Sartre: A Philosophical Biography

by Thomas R. Flynn    (Get the Book)
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) was one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Regarded as the father of existentialist philosophy, he was also a political critic, moralist, playwright, novelist, and author of biographies and short stories. Thomas R. Flynn provides the first book-length account of Sartre as a philosopher of the imaginary, mapping the intellectual development of his ideas throughout his life, and building a narrative that is not only philosophical but also attentive to the political and literary dimensions of his work. Exploring Sartre's existentialism, politics, ethics, and ontology, this book illuminates the defining ideas of Sartre's oeuvre: the literary and the philosophical, the imaginary and the conceptual, his descriptive phenomenology and his phenomenological concept of intentionality, and his conjunction of ethics and politics with an 'egoless' consciousness. (Publisher)

One Way Out: The Allman Brothers

by Alan Paul     (Get Book)

Perhaps no music journalist has written as extensively about the Allman Brothers Band as Paul, who has tracked the rock group’s career for 25 years. And his deep familiarity with the band and its music shows everywhere in this fluid account. Framed as an oral history, the biography includes extensive, insightful comments not only from band members but also from players at all levels of the music business, from loyal roadies to gifted producers (including the late Tom Dowd) to money-minded record-company executives. They take us through the milestones, from the early days, when the band crisscrossed the country in the dead of winter packed into an underheated van, to the cusp of massive success and the deaths of bandleader and guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley, to the group’s decision to soldier on in spite of the losses. From the beginning, Allman had a certain vision for his band that included two lead guitarists, two drummers, and the soulful, whiskey-soaked vocals of his brother, Gregg. Improbably, Duane spearheaded a long-haired, multiracial band in the Deep South in the late ’60s, but he was supremely confident, at the tender age of 23, that his blues-based music would transcend any barriers. Augmented by photos and fascinating sidebars, this candid oral history has appeal beyond the Allman Brothers Band’s loyal fan base. --Booklist

Stevie Nicks

by Zoe Howe      (Get the Book)
Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks . . . the great female singers who fronted legendary rock bands constitute a list of off-the-hook personalities. This highly engaging biography of Stevie Nicks, whose electric and eccentric involvement in Fleetwood Mac led to her being dubbed by Rolling Stone the “Queen of Rock and Roll,” is written by a distinguished British music journalist. Factually full and consistently fascinating, the life story the author assembles is one of abiding dedication, frequent hurt, and ultimate triumph. Stevie came from Phoenix, and early in her life, she was at home in a fantasy world, plus she knew for a long time that her aim was to be a songwriter. She and boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham’s early musical collaboration led to the pair being absorbed into the British band Fleetwood Mac, and their star-crossed relationship became the stuff of rock legend as they spent more time in bitter public fighting than in harmony. The Mac’s climb to top-rung status held excitement for the members, but drugs and alcohol were definitely part of their scene. The band eventually dissolved (although recently it came together again for a concert tour), but Nicks has enjoyed a solo career in which she could continue to pour her haunting, soul-baring songs. It’s important for fans to note that “the chiffon-clad rock queen image was no stage act”; it has been her armor and confidence builder. And for us, it’s how we know and adore her. --Booklist

Bach: Music in the Castle of Heaven

John Eliot Gardiner       (Get the Book)
As conductor of his Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists in more than 50 recordings of Bach's vocal works, Gardiner is the perfect performer to approach this repertory. This book should convince those who know only Bach's instrumental music to explore the heart of Bach's works, the cantatas, passions, and the B Minor Mass. The first half of the book explores the milieu of the irascible and stubborn Bach, who sought perfection in his music in the midst of difficult work conditions and the demands of church and family. Gardiner asks of himself interesting questions: What was life like in the Latin School in Thuringia where Bach studied and in the provincial towns where he worked? What was the theological environment in Bach's Leipzig? Interspersed are Gardiner's own comments on the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage that he made with his choir in 2000. Side studies into the scores themselves, the best being a description of the St. Matthew Passion autograph, are fascinating. For a study of Bach's life and works, Christoph Wolff's Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (CH, Sep'00, 38-0223) is best, but Gardiner's beautifully written and focused book is also a must for all lovers of Bach. -- Choice

Girl in a band

by Kim Gordon     (Get the Book)
The title of this very fine memoir is understated. The “girl” in question is the guitarist and vocalist of the alt-rock band Sonic Youth, which Gordon and Thurston Moore founded in 1981. Gordon’s chronicle of her youth in Los Angeles, with stays in Hawaii and Hong Kong, is infused with melancholy, because underlying the narrative is the fact that Gordon and Moore married, then painfully broke up. Girl in a Band is also an account of places that no longer exist, such as gritty 1980s New York. Gordon is vulnerable, likable, and humble, a shy and introspective outsider; despite playing in a band for 30 years, she never really considered herself a musician. She writes about her first mentor, John Knight, a conceptual artist who taught her that anything could be viewed in aesthetic terms, and friends and colleagues, including Andy Warhol, Kurt Cobain, and Courtney Love, with great sensitivity. A remarkably astute and observant memoir and tale of finding one’s place in the world, this is a must for Sonic Youth fans and all outsiders-at-heart. --Booklist

The short and tragic life of Robert Peace : a brilliant young man who left Newark for the Ivy League

by Jeff Hobbs      (Get the Book)
Rob Peace’s father was a very bright drug dealer who served time for murder, leaving Rob in the care of a hardworking mother who wanted more for him than the tough streets of Orange, New Jersey, could provide. Peace started private school in fourth grade, just as his father’s trial was beginning, and developed elaborate emotional and psychological strategies to navigate the neighborhood and “Newark-proof” himself. In high school, he undertook ponderous research to prove his father’s innocence and eventually won a temporary reprieve on a technicality. His brilliance attracted the attention of a benefactor who made it possible for Peace to go to Yale, where he met and roomed with Hobbs. Peace majored in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, worked in the dining hall and biology lab, and sold drugs on the side. In a whirlwind of travel, philosophizing, and caretaking of others, Peace navigated the clashing cultures of urban poverty and Ivy League privilege, never quite finding a place where his particular brand of nerdiness and cool could coexist. His dreams and his reality collided when he was killed at 30 years of age in a drug dispute. Attending Peace’s funeral, Hobbs was struck by the dichotomies of his old roommate’s life and set out to offer a full picture of a very complicated individual. Writing with the intimacy of a close friend, Hobbs slowly reveals Peace as far more than a cliché of amazing potential squandered.   --Booklist

Joe Black : more than a Dodger / Martha Jo Black

by Martha Jo Black    (Get the Book)

After pitching for years in the Negro Leagues and in Cuba, Joe Black finally joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952 as a 28-year-old rookie and went on to become the National League rookie of the year and win the first game of the World Series, ensuring his place in baseball history as the first African American to win a World Series game. This biography was written by his daughter with an able assist from 33-year AP and UPI journalist Schoffner. Though Black’s baseball star burned briefly—he won only 15 games after his rookie season—he went on to a successful career in business and teaching. The author also delves into her father’s personal and family life in a well-rounded, affectionate, and reasonably objective look into a baseball and business pioneer. An overlooked slice of baseball and African American history.  --Booklist