Wesley Britton's Blog, page 35
June 18, 2017
Blind Alien cover art part 2
On various FB pages, I’ve heard some folks have been having problems trying to find the original Doug Myerscough cover art for The Blind Alien at my website.
I wrote my webmaster about this, and she sent this link:
https://drwesleybritton.com/books/
I’ve already heard from folks this link works perfectly. Check it out!
Oh, so far, most responses to the painting is that it’s the eyes that stand out.
I wrote my webmaster about this, and she sent this link:
https://drwesleybritton.com/books/
I’ve already heard from folks this link works perfectly. Check it out!
Oh, so far, most responses to the painting is that it’s the eyes that stand out.
An evil Beta-Earth book cover?
Here’s an oddity for Father’s Day.
A bit ago, my wife called me from the rehab center where she’s a patient. A few days ago, I left her a copy of my The Blind Alien, hot off the press.
She told me a number of the nurses can’t get near the book and are complaining as they claim the cover is “evil.” Evil how? “They’re Jamaican,” was her only thought. Superstition in a U.S. medical facility?
Judge for yourself after visiting my website. An evil book cover? I can’t figure that at all. Let me know what you think.
https://drwesleybritton.com/
Write me at--
spywise@verizon.net
A bit ago, my wife called me from the rehab center where she’s a patient. A few days ago, I left her a copy of my The Blind Alien, hot off the press.
She told me a number of the nurses can’t get near the book and are complaining as they claim the cover is “evil.” Evil how? “They’re Jamaican,” was her only thought. Superstition in a U.S. medical facility?
Judge for yourself after visiting my website. An evil book cover? I can’t figure that at all. Let me know what you think.
https://drwesleybritton.com/
Write me at--
spywise@verizon.net
June 15, 2017
Book Review: The Atheist and The Parrotfish by Dr. Richard Barager
The Atheist and The Parrotfish
Dr. Richard Barager
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC; 1 edition (May 20, 2017)
Publication Date: May 20, 2017
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN:B06VY7PZ4Q
https://www.amazon.com/Atheist-Parrot...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com.
“Male and female at once, the poetry of one and the poetry of the other, both burning—like a parrotfish, another miracle of nature, changing gender apace, beside its glorious, ever-changing hue.”
The Atheist and the Parrotfish is one of the most unusual and original stories I’ve encountered in some time.
The two plotlines follow two protagonists whose stories aren’t exactly parallel, although they overlap considerably as two men’s lives intertwine in important ways. Dr. Cullen Brodie, a California nephrologist, transplants a heart and kidney into Ennis Willoughby, a cross-dresser whose life is saved by the surgery. Willoughby felt he had two identities before the surgery—his male self and Elaine, the female side of him he loves to display in women’s clothes. But after the transplant, Willoughby is convinced the soul of the donor, a female named Carla MacGregor, has transmigrated into him and is in conflict with Elaine. If Elaine will not accept Carla, Ennis fears the transplanted organs will fail. On the other hand, he’d love to purge the soul of Carla from him as she has unfinished business with her family, especially her disabled son. After tracking down his donor’s husband and children, Ennis finds things are more complicated than he could have imagined.
Meanwhile, Brodie, the atheist of the book’s title, is concerned about his patient’s fears and begins a romantic relationship with Ennis’s psychologist, Becky Winthrop, who also thinks Ennis has subconsciously confused his emerging transgender personality with the imagined characteristics of his female donor. At the same time, Brodie’s own consciousness is troubled with memories of a tragic encounter that lead, years before, to the death of a four year old boy. Cullen is drawn to the South Pacific by a self-mutilating old lover, Angela Masters, for a reckoning of their past. On the island paradise of Rarotonga, he confronts the heartrending truth about the tragedy that destroyed their college romance. As the story progresses, it’s clear his primary odyssey is to face his atheism as his patient’s condition requires some rethinking of the possibility of a soul.
The author, Dr. Richard Barager, is a nephrologist and kidney specialist who integrated his medical knowledge and experience into a soap opera full of vivid descriptions. Every character, main and supporting, is fully sketched, many as graphically and erotically described as any characters in fiction. The main voices reveal deep and believable motivations. I must say, the conclusion comes off a bit rushed with a very surprising final chapter. Gratefully, Barager doesn’t provide all the answers but instead allows for multiple interpretations, both scientific and metaphysical. In fact, the author gives us a quiz after the text so we can critique our own responses to the book.
The Atheist and the Parrotfish is Richard Barager’s second novel, following his award-winning Altamount Augie published by Interloper Press in 2011. In 2018, Evolved Publishing plans to release his Red Clay, Yellow Grass: A Novel of the 1960s. If his other titles provide the memorable characters and very unique situations of The Atheist and the Parrotfish, then Richard Barager merits both awards and a wide readership willing to take on books atypical of most genre fiction.
First posted at BookPleasures.com on June 15, 2017:
goo.gl/0EcqAP
Dr. Richard Barager
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC; 1 edition (May 20, 2017)
Publication Date: May 20, 2017
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN:B06VY7PZ4Q
https://www.amazon.com/Atheist-Parrot...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com.
“Male and female at once, the poetry of one and the poetry of the other, both burning—like a parrotfish, another miracle of nature, changing gender apace, beside its glorious, ever-changing hue.”
The Atheist and the Parrotfish is one of the most unusual and original stories I’ve encountered in some time.
The two plotlines follow two protagonists whose stories aren’t exactly parallel, although they overlap considerably as two men’s lives intertwine in important ways. Dr. Cullen Brodie, a California nephrologist, transplants a heart and kidney into Ennis Willoughby, a cross-dresser whose life is saved by the surgery. Willoughby felt he had two identities before the surgery—his male self and Elaine, the female side of him he loves to display in women’s clothes. But after the transplant, Willoughby is convinced the soul of the donor, a female named Carla MacGregor, has transmigrated into him and is in conflict with Elaine. If Elaine will not accept Carla, Ennis fears the transplanted organs will fail. On the other hand, he’d love to purge the soul of Carla from him as she has unfinished business with her family, especially her disabled son. After tracking down his donor’s husband and children, Ennis finds things are more complicated than he could have imagined.
Meanwhile, Brodie, the atheist of the book’s title, is concerned about his patient’s fears and begins a romantic relationship with Ennis’s psychologist, Becky Winthrop, who also thinks Ennis has subconsciously confused his emerging transgender personality with the imagined characteristics of his female donor. At the same time, Brodie’s own consciousness is troubled with memories of a tragic encounter that lead, years before, to the death of a four year old boy. Cullen is drawn to the South Pacific by a self-mutilating old lover, Angela Masters, for a reckoning of their past. On the island paradise of Rarotonga, he confronts the heartrending truth about the tragedy that destroyed their college romance. As the story progresses, it’s clear his primary odyssey is to face his atheism as his patient’s condition requires some rethinking of the possibility of a soul.
The author, Dr. Richard Barager, is a nephrologist and kidney specialist who integrated his medical knowledge and experience into a soap opera full of vivid descriptions. Every character, main and supporting, is fully sketched, many as graphically and erotically described as any characters in fiction. The main voices reveal deep and believable motivations. I must say, the conclusion comes off a bit rushed with a very surprising final chapter. Gratefully, Barager doesn’t provide all the answers but instead allows for multiple interpretations, both scientific and metaphysical. In fact, the author gives us a quiz after the text so we can critique our own responses to the book.
The Atheist and the Parrotfish is Richard Barager’s second novel, following his award-winning Altamount Augie published by Interloper Press in 2011. In 2018, Evolved Publishing plans to release his Red Clay, Yellow Grass: A Novel of the 1960s. If his other titles provide the memorable characters and very unique situations of The Atheist and the Parrotfish, then Richard Barager merits both awards and a wide readership willing to take on books atypical of most genre fiction.
First posted at BookPleasures.com on June 15, 2017:
goo.gl/0EcqAP
June 13, 2017
The Blind Alien officially in paperback!
I’m letting everyone know that my Blind Alien—book 1 of the Beta-Earth Chronicles—long available as an e-book--was recently released as a paperback from BearManor Media! I can prove it—a box of books arrived at my door today!
Not only has the original Doug Myerscough cover art been restored (you can see it here):
www.drwesleybritton.com
but I also made a number of textual revisions responding to reader suggestions. Most importantly, the paperback edition has an extensive glossary of Beta-Earth terms not included in the original e-book.
So check out the new, improved Blind Alien at:
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...
Not only has the original Doug Myerscough cover art been restored (you can see it here):
www.drwesleybritton.com
but I also made a number of textual revisions responding to reader suggestions. Most importantly, the paperback edition has an extensive glossary of Beta-Earth terms not included in the original e-book.
So check out the new, improved Blind Alien at:
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...
June 6, 2017
Book Review: The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon
The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture
Glen Weldon (Author, Narrator)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: March 22, 2016
ASIN: B01BPHJCXM
https://www.amazon.com/Caped-Crusade-...
Written by Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com:
Glen Weldon is far from the first historian to explore the extensive Batman history in a full-length critical study. Perhaps the densest and best researched book on the topic, at least up to its publication date, was Bruce Scivally’s 2011 Billion Dollar Batman. Over recent years, the Sequart Research & Literacy Organization has featured many scholarly titles on various aspects of Batman’s place in comics, television, and films like its impressive essay collections on the 1966 Adam West television series, the work of Grant Morrison, and Julian Darius’s
2011 Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen. Now, Glen Weldon picks up the mantle, er, cowl, and takes us back to the beginning and brings us up to the present by tracing Batman’s evolving place in popular culture. Unlike other studies, he also focuses on the responses of “nurds” to the character and Bruce Wayne’s Gotham City milieu.
Naturally, the saga begins with the debut Batman stories created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in Detective Comics in 1939. Thereafter, Weldon looks at how and why Batman was a figure forever changing in re-boots, re-sets, re-moldings and re-framing in popular media. The first serious course correction for the character and comic books in general took place in 1954 with the publication of Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham. That book attacked the comics industry claiming it was an assault on the morals of youth. Were Batman and Robin homoerotic characters? Were the street fights with criminals too gritty for young readers? To deal with the cultural controversy, Batman became less a dark crime-fighter and more an out-of-place sci fi space voyager.
Then came the 1966 Adam West TV series where the battle lines were drawn between the nurds wanting their comic book Batman to not be bowdlerized by the TV nonsense and the “normal” viewers who really didn’t care all that much about the character. Ironically, as Bruce Scivaly noted in his 2011 study, the comic book Batman wasn’t really that “adult” before Adam West, although DC Comics had tried to tone down the more fantastical elements in recent years.
After the TV series’ demise, the “nurds,” by use of fan newsletters and letters written to National Periodicals, championed the return of their “Batman,” that is, a more adult-oriented, dark vigilante. In the main, the nurds got their way as comic creators like Neal Adams, Steve Englehardt, Frank Miller, Denny O’Neill, and Grant Morrison gave readers a more and more violent, grim and gritty brooding bad ass. Then came the surprisingly successful Tim Burton movies and the Fox animated series that could appeal to both “nurds” and “normals” while the comic books became tougher and tougher and far removed from the children’s stories of yore. Then Joel Shumacher reversed that course before Christopher Nolan got things back on track for both “nurds” and “normals” alike.
Weldon gives more or less equal time to the creators of Batman projects, the fans and their responses to each new twist and turn, as well as the marketing and merchandising shifts that had much to do with how Batman had to be reshaped for each new generation of readers and viewers. For example, Batman wasn’t the only character to be packaged in more and more garish covers during the heyday of comic shops and collector’s editions during the 1990s. The advent of the internet was tailor-made for a fan base of nurds already poised to debate, discuss, and champion their visions of just who and what Batman should be. This included, and includes, online forums, websites, blogs, games, and fan fiction. Not to mention cons and even Legos.
I have to admit, Weldon seems rather obsessed with the “gayness” of Batman. I sort of understand why, but this is an area in which he gets rather heavy handed. Obviously, the primary audience for The Caped Crusade is fans of Batman, the very sort of fans the book is written about. I also think that those interested in nurd culture in general would be interested in this exploration of one thread of who they are. I guess that includes me. And perhaps you.
Originally posted at BookPleasures.com on June 6, 2017:
goo.gl/24bCSW
Glen Weldon (Author, Narrator)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Audible.com Release Date: March 22, 2016
ASIN: B01BPHJCXM
https://www.amazon.com/Caped-Crusade-...
Written by Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com:
Glen Weldon is far from the first historian to explore the extensive Batman history in a full-length critical study. Perhaps the densest and best researched book on the topic, at least up to its publication date, was Bruce Scivally’s 2011 Billion Dollar Batman. Over recent years, the Sequart Research & Literacy Organization has featured many scholarly titles on various aspects of Batman’s place in comics, television, and films like its impressive essay collections on the 1966 Adam West television series, the work of Grant Morrison, and Julian Darius’s
2011 Improving the Foundations: Batman Begins from Comics to Screen. Now, Glen Weldon picks up the mantle, er, cowl, and takes us back to the beginning and brings us up to the present by tracing Batman’s evolving place in popular culture. Unlike other studies, he also focuses on the responses of “nurds” to the character and Bruce Wayne’s Gotham City milieu.
Naturally, the saga begins with the debut Batman stories created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in Detective Comics in 1939. Thereafter, Weldon looks at how and why Batman was a figure forever changing in re-boots, re-sets, re-moldings and re-framing in popular media. The first serious course correction for the character and comic books in general took place in 1954 with the publication of Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham. That book attacked the comics industry claiming it was an assault on the morals of youth. Were Batman and Robin homoerotic characters? Were the street fights with criminals too gritty for young readers? To deal with the cultural controversy, Batman became less a dark crime-fighter and more an out-of-place sci fi space voyager.
Then came the 1966 Adam West TV series where the battle lines were drawn between the nurds wanting their comic book Batman to not be bowdlerized by the TV nonsense and the “normal” viewers who really didn’t care all that much about the character. Ironically, as Bruce Scivaly noted in his 2011 study, the comic book Batman wasn’t really that “adult” before Adam West, although DC Comics had tried to tone down the more fantastical elements in recent years.
After the TV series’ demise, the “nurds,” by use of fan newsletters and letters written to National Periodicals, championed the return of their “Batman,” that is, a more adult-oriented, dark vigilante. In the main, the nurds got their way as comic creators like Neal Adams, Steve Englehardt, Frank Miller, Denny O’Neill, and Grant Morrison gave readers a more and more violent, grim and gritty brooding bad ass. Then came the surprisingly successful Tim Burton movies and the Fox animated series that could appeal to both “nurds” and “normals” while the comic books became tougher and tougher and far removed from the children’s stories of yore. Then Joel Shumacher reversed that course before Christopher Nolan got things back on track for both “nurds” and “normals” alike.
Weldon gives more or less equal time to the creators of Batman projects, the fans and their responses to each new twist and turn, as well as the marketing and merchandising shifts that had much to do with how Batman had to be reshaped for each new generation of readers and viewers. For example, Batman wasn’t the only character to be packaged in more and more garish covers during the heyday of comic shops and collector’s editions during the 1990s. The advent of the internet was tailor-made for a fan base of nurds already poised to debate, discuss, and champion their visions of just who and what Batman should be. This included, and includes, online forums, websites, blogs, games, and fan fiction. Not to mention cons and even Legos.
I have to admit, Weldon seems rather obsessed with the “gayness” of Batman. I sort of understand why, but this is an area in which he gets rather heavy handed. Obviously, the primary audience for The Caped Crusade is fans of Batman, the very sort of fans the book is written about. I also think that those interested in nurd culture in general would be interested in this exploration of one thread of who they are. I guess that includes me. And perhaps you.
Originally posted at BookPleasures.com on June 6, 2017:
goo.gl/24bCSW
Book Review: I Am Brian Wilson by Brian Wilson
I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir
Brian Wilson
Ben Greenman
Hardcover – October 11, 2016
Publisher: Da Capo Press; First Edition/First Printing edition (October 11, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0306823063
ISBN-13: 978-0306823060
https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Brian-Wil...
Review written by Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com:
Last fall, two Beach Boy autobiographies came out nearly simultaneously, I Am Brian Wilson and Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy by Mike Love. In November, I reviewed Love’s offering, saying it was a needed corrective to much of the mythology that surrounds his role in the group. I wonder now how much correction went on in that book.
Now that I’m finally getting around to reviewing I am Brian Wilson, I’m not thinking about comparing it to Love’s memoir but rather Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story, Wilson’s controversial 1991 first autobiography. Quickly following its publication, that book was damned on a number of fronts including charges of plagiarism and misrepresentations of facts, especially as presented in a lawsuit filed by Love. Some critics still claimed the book has very useful material even if the stories need to be filtered before being accepted. Wilson himself completely disowned the book.
I have vivid memories of reading Wouldn’t It Be Nice which I, at the time, felt was a very poignant and tragic account of the Brian Wilson saga. So, as I read I Am, comparisons quickly sprang to my mind. For one matter, father Murray Wilson came off as little more than a torturing, vicious monster in the first memoir; in the second book, Brian gives him a much more balanced treatment while admitting he still finds it difficult to write about his father. In Wouldn’t, Brian—or perhaps his collaborator—blasted then girlfriend or maybe just housemate Caroline saying she was taking advantage of him. In the new book, Brian simply says in one sentence that she was forced out of his life even though “she did nothing wrong.”
For me, the most noticeable difference was that the first account sang the praises of therapist Eugene Landy, with a vigorous defense of his extreme treatments. On the other hand, I Am is nearly a wall-to-wall damnation of Landy’s relentless domination of Brian which seems to have been far more damaging to Brian than all of Murry Wilson’s attempts to control his children.
When I reviewed Good Vibrations, I noted Mike Love had virtually nothing to say about fellow Beach Boy, Al Jardine. Well, Brian too talks mostly about himself and his brothers Carl and Dennis, with little about either Al or Mike. Reportedly, Love isn’t convinced anything Wilson said about him in the book necessarily came from Wilson himself. Apparently, as of last November, he hadn’t even read the book. Perhaps, with possible lawsuits in mind, Wilson opted to simply not talk about Love but rather made a point of tossing out songwriting credits to a number of other lyrical collaborators. Perhaps, this time, Love will leave Brian alone, that is, stay out of court for a change.
Whether or not you’ve read any previous Beach Boy books, by founding members or not, odds are the majority of any new revelations you’ll gain from I Am Brian Wilson will deal with Wilson’s solo projects from the past two decades. It’s an engaging read which gratefully doesn’t follow a strict, linear, chronological flow. As we go along, readers get detailed insights into the distant past as well as the more recent decades which means we do hear stories and perspectives not beaten to death in other books, interviews, or articles. Still, it helps to be a Beach Boy diehard to dive into this one—or perhaps this might be a interesting read if this is the first Beach Boy book you’ve ever read. Or, it might be a good update if all you’ve heard about is the history of the Beach Boys through the deaths of Carl and Dennis Wilson. In short, a decent but not indispensable read.
Originally posted at BookPleasures.com on June 6, 2017
goo.gl/TQWcXZ
Brian Wilson
Ben Greenman
Hardcover – October 11, 2016
Publisher: Da Capo Press; First Edition/First Printing edition (October 11, 2016)
ISBN-10: 0306823063
ISBN-13: 978-0306823060
https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Brian-Wil...
Review written by Wesley Britton for BookPleasures.com:
Last fall, two Beach Boy autobiographies came out nearly simultaneously, I Am Brian Wilson and Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy by Mike Love. In November, I reviewed Love’s offering, saying it was a needed corrective to much of the mythology that surrounds his role in the group. I wonder now how much correction went on in that book.
Now that I’m finally getting around to reviewing I am Brian Wilson, I’m not thinking about comparing it to Love’s memoir but rather Wouldn’t It Be Nice: My Own Story, Wilson’s controversial 1991 first autobiography. Quickly following its publication, that book was damned on a number of fronts including charges of plagiarism and misrepresentations of facts, especially as presented in a lawsuit filed by Love. Some critics still claimed the book has very useful material even if the stories need to be filtered before being accepted. Wilson himself completely disowned the book.
I have vivid memories of reading Wouldn’t It Be Nice which I, at the time, felt was a very poignant and tragic account of the Brian Wilson saga. So, as I read I Am, comparisons quickly sprang to my mind. For one matter, father Murray Wilson came off as little more than a torturing, vicious monster in the first memoir; in the second book, Brian gives him a much more balanced treatment while admitting he still finds it difficult to write about his father. In Wouldn’t, Brian—or perhaps his collaborator—blasted then girlfriend or maybe just housemate Caroline saying she was taking advantage of him. In the new book, Brian simply says in one sentence that she was forced out of his life even though “she did nothing wrong.”
For me, the most noticeable difference was that the first account sang the praises of therapist Eugene Landy, with a vigorous defense of his extreme treatments. On the other hand, I Am is nearly a wall-to-wall damnation of Landy’s relentless domination of Brian which seems to have been far more damaging to Brian than all of Murry Wilson’s attempts to control his children.
When I reviewed Good Vibrations, I noted Mike Love had virtually nothing to say about fellow Beach Boy, Al Jardine. Well, Brian too talks mostly about himself and his brothers Carl and Dennis, with little about either Al or Mike. Reportedly, Love isn’t convinced anything Wilson said about him in the book necessarily came from Wilson himself. Apparently, as of last November, he hadn’t even read the book. Perhaps, with possible lawsuits in mind, Wilson opted to simply not talk about Love but rather made a point of tossing out songwriting credits to a number of other lyrical collaborators. Perhaps, this time, Love will leave Brian alone, that is, stay out of court for a change.
Whether or not you’ve read any previous Beach Boy books, by founding members or not, odds are the majority of any new revelations you’ll gain from I Am Brian Wilson will deal with Wilson’s solo projects from the past two decades. It’s an engaging read which gratefully doesn’t follow a strict, linear, chronological flow. As we go along, readers get detailed insights into the distant past as well as the more recent decades which means we do hear stories and perspectives not beaten to death in other books, interviews, or articles. Still, it helps to be a Beach Boy diehard to dive into this one—or perhaps this might be a interesting read if this is the first Beach Boy book you’ve ever read. Or, it might be a good update if all you’ve heard about is the history of the Beach Boys through the deaths of Carl and Dennis Wilson. In short, a decent but not indispensable read.
Originally posted at BookPleasures.com on June 6, 2017
goo.gl/TQWcXZ
The Blind Alien is available in paperback!
Immerse yourself in an extraordinary universe revealed by the most original storytelling you’ll ever experience. “Science fiction yes, but so much more.”
The Blind alien—Book 1 of the Beta-Earth Chronicles—is now available in paperback! According to Amazon, it’s been available for order since April 5, but today is the first day I heard about it. Anyway, here’s the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...
The Blind alien—Book 1 of the Beta-Earth Chronicles—is now available in paperback! According to Amazon, it’s been available for order since April 5, but today is the first day I heard about it. Anyway, here’s the link:
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Alien-Be...
June 5, 2017
Book Review: Infinite Tuesday: Autobiographical Riffs by Michael Nesmith
Infinite Tuesday: Autobiographical Riffs
Michael Nesmith
Publisher: Crown Archetype; First Edition first Printing edition (April 18, 2017)
ISBN-13: 978-1101907504
https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Tuesd...
Reviewed for BookPleasures.com by Dr. Wesley Britton
I’m not sure what inspired me to sit down and listen to the audiobook edition of ex—Monkee Michael Nesmith’s new autobiography. I suppose I remain a sucker for ‘60s nostalgia, even if Nesmith has long maintained a very understandable and quiet distance from his short Monkee past. I expected to learn much more about his decades since his pop stardom years and, mostly, I wasn’t disappointed even if a number of projects get little or no mention.
In fact, we never hear the names Mickey Dolenz, Davey Jones, or Peter Tork mentioned more than one passing note on their pre-Monkee years. When Nesmith starts name dropping, we first hear about his encounters with Timothy Leary and author Douglas Adams, the latter to play an even more important role in the book’s final chapters. Yes, we get perhaps two chapters of Monkee business including Nesmith admitting he was thrust into the limelight of show business in a way he didn’t like and didn’t understand. In his view, Headquarters is the only real Monkees record. I didn’t know their movie, Head, was designed to be a suicide project intended to torpedo the entire Monkee parade.
But the bulk of the book looks at Nesmith’s formative years when he tried to be a California based songwriter, and the decades after his Monkee stardom when he shaped his own musical trajectory, especially with the country rock pioneers, the First National Band and their unexpected 1970 hit, “Joanne.” Nesmith has much to say about the music business of the ‘70s which he repeatedly describes as corrupt and machine-like. He virtually invented music videos (winning a Grammy for his 1982 Elephant Parts), producing “Pop Clips”, which evolved into MTV. Nesmmith also successfully tried his hand at movie production (notably Repo Man), and ultimately dived into virtual reality which is something he’s still working on.
Along the way, Nesmith is very candid about his failures, missteps, and misunderstandings, especially when he repeatedly discusses what he calls “celebrity psychosis.” He shares his spiritual odyssey, notably his lifelong connections to Christian Science. I must admit, I don’t know that I’ll ever contribute a dime to PBS again unless I hear a good defense for their attempts to steal his Pacific Arts video catalogue, even if they lost big in court in 1999.
Naturally, I was curious about a few matters glossed over or not mentioned in the story. I’d have thought he’d have said more about the songs that he wrote which the Monkees did record like “Mary Mary.” Speaking of songwriting, I was surprised to see nothing about “Different Drum” or “Some of Shelley’s Blues” that were recorded by Linda Ronstadt. He says nothing about the Monkee reunions he participated in or mentions the passing of Davey Jones. Perhaps these are all topics he’s addressed too many times before and has no interest in retreading what, for him, must be overly tilled territory.
For serious Monkee fans, the way to go is read the audiobook edition as read aloud by the author. For everyone else, check out the book if you’re interested in learning more about a man who has been far more than the guy in the “wool hat.” In this book, you get a bit of rock and roll, a bit of country, a lot of the entertainment business, and even more exploration into spiritual healing.
Reviewed for BookPleasures.com on June 5, 2017:
goo.gl/NTPeSY
Michael Nesmith
Publisher: Crown Archetype; First Edition first Printing edition (April 18, 2017)
ISBN-13: 978-1101907504
https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Tuesd...
Reviewed for BookPleasures.com by Dr. Wesley Britton
I’m not sure what inspired me to sit down and listen to the audiobook edition of ex—Monkee Michael Nesmith’s new autobiography. I suppose I remain a sucker for ‘60s nostalgia, even if Nesmith has long maintained a very understandable and quiet distance from his short Monkee past. I expected to learn much more about his decades since his pop stardom years and, mostly, I wasn’t disappointed even if a number of projects get little or no mention.
In fact, we never hear the names Mickey Dolenz, Davey Jones, or Peter Tork mentioned more than one passing note on their pre-Monkee years. When Nesmith starts name dropping, we first hear about his encounters with Timothy Leary and author Douglas Adams, the latter to play an even more important role in the book’s final chapters. Yes, we get perhaps two chapters of Monkee business including Nesmith admitting he was thrust into the limelight of show business in a way he didn’t like and didn’t understand. In his view, Headquarters is the only real Monkees record. I didn’t know their movie, Head, was designed to be a suicide project intended to torpedo the entire Monkee parade.
But the bulk of the book looks at Nesmith’s formative years when he tried to be a California based songwriter, and the decades after his Monkee stardom when he shaped his own musical trajectory, especially with the country rock pioneers, the First National Band and their unexpected 1970 hit, “Joanne.” Nesmith has much to say about the music business of the ‘70s which he repeatedly describes as corrupt and machine-like. He virtually invented music videos (winning a Grammy for his 1982 Elephant Parts), producing “Pop Clips”, which evolved into MTV. Nesmmith also successfully tried his hand at movie production (notably Repo Man), and ultimately dived into virtual reality which is something he’s still working on.
Along the way, Nesmith is very candid about his failures, missteps, and misunderstandings, especially when he repeatedly discusses what he calls “celebrity psychosis.” He shares his spiritual odyssey, notably his lifelong connections to Christian Science. I must admit, I don’t know that I’ll ever contribute a dime to PBS again unless I hear a good defense for their attempts to steal his Pacific Arts video catalogue, even if they lost big in court in 1999.
Naturally, I was curious about a few matters glossed over or not mentioned in the story. I’d have thought he’d have said more about the songs that he wrote which the Monkees did record like “Mary Mary.” Speaking of songwriting, I was surprised to see nothing about “Different Drum” or “Some of Shelley’s Blues” that were recorded by Linda Ronstadt. He says nothing about the Monkee reunions he participated in or mentions the passing of Davey Jones. Perhaps these are all topics he’s addressed too many times before and has no interest in retreading what, for him, must be overly tilled territory.
For serious Monkee fans, the way to go is read the audiobook edition as read aloud by the author. For everyone else, check out the book if you’re interested in learning more about a man who has been far more than the guy in the “wool hat.” In this book, you get a bit of rock and roll, a bit of country, a lot of the entertainment business, and even more exploration into spiritual healing.
Reviewed for BookPleasures.com on June 5, 2017:
goo.gl/NTPeSY
Book Review: Homeward Bound: The life of Paul Simon by Peter Ames Carlin
Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon Hardcover – October 11, 2016
Peter Ames Carlin
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (October 11, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1627790349
ISBN-13: 978-1627790345
https://www.amazon.com/Homeward-Bound...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley britton for BookPleasures.com:
Homeward Bound isn’t Peter Ames Carlin’s first large canvas biography of a significant musical figure. He’s done Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney. I wasn’t alone in praising his Bruce in my 2012 review of that tome.
For biographers, there’s a major advantage as well as challenge in taking on such popular musicians whose careers span decades and are still ongoing. Springsteen, Wilson, McCartney, and Simon are giants whose biographies and output are epic, significant, and worthy of much more than a year by year breakdown of where they were and what they did. In the case of Paul Simon, I must admit I’ve been following his career since 1965 but not so closely as to consider myself a Simon expert. So, from page one of Homeward Bound on, every section was full of revelations for me. I did not know all the pre-Simon and Garfunkel musical tries Simon made beyond the legendary Tom and Jerry recordings. It was good to read the full account of how “Sounds of Silence” came together in its revised form, even if I already knew the basics of the story. Most importantly, I came to a much better understanding of the evolving relationship between Simon and Artie Garfunkel, especially gaining a much deeper appreciation of Garfunkel’s contributions to the partnership beyond his soaring, angelic voice. Perhaps many readers may be surprised to discover just how apolitical Simon was over the years and, when he did offer opinions, especially regarding South Africa and apartheid, just what his non-liberal beliefs were.
As many other reviewers have already noted, Homeward Bound is a very balanced book which doesn’t veer into fan worship on one side nor does Carlin go on the attack when exposing Simon’s poor treatment of many colleagues and comrades over the years. Carlin is especially good at providing critical analyses of the Simon musical canon with both details of how many songs came to be while he offers appreciative notes on what made them important, or not. Here’s where many readers may wish to match their own views with Carlin’s, although I admit very few times did I disagree with him on any point. Instead, I gained a new appreciation of Rhythm of the Saints and wish I had given more attention to Capeman. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had to come around to that musical’s songs after hearing them a second time.
Homeward Bound is a long overdue biography which gives an epic subject the epic sweep it deserves, meaning it includes the life of one giant as well as providing a focus on the music Simon has been giving us since the mid-‘60s. I hate to use the term “definitive,” but I doubt Homeward Bound is likely to be superseded anytime soon. I suspect every reader will discover many surprising details, uncover new perspectives, gain a much fuller understanding of the man beneath the myth, and perhaps, like me, be inspired to revisit some of the music of a man much more than a “folk-rock” oracle.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on June 5, 2017:
goo.gl/pN10i7
Peter Ames Carlin
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (October 11, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1627790349
ISBN-13: 978-1627790345
https://www.amazon.com/Homeward-Bound...
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley britton for BookPleasures.com:
Homeward Bound isn’t Peter Ames Carlin’s first large canvas biography of a significant musical figure. He’s done Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney. I wasn’t alone in praising his Bruce in my 2012 review of that tome.
For biographers, there’s a major advantage as well as challenge in taking on such popular musicians whose careers span decades and are still ongoing. Springsteen, Wilson, McCartney, and Simon are giants whose biographies and output are epic, significant, and worthy of much more than a year by year breakdown of where they were and what they did. In the case of Paul Simon, I must admit I’ve been following his career since 1965 but not so closely as to consider myself a Simon expert. So, from page one of Homeward Bound on, every section was full of revelations for me. I did not know all the pre-Simon and Garfunkel musical tries Simon made beyond the legendary Tom and Jerry recordings. It was good to read the full account of how “Sounds of Silence” came together in its revised form, even if I already knew the basics of the story. Most importantly, I came to a much better understanding of the evolving relationship between Simon and Artie Garfunkel, especially gaining a much deeper appreciation of Garfunkel’s contributions to the partnership beyond his soaring, angelic voice. Perhaps many readers may be surprised to discover just how apolitical Simon was over the years and, when he did offer opinions, especially regarding South Africa and apartheid, just what his non-liberal beliefs were.
As many other reviewers have already noted, Homeward Bound is a very balanced book which doesn’t veer into fan worship on one side nor does Carlin go on the attack when exposing Simon’s poor treatment of many colleagues and comrades over the years. Carlin is especially good at providing critical analyses of the Simon musical canon with both details of how many songs came to be while he offers appreciative notes on what made them important, or not. Here’s where many readers may wish to match their own views with Carlin’s, although I admit very few times did I disagree with him on any point. Instead, I gained a new appreciation of Rhythm of the Saints and wish I had given more attention to Capeman. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who had to come around to that musical’s songs after hearing them a second time.
Homeward Bound is a long overdue biography which gives an epic subject the epic sweep it deserves, meaning it includes the life of one giant as well as providing a focus on the music Simon has been giving us since the mid-‘60s. I hate to use the term “definitive,” but I doubt Homeward Bound is likely to be superseded anytime soon. I suspect every reader will discover many surprising details, uncover new perspectives, gain a much fuller understanding of the man beneath the myth, and perhaps, like me, be inspired to revisit some of the music of a man much more than a “folk-rock” oracle.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on June 5, 2017:
goo.gl/pN10i7
May 31, 2017
Badwater Gospel review correction
I must post one correction to my review of The Badwater Gospel—it’ set in Wyoming, not Montana. My howler—
Wesley Britton's Blog
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“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
“The Blind Alien is a story with a highly original concept, fascinating characters, and not-too-subtle but truthful allegories. Don’t let the ...more
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