A collection of essays, most of which have appeared elsewhere, by novelist (Waltzing the Cat, 1998, etc.) and adventurer Houston. She writes well. She also skis, rafts, tracks, rides, and climbs well, though often, she claims, people mistake bravado for skill. The combination of her writing ability and her physical endeavors has made her an oft-published writer in a range of venues whose content usually seems, if not diametrically opposed, then at least unrelated, such as Allure magazine and the anthology Women on Hunting. This juxtaposition is what makes her current collection of autobiographical essays stand out from the endless flow of memoirs still coming down the pike. Houston’s exploration of personal trauma, such as problems with childhood, self-esteem, body image, and relationships may seem sadly familiar, but her methods of dealing—or not dealing—with them do not, whether that means risking life and limb guiding hunters in Alaska, hiking Mt. Timpanagos, or whitewater rafting in flood season. The collection is hit-and-miss— some of the essays, like “In Bhutan, There Is No Way To Be Famous,” are truly extraordinary in their descriptive power and insight, while others, such as “The Morality of Fat,” would seem more appropriate in a fashion magazine than here. The book would have benefited from some judicious editing, since there’s a redundant quality to some of these pieces. Ultimately, though, when Houston notes that “my need to write the things that terrify me is matched only by my desire to write the things that surprise and delight,” it’s clear that’s she’s satisfied both requirements. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-393-04805-5
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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