A ringing endorsement of the power of a supportive family, especially for those in the public eye.
A spirited account of life in the Biden crew by the president’s only sister.
In this depiction of her life with her older brother, Joe, and their two younger siblings, Biden Owens (b. 1945) offers rosy hindsight that comes from a life well lived. The author’s parents consistently stressed the importance of family from an early age, and it becomes clear that this shared value has been the glue and momentum that has kept their lives whole and moving forward, even in the face of heartbreaking loss. Biden Owens points out that comparing the Irish Catholic Biden family to the Kennedys is low-hanging fruit—“in terms of finances and political clout, we were pretty far from Camelot,” she writes, and her mother once said, “Damn it, we were Bidens before we ever heard of the Kennedys”—but it’s hard not to trace the similarities, particularly the tragedies that both families endured. The author takes us through her peripatetic childhood with her family (including a revolving door of welcomed relatives coming in and out), her school years, Joe’s decision to run for the New Castle County Council in 1970, and his equally important decision to hire sister “Val” as his campaign manager. The narrative gallops along at a decent pace, and we see the White House as the finish line. Throughout, Biden Owens pauses to examine various turning points, including that historic county council race and her involvement with the long-gestating Violence Against Women Act, which was signed into law in 1994, “four years after my brother Joe began his offensive” to pass the legislation. Particularly notable is the author’s examination of her faith. A devout Catholic who nonetheless believes in signs and totems, she is clearly a determined woman who exudes the warmth and capabilities her big brother has always known.
A ringing endorsement of the power of a supportive family, especially for those in the public eye.Pub Date: April 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-82176-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.
A coffee-table book celebrates Michelle Obama’s sense of fashion.
Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, Obama’s chatty latest book begins with some school portraits from the author’s childhood in Chicago and fond memories of back-to-school shopping at Sears, then jumps into the intricacies of clothing oneself as the spouse of a presidential candidate and as the first lady. “People looked forward to the outfits, and once I got their attention, they listened to what I had to say. This is the soft power of fashion,” she says. Obama is grateful and frank about all the help she got along the way, and the volume includes a long section written by her primary wardrobe stylist, Koop—28 years old when she first took the job—and shorter sections by makeup artists and several hair stylists, who worked with wigs and hair extensions as Obama transitioned back to her natural hair, and grew out her bangs, at the end of her husband’s second term. Many of the designers of the author’s gowns, notably Jason Wu, who designed several of her more striking outfits, also contribute appreciative memories. Besides candid and more formal photographs, the volume features many sketches of her gowns by their designers, closeups on details of those gowns, and magazine covers from Better Homes & Gardens to Vogue. The author writes that as a Black woman, “I was under a particularly white-hot glare, constantly appraised for whether my outfits were ‘acceptable’ and ‘appropriate,’ the color of my skin somehow inviting even more judgment than the color of my dresses.” Overall, though, this is generally a canny, upbeat volume, with little in the way of surprising revelations.
Not so deep, but a delightful tip of the hat to the pleasures—and power—of glamour.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593800706
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
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