false 3808308 2 Joseph Epstein;s <I>Fred Astaire</I> investigates the great dancer's magical talent, taking up the story of his life, his personality, his work habits, his modest pretensions, and above all his accomplishments. Written with the wit and grace the subject deserves, <I>Fred Astaire</I> provides a remarkable portrait of this extraordinary artist and how he came to embody for Americans a fantasy of easy elegance and, paradoxically, of democratic aristocracy. Tracing Astaire's life from his birth in Omaha to his death in his late eighties in Hollywood, the book discusses his early days with his talented and outspoken sister Adele, his gifts as a singer (Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern all delighted in composing for Astaire), and his many movie dance partners, among them Cyd Charisse, Rita Hayworth, Eleanor Powell, and Betty Hutton. A key chapter of the book is devoted to Astaire's somewhat unwilling partnership with Ginger Rogers, the woman with whom he danced most dazzlingly. What emerges from these pages is a fascinating view of an American era, seen through the accomplishments of Fred Astaire, an unassuming but uncompromising performer who transformed entertainment into art and gave America a new yet enduring standard for style. 3852515 15 10 2008 Fred Astaire (Icons of America) total:33|5:1|4:9|3:12|2:10|1:1| 33 98 55 25 4 1 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 28 19:21:29 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 08:59:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Fri Oct 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 07:51:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 12:20:21 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Apr 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 07:37:16 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 20:04:56 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 08 06:00:23 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 06:00:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 13:55:13 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 13:57:34 -0800 2008 2 0 false false Sun Jun 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 06:35:52 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 19:38:43 -0700 2009 Fred Astaire thinking it would be about, well, Fred Astaire. But you see, it is really more about Joseph Epstein than Fred Astaire. I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Joseph Epstein before I picked up this book but now I know more about him than I could possibl...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Mar 21 16:20:02 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 21 16:23:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Feb 16 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 07:27:05 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 16 07:28:29 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Nov 02 13:18:59 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 03 06:37:51 -0800 2008 1
As some one in this book says, he could walk across the room with more grace than most men have when the...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Feb 22 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 10:06:56 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 10:13:36 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 20:34:51 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 31 22:27:12 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 06 20:00:10 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 06 20:09:09 -0800 2008
However, I didn't really enjoy the writing style or tone. The biographer's presence was really there at times, which...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Jan 10 09:42:49 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 09:45:22 -0800 2009 works, or place them in a certain context. This book gives a capsule of Astaire's life and career, with numerous asides.]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jul 04 20:48:09 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 20:49:53 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 09 09:56:22 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 22 07:48:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jan 19 18:37:57 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 07:49:09 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 19 18:37:57 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Feb 26 21:57:27 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 22:42:24 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Tue Apr 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:13:55 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:15:05 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 07:50:37 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 07:51:31 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Thu Sep 03 18:18:05 -0700 2009 Thu Sep 03 18:18:31 -0700 2009