In this entry in The British Library Writers' Lives series, Sellars brilliantly captures the talent, determination, and tragic life of the author of Jane Eyre; she covers the basics- -e.g., that Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontâ wrote as Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, respectively, because 19th-century England was not ready for women writers. The biography makes revealing use of a multitude of original sources: letters, diaries, and original manuscripts, all laid out for readers to examine. What becomes apparent is Charlotte Brontâ's determination to succeed as a writer, despite the many tragic deaths of loved ones; her craving for ``literary success'' revealed itself in a ``lifetime of single-minded independence.'' Some of the manuscripts and original sources reproduced are impossible to read and act more as decoration, but on the whole, this portrayal of Charlotte Brontâ's life conveys how an astute and original mind coped with overwhelming grief and despair to triumph creatively. (full-color and b&w photos and reproductions, maps, chronology, further reading, index) (Biography. 11-15)
Pub Date: March 5, 1998
ISBN: 0-19-521439-0
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
A Wall Street trader exercises a rich man’s prerogative and offers financial advice and his life story. “See how much money I made!” is the message. “I’m pretty smart and damned tough, too.” To be sure, Schwartz (“Buzzy” to his pals) is the prototypical hard driver, a truly successful day trader, buying and selling in lightning strokes for his own account. His is a talent for exquisite market timing, a tricky game for even the most proficient professionals. His specialty is S&P futures, a technique using the marvel of leverage to greatly multiply the chances for gain—or loss—on each tick. It requires an inordinate amount of research as well as stamina, acumen, and nerve, but it can be worth millions every year. The alternative, as Buzzy frets, is “going tapioca.” Buzzy dearly wanted his kids to say, “ ‘My daddy’s the Champion Trader!’ That was all I cared about,” he admits. With success came Lutäce lunches, expensive artworks, Armani suits, Bally alligator shoes, and other trophies. Schwartz essays a little false humility, but the book’s evasive charm is based on chutzpah. In an effort to leverage with OPM (other people’s money), the author established his own hedge funds until investors (the bastards) pestered him about their money. Don’t be surprised to learn the result was heart disease. Now in Florida, trading again for himself, the quondam Champion Trader reveals, with some repetition, his story. It moves nicely, though, with a certain egomaniacal verve. An appendix gives the author’s daily schedule (e.g, “7:20-7:30 Clean out the plumbing”). His investment methodology is also appended, but only the most devoted professional will utilize this rigorous lesson. An archetypal text, true to life on the Street, destined to be discussed over drinks at trader hangouts after the market closes—and better than going tapioca. (Author tour; radio satellite tour)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-88-730876-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998
Distilled from published or televised sources, this biography of Reeve from troubled childhood to triumphant re-emergence into public life focuses more on what he’s done than who he is. As a precis of his acting career and post-accident involvement in medical and social causes, this outdoes its nearest competitor, Libby Hughes’s Christopher Reeve (1997, not reviewed) in small—and sometimes insignificant—details while carrying his story forward to early 1998 (ending before he took on the remake of Rear Window last year, and lacking any mention of his autobiography, Still Me). A mix of posed full-color and black-and- white shots, show Reeve in school, on the stage, in his films, with his family, and appearing at public events; endnotes, plus a generous list of articles and books, will launch readers searching for insight into his career, if not his person. Utilitarian and coherent. (index) (Biography. 11-13)
Pub Date: May 11, 1999
ISBN: 0-8225-4945-X
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Lerner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999
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