Philosophy and history of American background music by pop- culture historian Lanza (Fragile Geometry, 1991—not reviewed). Lanza focuses on a variety of different types of what he calls ``moodsong,'' from commercial Muzak through the sugary strings of Mantovani and the purling choruses of Ray Coniff on to '80s ``new age'' sounds. He is unabashed in his admiration for all of these styles, asserting that they are ``in many respects, aesthetically superior to all other musical forms.'' He traces the history of so- called ``functional music'' to the work of avant-garde artists of the early 20th century such as Erik Satie, who sought to wed art with the innovations of the machine age, and early heroes include Muzak's inventor/originator, General George Owen Squier, who studied the effect of music on productivity and mood. Lanza is most interesting in analyzing the psychology of Muzak programming, showing how the company developed a schedule based on the time of day, so that, for example, ``the breakfast hours offered cheery sunrise melodies and caffeinated rhythms.'' The book's midsection is a listener's guide to the golden age of easy listening, with descriptions of cocktail-conductor Jackie Gleason, the bubbly champagne music of Lawrence Welk, and the swooning voices of the Anita Kerr singers. In closing, Lanza addresses philosophical issues in Muzak; the possible evil effects of background music; the phenomena of '70s ``lite'' music and ``metarock''; and the adaptation of rock songs to the Muzak aesthetic. Still, however mightily he may argue that ``elevator music...is essentially a distillation of the happiness that modern technology has promised,'' Lanza fails to convince that the ``easy listening'' creators were really more than schlockmeisters with a commercial bent. (Eight pages of b&w photos—not seen)
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1994
ISBN: 0-312-10540-1
Page Count: 272
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Everything you always wanted to know about the ancient Egyptian practice of mummifying corpses—and so much more. Brier (Ancient Egyptian Magic, 1980) sets the tone early: ``For 15 years,'' he states matter-of-factly, ``I had been working toward the goal of mummifying a human.'' Imagine his surprise and disappointment when the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University (where he is chairman of the philosophy department) declined the honor of being the site of this project, which among other things would have entailed keeping an unembalmed corpse on the campus for 70 days. The text treats the reader to a scattershot review of the wide variety of information Brier learned about mummies while doing research for the mummification. These range from clinical descriptions of the process (derived from Herodotus and other ancient writers as well as from archaeological evidence) through an account of the development of mummification in ancient Egypt to a fascinating look at medical information scientists have derived from mummies (for instance, that ancient Egyptians suffered from often fatal tooth decay and arterial diseases). Brier discusses French scientists' close, but disappointingly unfruitful, study of Ramses the Great's mummy, briefly takes note of the Egyptian religious and cultural practice of mummifying animals, and inventories famous royal mummies. He concludes rather far afield with a discussion of ``The Mummy in Fiction and Film.'' Mercifully, the book closes before he embarks on the macabre task of actually mummifying a medical cadaver in the ancient manner, which is scheduled to take place this summer. A great gift idea for the hard-core Egyptologist in your life. General readers with strong stomachs may also enjoy Brier's eccentric ramble through the ancient world. (125 b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Sept. 23, 1994
ISBN: 0-688-10272-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Thirteen years (195264) of letters from James Beard, with just enough interspersed replies from West Coast culinary colleague Helen Evans Brown to reveal that more of her voice would have improved this volume. Harcourt Brace editor Ferrone offers excerpts from 300 of approximately 450 extant letters. The documents have been edited silently, and the man who emerges is convivial but shallow and in some ways insecure. These pages are dominated by what Beard cooks and eats and with whom he is eating. (Not surprisingly, the need to diet is a recurring theme.) While readers may cull a few ideas (in addition to those in recipes at the end of the volume), ultimately they receive a picture of a limited person: Who else could lunch with Alice B. Toklas and record only what they ate? Who could dine with wine expert Alexis Lichine and name the foods only, not the wines? Occasionally, others in the culinary field come under Beard's critical eye, with Dione Lucas, a ``great technician who doesn't know about food,'' earning particular attention. In 1952, Beard writes, ``I am always poor nowadays,'' and this becomes a familiar refrain, despite a full (and lucrative) schedule of writing books and articles, giving classes and demonstrations, appearing on radio and television, and acting as a corporate consultant. Brown, for her part, resists suggestions to move east and join his schemes for a cooking school or supply store, and her rare comments add some needed spice. (It's interesting to note that Beard had actually proposed publishing their joint correspondence, then discarded Brown's letters.) It is Brown who chastises Beard for publishing individually some material they accumulated for a joint cookbook and reminds him not to insult women cooks: ``They buy most of your books.'' More a parade of menu items than a life, this one is bland reading for all but the most serious students of the Master. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 1-55970-264-8
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Arcade
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1994
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