Tucson Citizen - Shelf Life
Book reviews from Larry Cox
Non-Fiction: Aging, Scorsese, Four Roses, and Revisiting the 1970s
by Larry Cox on Mar. 15, 2011
Four Roses: The Return of a Whiskey Legend by Al Young (Butler Books, $29.95)
The Jones family, who would later help define whiskey making in America, originally settled in Lynchburg, Virginia. Paul Jones married Mary Walton in 1828, and together they had two daughters and two sons. So began one of distilleries’ Royal Families.
Four Roses Whiskey was introduced, disappeared, and then returned again as the brand followed the often turbulent American history of the last half of the 20th century to the present. The company survived both the Civil War and Prohibition as its product became one of the beverages of choice at the Kentucky Derby, a must at the numerous debutant balls of Kentucky, and the perfect pick for just marking special occasions. In 1938, the company installed the first neon sign at Times Square in New York City, a fixture that continued to operate until 1945. Its various advertising print campaigns are legendary.
This fascinating book, written by Al Young who began working in the distillery business in 1967 in the Quality Department of Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, traces the rich history of Four Roses and is an apt tribute to a company which a colorful, if unlikely, history.
Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All by Paul A. Offit, M.D. (Basic Books, $27.50)
Dr. Paul A. Offit, the Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is disturbed by a growing trend in America, namely that parents are refusing to have their children properly vaccinated against such medical conditions as mumps, whooping cough, and measles. Because of this reluctance, many infectious diseases are making a comeback.
Dr. Offit builds a convincing case that because some parents are more frightened by the vaccines than the diseases they prevent, many children are at risk. He points out that despite medical evidence to the contrary, anti-vaccine groups have manipulated parents and the media to push forward their belief that vaccines are poison. He is convinced that the public must get beyond the constant barrage of misinformation that leads to mistrust. He adds that this mistrust is putting too many of our children at risk and them to suffer needlessly.
This is a well written, meticulously documented book that calls out the misguided and dangerous activists who are attempting to hijack an important part of our public health system.
Conversations with Scorsese by Richard Schickel (Knopf, $30)
Martin Scorsese is one of America’s most important directors. He has also made his mark as a screenwriter, producer, actor, film historian, and documentarians. He grew up in New York’s Little Italy during the 1950s and it was in the darkened neighborhood movie theaters that he began amassing his encyclopedic knowledge of film. His body of work is more than just impressive. “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull,” “The King of Comedy,” “The Color of Money,” “Goodfellas,” and “Gangs of New York” are just six that reveal his astonishing depth and talent.
Richard Schickel, a film critic who has written extensively about movie making, provides an overview of Scorsese and his work. His invaluable conversations with Scorsese provide insight into the creativity of one of our most admired film directors. This is a vivid, enlightening modern history of filmmaking in America and it is nothing less than an absolute joy. In discussing his films — both the commercial blockbusters as well as the more obscure — Scorsese provides readers with a rare opportunity to learn more about not just the films he was involved with but the history and process of movie making in general. This is a master’s class without the tests.
Mad as Hell: The Crisis of the 1970s and the Rise of the Populist Right by Dominic Sandbrook (Knopf, $35)
Journalist and critic Dominic Sandbrook has a way with words. Consider this note of appreciation to his wife tucked in the acknowledgments in the final pages of his new book: “…and above all my beloved wife, Catherine Morley, whom I met while working on this book in Oxford, and who put up with it with such good grace for so long. With the self-control of Pat Nixon, the guts of Betty Ford, the drive of Rosalynn Carter, and the glamour of Nancy Reagan, she deserves better than to be married to a man with the memory of Ronald Reagan, the humility of Jimmy Carter, the wit of Gerald Ford, and the charm of Richard Nixon. It is my good fortune, however, that fate has dealt her such a poor hand.”
Throughout this incredible book there are insights, observations, and the intricate crafting of words and phrases that leave the reader breathless. In this highly readable new history, the decade of the 1970s is trotted out for all to see, warts and all. Characters, including Henry Kissinger, Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, and Spiro Agnew, float through its pages likes escapees from some mad gypsy circus. Somehow, Sandbrook has captured all of the history missteps and bumps in the road that made the 1970s one of the most intriguing decades ever. This is historical reporting by a gifted writer at the top of his game.
Sandbrook writes regularly for the London Daily Telegraph and is the author of the celebrated book, “Eugene McCarthy: The Rise of Postwar American Liberalism.”
Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of The New Old Age by Susan Jacoby (Pantheon, $27.95)
Susan Jacoby, who has written nine books including “Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism,” examines aging, especially the current trend that suggests that somehow we can avoid growing old. Combing historical, social, and economic analysis with her personal experiences of love and loss, the author focuses not on just the modern fiction that old age can be “defied,” but also on the sentimental image of a past in which Americans supposedly revered their elders.
One only has to flip on television to see twenty-first century hucksters claiming that with their potion or beauty plan, “boomers” can stay young forever. Biomedical businessmen, who claim that ninety may soon become the new fifty, only add to the empty promises. Jacoby raises the basic question of whether living longer is a good thing unless it means living better. Facing reality instead of embracing delusions can trigger courage and hope that will add to our final years.
This is a well-crafted book is relevant and certain to resonate with readers, especially those who are concerned about the uncertain future of our senior years.
I Was a Dancer by Jacques d’Amboise (Knopf, $35)
When Jacques d’Amboise was eight, he began his studies at the School of American Ballet. Four years later, he was invited to perform with the Ballet Society, eventually joining The New York City Ballet. He made his British debut at London’s Covent Garden.
The soon established himself as one of America’s most celebrated classical dancers. His new book documents his boyhood in Dedham, Massachusetts, his family’s move to New York, and how his mother helped pay for his lessons by making hats which she sold on the streets.
How he became a protégé of George Balanchine, survived his tough neighborhood, and established himself as a major talent is a remarkable story.
As d’Amboise reflects: “Who am I? I’m a man, an American, a father, a teacher, but most of all, I am a person who knows how the arts can change lives, because they transformed mine. I was a dancer.”