Amazon.com
More than 20 years after its initial publication, Mystery Train remains one of the smartest, most provocative books ever written about rock-and-roll. Marcus puts his subjects--which include Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, The Band, Randy Newman, and Sly Stone--into their proper context, which is the culture-at-large. He makes you understand why these musicians matter, and what they've contributed to the American imagination. In his introduction, Marcus confesses that he's no longer "capable of mulling over Elvis without thinking about Herman Melville"--to the benefit, I might add, of both parties.
Customer Reviews:
Rock and Roll Poetry.......2007-03-25
This book is an amazing look into the history and impact of rock and roll on pop culture. Greil Marcus writes about this artists and songs as a poet who has been deeply affected by this music. The lyrics seem to impact the very roots of his soul and diversly shape his world and view of America. This book is a must for any fan of rock and roll music or anyone interested on the impact rock and roll has had on American culture in general. Highly recommended.
Don't believe the hype.......2007-02-02
Uh, I'm not sure I agree a hundred percent with your detective work, there, Greil.
If he truly wanted to present and comprehensive view of what his subtitle purports, that is, American myths archetypes and how they inform and are presented by Rock and Roll, why is the scope of this book so narrow? The artists he focuses on are a motley crew. Elvis, Robert Johnson sure- but Randy Newman? The Band, but not Dylan? Harmonica Frank, but no Chuck Berry? Berry's oeuvre itself is a perfect microcosm of 20th century American Mythos. Speaking of myth, why is Pilgram's Progress invoked as a metaphor for The Band, but Faust isn't referenced at all in the Robert Johnson chapter. America is nothing if not Faustian. This book is 40 percent Rock-Geek trivia, and 60 percent pure ponderous speculation. Marcus occasionally drifts into a fugue and wanders far away from his (musical) subject, several times in the Elvis section whereupon he suddenly remembers what he was supposed to be writing about and tries vainly to shoehorn all of his speculations together. I think Marcus is a fine writer (we would not entertain his notions for a second if he wasn't), and this book certainly has its moments, but on the whole it does not nearly live up to its hype. He has done better, in The Old, Weird America, dealing with the same themes and sticking to one musical subject (Dylan's Basement Tapes).
I will never read anything by this author again!.......2006-10-05
I was SO excited about getting this in the mail to start reading, I had just read "This Wheels on Fire" by Levon Helm (which is AMAZING) and wanted to read more about that kind of music and read a critics take on it all and well...it was awful!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was pretentious and cliche...all of it. I cannot understand why this book is supposed to be so great. He makes all of these assumptions about what these musicians bodies of work are really about or are supposed to represent but even to someone who was not alive during the time period, it is obvious B.S.! Marcus tries to explain that The Band's whole body of work is some sort of metaphor...that is about a "worried man"...that their work is a story that they have made up to represent their fears and their vices. If you want to know what "the weight" is about, read Levon Helm's book which is honest, touching, inspiring AND informative.
Dancing About Architecture, Yay!.......2005-11-02
This was one of the first music criticism books I ever read. Sometime since I read someone scoffingly say, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture." Well yes, this is true, and this is what makes Greil Marcus so great -- his writing his half dancing, half architecture. Even though the TONE of his writing makes a foray into claiming authority, he never loses his subjectivity. You always have the feeling that this is just another guy talking about music, except that he's incredibly smart and knowledgeable about music, literature and culture. I've heard some people complain about his choices for subjects here, that Robert Johnson does not deserve to be singled out, and that Dylan should have his own chapter, or even his own volume. But this book doesn't pretend to pick the greatest artists of all time and write about their greatest hits; there's dozens of other books for that. Read those books first, and then come to Marcus if you want something deeper. He does something different, and his books shouldn't be judged by those standards. At the end of the day, the best thing I can say is that I wish this book included a chapter about every artist that I love, and that reading this has deepened my appreciation of every figure involved.
I'm confused on what he focuses on the most..........2005-03-07
Is it the music or the events surrounding the music? In any case, Greil Marcus' MYSTERY TRAIN is perhaps the most unusual rock criticism book in existence. I purchased this volume because of my interest in the Band (who are by far the greatest artists in the whole story). And that point makes me wonder why the Band's records weren't scrutinized and explained even more. Where else can you read about the song "Across the Great Divide" and then tell people you know what it's about? I love the chapter on the Band, although I am not a fan of Marcus' writing, and I wish that he would have cleaned up his word choices and focused on the Band days instead of the Hawks' days (and some people can't see that artistic growth?). Anyway, anyone who says no one has heard of these artists needs serious medical attention. If anyone hasn't heard of the Band, I recommend that the get their head back into the real world. To call the Band's music siginificant and worthwhile is the understatement of the century. However, I never felt that Elvis did much for music (well, he didn't do much for me), and if you really want to get confused read the chapter on Sly Stone. Who the heck is Stagger Lee and why is he mentioned here? Did Marcus see WOODSTOCK? I think he spends too much time comparing things with classic authors from days gone by and he even draws paralells between old movies. That is fine with me, and I can certainly see the way music influences movies and vice versa, but a lot of that seems to be overblown. I didn't know if I was reading about Randy Newman or Raymond Chandler. He devotes a surprising amount of time to the Kinks, and while I find some of their material interesting, their place as one of the greatest bands in history is probably in question. I really don't like the words that Marcus uses to describe musical ideas that he hears, nor do I care for his admitting to having a perverted Elvis dream and his declaration of Ray Davies' homosexuality and his sensitivity towards murder and violence. If you want to, you can get confused. I am enthused by pop culture but particularly the music, and I love the sixties and would love to write about that decade myself, and I have purchased Levon Helm's THIS WHEELS ON FIRE, and have been fascinated by THE TWILIGHT ZONE COMPANION, WAITING FOR THE SUN, and I even bought the films EASY RIDER, DON'T LOOK BACK, and WOODSTOCK. Yet somehow, MYSTERY TRAIN doesn't seem to fit either in the forties or in the seventies, so I really don't know how to label it--but I suppose I am just grateful for the Band pages, but mind you I wasn't terribly impressed with those or Marcus' all-too-brief run down of a song called "The Rumor". At least he acknowledges it in detail later on, but what is his point in doing so?
Amazon.com
Not only is Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls the best book in recent memory on turn-of-the-'70s film, it is beyond question the best book we'll ever get on the subject. Why? Because once the big names who spilled the beans to Biskind find out that other people spilled an equally piquant quantity of beans, nobody will dare speak to another writer with such candor, humor, and venom again.
Biskind did hundreds of interviews with people who make the president look accessible: Scorsese, Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola, Geffen, Beatty, Kael, Towne, Altman. He also spoke with countless spurned spouses and burned partners, alleged victims of assault by knife, pistol, and bodily fluids. Rather more responsible than some of his sources, Biskind always carefully notes the denials as well as the astounding stories he has compiled. He tells you about Scorsese running naked down Mulholland Drive after his girlfriend, crying, "Don't leave me!"; grave robbing on the set of Apocalypse Now; Faye Dunaway apparently flinging urine in Roman Polanski's face while filming Chinatown; Michael O'Donoghue's LSD-fueled swan dive onto a patio; Coppola's mad plan for a 10-hour film of Goethe's Elective Affinities in 3-D; the ocean suicide attempt Hal "Captain Wacky" Ashby gave up when he couldn't find a swimsuit that pleased him; countless dalliances with porn stars; Russian roulette games and psychotherapy sessions in hot tubs. But he also soberly gives both sides ample chance to testify.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is also more than a fistful of dazzling anecdotes. Methodically, as thrillingly as a movie attorney, Biskind builds the case that Hollywood was revived by wild ones who then betrayed their own dreams, slit their own throats, and destroyed an art form by producing that mindless, inhuman modern behemoth, the blockbuster.
When Spielberg was making the first true blockbuster, Jaws, he sneaked Lucas in one day when nobody was around, got him to put his head in the shark's mechanical mouth, and closed the shark's mouth on him. The gizmo broke and got stuck, but the two young men somehow extricated Lucas's head and hightailed it like Tom and Huck. As Peter Biskind's scathing, funny, wise book demonstrates, they only thought they had escaped. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
In 1969, a low-budget biker movie, Easy Rider, shocked Hollywood with its stunning success. An unabashed celebration of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll (onscreen and off), Easy Rider heralded a heady decade in which a rebellious wave of talented young filmmakers invigorated the movie industry. In Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind takes us on the wild ride that was Hollywood in the '70s, an era that produced such modern classics as The Godfather, Chinatown, Shampoo, Nashville, Taxi Driver, and Jaws. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls vividly chronicles the exuberance and excess of the times: the startling success of Easy Rider and the equally alarming circumstances under which it was made, with drugs, booze, and violent rivalry between costars Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda dominating the set; how a small production company named BBS became the guiding spirit of the youth rebellion in Hollywood and how, along the way, some of its executives helped smuggle Huey Newton out of the country; how director Hal Ashby was busted for drugs and thrown in jail in Toronto; why Martin Scorsese attended the Academy Awards with an FBI escort when Taxi Driver was nominated; how George Lucas, gripped by anxiety, compulsively cut off his own hair while writing Star Wars, how a modest house on Nicholas Beach occupied by actresses Margot Kidder and Jennifer Salt became the unofficial headquarters for the New Hollywood; how Billy Friedkin tried to humiliate Paramount boss Barry Diller; and how screenwriter/director Paul Schrader played Russian roulette in his hot tub. It was a time when an "anything goes" experimentation prevailed both on the screen and off. After the success of Easy Rider, young film-school graduates suddenly found themselves in demand, and directors such as Francis Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, George Lucas, and Martin Scorsese became powerful figures. Even the new generation of film stars -- Nicholson, De Niro, Hoffman, Pacino, and Dunaway -- seemed a breed apart from the traditional Hollywood actors. Ironically, the renaissance would come to an end with Jaws and Star Wars, hugely successful films that would create a blockbuster mentality and crush innovation. Based on hundreds of interviews with the directors themselves, producers, stars, agents, writers, studio executives, spouses, and ex-spouses, this is the full, candid story of Hollywood's last golden age. Never before have so many celebrities talked so frankly about one another and about the drugs, sex, and money that made so many of them crash and burn. By turns hilarious and shocking, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls is the ultimate behind-the-scenes account of Hollywood at work and play.
Customer Reviews:
Couldn't put it down - I grew up admiring these characters..........2007-02-23
Firstly - I don't think that this book should be mistaken for a spiteful Paul-Johnson-type of takedown of Great Men...Biskind's not a curmudgeon, and I see no evidence of a Grand Thesis in this book smashing down facts to fit the preconceived mold...
I'm made to remember, as I first read & then occasionally re-read this book, that the Seventies was not just the time in which the putative counter-cultural forces stormed & took the tired old film studio citadel (and in the process became, many of them, boring old farts struggling for relevance); nor was it simply the time in which Spielberg & Lucas hatched the modern Big Blockbuster--but it was also the age of the invention of the super-auteur, the well-advertised & vaunting "maverick" filmmaker who compulsively pointed up to the stands every time he came up at bat (Bogdanovich & Coppola, most egregiously)...The super-stardom of these people arrives with the mainstreaming of know-how fetishism, and the over-valuation of the film artiste - the ascension of film-schools, making-of docs, horserace reports on box-office grosses, and so on...Much of what has been taken for slimy "gossip" in this book seems, on reflection, to be intimately connected with the films themselves: and in some wild cases ("Days of Heaven"; "Apocalypse Now"), the prodigal wasn't bankrupted & chastened, but came back home a star...
That said - I'm grateful for Biskind's hard treatment of Altman, and of Paul Schrader--they were begging for it...I don't understand why he treats Robert Towne's "Personal Best" as an ignominous all-'round failure--it REALLY wasn't that bad!
Juicy and exciting read.......2007-01-17
This book reads straight from the gossip columns. It's a fun, juicy read that you won't be able to put down. Peter Biskind gives you a sneek-peek behind Oz's curtain to see the nitty gritty lives of people like Scorsese, Speilberg, Copolla and Lucas. This won't be "classic literature," but you will find it exciting, addicting and a definate page-turner! Read this book just for the fun of it!
Not Recieved, No Refund.......2007-01-04
They say they sent it to my address, but i never recieved it. I called them. they told me they sent it, and did not offer further help.
Great in spite of itself.......2006-09-17
Peter Biskind's EASY RIDERS RAGING BULLS is destined to become a pop-culture classic, of a problematic sort for sure, but a classic still.
Biskind's research is formidable - the current academic revival of interest in the career of the late Hal Ashby was probably instigated by this book - this alone is an indication of how throrough a cultural chronicle of 70s 'New Hollywood' this work really is. It has obviously been taken very seriously in some quarters, and for all of its' academic impact, it also managed to become an improbable bestseller.
It's also one of those things that you love, and slot into a sort of 'guilty pleasure' category; Biskind balances his exhaustive cinema-historical research with equally exhaustive tales of sex-and-drug debauchery, though ultimately the avalanche of tittilating tawdriness does serve something of a purpose, in illustrating how certain individuals responsible for reinventing and reinvigorating Hollywood at the beginning of the 70s were also sowing the seeds of their own demise by the end of the same decade.
Biskind structures the book in emulation of one of the key players illuminated within - the entire book is structured like an Altman film, shifting gradually between a great cast of contradictory, combative characters (Hal Ashby as the moral center of it all), with the many historical narratives weaving together at the end. Along the way, he engages in a little bit of analysis (not enough, but understandable, given all else that is going on here), tracing the shadows of Nixon and Vietnam through films as seemingly disparate as "The Exorcist," "Jaws," "The Godfather," "Star Wars" and "The Conversation."
Overall, an essential piece of American cultural history.
-David Alston
The Godfather of New Hollywood Books.......2006-06-23
One can tell just by watching the films of directors such as Coppola, Scorcese, Friedkin and all the others that made up the New Hollywood of the 1970's, that they were infused with a streak of arrogance. Many films that were full of pretence and repulsive characters, but that nevertheless embodied a new spirit of American auterism, brought about by a new found European sensibility and a shift in power from producers to directors. So its no surprise that Peter Biskind's detailed and intriguing read, reveals these directors to be monstrous human beings. Power hungry, tin pot dictators fuelled by drugs, alcohol and sex. Somehow despite the lines of coke and the absurd sums of money that went flowing around, some of the greatest films in American cinema appeared. Biskind's enthusiasm for this period comes across and it helps that he lived through it and his book is filled with a great deal of insightful social commentary, his reading of STAR WARS for example is quite interesting. However he does tend to overcook the political and allegorical side of his critique. At times the book becomes a bit too gossipy and academics and film students might be put off by the tales of back stabbing and drug abuse. But, this does give the book a spark, which separates it from the more impenetrable and theory based books on the same subject. It is precisely because of Biskind's talky and down to earth prose that makes the book such a joy. There is a great deal of value to this book and after reading it you cannot view the films of this period in quite the same way. Enjoyable from start to finish.
Book Description
Spiky freelancer Theda Krakow has fallen on a bare patch. Changes at the newspaper have cut her regular assignments and magazine work is slim. When a call comes in asking her to profile Cool, a gifted musician who's being oddly reclusive, it's welcome relief from both Theda's man and money troubles.
But even with work at hand, there are problems: Someone is stealing show cats. And both the feline-friendly Theda and her friend Violet, who runs the local shelter, are outraged. When a kindly cat breeder is implicated in the thefts, Theda resolves to uncover the culprits. But when a murder hits close to home, the circle of suspects widens to include family, an extortionist, and more....
Theda is a great guide to the city, whether hanging out in her Cambridge neighborhood or enjoying the latest bands in the clubs, particularly Violet's brand of riot grrrl punk. She's less adept at sorting out her own heart, which largely belongs to her kitten, Musetta, but as a sleuth, she's razor-sharp.
Customer Reviews:
Music, Mystery, and cats..........2007-10-05
Cattery Row is, I believe, the second of the Theda Krakow mysteries. The mystery is convoluted and engaging, the cats run the gamut of feline personality types, the characters are fully developed individuals, the relationships realistically confused, the Boston music scene real enough to feel the bass beat and smell the beer, and the action non-stop.
Theda Krakow is a freelance journalist. She quit her job at the Boston Morning Mail, features department, in a righteous snit when the boss wanted to take one of her ideas for a column, give to someone else, and have Theda teach the person how to do the job. Now she's between jobs and worried about getting another one. Luckily, she gets a call from City Magazine about doing a follow up to their "Women of the Millennium" article to see what they're doing now. Theda would do a profile on four of the original ten women and luckily she knew two of them pretty well already. Things were beginning to look up for Theda.
As we know, that's when everything falls apart. Someone is stealing pure breed cats from area catteries while the owners are away at shows. Violet, a friend of Theda's, manages the Lillian Helmhold Home for Wayward Felines, and she's worried even though her cats are strays and of truly mixed and unknown parentage. But Rose of Rose Blossom Cattery and a past 'Millennium Woman', has Turkish Angoras and someone has called to threaten her cats if she doesn't pay. Theda later learns that Jan Coolidge (also a 'Millennium Woman') is also being blackmailed but by someone who wants to ruin Jan's music career.
Things look bleak what with blackmail, threatened cats, a missing sales receipt, Halloween coming up, Theda's boyfriend not particularly liking the same music as Theda, the ex-boyfriend showing up on the scene, missing kittens, and now a body -- a very dead body.
The writing is wonderfully tight even though the narration and dialogue give you ample opportunity to get to know these women and their problems. There's just something about a book where women interact and support each other in their choices that makes me think the world is alright after all and there is hope. I would have like to learn a bit more about the grrrl punk -- maybe have some names of groups or individuals so I could look for the CDs.
Recommended for those who like action, relationships, cats, and a diversity of characters some of whom you wouldn't mind meeting someday. And, you don't need to read the first book (Mew is for Murder) to understand this one but why not get it anyway.
Reviewed by Barb Radmore.......2007-01-25
Cattery Row is Clea Simon's second entry into the Theda Krakow Mystery series, the first being Mew is for Murder. Both are published by Poisoned Pen Press.
Theda Krakow was a reporter covering the music scene until a disagreement with her boss ended that job. So, with a dwindling bank account, a tangled relationship and aging by the day, she is pleased to get a free lance assignment to follow up on the women profiled in a previous article. She is especially happy to get an excuse to be back in touch with her old friend Cool, a best selling musician who is back in town after a long absence. She is distracted when a series of catnappings start to occur. But the catnappings become her focus when another one of the article's subjects, a cat breeder, is murdered. Theda and her cat loving friends must solve the crimes as more cats disappear and the suspects hit close to home.
This book is seems, at first glance, to be a common addition to the "cozy mystery with cats" that litters the current literature landscape. But Clea Simon has much more to offer. She has created main characters and settings that are evolved beyond the feline fanciers facade. The music setting adds a new, welcomed environment which she is able to bring to a colorful, rich focus. The world of girl bands, music clubs and the alternative Boston music , long known for producing great acts, is a different, interesting venue.
It is tempting to call this a feminist mystery due to its strong female characters; women who find love important but not all consuming, with careers they embrace and expand. They work together as friends and allies, supporting, aiding and abetting each other thorough life and future dreams. Competent female characters are a refreshing addition, cats and all. Theda and her friends, male, female and feline, are all well defined as individuals, each is given a role but not stifled into cardboard portraits.
Clea Simon has been able to combine her knowledge of journalism, music and cats into a strongly written mystery. It leaves hope that Ms Simon is hard at work writing the next entry into this series, two is not nearly enough.
Can Theda survive the tough times and help her friends?.......2007-01-04
Tough times have hit Theda Krakow, a freelance journalist. She had a blowup with Tim, an editor of The Boston Morning Mail, which means she isn't writing for them any more. Plus she's not sure about her relationship with Bill, a Boston homicide detective.
Her friends are having their own problems. Rose has received a blackmail phone call. She doesn't have the money they asked for. If she doesn't pay, they will kill her cats. Violet has had some sick kittens stolen from her shelter.
Theda gets hired to write a follow up about 4 women. Her friend Rose is one of those women. When Theda goes to interview her, she finds Rose murdered. She figures the blackmailer killed her. The police figure she was involved in the string of robberies of purebred cats.
To muddy the waters even more, her ex-boyfriend returns. Should Theda get back with him or work on her relationship with Bill?
Can Theda figure out who the killer is and what is really going on without using up her one life?
I really enjoy Theda. She's such a fun character. I love the Boston setting as well. I like this series with cats. The author really knows cats. That comes through in the way she has them interact with the humans. Yet, she doesn't feel a need to make them "talk."
I felt this was even better than her debut novel in this series. I can't wait for the next one to be published. I highly recommend this book.
Boston's Music scene with a little murder.......2006-10-10
Misplaced loyalties, misbegotten relationships, and murder all groove to a heavy underground beat in this fascinating look at the Boston music scene. Simon writes lovingly and well about cats, but the greatest character in her books is Boston and its famous rock-n-roll clubs. I loved the interesting and authentic backdrop which was worth the price of the book alone. Layered on top, though, is a tightly plotted murder mystery that cleverly dispatches a couple of old-wives cat tales.
The Cat's Meow.......2006-09-12
Cat lovers will appreciate Simon's second Theda Krakow mystery, with its information about pedigreed cats, kitten mills, and cat shows. But, this book has so much going for it even if you're not a cat lover.
Theda Krakow is confused about her career and her relationship. But, she does understand the importance of her friends and her love of music. These get her through the rough times when her freelance journalism career is slow, and her boyfriend, Bill, doesn't seem to understand her life. It's her loyalty to her friends that drags her into another mystery. When her friend Rose, a breeder of pedigreed cats, is killed, Theda refuses to believe that Rose was involved in a ring of cat thieves who stole pedigreed cats from catteries. She knows that Rose and her cats had been threatened. She also discovers that another friend, a singer, is being blackmailed. As Theda tries to clear Rose's name, and help her other friend, she's dragged further into investigations that truly belong to the cops.
Theda Krakow may be an amateur detective, but it's her friendships that drag her into the cases she works on. She's a fascinating character because of her loyalty and her own insecurities. Readers might pick up these mysteries because of the cats. They'll return to them because Theda is a wonderful, changing character.
Book Description
Theda Krakow is in a funk. Her sometime boyfriend's gone for good. The death of her beloved cat opened a bigger void. And the career leap she's made from copy editor to freelance writer has left her financesand her spiritflat. She desperately needs a headline to get her life back on track.
One day, out for a stroll in her Cambridge neighborhood, Theda spies an adorable stray kitten. This charmer leads Theda to an old woman holed up in a decrepit house full of cats. Is this one of those "crazy cat ladies," a classic hoarder, or is the old woman a neighborhood do-gooder
More important, is this the story to catapult Theda out of the dumps
But when she returns to interview Lillian Helmhold, Theda finds her fascinating subject dead of an apparent accident. The neighbors are celebrating, the police aren't interested, and the cats are removed to a shelter. End of story
Not for Theda--one or two things don't compute. So Theda marshals her investigative journalism skills to turn gumshoe.
Customer Reviews:
Enjoyable first mystery.......2007-10-01
Simon's series debut, "Mew is for Murder" features a likable heroine, some interesting local color (of the Cambridge, MS area), good pacing, and a story that will appeal to cat lovers. For those who find too many contemporary mysteries either overcome with their own cutesiness, or drowned in gore, this is a pleasant alternative. Give Simon a try.
Mew is for more, please!.......2006-09-06
A mystery involving cats that isn't cutesy or anthropomorphic--Clea Simon gets major points just for that. But on top of it, she created a terrific heroine in Theda Krakow, freelance journalist--smart, funny, strong yet vulnerable: thoroughly human.
Can't wait to read more!
Who killed the cat lady?.......2006-04-03
Theda Krakow is a freelance writer. She goes to interview cat lady Lillian and finds her dead. Everything points to her death being an accident except for the fact that someone keeps breaking into Lillian's house. It is rumored there is hidden treasure in the house. Theda is determined to get to the bottom of things and prove Lillian was murdered and why.
There are quite a few suspects including the real estate neighbor, the schizophrenic son, and a waitress who helped Theda with the cats. Can Theda find out who the killer is without putting herself in jeopardy?
I really enjoyed this first novel. I can't wait to read another one in this series. I am not fond of the many cat mysteries, but even though this was is billed with a cat, the cat is not prominent and does not solve the crime.
The characters and setting were well written. The plot was well crafted and there are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader guessing.
I highly recommend this book.
Check out www.mysteryloverscorner.com
Definitely a keeper........2006-02-04
A fast, fun read. A delightful debut mystery that I hope will be a long running series.
Theda Krakow has recently quit her steady job at a local newspaper to try her hand at freelance writing. Her boy friend has left town and worst of all her cherished kitty has died. Can things get any worse? Of course they can. And do!
Theda arrives to interview a woman who she suspects may be a cat collector or hoarder. Instead Theda finds the woman dead and her house overrun with cats. When animal control arrives to collect the cats Theda rescues a kitten. The cats and their fate now interests Theda. She decides to try and find out why the dead woman had so many cats and with the help of friends starts looking into the life of the "cat lady". The more Theda learns the more it looks like the cat lady's death was no accident.
Clea Simon Has A Winner.......2005-12-16
Clea Simon has a winner! This is a mystery that cats are really cats; and that is so refreshing. Theda Krakow a freelance writer decides to write about a cat hoarder in her neighborhood. Only to discover that the woman in question is lying dead in her kitchen on the day she goes to interview her. Is the cat lady's death an accident as the police have reported it?
Theda not quite ready to adopt a cat yet so soon after the death of her own cat, but she rescues a limping kitten. The other cats in and about the house are rounded up and taken to the shelter. Somehow, she cannot see the kitten going into such an uncertain future. Something keeps drawing Theda back to the house and she begins to suspect murder.
Is it the young girl who has a punk band and sneaks in to take car of some of the cats left behind? Is it the woman next door who is a real estate dealer and wants to see the large house sold to someone who can take care of the property and raise the property values around the neighborhood? Some Theda is not sure she is comfortable with as she lives in the same neighborhood and gentrification will put her and many of her neighbors out.
What about the prejudice behavior towards the cat lady's mentally ill son? Would someone have killed her to keep him away from the neighborhood? To hunt for a supposed hidden treasure that he would not be able to handle. Why are people so nasty about her son?
Who are the other characters that show up at the house off and on and what are they looking for? Why is everyone interested in the cat lady's house and was she a true cat hoarder or was she someone who really took care of the cats and rescued them?
Read this book for a great mystery with real cats that do not talk or read books. You may find yourself rethinking your views on gentrification, mental illness and thankful that Clea Simon has provided the information in a great story with interesting characters. I can't wait to read about Theda, Musetta, and hopefully Violet again.
Liz Straw
Average customer rating:
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Dracula Doesn't Rock N' Roll (The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, #39)
Debbie Dadey , and
Marcia T. Jones
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ASIN: 0439043999 |
Book Description
Could Mr. Drake, the Bailey School guidance counselor, really be the lead singer of a vampire rock band? It's up to the Bailey School Kids to find out!
Customer Reviews:
A date you will never forget.......2000-07-01
Four kids go to a concert, need I say more? Well, there is fun, adventure and surprises. Is Dracula a part of the band? The kids think so. Now that he decides to visit their class they will find out. My daughter read it in one day. Excellent book wonderful series.
Book Description
Dean Reed had one of the strangest careers in the history of popular culture. Failing to gain recognition for his music in his native United States, he achieved celebrity in South America in the early 1960s and then, unbelievably, became the biggest rock star in the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the Lenin Prize and his icons were sold alongside those of Josef Stalin. His albums went gold from Bulgaria to Berlin. He made highly successful movies and, naively earnest, was an unwitting acolyte for socialism; everywhere he went, he was mobbed by his fans. And then, in 1986, at the height of his fame, right after 60 Minutes had devoted a segment to him, finally giving him the recognition he had never attained at home, he drowned in mysterious circumstances in East Berlin.
Drawn magnetically to his story, Reggie Nadelson pursued the mystery of Dean Reed’s life and death across America and Eastern Europe, her own journey mirroring his. As she traveled, the Berlin Wall came down, the Soviet Union crumbled, and Reed became an increasingly alluring figure, his life an unrepeatable tale of the Cold War world. Encountering the characters— musicians and DJs, politicians and public figures, lovers and wives—who peopled Reed’s life, Nadelson was drawn further and further into a seedy, often hilarious subculture of sex, politics, and rock ’n’ roll. Part biography, part memoir and personal journey, Comrade Rockstar is an unforgettable chronicle of an utterly improbable life
Customer Reviews:
COMRADE ROCKSTAR.......2007-07-30
I read this book when it first appeared and wrote a damning letter to its author. It is little better than a smear job by someone who can not understand the sincere motivations which guided this talent and unfortunately led to his tragic end. Reed deserves much better!
The Rise and Fall of Dean Reed, American Communist Rock Star.......2007-01-22
The title got me the moment after I saw it. This book sketches out the life of Dean Reed, who went from being a potential star in LA of the 1950s and then moved to Chile to begin his rise to a superstar behind the Red Curtain in the 60s, 70s and into the 80s. Dean was a true believer in socialism and he fully supported the USSR and East Germany, and went so far as to defend the Berlin Wall and Communism during an interview with MIke Wallace for 60 Minutes. Finding that his career was sagging with Perestroika, he began to put together a movie about the Wounded Knee and had plans to return to the US. Then, in 1986 Dean died under very mysterious and strange circumstances, his death officially being ruled an accident.
Nadelson interviews all the main players in Dean's life and gives you a good taste of what it is. She also talks about what it was like to be in East Germany, USSR and the Czech Republic during the times she interviewed those people between 1988 and 1990. Weaving the threads of Dean's life between her travelogue, the book is very compelling and an interesting look into the fall of Communism and the rise and fall of Dean Reed. The book is well written and very easy to digest. I could hardly put it down since I wanted to know more about Dean. Some parts of Dean's life are skimmed over, especially his time in Latin America between 1960 and 1966, but the author admits she was more interested in Dean in the USSR and East Germany, where she was able to get more information and material for her book and where her main focus lies.
According to the book's last chapter, Tom Hanks has optioned it for a movie. So far, nothing has been done with it, although some of Dean's music is coming out in February 2007. If you want to read a look into a strange and fascinating life during some very interesting times, read this book.
The curious tale of "rock star" Dean Reed.......2006-09-03
I was immediately attracked by the premise of the book: how does American Dean Reed end up in the USSR and later East Germany, and become a huge "rock star" in the Communist zone during the 70s and early 80s? I am a pretty big rock music fan, and I had never heard of Dean Reed until I read this book.
In "Comrade Rockstar" (333 pages), author Reggie Nadelson brings the life story of Dean Reed, and also writes a travel book of what her experiences were traveling in those countries in the late 80s (before the Berlin Wall fell) while doing research for the book. It is the research part that I have some doubts about, as the suthor brushes over large parts of Reed's life. (Comparw this, for example, to the pain-staking reasearch done by Bob Spitz for his recent "The Beatles: The Biography" book...) That said, having visited the USSR myself in the mid-80s, I very much enjoyed the author's observations on how life was in the USSR and East Germany in the late 80s. My main criticism of the book is that it is never really clear to me how exactly Reed became such a big star in the communist block. Reed died in 1986 under mysterious circumstances: was it suicide? was it a KGB hit? some other sucpicious interference? The final conclusions on this from the author (which I won't spoil here) come across entirely reasonable and plausible.
Finally, it should be noted that this book was first published in England in 1991. Now 15 years later, it is released in the US as well. Why? Because none other than Tom Hanks has bought the movie rights to the book. We'll have to see if it ever does reach the silver screen, but in the meantime we now can at least enjoy the book for ourselves.
A Truly Intriguing Story About a Rock Star More Americans Should Know.......2006-07-26
'Comrade Rockstar' is a genuine page-turner. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it. Ms. Nadelson paints a vivid picture of Eastern Europe & Russia during the Cold War. She likewise gives readers a glimpse of the world of Soviet rock and roll. Music fans and history fans alike should love this book.
On top of all this is the compelling figure of Dean Reed himself. A product of 1950s America, this cross between Frankie Avalon and John Denver ended up being the biggest rock star East of the Berlin wall. Through Nadelson's studied though accessible prose, I came to feel like I knew Dean Reed---warts and all. Was Reed a Communist turncoat or simply a politically naive sucker who ended up being Mother Russia's pet American? By the end of 'Comrade Rockstar', you'll have the answer to this question. And as hard as resisting the urge to read ahead was, the real-life "cliffhanger" ending was worth the wait.
Reggie Nadelson has written a fine, balanced biography of a musician more Americans should know. I recommend it highly.
Three Chords That Shook The World.......2006-07-19
Not very well written, this book was apparently written and published about 15 years back, and now reissued with some minor updating by the author, based on Tom Hanks' interest in producing a movie version of Dean Reed's life. Author Nadelson, in an engaging foreward, thanks Oscar winner Hanks for making it all happen for her. But others will feel they are paying 2006 prices for a 1991 book, that feels like it was written under water by s wildly imaginative journalist who thinks her every musing worth capturing in stone.
She did an okay job in tracking down many who had known Dean Reed, even his mother, and legendary rock figures from the 1950s who had known like Phil Everly, and folks beyond the Iron Curtain. The truth is that Dean Reed was hardly well known in the USA when he defected, and the scandal might have been bigger if he had been a bona fide star but basically he was a nothing, a never was, and it took the combined talents of the Politburo and the Russian film studios to push Dean Reed into the big time. Nadelson cleverly observes that his astonishing resemblance to US actor Kurt Russell helped his career in Russia and East Germany. Reed made eight or nine movies, hard to come by in the USA. Not all of them were propaganda pictures, some of them mere "spaghetti Westerns," but all of them -- at least the ones I've seen -- have a certain charm, for Reed had the fragile screen presence of a Brandon de Wilde, you wanted to shield him from the troubles of this world.
In real life he was a serial cheater and a man with a priapic libido who made love to four women every day. Nadelson's biography would have been much better if she had seen fit to leave out the details of her "Wuest for Corvo" investigation, for her observations about her travels in Perestroika era Moscow reveal she's no Rebecca West; it's like watching someone's endless home movies about visiting a grim place.
Customer Reviews:
Joltin' Joe Hardy!.......2000-08-05
Trouble begins when Joe becomes a DJ. A pirate broadcaster jams the station's signal, threatening to shut it down. This is about an average Hardy Boys book. It's good for kids, and has lots of action.
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Scooby-doo And The Rock 'n' Roll Zombie (Scooby-doo 8x8)
JESSE LEON MCCANN
Manufacturer: Scholastic Inc.
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ASIN: 0439788080 |
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- Another Great Read!
- A Battle Of The Bayport Bands
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Wreck and Roll (The Hardy Boys #185)
Franklin W. Dixon
Manufacturer: Aladdin
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ASIN: 0689867360 |
Book Description
WITH THIS BAND, MUSIC AND MAYHEM GO HAND IN HAND.
Vette Smash, one of the hottest new rock bands in Bayport, is playing a gig -- and thanks to their friend Phil's backstage passes, Frank and Joe are in the center of the action! But within minutes of meeting the band members, the stage lights short-circuit and a threatening message is left on the band's answering machine. Soon it's clear that someone is trying to crash Vette Smash.
Frank and Joe start hunting down suspects. Is it Vette Smash's rival band, Green Machine? Could it be the jealous agents competing for the band's attention? Or is a member of Vette Smash behind the mess? One thing's certain: Time's running out. The band's threatening to break up. Can the Hardys root out the culprit before the final number?
Customer Reviews:
Another Great Read!.......2004-07-11
Another great entry in the Hardy Boys canon. I really loved the cover art for this one! This was another good story, full of twists and turns and lots of suspects. If you pay close enough attention you could figure out who the culprit is(I didn't though!) Anyway I don't want to give anything away. Good characterization and realistic dialogue and action. It was also nice to catch up with another character from the old books, Phil Cohen, who is dating a member of a local rock band. It seems someone is making trouble for her band, sabotaging equipment and doing other nasty stuff. All in all, a great mystery, I highly recommend it for Hardy Boys fans.
A Battle Of The Bayport Bands.......2004-06-07
"Wreck And Roll" is the rather tedious tale of a battle between two up-and-coming bands from Bayport. The Hardy's pal, Phil Cohen, is dating one of the band members and the Hardys quickly get involved when someone tries to sabotage the band's efforts for stardom. There's some frenzied action and pointless violence as this tale limps along to its rather obvious conclusion.
Book Description
The entire town is excited about the summer music festival-especially the Aldens, who have been asked to help with the show. The largest attraction this year will be the popular Greenfield Four. A big-time music producer is going to be in the crowd to catch the show, and Greenfield residents hope their favorite local group will be famous soon.
The day before the show, The Greenfield Four arrive at the rehearsal hall to find all of their instruments missing! The band insists that they won't play without them, and now it's up to the Boxcar Children to find the instruments before the show. Who would want to sabotage the band's big show? Does someone want to steal the Greenfield Four's spotlight, or is the theft an act of revenge? The Aldens are on the case in this music festival mystery.
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