.PORTER's early years were quite different when compare with the other composers of his generation;he had a millionnaire grandfather and a rather aloof father with whom he didn't really communicate.He led a rather easy going life until he finally decided at the age of 37 to let his talent bloom on BROADWAY.There is considerable irony to the fact that from his riding accident in 1937,that man who had everything suffered a great deal until his death in 1964.You end up knowing what was this thing called love.
A Ride Down Memory Lane.......2002-06-27
I was more curious about Cole Porter's life because I, too, am in love with the lyrics and music he created. Songs like ANYTHING GOES, YOU'RE THE TOP, I LOVE PARIS to name a few are classics to no end. I like a book that takes me back in time, but I'd prefer a good story. I was a bit disappointed how the book became too informational with naming of who's who and who did what vs. a classic story. There are definitely stories behind the stories that would be much more interesting...so, I suppose we have to use our imagination. This book is a great resource to anyone studying about Cole Porter. I had no idea about his horse accident which really put a damper on his lifestyle. He was quite the world traveler in the 20s & 30s which is quite an accomplishment in those days. He definitely had a way with words...but if you read this...complement it with a CD of the COLE PORTER Songbook. It took me a while to get through this because it IS a book that you can put down & keep on your coffee table for a long time (before you pick it up again).
Product Description
Charlotte Greenwood never intended to become a comedienne, but she was unfashionably tall at 5' 10" and her early aspirations to become a great dramatic actress eventually led her to the field of comedy. Greenwood, whose early life had taught her nothing if not how to be optimistic, stifled her disappointment and used her considerable skill to become one of the greatest comedic actresses of the early twentieth century.
Based on Greenwood's unpublished memoirs, this biography presents a personal, detailed look at her colorful life. Beginning with her early years in Philadelphia, Boston and Norfolk, it relates her struggles with ill health, her social difficulties caused by her then unusual height and her realization of her ambition to become an actress. The main focus of the work is her career, which spanned more than 50 years and ranged from vaudeville to the dramatic stage and, finally, to films (during the World War II years she starred in Twentieth Century Fox musicals with Cesar Romero, Betty Grable, Edward Everett Horton, Jack Haley, Don Ameche, and Carmen Miranda). Her roles in a variety of works including The Passing Show of 1912, So Long Letty (both stage and film), and I Remember Mama are also discussed. Special emphasis is placed on her career-defining (and best-known) role as Aunt Eller Murphy in the 1955 film adaptation of Oklahoma! Charlotte Greenwood's performance history, a list of her known recordings, and a filmography for her husband Martin Broones are also included, along with a collection of rare photographs and memorabilia.
Product Description
This unprecedented new book is a must-have for any musician. These previously unpublished works by Cole Porter are now being made available for the first time! A number of songs in this volume were written for unproduced shows or films, some, for a long time, had existing lyrics but no music, and others were simply thought to be lost, only to later be found in archives and warehouses. Several songs have interesting stories behind them, and some were simply considered too long for the traditional sheet music format. The book includes a CD that provides demonstration recordings for 15 of the titles to aid in learning the pieces. Titles include: You and Me (Hitchy Koo of 1919) * Love Em and Leave Em (Misc. Song) * Ah Fong Low (Hitchy Koo of 1922) * Dizzy Baby (Paris) * The Extra Man (Wake Up and Dream) * That s Why I Love You (Fifty Million Frenchmen) * Why Marry Them? (Gay Divorcee) * Ruins (Nymph Errant) * Through Thick and Thin (Something to Shout About) * We Shall Never Be Younger (Kiss Me Kate) and more.
Book Description
Includes: After You * All of You * Buddie * Beware * C'est Magnifique * Easy to Love * From this Moment On * I Happen to Like New York * I Love You * It's De-Lovely * Love for Sale * Thank You So Much Lowsborough-Goodby * Night and Day * So in Love * You Do Something to Me * You're Sensational * You're the Top and more.
Book Description
First time in Paperback! Noel Coward and Cole Porter's fascinating lives celebrated. Fresh on the heels of the popular motion picture based on Cole Porter's life called De-Lovely, Noel and Cole presents a fresh and often surprising portrait of these two geniuses. The author provides insight into both men's private lives - including a frank discussion of their homosexuality - while illuminating their musical achievements. Born an ocean apart - one in Indiana, the other in England - Cole Porter and Noel Coward have come to represent the ultimate in sophistication and urbanity. Noel and Cole will be an essential reference as well as a fascinating dual biography of two men who brought style and dazzle to the art of popular entertainment. * Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores, and letters, plus dozens of interviews * Includes a chronology and a fifty-page section devoted to the analysis of select works
Customer Reviews:
Quite surprising!.......2007-01-10
Another gift to my dad for Xmas and he was entertained with the stories and the lyrics. He didn't know about Noel...so we both learned something new. A very well-written and entertaining book.
Parallel lives, winning presentation.......2004-01-15
Cole Porter and Noël Coward were, in many ways, the colossi of music and the theater during their era. And despite their different backgrounds, they had more than a few things in common. A parallel biography of the two men, and parallel analysis of their work, just makes sense. Stephen Citron has pulled it off admirably.
The book is arranged chronologically, and chapters alternate between the two men. Their lives frequently intersect and intertwine, but the still-significant differences between the two don't get lost. Citron is not only a skilled biographer. He also has an insightful eye for drama and music. His analysis of selected Porter and Coward songs, occupying the last sixty or so pages of the book, should be a handy reference and guide to the work of both men.
Classy, Insightful -- A First-Rate Dual Bio!.......1998-10-29
This book not only takes a fresh and thoroughly readable look at two extraordinary lives -- it also includes some excellent assessments of their songs. I've read most everything published on these two men and found this book worthwhile and highly enjoyable. If only all composer bios were so intelligently handled!
Average customer rating:
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Genius and Lust: The Creativity and Sexuality of Cole Porter and Noel Coward
Joe Morella , and
George Mazzei
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0786702370 |
Customer Reviews:
This book is a disappointment.......2000-05-05
Considering this book is by a musician and professor of music, it contains surprisingly few insights into what was unique about Cole Porter's lyrics and music, and does little to set his work within a musical context. From time to time the author embarks on embarrassing little journeys into pop psychology of the 'Was Porter's homosexuality an attempt to find a significant father figure in his life? We may never know.' variety. The quality of the writing is disappointing. At one point Schwartz describes a meeting between Cole Porter and Louis Mayer, the movie mogul. Schwartz describes Mayer as 'literally oozing with charm', or some such. Unfortunately, this is typical of the standard of writing throughout the book.
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Recommended Books
- Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America
- Sherman's March to the Sea 1864: Atlanta to Savannah
- History: Fiction or Science
- Make Your Own Music Video
- Modern Industrial Organization
- Sputnik Sweetheart
- PH's Federal Taxation 2005: Corporations, Partnerships, Estates, and Trusts
- Intermediate Accounting Solutions Manual on Disk for Univ. of Houston
- Major Companies of the Arab World 2005
- Adrenomedullin in Cardiovascular Disease
Nixon: An Oliver Stone Film
Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy
JFK - Director's Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Who's Who In The JFK Assassination: An A to Z Encyclopedia
High Treason 2: The Great Cover-Up : The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
