An impressive compendium that could nevertheless be formed into a more compelling story.
As a theater for the performing arts faces destruction at the hands of a commercial developer, friends of the theater join forces to preserve it for future generations in this work of historical nonfiction.
For theater buffs and fans of Palm Beach, Fla., this book is a veritable treasure trove of information. Tracing the history of the Royal Poinciana Playhouse from the late 1800s to the present, Clarie’s research covers every detail from the original development of the land by railroad baron and famed hotelier Henry Flagler to the theater’s current state of limbo as competing forces vie for control over what is arguably the most desirable piece of land in all of Palm Beach. Some of what Clarie (A Lighthouse for Alexandria, 2009) reveals is fascinating. For history enthusiasts not familiar with Palm Beach’s rise from a tropical backwater to its present status as one of the most affluent communities in the United States, this book provides a thumbnail sketch of the men and women who turned their vision for the area into a reality. Showman and entrepreneur Frank Hale seems a character type endemic to America—a humble immigrant who parlayed a flair for song and dance into a cultural empire that catered to the rich and famous. Beautiful socialites, pampered actors, presidents and movie stars roam every page and Clarie never fails to drop a name if the opportunity presents itself. It is, after all, part of the theater’s lasting allure that luminaries from Edie Adams to James Whitmore to Christopher Plummer (who wrote the book’s preface) have graced the Poinciana’s stage. But therein also lies the downside to what could have been an entertaining frolic among the stars; Clarie doesn’t so much tell the story of the Poinciana as create a series of lists that include the dates and names of anyone who has ever been associated with the theater. The result is a book that could have been engaging but is instead disappointingly dull, despite a bevy of photos and artwork. This is regrettable, given the book’s clear design to inspire support in favor of saving the Poinciana.
An impressive compendium that could nevertheless be formed into a more compelling story.Pub Date: April 15, 2010
ISBN: 978-1934582244
Page Count: 427
Publisher: Back Channel
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2011
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
