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LES PAUL

Name: LES PAUL
Author: Mary Shaughnessy
ISBN: 0-688-08467-2

AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL

by Mary Shaughnessy ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 22, 1993

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Who made the guitar a solo instrument? Who invented eight- track recording, the first solid-body electric guitar, electronic reverberation, and the low-impedance guitar pickups that let Eric Clapton and Keith Richards rave it up? Lester William Polsfuss, a.k.a. Rhubarb Red, a.k.a. Les Paul, that's who, born in 1915 and still performing despite arthritis in both hands and a steel plate locking his elbow in one position. Shaughnessy (a staff writer at People) has now written the only—and excellent—biography of the guitarist, drawing on myriad original sources, including interviews with people who know Paul, files from music companies, and talks with four decades' worth of DJs. Paul is a unique blend of talented engineer and musician. His abilities asserted themselves when, at age eight, he began punching new holes in his mother's player- piano rolls, creating new tunes. Paul learned guitar by copying every note of every Django Reinhardt record he could find. After he teamed up with Mary Ford, his second wife, to become the most popular act in Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians—the premier band of the day—Paul, when in N.Y.C., would head uptown to Harlem after each show to jam with the likes of Art Tatum, Stuff Smith, and Roy Eldridge. Buying a new Cadillac, the only car big enough for his gear, Paul played over 300 dates a year in the 40's, and his portable, self-invented recording equipment was set up so he and Ford could cut sides in their hotel room between acts. ``How High the Moon,'' with its unique sound and unheard-of 12 overdubbings, took them a year to persuade Capitol Records to release; it became one of the company's bestselling discs ever, at least until the advent of the Beatles. Packed with fascinating detail and researched with loving thoroughness (Shaughnessy includes a complete Paul discography): a rock-music-lover's delight. (Photos—not seen.)

Pub Date: March 22, 1993

ISBN: 0-688-08467-2

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.