Vacation reading comes in all sizes and shapes just like bathing suits. For the action adventure reader, look to Dale Brown's THE TIN MAN (Bantam$24.95). His hero, Patrick McLanahan, an aerial combat pilot, who is working with his wife, for a hush-hush military R & D in San Diego comes to Sacramento to see his brother graduate from Police Academy and celebrate at the family's saloon. Dale Brown has incorporated the public's fear of motorcycle skin- head bikers who are involved with former Nazi drug smuggling terrorists, with his technological knowledge of new weaponry and medical breakthroughs, hence the title. He has used his own life for some scenes. When I mentioned to him that the birth scene was pretty harrowing, he told me that this was similar to what his wife, Diane, experienced giving birth to their first child and son, Hunter. As for the use of the Sacramento locale, Dale gives credit to Diane who served on the Sacramento police force in the narcotics division. So, when he needs a street or a locale, he has a built in expert. As for all the R & D in strategic warfare, he still has his connections from his years of military flying in B-52Gs and FB-11A nuclear bombers. Wally Lamb achieved the author's pinacle when Oprah chose his book,"She's Come Undone" for her "Oprah Book Club". She may not choose his latest I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE (Regan Books $28.50), but I would. It is a beautiful book, characters who grow, scenes that resonate with authenticity and a sense of place. It is the story of twins, Dominick, the stronger, and Thomas, a schizophrenic paranoid, living in Three Rivers, Connecticut, which Lamb told me, is based on Norwalk, where he lives. The book's opening sentence sets the tone."On the afternoon of October 12,1991, my twin brother Thomas entered the Three Rivers, Connecticut Public Library, retreated to one of the rear study carrels, and prayed to God the sacrifice he was about to commit would be deemed acceptable". A devout peace lover, Thomas will cut off his right hand to prevent the Gulf War from taking place. When Dominick must give permission for the surgeon to sew the hand back on, knowing his brother's wishes and that he will only repeat the severing, he declines permission. Thomas is sent to the locked up section of the Mental Hospital which infuriates Dominick. Lamb writes in the book that the other patients were mostly Vietnam Vets. He told me that in doing his research, he discovered the amazingly large number of Vietnam Vets in the high security facility. How and why, the two men have found themselves at this junction is the story of this novel. They never knew who their father was, nor does Dominick know until the last few pages;but they were mentally and physically abused by their step-father Ray. He is sadistic and a wife-beater, but by 1990 he is a pathetic man who thought he was doing it to make them men. Dominick is bedeviled by the memories of Dessa,his ex-wife, and their child who died at three weeks in her crib. His best friend, Leo, an aspiring actor and car-salesman, is married to Dessa's sister. Leo has been Dominick's friend since highschool and college. He is the friend Dominick turns to in times of trouble, yet it was Leo who caused them to be arrested on drug charges as teen-agers. I asked Wally Lamb what was the genesis of this book? He is not a twin, he is not divorced, but , he had been a highschool teacher like Dominick. He was fascinated by the idea of identical twins and a study that showed if one twin was schizophrenic, the other would show the same tendency. He also wanted to portray a small town where everyone knew each other. The secondary story is the diary kept by Dominick's Italian immigrant grandfather, Domenico Tempesta, which he pays to have translated from Italian to English. The grandfather who died before the twins were born, had lived with their mother, Concertina. She had so idealized him that Domenick wondered if he had been their father. It is thus, a shock when he learns who the father was and what it will mean to his finanial future. This is a books that reminds me of the great novels like "King's Row" or "The Thornbirds" that take on a life of their own. I did ask Wally how he kept his head after the great success? He did give up teaching to write full time. The phone did not stop ringing, so he moved his writing study to an apartment twenty minutes from the house without a telephone. And, he reminded himself that he did not want to be a writer who repeated himself. That he has not done. Perfect beach reading, ir you don't mind laughing out loud is Linda Jaivin's novel ROCK 'N ROLL BABES FROM OUTER SPACE (Broadway Books $23.00). Now how should an author dress andlook who is a graduate of Brown University, an expert in Chinese history, a translator, a historian and the author of one of this years funniest books? Sure as hell, not what Linda Jaivin did. Imagine Minnie Pearl mixed with Minnie Mouse with green hair in pig tails and a micro mini skirt. I teased her that she had a great act going for a woman who was raised in Connecticut but now lives in Sidney, Australia, with the rock and roll generation. On the flip side, why not? She has mixed science fiction, yes, the babes are really from another planet, who have come to Earth to kidnap Jake , a rock group singer, and test him in the sexual experimentation chamber. Or as Jaivin describes him,"Truth is, Jake, the serial lady-killer of the laid-back set, playful playboy of the Newtown world, was utterly smitten." Mix Gulliver's Travels with Tristam Shandy and you begin to get the flavor of Linda's writing. One caveat, if you're a prude, pass this book up. Give me one frivolous wish and I would do what John Krich and his bride Mei did on their honeymoon. He has written the non-fiction WON TON LUST(Kodansha $24.00) subtitled, "Adventures in Search of the World's Best Chinese Restaurant". Coming from a family whose first question in any new city was,"Where's the best Chinese restaurant?" this is a book after my own stomach. Not only is it a salivating read, it is funny. From sections entitled "Cold Dish:The Long Munch" to "Europe:Let 'Em Eat Dog" to "Dessert:From Hunan to Who Knows". As for Los Angeles area, they recommend Charming Gardens in Monterey Park , the Mandarette on Beverly Blvd. and Yujean Kang's in Pasadena. On the other hand, he says to never order from the menu, just put yourself in the owner's hands and ask which fish is the freshest that day. If this whets your appetite, and you
want to try it in your own kitchen, look no further than Mai Leung's THE
NEW CLASSIC CHINESE COOKBOOK (Council Oak Books $26.95). It is
an update of her classic book. The differences have to do with
the use of steaming instead of frying and the uses of vegetables
and tofu. No matter how many cookbooks you own there is always
room for one more. It is lovingly illustrated by Ellen Blonder. Here are the scenes from their home, the comments on Chinese styles, such as on Noise when they say the Chinese can be raucous and conversations can sound like arguments to the outsider, especially when they play mah-jongg. Or on manners, where it is expected of children to know how to behave. But, it is in the recipes that they excel with Steamed Fish in Black Bean Sauce and with their added Variations. For that recipe, if you can't cook, go to Xian on Canon Dr. For all of Asia, which is a big statement, Sri Lowen has written CLASSIC ASIAN COOKBOOK (DK Publishers $24.95). In the typical DK publishing technique, there are superb photographs of the food with excellent instructions for the preparations, such as Aloo Gosht (Meat Curry with potatoe) from India, or how to make Oson which is a steamed stuffed fish from Korea. For China on page 46 the dish is Baak Ging Ap, better known to us as Peking Duck which isn't too difficult if you can put the duck on a hook and hang the duck "undisturbed in a cool airy place for 12-24 hours until the skin is dry". Talk about humor, I'm back to WON TON LUST looking for the restaurant. The Civil War did not end at Gettysburg, that was the only the beginning of the Hell known as the Battle of the Wilderness. Jeff Shaara, author of "Gods and Generals" and son of Michael Shaara, author of "the Killer Angels", has written THE LAST FULL MEASURE (Ballentine Books $25.95) to complete the trilogy of the Civil War or as it is also called "the War Between The States". Shaara breathes life into Robert E.Lee and Ulysses S. Grant as he writes from their point of view as well as that of Joshua Chamberlain of Maine, whom Grant would appoint to receive the arms of Lee's men. Chamberlain had been made a general while he was hospitalized and,at that point, presumed dead. He was a true leader of men, who after the war would become President of Bowdoin College and receive the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1893. Lincoln is portrayed as a president who needs Grant to win decisive battles, money no object, in order to be reelected in 1864. If he lost the Union might be dissolved. He appoints Grant,general-in-chief, with the objective to strangle Lee's army. Grant decides to move his headquarters from Washington to the battlefield alongside General Meade, not the most couragous leader. On the Confederate side is Robert E. Lee, a wise warrior who has chosen his loyalty to Virginia over the United States. He is portrayed as a man of religious faith who favors duty over wife and family and who is not in good health. His army is deserting from lack of food and ammunition. Shaara has put a face on war that is unforgettable. One of the astonishing stories is the Battle of the Crater in Petersburg on June 25,1864 when the Union miners dug a tunnel in order to set off a dynamite charge that would blow up a hundred and seventy-foot section and bury an entire Confederate regiment in its debris When we talked I asked him to read a passage from the book that ends with this sentence. "But even the most devout began to feel the raw emptiness, the presence of the Beast, that God had done this ,had brought these armies to this awful place, had let these men create their own hell,while He closed His eyes and turned away." I asked Jeff," How he , who had not been a writer, developed the ability to write such majestic passages and to create the substances of his characters? " He said that there had not been room in his father's house for two writers. It was only after his father's death that he was urged by a friend in publishing to give it a try. It is amazing that he has written this book in only two years because as good as "Gods and Generals" was, this is even better. Some other books of interest that relate to this period are: Kenneth C. Davis' "Don't Know Much About The Civil War (Morrow $25.00) which is a cornucopia of information about the Civil War such as June 30,1864 the Internal Revenue Act was voted in to increase taxes to finance the war, or that the Ku Klux Klan was formed by six Confederate soldiers in Pulaski, Tenn. on December 24,1865 There is the pictorial book by Bob Zeller "The History in 3-D Civil War In Depth" (Chronicle Books $24.95) an extraordinalry book with a steroscopic viewer in the back so that the reader can see the pictures as they were meant to be seen. On pages 40 and 41 are the photos of the carnage of the Battle of Antietam and on page 45 the strained meeting when Lincoln visits the battlefield and meets with General McClellan whom he relieved of command. Other books of interest are Donald McCraig's novel "Jacob's Ladder, A Story of Virginai During The War" (Norton $25.95) and Carrie Allen McCray's "Freedom's Child, The Life of a Confederate General's Black Daughter"(Algonquin $23.95) and a superbly edited book by Donald C. Elder III of "The Civil War Letters of William Henry Harrison Clayton A Damned Iowa Greyhound "(University of Iowa Press $29.95) which also contains photos and maps. Clayton was captured by the Confederates at the Battle of Stirling's Plantation and was imprisoned for ten months at Camp Ford, Texas. He ended up in Orange County, California where he was elected Treasurer for many years. If all of these facts cause a "need to know "response, Dr. Alan Axelrod and Charles Phillips have co-authored a small but teriffic book "What Every American Should Know About American History" (Bob Adams, Inc.$15.00). It is subtitled "200 Events That Shaped the Nation". The book has small chapters that inform about Thomas Paine publishing "Common Sense" in 1776 to the fact that the Civil War broke out at 4:30 a.m. on April 12,1861 when a hot headed South Carolina rebel fired on Fort Sumter and four years later on April 9, 1865 Lee would surrender to Grant. The last event is "The Cold War Ends 1989-1991". For Father's Day gifts. A. Barlett Giamatti, "A Great and Glorious Game" (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill $15.950). Giamatti was president of Yale and Commissioner of Baseball before his death. He loved baseball and wrote about the history, the strikes. trades and cheating in baseball. He wrote about the Pete Rose affair when Pete Rose would not come to a hearing before him, "The matter of Mr. Rose is now closed, it will be debated and discussed. Let no one think that it did not hurt baseball. The hurt will pass, however, as the great glory of the game asserts itself and a resilient institution goes forward. Let it also be clear that no individual is superior to the game". If you love good writing and the sport of baseball, you will love this book. Stephen Coonts' "Fortunes of War" pits Japan against a broken up Russia in the near future over Japan's need for oil. Stephen told me that he had flown mock-ups of the future planes that he describes in the book. He pits two men, Colonel Jack Cassidy who is under orders to aid the Russians from a mutual aid pact between the US and Russia, and a Japanese former student and friend, Jiro Kimura. They will oppose each other in an airbattle to prevent nuclear war heads being deployed. Probably, the most frightening book because it is non-fiction is Milton Viorst's book IN THE SHADOW OF THE PROPHET,THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF ISLAM (Anchor Books,Doubleday $24.95). Milton Viorst, who is an expert on the Middle East, visited each of the countries in the Middle East to give the reader a history of that country, the politics of today and the role of Islamic Fundamentalists in the government. He begins in Egypt with a visit to Dr. El-Shikh, the president of Al-Azhar University, an ardent, militant fundamentalist. He approves of the penalty of death to an apostate to Islam as in the case of the murder of Faraq Foda. No matter which country Milton Viorst covered, be it, Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, or Algeria, the power of Islamic Fundamentalism is growing stronger. His last interview in the book with King Hussein of Jordan who,by comparison, is a moderate and liberal thinker, is couched in careful terms lest he offend the ultra right. I did ask Milton when we talked if he had asked King Hussein, "Why when he controlled Jersulaem did he not allow the Jewish people access to the Western Wall?" The underlying questions that come from this book are:what does it mean to the Western world when France has more than four million Muslims,many of them illegals living in below poverty standards, in their country?And what will be the future when terrorists bomb New York Trade Center and that it was engendered by terrorists from Cairo? How will the Saudi government handle the antipathy of the other Muslim countries that they allowed foreign troops on their soil to defend them against another Muslim country? Milton Viorst who has been a strong advocate for peace in the Middle East seems far more pessimistic today. But what a brilliant book for seeing our world as it really is. In any large Irish family, there's one who is referred to as "the hellion". Be assured that Malchy Mc Court, author of A MONK SWIMMING A MEMOIR (Hyperion $23.95) had the title in his family. What a funny book, what a way with words. This from a man who told me that he dropped out of school at thirteen, as did "the brother" Frank of "Angela Ashes" fame. Even in everyday speech Malachy refers to Frank as "the brother" and their mother as "the mother", he also added that she came to visit him and his first wife for a week and stayed twenty-five years. Malachy came to America in 1952 funded by Frank who came in 1949. The only ability Malachy claimed was "to tell stories and lie". He might have added drink to his list of accomplishments, which is a major, major part of this book. It's well known that the title comes from as a child mishearing the prayer "Hail, Mary, full of grace,etc." I told him I loved the fact that he went to see an off-Broadway play of John Millington Synge, the Irish playwrite, and was so moved that he went back to the producer and insisted that he could be an actor in the play. He was so naive about theatre, that when he was told to come back and read and bring a picture with him; he asked if a passport photo would do. It must have, because he was hired. I teased him that where Frank sees the glass half empty, he sees two drops as a full glass waiting for the booze. His stories of being a bachelor on Fire Island keeping the lonely wives company from Monday to Friday is straight out of Tom Jones or any Rabelaisian novel. Malachy does love the ladies. Which brings the reader to his first marriage to Linda Claire. Her real name was Louise Clara Wachsman, her parents were divorced and her mother was remarried to Carl Friedlander. Malachy would make all their lives Hell before they were through. During the break-up of his marriage, when work dried up and the bar named for him, Malachy I, was doing better business without him tending bar and drinking the profits, he found himself smuggling gold to India for a man in Switzerland. This is a good half of th book. How he used different passports, how the gold was sewn into his vests, and how he was able to meet his contact in India. Funny, funny writing. As we talked, Malachy laughed about the early years when he was better known in New York from having been on the Jack Paar show. He would take Frank to a party where people would ask Fran what he did and when he responded that he was a teacher, they looked over his shoulder. Malachy and I compared notes about the great old bars in New York, where the best and last is Gallaghers on 52nd Street. He had a book party there with some friends. On the other hand Malachy has been dry for thirteen years. After all the women in his life, Malachy says that the only woman is his wife of thirty-three years, Diana, to whom he dedicates the book,"For my beloved brilliant beautiful Diana, Who gives the resounding yes to life, to love, and to the song of the morning I cherish you." Now, who wouldn't love a man who writes to you like that? I was so impressed with the dialogue in the book and with the words and thoughts he spoke that I asked if he had ever written a play? It turns out that he and Frank wrote a play "The Blaggards" a few years ago about their lives. The mother was in the audience and in the first act stood up and announced that it was all a pack of lies that it never happened that way! At that point he began to sing a song of Brendan Behan's for me. Hopefully, he will write a sequel to this and he will sing again. Meryle Secrist met Stephen Sondheim when she was writing her unauthorised biography of Leonard Bernstein. She was so taken with him that she asked if he would consider letting her do a biography of him. She has written STEPHEN SONDHEIM A Life(Knopf $30.00). In some ways Stephen , the male counterpart to Marjorie Moringstar, was born in 1930 to Herbert and Foxy Sondheim who were in the garment business. They attended all the glamorous openings in New York to attract celebrities to wear their clothes. Foxy was the designer and the aggresive one. She was ahead of her time as a working mother. Although he did not see much of his parents, they were still a family living in the beautiful apartment building The San Remo. When he was ten, his parents were divorced and Stephen was sent away to Military School. It was a tempestuous time in his life. Foxy was a bitter, bitter woman scorned. She drank and took out her rage on Stephen while demanding he be a surrogate husband/escort. His only solace was at the home of Dorothy and Oscar Hammerstein. Oscar became his friend, father-figure and mentor. Clearly there would be no Sondheim today without Hammerstein then. After Sondheim was graduated from Williams, he came back to New York where he met the second important man in his creative life, Arthur Laurents. Meryle mentioned to me that Stephen was a man who knew how to work a party, for it was at a party that he asked Laurents,"Who is writing the lyrics for "Westside Story"? As Sondheim told Secrest the story he said,"Arthur... smote his forhead, which I think is the only time I've seen anyone literally smite his forehead, and he said,'I never thought of you...'" Thus are careers made. Including the fact that Bernstein gave up co-credit on the lyrics, and Sondheim refused taking a larger percentage of the royalties. He laughed at Meryle as he told her what that cost him over the years. There is a note in the back of the book
where Secrest asked Sondheim about Bernstein and his diminishing
creativity or genius, and Sondheim remarks that Lenny had a bad
case of "important-itis"! The book contains many of the Sondheim lyrics and the history of their inceptions. Secrest is very reserved in writing of Sondheim's social, sexual partners. He was in love with Lee Remick; but both recognized that his real affiliation was homosexual. Until the recent years with PeterJones, Secrest does not mention names, except to say "an unnamed writer", etc. The book belongs on the shelf with other theatrical biographies, as well as the psychological affects of divorce on the creative personality. Secrest is a very elegant writer who segues from one musical to the next without being repetitive and at the same time showing the maturing composer and writer. Who can resist a book entitled Sandra Gustafson's CHEAP SLEEPS IN PARIS, A Traveler's Guide To The Best-Kept Secrets (Chronicle Books $12.95), the companion book is CHEAP EATS IN PARIS. This is her eighth edition. She claims to have examined again every hotel in the seventh edition which meant she walked 503.7 miles, wore out her walking shoes and two umbrellas. Not just hotels, but advice on how to use the Metro and useful numbers, such as AA, the American Consulate and Complaints About a Hotel. Depending on the valuation of the franc and the dollar, the rates will vary;but the two books are invaluable for students or those on a budget. Plus, Gustavson writes very good commentaries about each hotel. For the restaurants, she clarifies that they are not the least expensive, they are the best for the price and off the tourist trap. I didn't notice if she dealt with a woman traveling alone and the reception in good restaurants to "Reservation for One, s'il vous plait". This is no year to be a biographer looking to win awards. Each month comes another potential winner. This month heralds Ron Chernow's TITAN, THE LIFE OF JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, SR. (Random House $30.00). It is another book that I can call "brilliant". It isn't that I'm a pushover. but if you have read Barbara Goldsmith's"Other Powers", Taylor Branch's"Pillars of Fire", and Martin Gilbert's"Israel"; this is some year for non-fiction. But, getting back to Ron Chernow's TITAN, he has given flesh and blood to the man one knew as the richest man in America who gave away dimes. Even more interesting is Chernow's investigative work in ferreting out the history of John D.'s father, "Big Bill" Rockefeller. "Big Bill" married Eliza Davison on February 18,1837. They moved to the Richford, New York house near his parents home. But "Big Bill" also moved his longtime mistress, Nancy Brown, into the house as well. In 1838 Eliza gave birth to her first child,Lucy, and a few months later Nancy gave birth to her first illegitimate child. On July 8,1839 John D. Rockefeller was born. He would come to maturity just as the Civil War industrial boom was beginning. "Big Bill" would live to an old age, he bcame a trophy for the media to find as the father of the richest man in America. Little did they know that he went by the name Dr. William Levingston and was buried by that name. On February 2, 1908 the World newspaper had the headline "Secret Double Life of Rockefeller's Father Revealed by the World". As much as a devil as "Big Bill" was, John D. was the opposite. He taught Sunday School, he never drank or swore and he believed he was doing God's work in becoming rich because then he would have that much more to give away with his philanthropic work. He was inspired in business. He chose to go into the refining of oil, rather than the drilling, and he located his refinery in Cleveland so that it had the real estate mantra. Location, location, location. In his case near the train tracks and waterways to expedite shipping. He had an uncanny knach for knowing who would help or hinder him. He was the original "Take no prisoners" in competition with other refineries. He also devised rebates or what can only be called kick-backs to the railroads for favored pricing. Some of the men whom he associated with in business, such as Henry Flagler,who like John D. had hired a substitute to fight in the Union army, and Frederick T.Gates, whom John D. said was the smartest business man he knew, were given autonomy. Anyone interested in business will find the story of Standard Oil a case study in power and decision making for longterm success. John D. married Laura Celestia Spelman who was known as Cettie, with whom he maintained an active role in the Baptist church. They had five children delivered by Cleveland's first woman doctor Myra Herrick. John D. was suspicious of ostentation and when he moved his family to New York City, the only sign of great wealth was that he built an ice rink every winter on west fifty-fourth street outside his home. The other woman in his life, although they never actually met was the reporter Ida Tarbell who wrote for McClure magazine. She wrote an on-going series from 1902 on the anatomy of Standard Oil. Ida had great antipathy towards Rockefeller because her father had lost a fortune in oil and her brother had been a leading figure in forming the Pure Oil Company which had been a serious challenger to Standard Oil. So much for a neutral point of view towards John D. John D. died at 97 on May 23, 1937. Ron Chernow told me that his last 30 years were like a rebirth. The grandchildren told Ron of this wonderful funny man who loved to play golf and who wore a wig becuase of his skin disease. I told Ron that I liked the man he portrayed "warts and all." I have only scratched the surface of this over 600 page book. Ron also covers the children and grandchildren of John D. which he told me gave him a problem of where to end as it is still a family saga in action. When I congratulated Ron on TITAN and we laughed at what a rough year for non-fiction writers, he reminded me the year isn't over yet, and the next big book for the fall is A. Scott Berg's book on Charles Lindbergh. In this era of the chef is king John Sedlar who created Los Angeles restaurants St. Estephe, Bikini and Abiquiu is certainly part of the royalty. He and Mark Miller who owns the Coyote Cafe in Snta Fe and Stephan Pyles who owns the Star Canyon in Dallas have gotten together to write TAMALES (Macmillan $25.00). John Sedlar came and showed me how one cooks a tamale. He talked about his philosophy of cooking and restaurants. The chefs alternate in the book giving their own creations. John has a lobster Newburg Tamales which is remarkably like Locke-Obers in Boston since it uses the shell of the lobster instead of corn husks. There is even a Cookies and Cream Tamales with Chocolate Cognac Sauce which is another John Sedlar creation. When I asked if he was going to open another restaurant, he said that he never says never but he is writing another cook book. And, as we all know, one can never have enough cook books. Ron Rosenbaum has written stories for the New York Times Magazine, a novel and three collections of his essays and journalism. Over many years, he has interviewed authors of biographies, political science books,etc. that related to Adolph Hitler and evil. It has culminated in EXPLAINING HITLER, The Search For The Origins of His Evil (Random House $30.00). Ron told me that he was comforted to know that The Munich Post tried to alert the populace about this creature called Adolph Hitler. There was the final expose by Dr. Fritz Gerlich in his paper Der Gerade Way that was ripped off the presses by S.A storm troopers on March 9.1933. It has never been found. Like a malevolent "rosebud" , rumors of its contents and the idea it may be in a secret locked safe in Switzerland still exist. For the Freudians, Ron Rosenbaum has researched the Hitler family background, including the gossip of the "Jewish" grandfather. He visited Dollersheim,Austria which Hitler had destroyed when he came to power in order to obliterate his family records. Ron found the story of Hitler's nepher who lived in England and tried to blackmail him. I had not known Hitler had a sister,Paula. There are those who put the blame on Hitler's mother's Jewish Doctor Eduard Bloch who treated Klara Hitler's breast cancer; and yet, Hitler gave him special permission to emigrate. Then, there is the suicide of Geli Raubal, Hitler's niece. Rosenbaum talked with Lord Alan Bullock, an historian and Hitler biographer. He believes that killing the Jews was a central concern of Hitlers. As Ron and I both said,"There it is in Mein Kampf even to the words of 'final solution'". Geli Raubal's suicide is reputed to be blamed on a Jewish singing teacher, whom Hitler forbade her to see. Or was her suicide out of jealousy because Hitler took Eva Braun to theatre. Or was it due to kinky sex and as Bullock believes the Russian autopsy that Hitler had only one testicle. Much of the book has the affect of reading a play by Pirandello,"Six Characters In search of an Author". Ron went to the Martin Borman guest house in Obersalzberg to get the feel of the place. There is a bizarre meeting with Claude Lanzmann of Shoah fame. He went to Israel for a meeting with Yehuda Bauer who believes Hitler is explainable, and with Emil Fackenheim who feels that only God can account for such radical evil. Ron went to talk to a man whom I consider one of the most billiant historians, Hyam Maccoby, who believes that the anti-semitism is historically due to the image of Judas as the Jew, forgetting that Jesus was a Jew. Some of Maccoby's ideas are radical and non-ecumenical. Ron said that he was surprised more critics had not picked up on that section of the book. The book is thought provoking in that he calls it "Explaining" not "Understanding". No one will find it boring, not when the author unearths a woman named Mimi Reiter who had an affair with Hitler and in the best romance novel style, says that he told her to,"Call me Wolf". Ron agreed that one of the best books written on German history is John Weiss' IDEOLOGY OF DEATH (Ivan Dee $16,95) which explains why the Holocaust happened in Germany and its unique history of anti-semitism. I did ask Rosenbaum, "Was Hitler more evil or was modern technology better?" Ready for a laugh? Dennis Hensley has written MISADVENTURES IN THE (213) (Weisbach/ Wm. Morrow $24.00). Craig Clybourn has left entertaining on cruise ships to try and sell a script in Hollywood. His college friend, Dandy, based a good deal on Dennis' real friend Margaret Cho, is a riot as she gets and loses a TV sit com, appears on "Politically Incorrect" being coached by Craig and his friend, Ulysses. I should add that Craig has left Arizona where his family lives and where he had lived a semi-heterosexual life. Not any more! His adventures or misadventures are modern day "Virtue Rewarded" including going to Dandy's wedding to the Prince of Bahrain. After all what's a girl to do if her show is cancelled. All's well that ends with Craig's script being sold and a movie being made. Dennis Hensley, who writes a column for Detour magazine under the name Craig Clybourn, is a delight. I laughed at how he has captured the race to borrow his landlady's video tapes when the Motion Picture Academy sends them to members. She had been an old time film actress who now owns his building. Dennis admitted this was based on fact. For all of you who read and reread "Goodnight Moon", there is a terrific book and a mobile to make of the sun and the planets, called WHERE DOES THE SUN GO AT NIGHT? by C.E. Thompson and illustrated by Marcy Ramsey (Andrews.McMeel $9.95). It is both visually a joy and the information is excellent. Is the sun a planet? No, it's a star. How big is the sun? It's about one million times bigger than the earth. As for that moon, it is not a planet, it doesn't move around the sun, it moves around its planet, the earth. And, the fial answer is that the sun doesn't go anywhere at night, it's the earth that is always moving. So, good morning sun. This is part of Andrews/McMeel's Junior Scientist series. There is also "Where Does Rain Come From?" with a rain gauge and cloud chart. Doing things with kids can teach adults too. Before he even gets to writing about Abraham, Thomas Cahill in THE GIFTS OF THE JEWS; HOW A TRIBE OF DESERT NOMADS CHANGED THE WAY EVERYONE THINKS AND FEELS (Doubleday $23.50 retells the history of the Sumerians and that of the book ,"Epic of Gilgamesh, which will have a resonance in the early books of the Hebrew Bible. He notes the many temples which were built on the highest spot and that there was a Moon Cult on Ur with so-called sacred couplings to ensure the fertility of the kingdom. It is then that Cahill writes about the Terah family from whom Avram, later to become Abraham, was begat. It is to Avram that God will speak and appear. With whom God will make a Covenant, saying"Walk in my prescence." Tom Cahill was the former director of religeous publishing at Doubleday. He is not only a most elegant writer, but he is equally elegant as a human with a great sense of humor. When we were talking about the Talmud and the laws of Kasha. he told me that in the Bible Abraham cooks dinner for God and at the dinner he served meat and milk. It is only later that milk and meat are forbidden. I did suggest that maybe God had indigestion? For a man who was brought up in Catholic institutions he has an amazing love and respect for Judaism. He credits the Jews with giving the world a conscience, responsibility and the power of choice. He has a magnificent chapter on Moshe or Moses and on Joseph, who might be called the first psychoanalyst as he read the dreams of the Pharoh. One can see the seeds of what will become the story of Jesus and Christianity in the next book. Tom told me about going to study the Bible at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and learning to read and write Hebrew with the aid of a wonderful teacher, Dr. Zahava Flatto. In many cases, Tom has interpreted the poetry of the Bible to create exquisite poetry in English. From another point of view is Arthur Hertzberg and Aron Hirt-Manheimer's JEWS, THE ESSENCE AND CHARACTER OF A PEOPLE (Harper San Francisco$25.00). Arthur Hertzberg, a recognized historian and Jewish intellect, is currently the Bronfman visiting professor of the Humanities at New York University. He is the son of a Rabbi who built his own temple in Baltimore. This too, is part of the book where Hertzberg tells of his father sermonizing about going to hold a vigil outside Roosevelt's White House to protest America's reluctance to speak out about the Nazi's treatment of the Jews. His Board of Directors forbid him and fired him from the pulpit. Arthur told me that his father would never serve again in a temple with a Board of Directors. Aron told me that he had suggested to Arthur that he include some of his experiences in order to humanize the book, which it definitely does. This is both a history, as well as a political look at the Jews. They say that Jews have contributed to anti-Semitism by insisting on being Jews and that by definition they have been the outsider, the stranger. And yet, Hertzberg told of a professor at Johns Hopkins who told him not to count on his standing up for him if the Naziis came to America. Along with the personal, they have written a profound book on the Jewish History. Aron told me about his parents who are Holocaust survivors. He said that this was the defining part of his family and his childhood. Currently he is the Editor of Reform Judaism Magazine. I asked them how a Reform Jew and an Orthodox-Conservative Jew worked together. They both agreed that hey had never had a moment's disagreement. This is a book that will provoke many discussions. Have you told a joke to your family? If not, you are missing an important part of family life according to Joseph Michelli, Ph.D. who has written HUMOR,PLAY & LAUGHTER; STRESS-PROOFING LIFE WITH YOUR KIDS (Love&Logic Press$11.95). I did try some of his jokes on an eight year old who responded quite positively to "What room can't you get out of?" Give up? A mushroom" Oh, well I did say it was an eight year old! Actually, Michelli makes some very good points about the value of humor in the family. When things get sticky in a family, try playing role reversal,"You be me". I did ask him about those people who use humor to hurt and then have the gall to ask,"Don't you have a sense of humor?I was only kidding". Michael Gurian has written A FINE YOUNG MAN WHAT PARENTS, MENTORS AND EDUCATORS CAN DO TO SHAPE ADOLESCENT BOYS AND EXCEPTIONAL MEN (Tarcher $24.95). Michael points out that anyone who has only known females in their family are in for a shock with boys. Blame it on testosterone, that hormone is responsible for outrageouse behavior and risktaking in adolescence. Michael breaks the book into three sections from nine to twenty-one. After the depressing statistics about boys commit suicide four times as much as girls. They drop out of school and they have more learning problems than girls. What to do? Michael told me of his cases where the boys desperately needed a male mentor, but they didn't know how to relate or talk. So he took them to films that he admitted he didn't like but he asked them to write a paper for him on why they liked that film so he could understand. Interestingly, he strongly believes in coming of age celebrations as a recognition. If the boy does not have a father or one living in the area, it is the responsibility of what he calls "the clan" to provide it for the boy. Certainly, this is a great endorsement for the value of "Big Brothers". Ironically, Michael has two daughters, no sons; but he is a father figure to his clients. He also will take the onus off of parents who have a problem discussing that no-no word "masturbation". As he said, he did it, it's the Testosterone which surges at least five times a day in that teenage boy. The book should be a help to any parent who wonders,"What happened to my darling boy?" A couple of hints, take the TV out of his room, keep the impersonal computer down to a minimum and get him interested in a sport. Ronald Reagan that "He wrote all his own speeches" or his saying that, "Nancy Reagan came around in 1980. No matter how mad she was at me, she respected me politically." or Gerald Ford saying,"There was no doubt in my mind that if I were to be the candidate in 1980, I would beat Jimmy Carter, period. I thought I would do a better job than Reagan: I thought I knew more about the federal government, domestic and foreigh policy-wise, and therefore I thought i could do a better job than either Carter or Reagan. And I still believe so today." In getting these oral histories, the Strobers have broken up the comments to fit a mosaic of topics from the assassination attempt by John Hinckley,Jr. and the reasons for not invoking the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to commendable comments about Vice-President Bush's performance at that time. Charles Hill claims that the Al Haig remark was a trick, a trap sprung by the media. Later in the book, in regard to Oliver North's aggrandizing power, Hill said that "... the West Point and Annapolis graduates of that era felt that the country had takes a wrong turn and that it was up to them to uphold the nation's good even if some decisions appear to be illegal or untruthful... only we can be trusted to uphold the nation's interest. Primarily, that produces liars - people who will lie under pressure, North was not that unusual, I see lots of people like North". Edwin Meese III recalls the Boland Amendment in discussing the diversion of funds. How did money from Iran become support for Contras in Nicuaragua? The Iran-Contra investigation is a book
in itself, with points of view from David Abshire who gave advice
to Reagan, to those who felt that this would never have occurred
under James Baker as Chief of Staff. In talking with the Strobers and reading this book, the Independent Counsel had far more serious events to consider such as where, even today, is the twelve million "belly-button"dollars, when was the Boland Amndment broken, etc. than stupid stains on a dress. The Strobers give Reagan high marks for his decision making in dealing with Gorbachev, the Achille Lauro highjacking and, on the whole, on his presidency. As for what he knew and when on Iran-Contra, Gerald Strober quoted one of the sources as saying that Bill Casey mumbled and Reagan was having trouble hearing, so that Casey might have mumbled what was happening and Reagan nodded as if he had heard. Bernadette Casey Smith defends her father's honor and refutes Bob Woodward's claim that Casey admitted to him his culpability in the Iran-Contra Affair. This is just scratching the surface of this superb book. The Strobers add the succinct connections between the events. Very,very interesting are the comments by Adnan Khashoggi, King Hussein, and Fawn Hall, who would not ask for Immunity nor take the files from the office if she could do it all again, and she and Oliver North have not talked since then not by her choosing. I promise you, this is a book you won't put down. Michael Wolff has captured that moment when he stood on the brink of "serious money" in his book BURN RATE,HOW I SURVIVED THE GOLD RUSH YEARS ON THE INTERNET (Simon & Schuster $25). Michael was, and is, a journalist. In 1993 he wrote "Netguide" a book for consumers about the internet. By 1996, he was swept up by his former college classmate, Robert Machinist, president of Patricof & Co. who talked numbers big enough to insure that Michael would donate a Michael Wolff building to their school. Enter Jon Rubin, an investor, who insists on guiding Michael. Then there are the attempts to merge with the Maxwell girls in San Francisco, not to mention Time-Warner, Ameritech and AOL. At the end, he and his attorney wife sneak out of the company offices. Along the way, she has warned and advised Michael; and she has been humiliated by Jon and the Board of Directors who are trying to take over the company. The title refers to the money spent over and above income. Michasel told me that the threats of law suits against him fell through because he was neither important enough, nor were his pockets deep enough for the big guys to bother. Planning to travel? DK publishing has published ISTANBUL ($24.95) with the credit,"The Guides That Show You What Others Only Tell You. They are correct. How they photograph in color and print the books on this quality paper, it's extraordinary! They show you the layout of the Archaeology Museum and some of its treasures including the Treaty of Kadsh, the tablet which constitutes the earliest surviving peace treaty. And where to stay, there are no mysteries when there are pictures of the hotels. And photogaphs of What to Eat in Istanbul shows the exact dishes. No surprises when you order a Karmyarik, an eggplant stuffed with ground lamb, pine nuts and currants. Not only is there practical suggestions on clothes and behavior, it is a Muslim country, but phrases in Turkish to help communicate. The most important being :"tesekkur ederim",thank you. One of the great moments for me was when I taped programs with Shari Lewis. She epitomized the word "genius", not only for her creative imagination but her ability as a writer, composer, conductor and as a human. We did four shows together and to know Shari was to feel you had a new friend. My heart and sympathy goes to Jeremy and Malory Tarcher, their loss is shared by all of us. Talking with Deborah and Gerald Strober, authors of REAGAN ; THE MAN AND HIS PRESIDENCY, The Oral History of an Era(Houghton Mifflin $35) one is reminded of an era when this country faced truly world threatening forces. The Strobers who have written two previous oral histories on John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon bring their skills to Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States elected on Nov. 4, 1980. The Strobers interviewed everyone connected
to the Reagan years except Ronald and Nancy Reagan. By doing
this book so soon after the two term presidency, memories are
still sharp. Larry Strauss has been an actor and a stand-up comic. Currently, he is a high school teacher and the author of two books: ONE MAN, ONE VOTE (Holloway House $12.95), which is the story of a young African American Mayor of Jet Vista, California, named Gary Cox. Gary Cox is very, very short, he is married in name only to Diane, who is having an affair with not-too bright Lex, while Gary's heart belongs to Carol Schmidt, a middle of the night news correspondent. At the beginning of the book, Gary's power at the Democratic convention entitles him to invitations to cattle call cocktail parties. By the end of this very funny satirical book, he is the pivotal electoral vote for the President of the United States which makes him the most desired man by both Republican and Democratic king makers. Strauss' other book UNFINISHED BUSINESS (Holloway House $12.95) concerns the killing of a teacher at Harding High, a Los Angeles highschool. An African-American FBI agent, Tony Russell, who was a graduate of Harding, is sent their as an under cover teacher to find out if, or which , gang was responsible for the murder. Strauss gives an accurate picture of kids who really want to learn and who recognize that education is their only ticket out of the gang world. Larry Straus, who is the son of actress Charlotte Rae, told me that he wanted to write books that his students would want to read. He wanted to address the problems they faced with humor and honesty, as well as the problems that he sees in public schools and bureaucracy. One trouble Strauss shares with Tony Russell is the problem of the handsome teacher with sophisticated teenage girls. One facet of UNFINISHED BUSINESS is the absence of a highschool newspaper. Larry told me that this was his entrance to the writing world when he was a kid and that due to lack of funding in the Los Angeles School Districts school newspapers have been curtailed. What a crime! Two excellent books on screenplay writing have just been published. Syd Field, who is the guru of screenplay advisors, has written THE SCREENWRITER'S PROBLEM SOLVER (Dell $12.95). It's his fifth book on the subject. And, as one knows one can never have enough books on "how-to write" or cook books. Add this to your shelf. Another terrific book is Linda Palmer's HOW TO WRITE IT, HOW TO SELL IT (St. Martin's $14.95). Linda has been teaching writing for eight years at UCLA Extension. She just co-authored a top rated movie on Showtime,and she was the first production vice president at Tristar Pictures. I've known Linda through the years, first as a novelist and then with her public relations career. In other words, this is a lady who really knows Hollywood. Her book covers everything you need to know to fix a script from the advice, "Never Let Your Reader Wonder:Who Is the Leading Character?" There is an excellent dictionary of film terms, no need to be ignorant about "blue pages" or "breaking the fourth wall". There are ten pages of questions to answer about your characters that will truly put flesh on their bones. And since most films that get a green light are connected to a star, it doesn't hurt to write with a certain star in mind. The script is written, someone sees it and wants to meet with you. ( My fingers couldn't type those words "take a meeting"). Here is where her advice is invaluable. She's been there on both sides of the desk, so when she says not to talk on the phone, write out what ever ideas you are going to present at a meeting and, in that first meeting, do not accept the offer of coffee, coffee at most offices is horrible, listen to her. Having just returned from a family reunion in Connecticut, I stand by my thinking that books are for more than just reading. Especially the worth of travel books, such as CONNECTICUT, AN EXPLORER'S GUIDE (The Countryman Press $17.00). It was a great help, from describing the Water's Edge Inn in Westbrook where 17 of us reunioned from New York, California, Finland and Tennessee, to places to go such as the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium. Next stop, New York City and the advice in FUN PLACES TO GO WITH CHILDREN IN NEW YORK CITY (Chronicle Books $11.95) was on target with user friendly Hotel Mayflower on Central Park South across from the park where eight year olds can run and let off steam. For me. it was a thrill to see An Evening With Jerry Herman with whom I'ld talked about his book SHOW TUNE and then in the second half of the program he had played some of his songs on our piano. Many of the answers and stories he told me are repeated in The Evening With Jerry Herman. Nothing like being a try-out town like Boston. As for New York and Times Square, except for the tragedy of a woman being killed by the scaffolding, it was like the best street fair ever. No cars, music on every corner, people walking in the street and New York's finest giving help and advice. What is the most frightening thing that can happen to a parent, new or otherwise? A kidnapped child. Ridley Pearson in THE PIED PIPER (Hyperion $23.95) begins his book with parents of a six week old baby going out to dinner and leaving their baby with a sitter for the first time, trying to call their home and getting no answer. And that's just the start of this rushing thriller. Once again, Seattle and Lou Boldt, Pearson's main protagonist, are front and center. Seattle is not the first city that the kidnapper has hit, children have been taken from San Diego to Portland. Lou's wife, Liz , is in the hospital receiving chemo therapy;the responsibility of their children is on Lou. The FBI has its task force under the command of Bureau Chief Flemming sent in to work with the Seattle police. Rather than working with them, the FBI seems to be working against Lou,who has been promoted to Lieutenant in Intelligence and his former aid John LaMoia who is in charge of the investigation. As Lou gets closer to a solution, the Pied Piper, who leaves a penny whistle as his signature on the empty crib, seem to be always one step ahead. It is when he finds the open window that the Pied Piper has used to survey the territory, that he realizes that his home is in direct sight. He calls the school where his two year old daughter Sara goes and is told that she had left the school with a police officer after they had supposedly received a call from Lou to let her go. In the mail he is sent a video of Sara in an undisclosed place with the warninf that she will be kept alive if he tells no one and he begins to confuse the investigation. Thus, Reidley Pearson sets up both a thriller and a moral question for Lou. When I talked with Ridley, he told me that when he began the book his wife was not pregnant. Had he known that they were both going to be producing at the same time he might have chosen a different subject. His wife gave birth to a daughter, Paige, to whom the book is dedicated. He has frightened himself. One night after she was born, he woke up at 2AM and walked into her room to find an empty crib, he told me he literally broke down doors and ran downstairs to find his mother-in-law feeding his daughter in the kitchen. In doing research, he was astounded to find that every day in America over two thousand children are abducted, discounting those taken by a divorcing parent, it still left 900 children who are never returned. He told me that illegal adoption is a major cause and a three month old can't talk. As for Sara, in the book, the Pied P{iper has an ingenious method of hiding her. Ridley told me that his other book, "Beyond Recognition" about a serial arsonist is going to be made into a film with Richard Dreyfuss set to play Lou Boldt. He also told me that the name John La Moia was from a percussionist in his band from the eighties. It's wonderful to see and read how Ridley has grown as a writer since his beginnings when we firt taped. What instrument is so indigenous to America, but has its roots three thousand years ago in China? The Harmonica! I would not have known if I hadn't read Jon Gindick's HARMONICA AMERICAN; Learn To Play America's 30 Greatest Songs (Cross Harp Press $13.95). Jon had once tried to teach me to play with his book "Harmonica for the Musically Hopeless" many years ago. Since then he has written and made videos and audios on harmonica playing. But, when we talked and, jokingly played recently, I thought that this book was the best. It has enormous information about the harmonica as an instrument and under each of the songs there is a short history. Such as, under Amazing Grace, John Newton(1725-1807) was captain of an America-bound slave ship, when he experienced a spiritual conversion, turned his ship around, returned to Africa, and let the slaves go free. Or that Stephen Foster never received a penny for "Oh:Susannah" which was pirated by a minstrel singer, published without his knowledge and became the anthem of the California gold miners.. Jon did show me how to get the dirty blues sound while playing his guitar at the same time. One can really respect this little instrument that can make so much music and still be carried in the pocket. It's his first novel, but he has already won the Pirate's Alley Faulkner Award for best first novel. Michael Cahill's A NIXON MAN (St. Martin's Press $23.95) is a lovely, sensitive book. It is 1972, Jack is eleven, his sister Macie is fourteen and retarded. His mother is an artist and his father, who could have been a second class pianist but is now is business, are living in San Francisco. Jack's father, who is the Nixon man, constantly reiterates how he met and shook Nixon's hand and how Richard Nixon looked him in the eye when he shook his hand. Pressing the flesh can make permanent loyalty. Jack overhears his father on the phone with his mistress, whom he equates with a Resistance fighter from Hogan's Heroes. All legs, Jack trips a teacher at school who takes him out of the classroom and beats him. Jack walks out of school forgetting that he is to swim in a swim meet that afternoon. His father comes and doesn't find him. Jack thinks he is using his knowledge of his father's affair to blackmail the father from also disciplining him. Woven into the story is Macie's constant telling of how she used to climb into Jack's crib when he was a baby. Jack sends away for one of those back of the comic book instruments to tape record phone conversations. It is a case of be careful of what you want to hear because the truth Jack learns will live with him forever. At the end, Macie will leave for a boarding school for children with learning disabilities and the family will have to readjust to new dynamics. But it is the way Michael has written this human story that grabs the reader. Don't miss the experience of reading this novel. |