Margaret L. Cross

Candid and clever.

Revisado: 12-03-24

As a longtime fan of all errors of Genesis, I'm surprised it took me this long to get around to Mr. Collins's biography, but what a treat it was. Phil is a very funny fellow, hard-working man who takes his successes with self deprecation, and his mistakes with boldfaced honesty. Having largely stopped following him since his departure from Genesis in the 90s, I knew nothing about the jaw dropping ladder half of this story. It's a truly unique and fascinating, musical journey from 1 billion selling artist who's never lost sight of his working class routes. Highly recommended.

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Love of Genius

Revisado: 03-26-23

A terrific book for fans. Frantz shares a lot of detailed memories of the early days of Talking Heads, including a gig-by-gig recollection of their European tour with The Ramones. Knowing a little about the bad blood between David Byrne and the rest of the band, I was concerned that this would read like a hit piece on the singer, but this wasn't the case at all; there is a lot of love for Byrne, and a lot of pain about Byrne's escalating disinterest in the rest of the band. Frantz acknowledges that some of Byrne's eccentric behavior was due to what we now know are Autism traits, but they don't excuse his attempts to take credit for the work of others, abusive outbursts, and petty behavior when he wasn't in the spotlight. Still, Frantz spends little time in the book on bitterness, choosing to focus on how incredibly grateful he is for the life of love, art, and music he has enjoyed so far. While not the most dynamic reader, Frantz is a warm and funny storyteller with whom it was a pleasure to spend many hours.

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A fascinating study

Revisado: 01-30-23

I am a huge fan of Ms Longworth's You Must Remember This podcast, and while I enjoyed the original version of her look at the women who were involved with Hughes, I wondered if this would just retread the same ground. This is an exponentially, more nuanced and detailed story, really given room to contextualize the experience of the many women who loved, and we're exploited by Hughes. This is also the first time and all of the many stories I've heard about Hughes that it makes clear what a profound effect of multiple head traumas had on his personality in later life (though many of us mental issues such as Germophobia were present from childhood). There is a truly jaw-dropping story related to those head traumas that I had never heard before.

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The Life

Revisado: 07-17-22

I became familiar with David Pevsner from his role in the beloved off-Broadway revue When Pigs Fly, where (among many other things) he played a unforgettable centaur. Like that show, this book is fun, funny, moving, and lovable... but it is also wickedly explicit (the Damn Shame version of that sweet centaur would surely sport an additional purple appendage). Pevsner bares and shares all, from a confused and vulnerable childhood, college experiments and epiphanies, becoming a gym hunk with a varied acting and writing career (I had not known he wrote songs for the hit Naked Boys Singing, but it certainly fits), to his work as an escort, erotic model, and gay rights and body positivity activist, all told with endearing sincerity and ribald wit. The only quibble is I think the final few impassioned chapters could have used a stronger editing hand... but I will admit a pang of sadness as the book ended, to be saying goodbye to this sweet and naughty commute companion. Mr. Pevsner says that in all his work, be it family fare or x-rated, he's looking to make a connection; he certainly succeeds in Damn Shame.

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A hilarious chip of the old block.

Revisado: 07-17-22

Mike Mullane's Riding Rockets is my favorite book about space: funny, moving, and sometimes awkwardly honest. Patrick Mullane's book is every bit as charming as father's, and provides a fascinating sequel of sorts, with a view from the ground as his father made history. Pat is a funny and fascinating character in his own right, and though he has inherited his dad's flair for, uh, blunt and uncensored storytelling, ultimately, he paints a picture of a deeply devoted family, managing to find a little normalcy through extraordinary times. Highly recommended.

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Fascinating, heartbreaking, triumphant

Revisado: 04-23-22

"There is no straight line through trauma."
This line is repeated a few times in this spellbinding book, and it's also a great encapsulation of the book as a whole. Trauma isn't simple, trauma isn't controllable, talking about trauma isn't exclusively sad, trauma and learning to deal with it is both a universal experience and one many are desperate to ignore.
If you have seen and loved Nanette (and it really is a pre-requisite to understand this book), you know Gadsby is a meticulous craftsperson; you may not be sure where she's going with something, but you can be sure that she does. She is always worth following, whether the path leads to a cathartic laugh, a punch in the throat, or oftentimes, both.

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Great comedy legend, disappointing book.

Revisado: 04-23-22

Having so much respect and admiration for Mr. Steinberg, it feels presumptuous to leave a negative review, but as much as I wanted to like this, I just couldn't. I am a big fan of the eras of comedy he's writing about, but I feel he needed both an editor and a audio director with a stronger hand. Repetitious, meandering, disjointed, I could never get a handle on the intent of the book. I feel like there is a good, shorter book somewhere inside this one.

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A solid biography.

Revisado: 02-26-22

As a fan of old Hollywood, I was familiar with some of these stories of Stewart, but there was much here which was new, and the presentation of Stewart is affectionate but honest. I will echo what others have said about the reader's occasional mispronunciations of Hollywood legends, but otherwise it's an enjoyable listen.

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A must for comedy fans!

Revisado: 01-12-22

From his days as a writing gags by the pound for comics in the waning days of the Catskills, to breaking new ground on television working on Saturday Night Live and It's Garry Shandling's Show, to helping shape triumphant Broadway star turns for Billy Crystal and Martin Short, Alan Zweibel has lived a fascinating life, and tells his stories with engaging warmth. His memories of Gilda Radner (was there any man who knew her who wasn't in love with her?) are especially touching. A book I was sad to finish, as Mr. Zweibel is such a funny and likable commute companion.

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Charm and inspiration

Revisado: 02-05-21

Sandi Toksvig is been a staple of British television for decades, and this books gives us a glimpse into her fascinating and inspiring life. With humor and poignancy, Sandy shares her thoughts on her own past, and her hopes for the future. Highly recommend it.

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