MBR: The Bioigraphy Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
Pablita Verlarde
Marcella J. Ruch
University of New Mexico Press
1720 Lomas Blvd., NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591
0937206679 $34.95 1-800-249-7737
Pablita Verlarde: Painting Her People is an impressive artbook that beautifully
presents an historical and compelling memoir of the artist, enhanced with
twenty-eight of her paintings in full color, including some previously
unpublished and rarely seen. Biographer Marcella Ruch spent many hours with
Pablita Verlarde recording her stories as first person reminiscences and
includes anecdotes drawn from her Pueblo childhood, her mother's early death
from TB, her experiences at St. Catharine's Indian School at age 5, her later
years at the Santa Fe Indian School (working with Dorothy Dunn to develop her
art), and painting murals at Bandelier under the WPA. There are personal
reflections on the struggle to raise her children alone, and her eventual fame
as an Native American painter. Here also are stories about the experiences of
being a Native American woman in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, as well as being an
artist able to triumph over many difficulties. Each story is illustrated with
one of her paintings of Pueblo life, a photograph from her personal collection,
or an historical photograph from the Museum of New Mexico photo archives. A
"must" for students of Native American art history in general, and the work of
Pablita Verlarde in particular, Pablita Velarde: Painting Her People is also
available in paperback (0937206652, $18.95).
Alaska's Evergreen Lodge
Barney Sabo
Trafford Publishing
Suite 6E - 2333 Government Street, Victoria, BC, Canada, V8T 4P4
1552128342 $17.50 1-888-232-4444
In 1969, Barney Sabo decided to resign from his position as a secondary school
principal and move to a remote part of Alaska with his wife and reside in a
wilderness hunting/fishing lodge almost 200 miles outside of Anchorage.
Alaska's Evergreen Lodge On Beautiful Lake Louise is the biographical story of
how the move was made, the life style changes that ensued, the challenges and
adventures experienced so deep into nature's wilderness and far from the
comforts and stresses of "civilization". Alaska's Evergreen Lodge is highly
recommended reading for anyone who has ever dreamed of chucking it all and
going "back to nature" to enjoy a simpler life.
Marlene Dietrich, My Friend
David Bret
Robson Books
10 Blenheim Court, Brewery Road, London N7 9NT
1861053193 $14.00
Marlene Dietrich, My Friend: An Intimate Biography is the only biography of
Marlene Dietrich that has been written with her full approval, complemented by
her own words - with the only condition that the author, her friend David Bret,
should neither speak about nor publish her testament until after her death.
Illustrated with a brief insert of rare black-and-white photographs of the
famous actress, Marlene Dietrich My Friend is an absolute must for students of
cinema history and film memoirs in general, and fans of Marlene Dietrich in
particular.
The Man Behind The Rosenbergs
Alexander Feklisov & Sergei Kostin
Enigma Books
580 Eighth Avenue, NY, NY 10018
1929631081 $35.00 enigmabooks.com
The Man Behind The Rosenbergs is the personal and candid memoir of Alexander
Feklisov, a KGB spymaster. This fascinating, compelling account in Feklisov's
own words relates his claims of a close friendship to Julius Rosenberg (whom
Feklisov felt was wrongly executed) and his duty as a secret messenger who
helped bring to an end the terrifying tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis in
1962. Especially recommended for students of "Cold War" era, The Man Behind The
Rosenbergs is a revealing, gripping narrative, impossible to put down from
first page to last!
A Rebel To His Last Breath
Bill Cooke
Prometheus Books
59 John Glenn Dr., Amherst, NY 14228
1-57392-878-X $32.00 1-800-421-0351
A Rebel To His Last Breath provides the first biography of one Joseph McCabe, a
former Catholic priest who became a champion of free thought and rationalism in
the first half of the 20th century. Why chart the life of a man largely
forgotten today? Because he tackled some of the most controversial issues of
spirituality and social issues of modern times, and his efforts and writings
continue to influence
The Maelstrom
Frederik Weller
Noble House
c/o American Literary Press
8019 Belair Road, Suite 10, Baltimore, MD 21236
1561676365 $27.95 1-800-873-2003
The Maelstrom is Frederick Weller's personal memoir about his coming of age in
the 1950s. Weller candidly recounts his first sexual experience, and a
six-month "maelstrom" that awakened him to a world of loose women, easy money,
reckless living, as well as the lasting value of integrity, responsibility, and
honor. Written in a free-flowing narrative that quickly captures the reader's
total interest, The Maelstrom is a fascinating memoir -- especially for those
who have their own memories of coming into adulthood during the decade of the
50s. Also highly recommended is the first volume of Frederick Weller's memoirs,
Always Courage (1561674958, $18.95).
Iris Murdoch: A Life
Peter Conradi
WW. Norton & Company
500 - 5th Ave., New York NY 10110
0-393-04875-6 $35.00 1-800-233-4830
Writer and philosopher Murdoch played a major role in English writing for
nearly half a century: Iris Murdoch: A Life provides her first authorized
biography, examining her life and work and revealing not only connections
between her life and her art, but the moral and social changes she helped
introduce to new generations. The depth of coverage is impressive.
Jackson Pollock
Deborah Solomon
Cooper Square Press
150 Fifth Avenue, #817, NY, NY 10011
0815411820 $18.95 1-800-462-6420
Jackson Pollock is the fascinating and well crafted biography of a truly
remarkable and influential American painter who held himself to the most
demanding standards. Biographer Deborah Solomon interviewed more than two
hundred people to reconstruct Pollock's brilliant yet contrary and sometimes
self-destructive life. A most critical and detail-filled look at a very
complicated artist and a highly recommended addition to personal, academic, and
community library art history and biography collections.
And Then There Was One...
Michael Stone
The Americas Group
9200 Sunset Blvd., Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90069-3506
0935047344 $21.95 1-800-966-7716
And Then There Was One... is a historical memoir covering the era from 1910 t o
1945. Author Michael Stone was born in Latvia in 1910, grew up in Moscow,
relocated to Berlin with his family to escape the Communist Revolution, and
emigrated to the United States when the Nazis emerged to take control. And Then
There Was One... is a riveting personal saga that spans nations, and offers a
very personal view of cataclysmic events that reshaped human history and the
world. Enhanced with an appendix, bibliography, and index, And Then There Was
One... is highly recommended reading.
It's a Slower Waltz
Harriette Lerrigo-Leidich
Beech Seal Press/Images from the Past
P.O. Box 137, Bennington, VT 05201
1884592376 $12.95 http://www.ImagesfromthePast.com
Harriette Lerrigo-Leidich's It's A Slower Waltz: Memorable Days From A Long
Life is a personal memoir and candid retrospective written by a venerable woman
close to 90 years old. Readers will be vividly introduced to what life was like
in days of yore. An era when crocheted hats were the fanciest thing on the
block and cakes really were baked from scratch, not necessarily pre-made mixes.
Life in the past is memorably preserved and showcased in It's A Slower Waltz
and is recommended reading for both contemporary as well as future generations.
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