A sympathetic biography of the controversial preacher that situates him in the mainstream of the American populist religious tradition. Although no longer a household word, Peale's name was synonymous not long ago with middle-class Protestantism. His most important book, The Power of Positive Thinking, towered over the bestseller lists in the early 1950's, while his magazine, Guideposts, still boasts a circulation of four million. His power base consisted mostly of middle-aged women, who flocked to his doctrine of ``Practical Christianity''—an upbeat, unorthodox teaching based on ancient folk beliefs that regard God as a ``Higher Consciousness'' whose divine energy is accessible to anyone who practices ``positive thinking'' (a gussied-up version, detractors might suggest, of Peter Pan's counsel for flying through happy thoughts). As George (History/Hobart and William Smith Colleges) shows, Peale's lessons had their roots in Emerson and William James, and led to today's human-potential movement. During his heyday, Peale was excoriated by intellectuals (a result, George suggests, of liberal intolerance for Peale's strident anti-Communism). George, however, grinds no axes, offering a balanced account of her subject's life—from his serene childhood through his meteoric ascension as a nondenominational preacher at N.Y.C.'s Marble Collegiate Church to his near-disgrace in 1960 when he injected anti-Catholic rhetoric into the Kennedy-Nixon campaign. Despite this gaffe, Peale comes off here as a vigorous, sincere, red-white-and-blue proselytizer for a Yankee Doodle brand of Protestantism. That his religion marketed God as a friend to all and won the hearts of housewives and salesmen (thus the book's double-edged title) is, for George, neither a plus nor a minus but simply an intriguing and well-told chapter in the history of the American socioreligious consciousness. Peels the layers off ``Pealeism'' (George's coinage) with intelligence and tact: first-rate. (Thirty halftones—not seen.)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-19-507463-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1992
An ideal pathfinder on the Beatles' long and winding road from moptops to magi—insightful, informative, contentious, and as ambitious and surprising as its heroes. Popular music criticism is often a thankless task, falling uneasily between mindless hype and lugubrious academicism. MacDonald, former deputy editor of New Musical Express, adroitly bridges that gap, taking the factual chassis—recording session data, itineraries, etc.—laboriously assembled by Beatlemaniacs like Mark Lewisohn and bringing to bear a fan's enthusiasm, a musicologist's trained ear, and a critic's discernment to produce the most rigorous and reliable assessment of the Beatles' artistic achievement to date. Advancing chronologically through the songs, MacDonald provides an encyclopedic wealth of biographical, musical, and historical detail, yet always keeps his eyes on the prize—the uniquely rich elixir the group distilled from these disparate elements. He considers the Beatles on their own musical and cultural terms, taking his cue from contemporary influences (rhythm-and-blues, soul, and the supercharged social crucible of the '60s), rather than straining for highbrow parallels in Schoenberg or Schubert—you'll find no reference to the infamous ``Aeolian cadences'' of ``This Boy'' here. MacDonald makes no bones about his own critical convictions: He prefers the artful structures of pop, its ``energetic topicality'' that ``captures a mood or style in a condensed instant,'' to rock's ``dull grandiosity,'' a shift he attributes to a general retreat since the '60s away from depth and craftsmanship into spectacle and sensation. Accordingly, he champions the pop classicism of the Beatles' early-middle period, culminating in Revolver and Sgt. Pepper, and in his most memorably acerbic passages deplores the rockist leanings of their later work: ``Helter Skelter,'' for instance, is dismissed as ``ridiculous, McCartney shrieking weedily against a backdrop of out-of-tune thrashing.'' The ultimate Beatles Bible? Certainly a labor of love, and all the more valuable for holding the Fabs to the highest critical standards.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8050-2780-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
Freelance journalist Shear arrestingly reconstructs a notably bad bargain the US struck with Japan during a period when, despite an immense trade deficit, Washington was willing to pay almost any price to keep the island nation on its side in the Cold War. Drawing on interviews with key players, a wealth of government documents, and contemporary news reports, Shear offers a tellingly detailed, chronological account of how Japan, after almost a decade of effort dating back to the early 1980s, largely got its way on the co-development of the FS-X, an experimental support fighter plane, for the country's militia-like defense forces. The resultant program, the author argues, could give Japan the advanced technology and know-how it needs to become a world-class competitor in aerospace/avionics markets long dominated by American suppliers like Boeing, General Dynamics, and McDonnell Douglas. While his worst-case scenario—that Japan will snatch a sizeable chunk of this crucial export business—remains to be proved, Shear does a fine job of explaining how the steely resolve of career bureaucrats and intra-agency conflicts can influence, even shape or deform, the policy judgments of elected legislators. He also contrasts the patient, end-in-view nationalism of Dai Nihon's single-minded mandarins with the tactical frenzies of US pols who, though not unmindful of economic consequences, tend to favor expedient solutions to epidemic problems. Covered as well are the commercial implications for American industry, whose decisive edge in state- of-the-art software may have been squandered in the cause of a patron/protÇgÇ alliance whose rationale has long since been overtaken by events. A cautionary tale that goes a long way toward clarifying why ``East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.'' (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-385-47353-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1994
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