BOOKS THREAD

Bob Spitz' biography of The Beatles is one of the better books I have read on the band and his new-ish (2021) bio of Led Zeppelin is of similar quality. Jimmy Page is the focal point but there is plenty here on Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, their notorious manager Peter Grant and his right-hand man Richard Cole.

Spitz focuses on the band's beginnings, their work in the studio, onstage (detailing gigs both triumphant and disastrous) and off where their epic debauchery and substance abuse (chiefly from Page, Bonham and Grant) threatened to constantly derail the band and became the stuff of rock legend.

This is a fine compliment to Martin Power's No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page which is one of the best and most thorough rock bios I have ever read.

 

So....believe it or not, this was really twisted. It's the story of two brothers and their lives over many years, but how many years isn't exactly clear, because it seems like they never age but then someone else appears to age pretty quickly. These two guys are spoiled and depraved and they take part in all manner of debauchery. And I'll leave that at that.

Joe Bob says check it out, but you've been warned.

 

I really enjoyed this. The reporting and writing are both excellent. It traces Gutenberg Bible #45 over the course of 500 years, from its original printing and then as it passed through the hands of various owners, eventually to someone who really loved it, and its journey from there. I teach about Gutenberg in my Intro to Mass Comm class, so I'll be able to use a lot of what I learned in that class next fall, so I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Joe Bob says check it out.

 

Just took it out of the library this afternoon. Looking forward to reading this.

 

Absolutely loved “Lost Gutenberg.”

 

Knocked back the most recent Michael Connelly - Resurrection Walk, with Haller and Bosch. Better than some of the recent ones, less melodrama I would say. I read that Connelly has four more years under contract and then he’s done.

Hoping to knock off some meatier reads over the holiday.

 

American Midnight by Adam Hochschild. This compact tome covers the intense crackdown of civil liberties in the U.S. 1917-1920. Meanders a bit in spots but often quite dramatic. Didn't know much about the American Protective League prior....and they were a piece of work. Recommend.

 

Beverly Gage's monumental Pulitzer Prize-winning J. Edgar Hoover bio "G-Man." Hoover, as negative of an influence he had on our society, is a perfect choice for a prism through which to examine a huge amount of American history as he was an important public figure from 1919-1972....spanning TEN different presidential administrations.

Gage, who teaches at Yale, is a great historian. She had been working on this presumably soon after her first book came out in 2009, which I have also read (about the 1920 Wall Street bombing).

Highly recommend.

 

The Art Thief is about a French couple who steal hundreds of pieces of art from galleries and museums around Europe. The thefts occur when the places are open and other visitors are often present. They're brazen in their techniques. And they don't steal for profit; they simply furnish their attic apartment with all the art.

Absolutely loved this one. It was recommended by a friend, and my wife bought it for me for Christmas, and I finished it the day after.

Joe Bob says definitely check it out.

 

I picked this up at the local Friends of the Library book sale back in November, and since it was cheap, I didn't even open it before I bought it. Turns out, that it's the graphic novel-ization of the author's original, traditional book of the same name. So it's the story of the legendary Apollo Theater, but told in a really well-done comic book style. I learned a lot, and in addition to the folks I figured I would encounter - Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Gladys Knight - I found some other musicians I need to add to my playlist.

Joe Bob says check it out, especially if you're a music lover.

 

At first Jim Obergefell (the co-author) was trying to make sure that he was listed as the surviving spouse up the death from ALS of his husband John Arthur. That battle in Cincinnati eventually led to Obergefell being the lead plaintiff in a Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage. This books talks mostly about them, but then other couples and families join the fight. It's well-researched (Debbie Cenziper, other co-author, is a Pulitzer winner) and well-written. Definitely glad I read this.

Joe Bob says check it out.