A fresh blend of scholarly musical analysis and provocative ideas about creativity and how composers create great art.
A convincing case that some of the greatest music in history was not the work of one brilliant mind but rather a result of the commingling of ideas that happens when two complementary artists team up.
In the first half of the book, Brothers (Music/Duke Univ.; Louis Armstrong, Master of Modernism, 2014, etc.) focuses on Duke Ellington and his many collaborators, most notably the composer Billy Strayhorn. Many compositions that were the work of two or more musicians were credited solely to Ellington; according to Brothers, this has led to misunderstandings about the way much of his music was composed. The author’s portrait of Ellington pulls no punches but remains sympathetic. The Beatles were another story: John Lennon and Paul McCartney were open about their creative codependency from the start, signing all compositions “Lennon/McCartney” no matter who wrote what or how much in a given song. Brothers insists that the oft-repeated saw that the Beatles rarely collaborated after the release of “Revolver” is false. Rather, he claims that some of the greatest achievements of their late period were the result of intense collaboration. Ellington embraced the myth of the solitary genius that the musical establishment saddled him with and benefited from the resulting obfuscation, while Lennon and McCartney situated themselves squarely within the ganglike nature of rock-’n’-roll groups, an egalitarian approach to music-making that had its roots in the African-American vernacular tradition from which jazz also emerged. Some of the music jargon may fly over the heads of nonmusician readers, but for the most part, Brothers frames his analysis in smooth, relatable prose that anyone familiar with the music of Ellington and the Beatles can understand. Along the way, the author provides a sweeping history of 20th-century popular music, the rich backdrop against which the incredible music of Ellington and the Beatles was composed—music that is incredible primarily because of the cooperative spirit that brought it to life.
A fresh blend of scholarly musical analysis and provocative ideas about creativity and how composers create great art.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-393-24623-0
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: June 17, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A neat but overbroad analysis of the current state of Supreme Court confirmation proceedings. Since 1968, when the nomination of Abe Fortas to replace Earl Warren as chief justice was shot down by maverick Republican senators defying a politically impotent LBJ, the confirmation process has become ``disorderly, contentious and unpredictable. In short...thoroughly democratic,'' writes Silverstein (Political Science/Boston Univ.). What made '68 such a turning point in judicial history? A number of factors, which the author untangles with the self-assurance of a skilled classroom lecturer. He argues that in the decade before the Fortas nomination, the Warren Court had jettisoned the jurisprudence of restraint, reinventing the federal judiciary as a haven for ethnic and religious minorities seeking novel forms of relief. This heightened judicial activism lured more politically powerful, upper-middle-class groups (such as consumer advocates and conservationists) into federal courtrooms throughout the US. By 1968, the political winds had shifted, a new breed of senators had assumed power, and Richard Nixon's law-and- order regime was dawning. But the politically potent upper middle class was prepared to lobby against any anti-activist Supreme Court nominee who threatened its access to the courts. Silverstein's depiction of confrontational confirmations as a by-product of judicial activism is suggestive, but he tends to downplay factors that don't fit perfectly into this theory—he covers the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings, for example, as if they were nothing but a debate over the separation of powers. And his argument that the modern confirmation process has resulted in uninspiring ``stealth'' nominees such as David Souter and Anthony Kennedy completely fails to explain how a controversial, well-known nominee such as Antonin Scalia can have, in the author's own words, ``sailed through'' the process. Silverstein articulately presents a provocative theory but stretches it beyond its limits.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-393-03692-8
Page Count: 172
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
An informed, but incomplete, stab at one of civilization’s greatest questions.
Sweeping attempt to explain the existence of God.
Inspired by his brush with death–which he juxtaposes with the actual death of an atheist friend–the author attempts to explain for believers and nonbelievers alike whether God exists. The task is neither new nor easy, and Dwyer calls upon a full range of thinkers and fields of study to build his case. In some ways, he gives strength to his argument through the book’s depth and complexity; in others, the answer, and even the quest for it, is lost in details. Dwyer begins with a lengthy exposition of how humans think and what constitutes consciousness. Comfortable with science, he disputes some absolutist stances. For instance, he takes the author of The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, to task, contrasting natural selection with natural law and finds the former wanting. After this deep foray into biology, psychology and evolution, he moves on to philosophical arguments for and against God, drawing from several thinkers: Aquinas, Anselm, Spinoza, Kant, Descartes, among others. Rather convincingly, he shows that while proving a personal God exists might not be possible, disproving his existence may be even more so. Belief in God, therefore, is dependent entirely on faith and imagination and cannot be proven by reason alone. Finally, the author discusses ethics and how society should act if we accept God’s existence. Dwyer’s writing, though sometimes too informal, is accessible enough, but the author has chosen a topic difficult to tackle and impossible to resolve, thus his task is an uphill battle–readers may find it difficult terrain.
An informed, but incomplete, stab at one of civilization’s greatest questions.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-4196-6259-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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