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STONED

Name: STONED
Author: Andrew Loog Oldham
ISBN: 0-312-26653-7

ROLLING WITH THE STONES

by Andrew Loog Oldham ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2001

Although the early chapters contain wearisome lists of celebrities and dreary accounts of dissipation, once the Beatles and...

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The original manager of the Rolling Stones recalls his unconventional boyhood and his fortunate alliance with the bad boys of rock music.

More than half of Oldham’s memoir is gone before the Stones appear, but the warm-up act is not disagreeable. The author begins in 1995 with an overwrought account of his current condition: hung-over, used-up, depressed. “I knew the ride was over,” he admits, “but I wasn’t ready for the other side.” He then returns to his childhood (his father, a US airman stationed in England, did not survive WWII; his English mother carried on as best she could). As a teenager he bounced from school to school and early on became a fan of films, television, and pop music. Possessing a vast ad hoc knowledge of popular culture, as well as a formidable fashion sense and a ferocious determination to farm the freshly flowering fields of rock music, Oldham gradually arrived in this brave new world and witnessed the blossoming of a number of important rock stars, including the Beatles, Marianne Faithfull, and—most notably—the Rolling Stones. Oldham intercuts his text with quotations—some quite lengthy—from many others who were present at the Big Bang: among them, Peter Townshend, Lionel Bart, and Vidal Sassoon. Some wrote their own accounts, some submitted to interviews, and others Oldham quotes from their own published memoirs. To his credit, Oldham allows these other voices to contradict him and even to portray him unfavorably: his acquaintances recall, for example, that Oldham physically abused his mother—which he subsequently denies. Among the interesting revelations: Oldham was the first to insist that the Stones write their own music.

Although the early chapters contain wearisome lists of celebrities and dreary accounts of dissipation, once the Beatles and Stones arrive on stage, the memoir picks up some real energy. (60 b&w photos)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-312-26653-7

Page Count: 400

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

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THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.