A well-researched and incisive biography of an artist who should be better known.
A former corporate executive explores the unconventional life of street photographer Vivian Maier (1926-2009).
When Maier died, only two people, John Maloof and Jeffrey Goldstein, knew of the massive collection of brilliant photos she had left behind. The two had stumbled upon her work at a foreclosure auction in Chicago but had little information about her except that she had been a nanny. Marks entered the scene five years later after watching a documentary about the mysterious Maier and immediately “felt compelled to unravel the story that had confounded so many.” Drawing on her skills as an amateur genealogist, the author reconstructed Maier’s family tree through archival research and then used the mostly unannotated photographs in Maier's collection to piece together her life and to track down and interview the individuals who knew her. The result is a meticulously documented narrative replete with images born of Maier’s 40-year love affair with photography. Marks traces her life from her birth in New York to rural France, where she spent her childhood. In 1938, she returned to New York, a city “she barely knew.” In telling the story, Marks argues that, contrary to what her employers believed, Maier actually did have ambitions “to launch a professional career.” But her sometimes “unwelcoming demeanor and uncompromising nature”—products, Marks speculates, of a dysfunctional family past—and her lack of “credentials [and] connections” likely sabotaged her efforts. While she found temporary happiness as a nanny to the boys who later spread her ashes, her later life was dominated by the hoarding the author believes developed as a result of an emotionally deprived early life and the many displacements she experienced. Compelling and richly detailed, this book sheds new and important light on an intriguing photographer and her singular life.
A well-researched and incisive biography of an artist who should be better known.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-982166-72-4
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
This autobiography might almost be said to supply the roots to Wright's famous novel, Native Son.
It is a grim record, disturbing, the story of how — in one boy's life — the seeds of hate and distrust and race riots were planted. Wright was born to poverty and hardship in the deep south; his father deserted his mother, and circumstances and illness drove the little family from place to place, from degradation to degradation. And always, there was the thread of fear and hate and suspicion and discrimination — of white set against black — of black set against Jew — of intolerance. Driven to deceit, to dishonesty, ambition thwarted, motives impugned, Wright struggled against the tide, put by a tiny sum to move on, finally got to Chicago, and there — still against odds — pulled himself up, acquired some education through reading, allied himself with the Communists — only to be thrust out for non-conformity — and wrote continually. The whole tragedy of a race seems dramatized in this record; it is virtually unrelieved by any vestige of human tenderness, or humor; there are no bright spots. And yet it rings true. It is an unfinished story of a problem that has still to be met.
Perhaps this will force home unpalatable facts of a submerged minority, a problem far from being faced.
Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1945
ISBN: 0061130249
Page Count: 450
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1945
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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