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NOBODY HATES TRUMP MORE THAN TRUMP

AN INTERVENTION

A compelling book offering something to offend nearly anyone.

By the end of this impassioned book, readers may question whether it has proven the thesis of its title, but there’s no question that the author meets fire with fire, leaving scorched earth on both sides of the critical divide.

In Reality Hunger (2010), Fakes (2012), and even the psycho-biographical Salinger (2013), Shields (Other People, 2017, etc.) has focused on what is really real and refused to settle for easy answers. He suggests that the left’s bad faith has paved the way for Trump: “the pitiful veneer of ‘genteel society’ that he has gleefully ripped away, how full of shit so many people on the left are, not because they’re wrong per se but because they’re so committed to an Oprah-ized, airbrushed, focus-grouped, ultimately empty language in which they can’t convince anyone of anything anymore.” But if liberals’ hypocrisies have left the country starving for something more authentic, then the joke’s on us—and maybe on Trump as well. “Trump is always playing Trump—fighting to win, but win what or why? He has no clue and knows he has no clue,” writes the author. “And he knows we know he has no clue. And his lostness, his irreducible sadness is what I find so compelling, almost moving, about him.” This may well be a singular perspective on the subject, and since Shields knows that Trump is such an easy target, he doesn’t spend much time taking potshots. Instead, he lets Trump write a large portion of the text, quoting him at length (sometimes out of context), while aiming his venom at those in the culture who might mediate and interpret. Thus, NPR: “Anything—anything—is better than onesy-twosy earnestness. I literally can’t stand to listen to it anymore.” And David Foster Wallace, “who killed himself—partly, I think, because he worshipped ‘fiction,’ which had completely deserted him.” If Trump is no more real than the reality TV that created the monster, then Shields clearly believes that the era of polite discourse is over and that the brutal truth is the only truth there is.

A compelling book offering something to offend nearly anyone.

Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-945796-99-9

Page Count: 270

Publisher: Thought Catalog Books

Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2018

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DYLAN GOES ELECTRIC!

NEWPORT, SEEGER, DYLAN, AND THE NIGHT THAT SPLIT THE SIXTIES

An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...

Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.

The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.

An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.

Pub Date: July 25, 2015

ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9

Page Count: 368

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015

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NUTCRACKER

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

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