biography

Non-Fiction: The Way We Were: The Making of a Romantic Classic by Tom Santopietro

June 5, 2023 Tony Buchsbaum 0

The Way We Were is one of my favorite movies. What’s not to love? It’s got Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford at the top of their games. It’s got the timeless, Oscar-winning song by Marvin Hamlisch and Marilyn and Alan Bergman. It has Hamlisch’s lush, Oscar-winning score, plus 1950s-era politics; and rich, juicy dollops of romance as the two ill-fated opposites attract each other. I was eager to read a book about how the movie […]

Biography: If You See Me by Pepé Willie

February 1, 2023 admin 0

With If You See Me: My Six Decade Journey in Rock and Roll, renowned musician, producer, and author, Pepé Willie, presents a deeply personal look into the music industry. This captivating memoir offers an intimate look into the life and career of one of the industry’s most respected figures, providing readers with a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Through candid anecdotes and personal reflections, Willie takes readers on a journey through his six decades in […]

Biography: Spare by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

January 10, 2023 News Editor 0

Today, finally is the day. And you don’t need us to tell you about it. If you’ve picked up a newspaper or magazine, listened to a podcast or read news online, there’s no way you didn’t hear about it, Spare, Prince Harry’s tell-all book — who everyone has been talking about for a week — went on sale today. Far be it from us to add promotion where certainly none is needed. But we thought […]

Fiction: The Acrobat by Edward J. Delaney

November 18, 2022 Tony Buchsbaum 0

Who doesn’t love Cary Grant? In comedies with Katharine Hepburn and thrillers directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant was the man every woman wanted to sleep with and the man every man wanted to be. Handsome. Mannered. Glamorous. Even when his movies were in color, he was the epitome of classy black-and-white. But who was the Archie Leach behind Cary Grant? Who was the man behind the icon? The new book The Acrobat, by Edward […]

Diplomat and Author Madeline Albright Dead at 83

March 24, 2022 Linda L. Richards 0

The splendid American diplomat and author Madeline Albright has died. She was 83. The Washington Post remembers Secretary Albright with affection: Madeleine K. Albright, who passed away on Wednesday, shaped a generation of foreign policy leaders — gently and usually with a smile. She knew every senior official, mentored many of them, and managed to say a cheery word even to people who took “dour” as a compliment. The New York Times reports that the […]

Biography: Duke Ellington: the Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear by Karen S. Barbera

February 1, 2022 admin 0

Karen Barbera and Randall Keith Horton were strangers who met on a train. A cordial conversation led to an eight-year collaboration to tell new and enlightening stories about Duke Ellington and to bring his forgotten masterpieces back to life. The results are concerts and Duke Ellington: the Notes the World Was Not Ready to Hear, which ends up being a biography of both Ellington and Horton focused on their unique relationship and the musical and […]

Biography: Bars for Days by Mic Nickels

January 20, 2022 admin 0

He was born Michael Ray Winick and had fate not stepped in, he would have had a comfortable, conventional and upper-middle class life as the son of a nice Jewish doctor and his wife. Then a nurse broke the rules and allowed 18-year-old Donna Lynn Winick to hold her baby before he was given up for adoption—and she never let him go. The journey from son of a single, teenaged mother to becoming a rapper, […]

Graphic Novel: The Man in the Painter’s Room by Jamison Odone

June 8, 2021 admin 0

The Man in the Painter’s Room is a graphic novel by Maryland-based author Jamison Odone that explores the final year of Van Gogh’s life, leading up to his suicide. Carefully researched from first-hand accounts of those closest to him, the first graphic novel focuses on this part of the famous painter’s life. “The Man in the Painter’s Room is an interesting exploration of the last few months of Van Gogh’s life and finding light in […]

Biography: Chasing bin Laden by Barbara K. Janik

June 8, 2021 admin 0

Early in the morning on August 16, 2006, the Terrorism Task Force arrested Osama bin Laden in Brooklyn, New York. Despite the event’s Earth-shattering significance, this clandestine story didn’t make headlines. This secret history is at the heart of the narrative by historian, computer expert and lay detective Barbara Janik who submitted the tip that led to bin Laden’s presumed 2006 arrest. In Chasing bin Laden:My Hunt for the World’s Most Notorious Terrorist, Janik takes […]

Biography: Insignificant Others by Peter Fleming

May 30, 2021 admin 0

As he wrestled with depression and even contemplated taking his own life, veteran Hamilton Spectator contributor Peter Fleming dug deep and pulled himself out of that pit. While he did it, he compiled stories and essays that reflected on these experiences and took a life on their own. The resulting book, Insignificant Others, is a meditative, irreverent and humorous compilation that encompasses the author’s struggle and ultimate triumph over suicide. Insignificant Others is a collection […]