Even the most Beatle-weary reader will be charmed and engaged by this intimate account. (Three 8-page b&w photo inserts,...
A close confederate of the Beatles chronicles the band’s rise and fall in an easygoing memoir—about everything except Yoko Ono.
Bramwell grew up with John, Paul, and George in Liverpool, and lat became an important fixture at Apple Records. He was the all-purpose guy who filmed their recording sessions, promoted their material, and, perhaps most importantly, was someone they could relax with at a pub. Told in real time, Bramwell’s account captures the taste and feel of the moment yet also evolves along with the band’s intellectual, artistic, and personal changes. Though Bramwell can’t climb into the Beatles’ heads, he does re-create the serendipitous atmosphere that surrounded their songwriting. And his steel-trap memory carries the big picture along with a mob of details, many of them personal. Rather than focusing entirely on the Beatles, the narrative encompasses the whole scene: the Rolling Stones, the Animals, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and numerous others come and go throughout. Bramwell appears to be such a sweet character that his portrait of Yoko Ono comes across like a bite on the kneecap. He loathes this “she-wolf garbed in black,” the “fraud” who talked macrobiotic while shooting heroin, who destroyed all that was once so good in the process of feeding her insecurities. Bramwell doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the last few years of the band’s partnership. He’s more than happy to blame the breakup on Ono and on Allen Klein, who would “cook the books and milk the company dry.” He also has some pointed things to say about the Merry Pranksters and Hare Krishnas.
Even the most Beatle-weary reader will be charmed and engaged by this intimate account. (Three 8-page b&w photo inserts, not seen)Pub Date: April 18, 2005
ISBN: 0-312-33043-X
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
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
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
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