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The Day of Infamy lives on: Pearl Harbor remembered

Review by James Webb

In our media-oriented culture, history equals big business. Dissected, deconstructed, glorified and, of course, relived on the big screen, the past is a major money-maker. Now, as we approach its 60th anniversary, one of World War II's biggest events the bombing of Pearl Harbor proves to be the media event of the summer, inspiring a full-length feature film as well as a host of new books.

Pearl Harbor: The Movie and the Moment is an illustrated volume about the making of the movie Pearl Harbor and peripherally about the historical event the movie portrays. It's a fascinating look at the reality behind some jaw-dropping special effects, the growth of a story and the origins of characterizations, costumes and period settings. If you have seen the movie and want to learn more about the filmmakers' secrets and about the real events that inspired them, this is the book for you. Included is a minute-by-minute timeline of the fateful day, along with drawings, charts and photographs (most from the movie) that graphically portray the terror and destruction.

Dan Van Der Vat, along with painter Tom Freeman, has given us the ideal coffee table book on the subject. Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy An Illustrated History is richly illustrated, in much the same manner as the popular Titanic books. It features intelligent diagrams, enlightening illustrations, vivid contemporary photographs alongside vintage shots and gorgeous paintings. The clear, interesting narrative briefly sets the scene, both historically and physically, then leads you through the events of the attack in words and pictures. Freeman's detailed paintings along with easy-to-understand diagrams show you just how, when and why things happened as they did.

The most in-depth of the books is Pearl Harbor, by British military historian H. P. Willmott. This one looks like a coffee table book, but appearances can be deceiving. Although it is filled with hundreds of photographs some surprising and unusual and scores of richly detailed charts, diagrams, maps and blueprints, this is a serious, weighty book, and the serious student of history will find it a delight. History doesn't move in a straight line, and neither does Willmott. He answers the unasked question, for instance, of why a small island nation would intentionally provoke the largest industrialized nation in the world.

Hawaii Goes to War: The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor, offers a unique look at how the military and civilians on the island coped with the crisis. Drawing from military and civilian records, Wilbur D. Jones and his wife create a picture of paradise plunged into war. Jones' best witness to what happened is his co-author and wife, Carroll Robbins Jones, who was actually there. Arriving at Pearl on November 25 to live with her father, a Navy officer, Carroll and her family survived the attack. Her mother, a gutsy combination of Margaret Bourke-White and Jacqueline Kennedy, became the Associated Press' main photographer in those frantic first months of the war, and dragging her kids along, she recorded it on film. More than 100 of her photographs are included in the book, documenting the aftermath of the attack in dramatic fashion.

Finally, if you know a child or pre-teen who would like to learn more about this chapter in our country's history, an excellent new children's book will provide the answers. Attack on Pearl Harbor: The True Story of the Day America Entered World War IIis a book the history student in your family will enjoy and probably never forget. Shelley Tanaka's narrative takes no sides in the tragedy; it simply tells the story of young people caught up in the events. An 11-year-old witnesses the attack on Kaneohe Naval Air Station from a friend's house; a 19-year-old sailor on the battleship Oklahoma struggles to survive when his ship is torpedoed; a 23-year-old Japanese sailor prepares to die in his midget submarine and ends up becoming a POW; a 14-year-old Hawaiian girl gets caught up in the confused and frightening aftermath of the attack. Featuring photos, vivid illustrations by David Craig and understandable diagrams, this is a book parent and child will want to share.

James Neal Webb is the proud son of a Navy veteran.

 

In our media-oriented culture, history equals big business. Dissected, deconstructed, glorified and, of course, relived on the big screen, the past is a major money-maker. Now, as we approach its 60th anniversary, one of World War II's biggest events the bombing of Pearl Harbor proves…

TechnologyBusiness & FinanceArts & Culture

The parables of David and Goliath

Review by Sharon Secor

When David met Goliath on the battlegrounds of the Philistines, a young man with no armor slew the huge Philistine with a small rock. In today's business world, a few special leaders are challenging the status quo, trying to slay the behemoth and become king, and a slate of new business books tells their stories.

Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary by Linus Torvalds and David Diamond (audio) is a jaunty book about the early, dysfunctional days and brilliant (albeit still young) career of Linux developer Linus Torvalds. Almost anyone who has heard of computers has heard of Linux, the computer operating system that is the closest rival to Micro- soft's Windows and, get this, is free. Not only free, but the code used to adapt Linux for different situations is widely available. Linux even requires users to share innovations under its General Public License an "anticopyright," Torvalds calls it.

Why would Torvalds do something to benefit thousands of companies and millions of users and expect little in return? Just for Fun takes a look at his somewhat radical procedures and explains that Torvalds created Linux with an Open Source philosophy, which he says illustrates "the limitless benefits" of allowing anyone and everyone to participate in a project's development or commercial exploitation. The theory says proprietary notions of commerce are wrong. Instead, the strongest products will be developed when the largest numbers of people are working on product development.

Imagine it . . . an operating system (or a product) that gets stronger and works better as time goes on.

The description of Torvalds' futuristic outlook and scientific philosophy is like a roller coaster ride inside a 21st century mind. Peppered with personal anecdotes about his kids and musings on the fate of Microsoft and others, this book is a real kick, brilliant, bold and not to be missed. It's a book about how David plans to slay Goliath, and tells him about it first.

At the other end of the spectrum, Privileged Son: Otis Chandler and the Rise and Fall of the L.A. Times Dynastyby Dennis McDougal is the sad history of a great newspaper and the family who built it and tore it apart. A true epic, Privileged Son shares the story of the Chandler family whose fortunes were built, as were many great American fortunes, on the backs of anti-unionism and sly deceptions.

This history follows Times Mirror chairman Otis Chandler from youth through the sale last year of his family's media conglomerate, the Times Mirror Corporation. We meet Chandler in his youth as the country entered World War II and he experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor, a "day that marked the beginning of his personal cynicism" toward government. We follow his career as a newsman where he came to believe that the "newsroom was the heartbeat of the business," a sentiment neither his father nor grandfather, the paper's founder, shared.

McDougal, who wrote the best-selling The Last Mogul, links the best L.A. families to the early West Coast mob and chronicles the family infighting that led to the demise of Chandler family control of the newspaper. He details the expansion of Los Angeles Times news coverage to include bureaus around the world and notes that "curiously the further away it moved from its core audience, the less the Times power and might translated into automatic success." Also curious, McDougal credits the L.A. Times with challenging other California papers to pump up the volume in their papers in order to compete with the L.A. Times behemoth. In this captivating story, Goliath slays himself.

The Cheating of America: How Tax Avoidance and Evasion by the Super Rich Are Costing the Country Billions and What You Can Do About Itby Charles Lewis and Bill Allison and the Center for Public Integrity pits you and me, the taxpaying public, as David against the Goliath of industry whose tax evasion schemes rob billions each year from federal and state coffers. Whether you agree or disagree with the premise of this informative and eye-opening book, its catalog of offshore money havens, influence schemes of the rich and powerful and corporate tax-shelters provide an amazing primer on completely legal tax evasion by many large, influential corporations each year.

Did you know many wealthy Americans expatriate to another country each year to avoid paying U.S. income taxes? Or that Seagate Technology and Apple Computers are among two companies which set up offshore manufacturing companies to reduce foreign and U.S. taxes each year? Did you know the founders of some charitable trusts may take an income from that trust, with no limits, no matter how poorly the charity itself is doing? It's tax avoidance maneuvers like this that cost individual taxpayers more than $1,600 a year, says the IRS. Lewis and Allison chronicle the web of legality that surrounds much of this avoidance, causing the individual taxpayer to ante up more for the federal government. In light of the current debates on tax cuts and soft money for political contributions, this is a must read book for business owners and taxpayers alike.

On a lighter note, The Girls' Guide to Power and Success by Susan Wilson Solovic teaches women how to play the role of David. Solovic incorporates the use of power ("the power of expectations," "the power of 20/20 vision," "the power of balance") throughout her book, helping women build a successful battle plan for their careers. Although she avoids advising women to act more like men, Solovic gives clear and steady counsel on defining the terms under which a woman works. She also tells women they don't have to be Superwoman to have a great career, and she includes a few sensible tips get a cleaning lady and utilize professionals to help you manage all those parts of your life you can't get to during the workday.

I was struck by the usefulness of this book for human resource professionals as well as for the average career woman. The more HR people learn about female stereotypes, the better chance they have to incorporate women's leadership styles into the workplace and cull the best talent women have to offer. Maybe David and Goliath can work together?

Briefly noted

Clausewitz on Strategy: Inspiration and Insight from a Master Strategist edited by Tiha von Ghyczy, Bolko von Oetinger and Christopher Bassford. Culled from the writings of the 19th century Prussian philosopher Carl von Clausewitz, this collection includes excerpts from his seminal work, On War (1832), which are relevant to business leaders in their search for fresh thinking on the conflict known as business strategy. A fascinating primer for Clausewitz neophytes.

The Deep Blue Sea: Rethinking the Source of Leadershipby Wilfred Drath. Drath argues that we all have hidden leadership skills; we just don't recognize the traits in ourselves. Each individual personality creates different types of leaders, and each of us out there in the deep blue sea can develop our own leadership potential. Worthwhile reading for budding leaders.

Sharon Secor is a Nashville-based business writer.

 

When David met Goliath on the battlegrounds of the Philistines, a young man with no armor slew the huge Philistine with a small rock. In today's business world, a few special leaders are challenging the status quo, trying to slay the behemoth and become king,…

NonfictionLiteratureHistoryBlack HistoryArts & Culture

Tales of African-American history inspire and enlighten

Review by Robert Fleming

In time for Black History Month, publishers are honoring a community that has enriched the American social, cultural and political landscapes. While many of the books featured here chronicle the African-American fight for freedom and equality, others address the challenges that have produced a unique sense of determination and strength of will in the black community. The exceptional titles listed below explorations of both well-known and neglected chapters of African-American history are the perfect ways for readers to celebrate this special month. An impressive range of viewpoints is collected in Voices in Our Blood, an anthology of pieces, written by novelists, poets, critics and journalists, that explore aspects of the civil rights movement. Some of the most important authors and thinkers of the 20th century are featured in this fascinating book, including Richard Wright, John Lewis, Eudora Welty, Robert Penn Warren, Taylor Branch and James Baldwin. Included here are essays, reportage and memoir, along with classic pieces like Alex Haley's 1963 interview of Malcolm X for Playboy. Compiled by John Meacham, managing editor at Newsweek, Voices in Our Blood spans five decades, providing a kaleidoscopic look at the movement that changed the face of the nation.

The lengthy, complex relationship between two of the most vital figures of the Harlem Renaissance is immortalized in Remember Me to Harlem: The Letters of Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten, 1925-1964. Following the pair of literary giants over a period of nearly four decades, this engrossing collection documents an unconventional friendship. Van Vechten, a noted white writer, acted as mentor to the younger black poet, helping Hughes get his first book published. Their correspondence is collected here for the first time, and the exchange between these great minds makes for fascinating reading. Hughes and Van Vechten comment knowledgeably on culture, art and politics, and both share gossip about common acquaintances like Zora Neale Hurston, H. L. Mencken and James Baldwin. Edited by Emily Bernard, assistant professor of African-American studies at Smith College, this collection provides new insight into the genius of two icons of the printed word.

History has never sufficiently recognized the achievements of heroic black women like Ida B. Wells, Rosa Parks and Fannie Loy Hamer. With her pioneering new book, Freedom's Daughters: The Unsung Heroines of the Civil Rights Movement From 1830 to 1970, journalist Lynne Olson sets out to right this oversight. A comprehensive look at the females black and white who helped engineer the fight for civil rights, Freedom's Daughters traces the movement from its beginnings in the 1800s, when women worked to abolish lynching, to contemporary times, when they organized history-making protests. A moving tribute to female freedom fighters that also examines the women's rights movement, Olson's provocative book demands that we take a second look at the contributions made by these courageous individuals.

With Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television, scholar and media expert Donald Bogle gives readers the first exhaustive account of blacks on network television. Covering the programs that featured African-American performers, from cartoonish 1950s hits like Amos n' Andy and Beulah to the wild, racy programming on WB and the Fox Network in the 1990s, Bogle dissects racial and cultural stereotypes in this compelling and informative book. Great scholarship and lively writing make Primetime Blues a must for anyone interested in the history of the tube and its effect on American race relations.

An engaging look at what has become a major status symbol among African Americans, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in Americaexamines the cultural and political significance of hair among black women. Written by Ayana Byrd, a former research chief for Vibe, and Lori L. Tharps, a reporter for Entertainment Weekly, Hair Story chronicles the history of black hair, from afros to braids, dreadlocks to weaves. The evolution and import of all the major styles are included here, along with interviews with women who have worn them. An entertaining study that also covers milestones in the history of black hair, profiling important figures like hair care industry giant Madame C. J. Walker, this is an impressive work of cultural history.

Finally, mention must be made of another recent book, W. E. B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963by David Levering Lewis. A companion volume to his earlier work, W. E. B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868-1919, Lewis' latest book opens with Du Bois' tenure as the editor of the NAACP publication The Crisis during the Red Summer of 1919, when racial violence was at an all-time high. Lewis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning scholar and historian, vividly chronicles Du Bois' life, from his work at the magazine to his emergence as a worldwide leader in the struggle to end racism and colonialism. A balanced, well-researched narrative, this important book is full of revelations about a complex, aristocratic black figure.

Robert Fleming is the author of The African American Writers Handbook (Ballantine).

In time for Black History Month, publishers are honoring a community that has enriched the American social, cultural and political landscapes. While many of the books featured here chronicle the African-American fight for freedom and equality, others address the challenges that have produced a unique…

Pop CulturePhotographyMemoirHistoryArts & Culture

Battles for the bookshelf

Review by James Webb

If you're searching for a gift for a member of the greatest generation, this season's offerings of World War II books provide an exciting range of choices. With the phenomenal popularity of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation as an incentive, publishers have combed archives and other sources to produce books that give new, eye-opening accounts of the war to readers young and old still fascinated by this pivotal event in world history.

What better place to start than Page One: The Front Page History of World War II as Presented in The New York Times. This is a compilation of selected issues of the nation's greatest newspaper covering our nation's greatest crisis and it makes for fascinating reading. Each front page is reproduced in its entirety, and you can't help but take note of the way the headlines grow in point size as the years go on. The smaller stories of the war can be just as fascinating as the headlines. Not many people know that the U.S. mainland the Aleutian Islands in Alaska was actually attacked twice in the summer of 1942, which a careful reading of these front pages will reveal.

A similar approach can be found in The Second World War: An Illustrated History of World War II, Volume I, edited by the writer and literary critic Sir John Hammerton. This is a massive set of books that reprint the journal The War Illustrated, a popular British publication that covered the war practically from its inception. For the true aficionado of WWII memorabilia, this is as close to source materials as you're likely to get. Where else would you find the verbatim dispatch of a Russian journalist as he waits in Moscow, listening to the sound of German guns only 70 miles from the city? Or the account of an RAF bomber crew, shot down over the Atlantic, who survived nine days in a life raft before finally being rescued? Maybe you'll want to get the volume covering the beginnings of the war, or perhaps the one concerning America's entry into the conflict. A truly interested reader will want to have them all.

Another excellent entry is Our Finest Hour: Voices of the World War II Generation. While it contains only a fraction of the vast archives of Life's World War II photographs, every picture included here is superb. In truth, words aren't needed, but contemporaneous material from the magazine enhances the photographs. Photographers for Life have always had a knack for capturing a story on film. Whether it's a colonel kneeling before the flag-draped body of his son on Okinawa, or the mute exhaustion of a foot soldier after D-Day, words aren't even necessary; each photo conveys a wealth of information and emotion.

Five years after its original publication Andy Rooney's My Warhas been reissued in a gift edition with a new forward by Tom Brokaw. Rooney was a young sergeant writing for Stars and Stripes during the war, and he was eyewitness to some of the most momentous events in this nation's history. He focuses not on the planning sessions or the summit meetings or even the crucial battles though he was present at many of these things but rather on the experiences of the common soldier. Whether it be the pilots who bombed Germany despite their horrendous casualty rate, or the foot soldiers who plodded across Europe, Rooney tells their story. Drafted at the war's beginning, he began as a member of an artillery company, but used his writing background to gain a position with the Army's newspaper. Rooney tells his story in such an appealing, matter-of-fact style that the reader feels like he is part of a private conversation. An excellent, funny and moving book, My War makes a worthy addition to any World War II bookshelf.

Now if you're wondering, Which of these books should I buy my Granddad? we have a surprising answer for you. If he's a veteran of the war, he'd enjoy any of these selections, but we would be willing to bet that Max Allen Collins' For The Boys: The Racy Pin-Ups of World War IIwould put the biggest grin on his face. This is a full color collection of the arty and racy pin-ups and posters that ended up on the walls and jackets and bombers of the soldiers of the war. It may be politically incorrect, but it's history. Just don't give it to him while the great-grandkids are around!

A personal favorite among the new World War II books is one of the most unusual books on the war I've ever seen. While we all have been raised to think of the war as one fought in black and white, in newsreels and grainy photographs, The Second World War In Color by Stewart Binns and Adrian Wood is just that a collection of color photographs of the war. Adolph Hitler lounges in a smartly cut blue pin-stripe suit and olive bombers warm up with brown beaches, blue skies and green palm trees in the background. This book is at times jaw-droppingly amazing; somehow the color makes the impact of the war more immediate.

From funny posters to heartbreaking photographs, these new books bring to life the experience of World War II and provide fascinating reading for the veterans who were there and for those who want a revealing glimpse of history in the making.

If you're searching for a gift for a member of the greatest generation, this season's offerings of World War II books provide an exciting range of choices. With the phenomenal popularity of Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation as an incentive, publishers have combed archives and…

PhotographyArts & Culture

Wild things: stunning gifts from the natural world

Review by Julie Hale

Award-winning nature photographer Art Wolfe spent three years capturing the images in The Living Wild, a splendid volume of pictures that pays tribute to the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. More than 140 species are offered here, including rarities like the never-before-photographed Bornean bay cat. Wolfe has a compassionate eye and, with the use of a wide-angle lens, has taken care to include each species' natural environment in his photographs. The results are miracles of composition and light. These pictures deliver not only benign pandas, furtive wolves and lanky camels, but the places where they live, from the green forests of China's Qinling Mountains to the golden dunes of the Gobi Desert.

A wealth of information on each species is included in The Living Wild. Also provided are the stories behind the shots. Authored by Wolfe himself, capsule summaries reveal how the photographer managed to capture each stunning image. Those interested in the seemingly serendipitous process that is nature photography will find the artist's anecdotes intriguing.

In addition to vibrant visuals, The Living Wild offers essays by some of the world's leading conservationists, Jane Goodall among them, who emphasize the book's underlying message of what's at stake in the new millennium: nothing less than the extinction of many of the animals depicted due to disease, overhunting and habitat destruction. While a few of Wolfe's subjects are what he calls the success stories of conservation animals like the gray whale and the bald eagle whose numbers have been nursed back to higher levels most of the creatures shown are living on an environmental edge. In the end, these timeless photographs serve as a reminder to the viewer that nature is not inexhaustible.

Art Wolfe is joined by other celebrated photographers in Wild Asia, a rich visual journey through the world's largest, most environmentally diverse continent. Asia's extent resists definition, writes naturalist Mark Brazil in the book's introduction, and the pictures that comprise this vivid volume prove him right. Focusing on a different geographical area in each chapter, Wild Asia tours the Indian Himalayas, the forests of Japan and the Russian tundra, as well as other locales. In cataloguing the creatures these landscapes support, Wolfe and company have taken pictures that distill the innocence and savagery, playfulness and brutality that make the wild what it is wild. Special features include the famously elusive Himalayan snow leopard and the world's largest lizard, southern Asia's Komodo Dragon.

Contributed by a group of renowned naturalists, Wild Asia's text is both accessible and informative, a fine complement to these first-class photographs. Without being heavy-handed, the book examines conservation issues, gently reminding readers that the natural diversity Asia offers is at the mercy of man. The companion volume to a 10-part documentary that appeared on the Discovery Channel in the fall of 2000, Wild Asia is nothing if not reverent, a breathtaking testament to a complex continent and the delicate alliance that exists there between species and environment.

Award-winning nature photographer Art Wolfe spent three years capturing the images in The Living Wild, a splendid volume of pictures that pays tribute to the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. More than 140 species are offered here, including rarities like the never-before-photographed…

FilmArts & Culture

Behind the noir movement

Review by Steven Womack

In the years following World War II, Americans entered an era of unprecedented tranquillity and prosperity. True, there was that pesky Korean War business and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Basically, though, the immediate postwar years evolved into the gentle stability of the Eisenhower era. The '50s saw the emergence of television as the primary medium of mass entertainment, with programs like Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver and I Love Lucy emerging as the most popular portrayals of American life. We looked in the mirror, and most of us liked what we saw.

But as two French film critics Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton observed in their 1955 landmark study, Panorama du Film Noir Americain, all was not well in the American psyche. Beneath the images of clean suburban houses and well-kept lawns, there was a darkness, a moral ambiguity and a sense of chaos haunted our perceptions of life. The most powerful reflections of this uneasiness came through in a subgenre of American films which became known as film noir: films such as Rudolph Mate's D.O.A. and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

As David Cochran's thoughtful new study of noir sensibilities America Noir: Underground Writers and Filmmakers of the Postwar Era reveals, the expression of America's most profound neuroses was in no way limited to film. Many forms of mass media crime and science fiction, popular commercial fiction, television and the best of B-movie production reflected apprehension, anxiety and a dark, ugly side of the American persona. Cochran divides mass culture into five majors areas and picks two artists from each who embody the noir consciousness in their work. With writers as diverse as Ray Bradbury and Chester Himes, Cochran highlights how the cynicism and moral doubt of the postwar era was expressed through literature that was often repressed, criticized and in some cases, forced to go underground. In film, he highlights independent filmmakers Sam Fuller and Roger Corman as practitioners of the dark side of American storytelling.

Scholarly yet accessible, America Noir is a must for any serious student of noir tradition in American culture. Even for the less-than-serious student, Cochran's study is an entertaining and enlightening one.

Edgar Award-winning novelist/screenwriter Steven Womack is a professor of screenwriting at the Watkins Film School in Nashville.

In the years following World War II, Americans entered an era of unprecedented tranquillity and prosperity. True, there was that pesky Korean War business and the threat of nuclear annihilation. Basically, though, the immediate postwar years evolved into the gentle stability of the Eisenhower era.…

PhotographyNatureMusicArts & Culture

Get ready, get set, shop!

Review by James Dickerson

As the holidays approach, bookstore shelves are already beginning to fill with gift books that are big, bold, beautiful and beguiling. If you're the type who likes to get an early start, we have a few selections to jumpstart your holiday shopping.

When prize-winning documentary maker Ken Burns "discovered" jazz, it was an eye-opening experience. Like so many others, the New Yorker thought he knew exactly what jazz was all about, only to learn, once he began his research, just how far off the mark he had been. Jazz: A History of America's Music is a companion volume to Burns' 10-part PBS series on jazz scheduled to air in January 2001. Co-written by Geoffrey C. Ward, this book offers a compact history of the jazz era, along with a splendid collection of photographs. Not meant to be a comprehensive guide, the book focuses primarily on the music and lives of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, though scores of other musicians are drawn into the narrative. It is through the lives of those four men that Burns and Ward are able to present the larger picture of how a peculiarly Southern art form transformed an entire nation.

If someone on your list has an interest in history, particularly the time period from 1492 to 1600, then you're in luck. Historical Atlas of Exploration, by museum curator Angus Konstam, is a fascinating guide to the golden age of world exploration. Konstam details the dates and events associated with explorers such as Ferdinand Magellan, St. Francis Xavier, Vasco Nunez de Balboa and Sir Francis Drake, to name a few. The maps, illustrations and color photographs are first rate, and the stories are often spellbinding: These explorers were, after all, among the world's first superstars.

In your search for a captivating gift, consider the butterfly. Over the centuries, these sprightly beauties have captured the imaginations of naturalists, poets and children. A World for Butterflies: Their Lives, Behavior and Futureexamines the life cycle and patterns of the insect world's most charismatic species. Written by Phillip Schappert, a charter member of the North American Butterfly Association, the book details the life cycles of butterflies, from egg to caterpillar to winged insect. More than 300 color photographs, all beautifully done, show the various stages of a butterfly's life, making the book an ultimate guide to the world of butterflies. Also noteworthy is The Family Butterfly Bookby Rick Mikula, which offers projects and activities in addition to field-guide information. At a time when we are inundated with celebrity images every day on television and in newspapers and magazines, it is important to remember that the first modern-day celebrity photographers were artists in their own right. One in particular comes to mind: Lord Snowdon, born Tony Armstrong-Jones, has been taking photographs of celebrities for nearly half a century.

Photographs By Snowdon is a retrospective collection of the British photographer's work. Included are photographs drawn from his entire career, with special emphasis placed on his images of the royal family (his photos of Princess Diana offer a haunting window into her soul) and movie stars such as Vanessa Redgrave, Uma Thurman and Emma Thompson. Snowdon's photo of Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole having tea in an ornate hotel says more about celebrity than words could ever tell. Agatha Christie, sitting at a writing hutch, dressed to the nines but wearing color-coordinated house slippers, creates an atmosphere of mystery that is both daunting and fragile at the same instant. When it comes to portraits, Snowdon is about as good as it gets.

As the holidays approach, bookstore shelves are already beginning to fill with gift books that are big, bold, beautiful and beguiling. If you're the type who likes to get an early start, we have a few selections to jumpstart your holiday shopping.

When prize-winning documentary maker…

LiteratureArts & Culture

Reflections on the main men of fiction

Review by Robert Weibezahl

One ardent Rabbit fan is novelist and critic Anne Roiphe, who offers her own idiosyncratic take on Updike's most famous character and six other male literary figures in For Rabbit, With Love and Squalor: An American Read. Hemingway's Robert Jordan, Philip Roth's Nathan Zuckerman, Fitzgerald's Dick Diver at first glance these might seem unlikely heroes for an avowed feminist writer. But Roiphe is a perceptive reader and an engaging writer, and her sharp observations, juxtaposed against events from her own life and experience (she is roughly the same age as Updike and Roth) illuminate these modern classics in ways that combine the personal and the political. These fictional males, Roiphe explains, "served as my friends, my counterspies in the gender wars, my distraction. Beginning with Holden Caulfield, who spoke first to her own generation and has endured as a coming-of-age symbol for each succeeding one, Roiphe calls upon these "friends to help her sort through some of the big questions of literature and life: love, sex, belief, parenthood, death. How can you not love a book that puts Maurice Sendak's Max (Where the Wild Things Are) among these other literary heavyweights? Robert Weibezahl Excerpt "He's not a swell, no outstanding marks of mind or talent that might lift him out of his place and let him soar limitless in the wide American sky. I understand perfectly well that Rabbit is a stand-in for America's failure of moral courage, paltry attempts at spiritual life, coarse bestial behaviors in roadhouses, motels, gropings in the back of cars. I know that he and his friends are vulgar, uneducated, bigoted provincials. I know that the book is ironic and satiric sometimes. I'm clear that Rabbit is an updated woebegone Babbitt slipping on the banana peels littered across America's Main Street. He has a den and some yellowed newspaper clippings of his high school triumphs and not a lot more to his name. Still. Who could resist loving Rabbit? Not me. . . .

"Rabbit is an example of the twentieth-century contribution to the crawl of humankind toward whatever waits us. Not to love him is not to love ourselves. For Rabbit, With Love and Squalor by Anne Roiphe

 

One ardent Rabbit fan is novelist and critic Anne Roiphe, who offers her own idiosyncratic take on Updike's most famous character and six other male literary figures in For Rabbit, With Love and Squalor: An American Read. Hemingway's Robert Jordan, Philip Roth's Nathan Zuckerman,…

PhotographyArts & Culture

Fiction from a media mogul

Review by James Dickerson

Backstage and on the page with the King of television talk. For political junkies and devotees of behind-the-scenes drama, a new book by CNN's Larry King is a dream come true. Viewers of Larry King Live know that all kinds of drama and melodrama take place backstage and out of sight during commercial breaks. If only we could get a peek! With Anything Goes! What I've Learned from Pundits, Politicians, and Presidents, King pulls back the curtains on those hidden anything goes moments.

There is often a wide gap between what the public sees and what takes place beyond earshot, especially when it comes to politics. That's part of the game, King said in an interview, pointing to a recent incident in which George W. Bush used an obscenity in referring to a New York Times reporter. It's a classic example of what goes on behind the scenes. They look out and they are smiling and waving, and at the same time they are calling someone a [derogatory name]. With that, King laughs: Of course that is not exclusive to the Republicans or to Bush. King's book details behind-the-scenes encounters with a wide range of politicians and celebrities, including Marlon Brando, Ross Perot, Bob Dole and others, but some of the most riveting moments involve President Clinton. On one occasion, they were 20 minutes into a live interview, when King asked if the president could stay an additional 30 minutes. Clinton said that would be fine, but during the next commercial break, his aides approached him and told him not to do the extra 30 minutes.

I'm not doing well? Clinton asked, looking annoyed. Do you think I'm handling myself poorly? With the program again going live, the aides stepped out of camera range without answering the president.

He was very annoyed and stayed annoyed, says King. When we ended that show, he looked at me and said goodnight, then he said,

Backstage and on the page with the King of television talk. For political junkies and devotees of behind-the-scenes drama, a new book by CNN's Larry King is a dream come true. Viewers of Larry King Live know that all kinds of drama and melodrama take…

MusicArts & Culture

American growing pains

Review by Robert Fleming

When the Johnson brothers, James Weldon and Rosamond, wrote the song, "Lift Every Voice And Sing, in 1900 to honor President Lincoln's birthday, they certainly had no idea how important their creation would be to future generations of African Americans. In a glowing new collection that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the anthem, 100 voices have been assembled to comment on the song's influence on their lives and on the state of race relations in the nation.

The Johnsons intended the inspirational song to serve as a musical protest against the humiliating conditions of Jim Crow and the bloody wave of racial lynchings that were sweeping the country. The book's editors, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond, a veteran civil rights activist, and Sondra Kathryn Wilson, literary executor of the James Weldon Johnson estate, work hard to keep the historical angle front and center. Following an informative introduction by the editors, the authors let each of the assembled voices speak in brief essays.

Historian John Hope Franklin reminisces about his days as a young Fisk University student when he heard James Weldon Johnson dramatically recite the song's lyrics during one of his lectures. Poet Maya Angelou tells how the residents of her impoverished hometown of Stamps, Arkansas, would cry when singing the song, thinking of what opportunities time could bring for their children. Entertainer Harry Belafonte praises the song's "dual message of the dark past of slavery and hope. Former U.S. Senator Ed Brooke remembers how the song revived the sagging spirits of the enlisted men and officers of the segregated Negro 366th Infantry Combat regiment fighting in Italy during the Second World War. The collective impact of the tribute is supported by an eye-catching collection of photographs from the fabled archives of the Schomberg Center for Black Research in Harlem, many of them never previously viewed. Lift Every Voice And Sing is highly recommended for those interested in African American history, the growing pains of democracy and America as a glorious work in progress.

When the Johnson brothers, James Weldon and Rosamond, wrote the song, "Lift Every Voice And Sing, in 1900 to honor President Lincoln's birthday, they certainly had no idea how important their creation would be to future generations of African Americans. In a glowing new collection…

Arts & Culture

Building an architectural wonder

Review by James Webb

The reality of the past always stands out in stark contrast to our fuzzy mental pictures. Ross King's account of the building of Brunelleschi's Dome, the gargantuan centerpiece of renaissance Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, is both a portrait of a driven man and the age in which he lived.

We tend to admire the beauty of wonders such as the dome without pondering the human sacrifices required to produce them. King brings the inspiration and the perspiration equally to life. Known primarily as the "inventor" of perspective painting, Filippo di Ser Brunelleschi was a goldsmith, an artist, an inventor and an architect; in this last role he was called upon to create a miracle to build a dome without using support scaffolding during construction, or with the familiar gothic flying buttresses when it was complete.

Many residents of 15th century Florence felt the task was impossible and denounced Brunelleschi as a madman. But he persevered to complete construction of what was then the largest dome in the world. That how he did it still manages to mystify us after half a millennium makes this study of life, art, religion, and politics doubly fascinating.

The reality of the past always stands out in stark contrast to our fuzzy mental pictures. Ross King's account of the building of Brunelleschi's Dome, the gargantuan centerpiece of renaissance Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral, is both a portrait of a driven man and…

PhotographyArts & Culture

Gifts with class that last

Review by Miriam Drennan

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course! If you are not aware that the hottest new television series is found on PBS, you are not in the know. Don't despair, my friend; Workman Publishing has just the book for you. Carol Prisant's Antiques Roadshow Primer ($28.95, 076111775X, paperback, $19.95, 0761116249) will bring you up to speed on all that's essential in the world of antiques and collectibles. Included are sections that mention many of the show's more curious finds, quick tips for spotting a fabulous piece, common items mistakenly thought to be valuable, and a glossary. And should the Roadshow make a stop in your hometown, Antiques Roadshow Primer is the perfect gift to prepare packrats for their treasure hunts. Don't clean out the attic until you've read this book.

While antiques and collectibles go in and out of style, the concept of good manners is not beholden to seasons of change. With progress on both the social and technological fronts, however, there is always room for updates and improvement. Former White House staff coordinator Nancy Tuckerman and businesswoman Nancy Dunnan have updated and revised The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette (Doubleday, $32, 0385413424) to accommodate today's lifestyles, including correct protocol for cosmetic surgery and prenuptial agreements. Both authors have painstakingly rewritten this book considered by many to be the final answer to all etiquette questions in the spirit of its original author. While most consider etiquette books as engagement gifts, The Amy Vander- bilt Complete Book of Etiquette addresses an exhaustive number of issues and circumstances, making it an appropriate gift for any occasion or (even better) when there's no occasion at all.

Very often, the difference between a moment lost and a moment captured hinges on whether a camera hastily catches it. When a photograph evokes more senses than merely sight and more memories than the image itself represents, indeed, the photograph has extended its intent. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs fit this definition and for the first time ever, all are bound into one volume in Moments: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographs. The Pulitzer Prize for photography was first awarded in 1942, so this collection is a wonderful visual record of the postwar era, with subjects ranging from Babe Ruth's formal good-bye to famine in Rwanda. Highs, lows, sports, science Moments includes timelines and commentary to supplement larger features. Not all of the images are happy, not all of the images are sad; rather, the images are used to tell the story of the latter half of the 20th century. It's a messy job, but then again, so is history.

However, if your giftee is more the tailored, designed type, perhaps you should consider purchasing Designing with Plants (Timber Press, $34.95, 0881924377). A collaborative effort of designers Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury, the approach begins with basic elements to consider when designing your patch of earth: form, texture, and color are explained in detail, and photographic examples are included. From there, Oudolf and Kingsbury fill in the spaces, much like a child who has outlined a picture and is now ready to color it in. The authors explain how to combine the elements and customize with grasses, rhythm, and plant architecture. Don't despair, all you who dare to color outside the lines: there's even a section on breaking the rules. Also included are segments on mood reflection, year-round planting, and a directory. This book, while gorgeous enough to display, is very user-friendly for anyone interested in all that's green and flowery. If, as a rule, April showers bring May flowers, why not try and orchestrate the blooms?

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course! If…

PhotographyLifestylesCrafts, Hobbies & HomeArts & Culture

House and garden treasures

Review by Miriam Drennan

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course!

Shake off the snowy-blowies of winter and turn your thoughts to spring. Author Mary Tonetti Dorra has teamed with photographer Richard Felber, and the result is Beautiful American Rose Gardens, a stunning volume of bloom and text. Crossing the country and back, in all four corners, Dorra is the ideal travel companion, because she knows when to talk and when to quietly marvel. Her text is just enough; we learn about the flowers, their tenders, and the history of each garden dwelling. Still, it is just enough; Dorra knows when to let readers absorb Felber's photographs. The images are so distinct, the fragrance of each petal practically rises from the page. Lush greens, deep crimsons, fiery yellows and pinks explode, whether they are located in carefully manicured gardens or natural settings.

Richard H. Jenrette has won numerous awards and acknowledgments for his amazing enthusiasm and dedication to restoring and preserving some of America's most beautiful historical homes. Six of the homes are owned by Jenrette himself, and he offers a personal account of his experiences in Adventures with Old Houses. Each chapter opens with a full-color spread, followed by ample photographs, floor plans, historical facts, and restoration details. It is a self-contained, portable museum, with a tour through many rooms. Jenrette's style is clearly not limited to architecture and antiques, however; his words are friendly and inviting, as if he is chatting with you over tea. With a foreword written by H.R.H. The Prince of Wales, Adventures with Old Houses is a gorgeous gift for anyone interested in old homes, architecture, and historic preservation.

Stone carver William Edmondson created works that pushed the boundaries of regional folk art. Edmondson, a native Nashvillian and son of former slaves, entered his trade creating tombstones. Eventually, he created figures inspired by his surroundings and undying faith, figures ranging from the most basic creatures to divine beings. The Art of William Edmondson captures the spirit of the artist, as well as his world. Amid dusty hands, frayed aprons, and a handwritten sign that reads, Tomb-Stones. For Sale. Garden Ornaments, Stone Work Wm. Edmondson, there are angels, eagles, sheep, and yes, tombstones. More importantly, however, is the essence of Edmondson, which is carefully captured in book form by the staff at Cheekwood (Nashville, Tennessee) and the University Press of Mississippi. Edmondson, the first African-American artist featured in a solo exhibit at New York City's Museum of Modern Art, has been long-deserving of such an in-depth tribute.

Time co-founder Henry Luce had a unique idea when he decided to launch a business magazine in 1929: he wanted it to be beautiful. Perhaps the timing of Fortune magazine's launch was a tad off, with the stock market crashing a few months later, but its beauty prevailed. Five years after its inauguration, circulation tripled; no small feat, considering Fortune's price and the fact that the country was experiencing crippling financial woe. Now, Fortune's beauty has extended into Fortune: The Art of Covering Business, a gorgeous volume of history and art. In addition to the cover artwork, the book includes snippets of historical data from selected issues. Celebrate 70 years of good Fortune!

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course!

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