Newest Entertainment Reviews
Cowboys and Indies: The Epic History of the Record Industry by Gareth Murphy
It’s not difficult to find a history of popular or recorded music, written around the musical names who made it happen. Cowboys and Indies takes a different approach. While there is plenty in these pages about several of the most important stars, there is just as much again if not sometimes more about the movers and shakers, the inventors, managers, impresarios, and record label founders without whom there would not have been a record industry. Full review...
Did We Meet on Grub Street? by Emma Tennant, Hilary Bailey and David Elliott
Essentially, the three authors (all of whom have long careers in the book industry) revel in the idea of being whining old curmudgeons who miss the good old days of publishing. This unashamed nostalgia provides the focus of the book and allows the writers to recount numerous anecdotes from their days in the publishing business. Whilst the primary audience for this book may well be students of creative writing and media studies, it also serves as an interesting exploration of an aspect of modern history: how a once-burgeoning industry is now a shell of its former self, much like a lot of manufacturing. Because of this, I was disappointed that no space was given to a consideration of how the rise of the e-book and Kindle has directly damaged both the sale of books and the potential for new books to be written (fewer real books sold = fewer financial advances paid to writers = fewer books written). Also, given the clear love of books as treasured artifacts, the dismissal of the Harry Potter phenomenon seems truculent, given the impetus the series gave to reading amongst both the young and adults. Full review...
Lives in Writing by David Lodge
David Lodge Lives in Writing. So blares the cover of my edition, and it's not far wrong. When he's not entertaining us with his writing career (now in its third, more erudite and to me more serious stage, after the first third of comic light touches, before he found his metier – and fame with TV adaptations– with comedies about the social and sexual lives of academe) he's teaching about and around writing. When I was younger I also read around writing – literature books, in other words – and Lodge's were among those I turned to. So this book and its contents are a welcome step back down a very familiar road. Full review...
Sherlock: Chronicles by Steve Tribe
I still remember sitting down to watch the first episode of Sherlock. I was looking forward to it, certainly, but within minutes I realised this was going to become far more than just a television series. It also struck me that, of all the television and film versions I had seen, this felt like the most authentic interpretation of the original stories - but trying to work out exactly why would definitely be a three patch problem. Happily, this book provides all the explanations. Full review...
Interstellar: The Official Movie Novelization by Greg Keyes
The Earth is dying – dust storms are ravaging the world and blight killing off all useful crops, meaning farmers are vital to keep the few people to have survived recent wars fed, even if they need to go further and use less arable lands to do so. Cooper is one such man, despite a history in a completely different career; he lives with the father of his deceased wife and their two children in amongst the corn. But when some mysterious happenings keep occurring in the bedroom that was his wife's as a young girl and is now their daughter's, a most unlikely chain of events leads him to find clues that could revive his past – that in fact of a highly trained astronaut, with the one last potential mission – that of a shortcut to the stars in the trails of prior manned probes to detect new habitable planets for what's left of mankind… Full review...
Interstellar: Beyond Time And Space by Mark Cotta Vaz
Christopher Nolan speaks here of two pertinent visits to the cinema to see sci-fi epics. The first time round it was Star Wars, and the young cinema craftsman in the making became an avid fan, who eventually found the story and nature of the film's construction almost as epic, invigorating and absorbing as the movie itself. After that came a chance to see a re-release of 2001: A Space Odyssey, upon which Nolan reports information about the making of Kubricks's masterpiece was harder to come by than Lucas's. You don't need me to tell you that nowadays information about making of movie magic is all around us – the trailers and camera diaries of set footage advertising upcoming blockbusters in parallel with each other, the DVD and Blu-Ray extras, and so on. And I'm sure a lot of that is evident with the example of Interstellar, Chris Nolan's attempt to bridge the gap between Star Wars and 2001 and create a thinking woman's emotional, family sci-fi epic. Likewise, too, this book, which is a happy ground between being told only the bare outlines, and the full-on, nothing-kept-sacred smorgasbord detail of a Blu-Ray. A very happy ground, indeed, that will leave many a happy reader. Full review...
Battlestar Galactica Vault: The Complete History Of The Series, 1978-2012 by Paul Ruditis
For those who don't know, or can't remember, Battlestar Galactica was a '70s piece of American sci-fi TV, launched to great acclaim as a parallel to the rather similar Star Wars with a full-on TV movie, then one lengthy season of hour-long adventures, that even had Fred Astaire playing a bit part before audiences dwindled and the show died out. It shot itself in the foot with a sort-of sequel soon afterwards, then languished for decades before two crafty creatives found a way to put more meat on the bones, and to marry the show with much more modern sensibilities. It's not a programme I would necessarily have entered a 'vault' for, as I was only a fan of the original, and possibly only then as opposed to now. I've not seen a BSG entity since my youth – but I know a heck of a lot about what I have pushed to the back of my mind since then, courtesy of these pages. Full review...
The Art of Noir by Eddie Muller
Colour is surely not the first thing one associates with film noir – after all, the clue is in the name. The Third Man is only better with the shadows, Fritz Lang never needed gaudy colour, and the whole genre of noir would have been very different if it had been born in Technicolor. But it did live into the era of Cinemascope and colour pictures, and it was never advertised as black and white, as these superb images testify. The large postcards and posters that adorned American picturehouse lobbies to plug the films on offer were always lurid, vivid and extremely colourful. And this book is just as colourful – as well as erudite, comprehensive and extremely entertaining. Full review...
The Art of Making Shadows by Sophie Collins
Winter is almost upon us and the evenings are getting darker. However, rather than bemoaning the lack of sunshine, how about putting a positive spin on the situation and viewing those long, dark evenings as the perfect opportunity to hone your shadow-casting skills? Shadow-play is an art form that has endured through the ages and yet still has the power to enchant and entertain. So grab a lamp, gather round and get ready to create barking dogs, flying birds and a whole menagerie of shadow characters... Full review...
Eminent Hipsters by Donald Fagen
Donald Fagen is best known as one half of the partnership that became Steely Dan, one of the more sophisticated names in American rock music. While at school in the 1960s he was convinced that his vocation would be journalism, until music took over. When the group, or rather duo plus hired hands, went on hiatus, he contributed to various journals. About half of this fairly brief book consists of his articles on films, music and science fiction, and the rest is made up of his entries (including random thoughts concerning the world around him) from a touring diary. Full review...
Life on Air by David Attenborough
I was one of the generation who grew up when David Attenborough was a giant among presenters of wildlife programmes on television, and anything with his name attached was a must-watch. At the time, I had no idea that he was also one of the pivotal characters in the development of broadcasting, having been controller of BBC2 and director of programming for BBC TV for several years. These days, he is probably best remembered for writing and presenting the nine ‘Life’ series, a comprehensive survey of all life on the planet. Full review...
Hollywood Frame by Frame: Behind the Scenes: Cinema's Unseen Contact Sheets by Karina Longworth
If you ever think of Hollywood you think of it as the home of a certain kind of output. Superstars, big studio productions, and what they combined to produce – things you might call movies, or films. Once upon a time, of course, they were called moving pictures, without the abbreviation, but the artform – once called the greatest of the 20th Century – was just as recognisable through the still images it produced. This coffee table book is designed as a catalogue of those still images – whether they be formally posed portraits taken on set, re-enactments of the cinema's scenes shot separately on still camera for the purpose of publicity, or candid stills that formed a matter the star had a final say in, which would go some way to increasing the cult of their personality in the magazines that were then starting to focus on celebrity. Full review...
The Art of Neil Gaiman by Hayley Campbell
An early Neil Gaiman book was all about Douglas Adams, and came out at the time he had a success with a book of his own regarding definitions of concepts that had previously not had a specific word attached. Gaiman himself is one of those concepts. I know what a polyglot is, and a polymath – but there should be a word for someone like Gaiman, who can write anything and everything he seems to want – a whimsical family-friendly picture book, a behemoth of modern fantasy, an all-ages horror story, something with a soupcon of sci-fi or with a factor of the fable. He can cross genres – and to some extent just leave them behind as unnecessary, as well as cross format – he was mastering the lengthy, literary graphic novel just as 'real' books were festering in his creativity, and songs and poems were just appearing here and there. So he is pretty much who you think of as regards someone who can turn his hands to anything he wishes. He is a poly-something, then, or just omni-something else. Full review...
Wanna Cook? The Complete, Unofficial Companion to Breaking Bad by Ensley F Guffey and K Dale Koontz
Cancer. Chemistry. Drugs. The DEA. Heisenberg. Mexico. Fried Chicken. Blood baths (and baths full of blood). Cartels. Criminal lawyers. Bacon birthday breakfasts. This is Breaking Bad, and the only question that remains is… Wanna Cook? Full review...
Books that Changed the World: The 50 Most Influential Books in Human History by Andrew Taylor
Oh the pleasure when, as a book reviewer, one can simply point to the title and say – 'yup, that'. Or, I suppose, as in the non-existent follow-up, Adverts That Changed the World, simply repeat the mantra 'it does exactly what it says on the tin'. This paperback edition of the six year old original, fresh with several typos they had time to iron out alongside putting in Seamus Heaney's departure, makes life even easier, given that subtitle. I'm sure the more bibliophilic are already sold, and there is little influence I can bear on things. I will, however, soldier on. Full review...
The Beatles by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
The Beatles begins with the childhood of John Lennon at the end of the second world war. The first illustration seems to convey and infant John twisting and shouting on his way to the air raid shelter. The text and illustrations both paint a picture of mischievous but intelligent child. We especially loved an illustration that shows the mixed emotions of the passengers and driver as John plays an old harmonica for hours on the bus. Some of the passengers look desperate to escape, but the driver is so impressed he gives John a better harmonica. Full review...
Live At the Brixton Academy: A riotous life in the music business by Simon Parkes and J S Rafaeli
Who on earth would want to buy and run a live music venue in deepest Brixton, and manage to keep it running for fifteen years, transforming it against all the odds into what becomes one of Britain’s most iconic establishments of its kind? Such an undertaking calls for somebody with special managerial skills who can keep one step ahead of the game, walking a precarious tightrope, keeping gangsters, punters, promoters and the local authorities onside. It also requires a good deal of luck. Full review...
Let Me Off at the Top!: My Classy Life and Other Musings by Ron Burgundy
This book is a testament to my giant balls. But it's also a lot more. The story we've never been able to discern from either of the Anchorman films is one of surprising hardship, unsurprising hardness, and great hair. It's a rags-to-riches tale, as Ron Burgundy comes from a Hicksville town in the middle of the outskirts of somewhere the arse end of nowhere (a town perpetually on fire due to the accidents in the mines underneath) and struggles against all the odds – and many of the evens in the shape of women's legs – to get where he is today, thrusting himself and his news at us nightly. Full review...
Dedicated to...: The Forgotten Friendships, Hidden Stories and Lost Loves found in Second-hand Books by W B Gooderham
I have found many strange and unusual things in second-hand bookshops. I have done one or two strange and unusual things in them as well, but that's a different story. Twice now I have managed to find a second-hand book, completely signed and dedicated by the author, yet discarded by the recipient, and have been able to present the author with the edition at hand and get it re-dedicated. (If I'm not mistaken, the discarders were a neighbouring babysitter, and a teacher of the author's children.) I'll admit that's rarefied, however, and on the whole the scribble you find in second-hand books is from the person who bought it, and gave it as a gift, not the person who wrote it. But even so, the dedication of the donor can be immensely fascinating and open to all kinds of interpretation, as these examples show perfectly clear. Full review...
Cher: Strong Enough by Josiah Howard
Having looked at the title and sub-title, the latter being no more than the two-word title of one of her latter-day hits, I assumed this was going to be a fairly comprehensive biography of the American singer. The sub-title, Strong Enough, taken from one of her latter-day hit singles, reveals nothing. Not until I had almost finished it, a little puzzled at it not being quite what I had expected, did I finally look at the blurb on the back – at which point all became clear. This was not the full story of a showbiz career which has lasted close on half a century, but for the most part an extraordinarily detailed account of her 1975 TV variety show. Full review...
My Life by David Jason
Born in North London in February 1940 during the early years of the Second World War, David John White once had a brief career as an electrician. Fortunately for the world of entertainment and the public, he soon forsook the world of fuses and wires for that of the stage and small screen. When he joined Equity, they already had a David White on their records, and after a little quick thinking on the phone, he became David Jason. Full review...
Tudor Monastery Farm: Life in rural England 500 years ago by Ruth Goodman, Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold
Think of it as time travel. Three professional historians have travelled back some five hundred years to put what they've learned into practice. On a monastery farm they've experienced what it was really like in rural Tudor England. It's a book to accompany the BBC television series but it's still a rich and rewarding experience if - like me - you missed the show. There's a wealth of experience between the three authors and they write about what they each know best and it's all supplemented by some sumptuous photographs of Bayleaf Farm in west Sussex and the surrounding farmland. Full review...
The Story of Music by Howard Goodall
As an award-winning composer of choral music, film and TV scores and stage musicals, Howard Goodall is well qualified to write and present on the subject. Covering something which has flourished for over 40,000 years in every shape and form imaginable is no easy task, but in this book, written and published to accompany a recent six-part documentary series on BBC2, he has distilled the lot into a very enlightening chronological narrative in just over 300 pages. Full review...
