Full disclosure - I have not read this entire book. I couldn't. It's as if someone handed an stranger all the previous Reacher books and said, "Here yFull disclosure - I have not read this entire book. I couldn't. It's as if someone handed an stranger all the previous Reacher books and said, "Here you go. Make another one." In Lee Child's previous books, there seems to be an economy of prose and a certain elegance and cohesion to descriptions and narrative. None of that here. Reacher's internal dialogue here is rudimentary and does not reflect the intelligence of the character we've come to appreciate. The narrative here is rote and high-school level....more
Overall I enjoyed this memoir. Mr. Nash swings from narcissistic, self-involved, rock icon to insightful witness and participant of great cultural eveOverall I enjoyed this memoir. Mr. Nash swings from narcissistic, self-involved, rock icon to insightful witness and participant of great cultural events. His insights and recollections are unique due to his singular role as a member of The Hollies, CSN, & CSNY.
Two criticisms: 1) There's way too much David Crosby in this telling. Admittedly, he figures large in Mr. Nash's life, and addicts always suck up all the oxygen and attention in the lives they touch (no offense meant to Mr. Crosby) -- and -- 2) There's a bit of a tendency to recast motives in the best possible light. I suspect that things might not have been as pure and noble as recounted here. I also suspect that anyone retelling their life story would likely follow similar lines.
One good thing about this tale: all the principals live to continue to make music (so far). So many rock memoirs end with premature death and a young lives cut short....more
Although I am glad I (finally) read it, I did not like "On the Road" very much.
What I liked: There are some absolutely beautiful sections of prose, anAlthough I am glad I (finally) read it, I did not like "On the Road" very much.
What I liked: There are some absolutely beautiful sections of prose, and the final paragraph reads like a poem. I recognize how ground-breaking and avant garde this work must have been in 1948. I can also see the echoes of influence in many contemporaneous and subsequent works. The word-jazz be-bop prose style was a new invention, and it's interesting to see pre rock'n'roll counter-culture personalities and their drives.
What I didn't like: This whole novel consisted of f@#%ed-up, dysfunctional, self-centered, and dumb characters, doing f@#%ed-up, dysfunctional, self-centered, and dumb things. There are occasional glimpses of nobility, but these are largely in spite of the pathos and squalor of the situations they created in the first place.
I may have an oversimplified view of novels, but my expectations are that the characters (for whom we should either identify with or feel empathy towards) evolve toward some kind of conflict, experience some kind of resolution, and are changed as a result. There's learning, or transcendence, or understanding. In "On the Road", the characters are not easy to identify with, or empathize with, and they are still conflicting on the final pages the same ways they are on the first ones. That might have been Mr. Kerouac's point, I suppose. ...more
A pretty comprehensive retelling of the convoluted birthing of the movie that would become Blade Runner.
I know some information here from other sourceA pretty comprehensive retelling of the convoluted birthing of the movie that would become Blade Runner.
I know some information here from other sources, but the interviews and the fact that Mr. Sammon had been on-set since principal photography and was familiar to and with the key figures make this a singular collection of information and anecdotes.
Sources seem to be are well researched and cited. This could have turned into a laundry list of names, dates, and places, but thankfully Mr. Sammon is a skilled enough author that this unfolded in a good narrative fashion - kept the history moving right along....more
I've always been mystified by and fascinated with Woodstock. This first-hand account provides some more context and background in an entertaining, conI've always been mystified by and fascinated with Woodstock. This first-hand account provides some more context and background in an entertaining, conscientious, and reasonably self-aware way. ...more
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