2 comments about An Only Child (Irish Studies).

1. Like Frank, I grew up Catholic, so I greatly enjoyed his account of his childhood and the deftness at which he relayed the characters and situations of his life in early 20th century Northern Ireland. The account of his father's alcoholism and mother's strength in her modesty evokes powerful sentiments that O'Connor is amazingly skilled at.
   
   He overly criticizes the adolescent ideations and development out of his youth (bildungsroman), but it gives insight to his development as a writer (kunstlerroman), of which he is a candid and lucid artist.
   
   I felt the novel creeping a bit in the middle (otherwise I would give it 4 or 5 stars), and the transition is a bit murky to his engaging recount of actions against the British occupation of Northern Ireland and surrounding religious strife. The ridiculous skirmishes and characters are painted with his masterful brush, however, and truly bring the era to life.
   
   It is a story worth the read to the end on many levels.



2. O'Connor is rightly famous mostly for his short stories, but his criticism - both The Lonely Voice and A Mirror In the Roadway - along with this volume of his memoirs, well, they're all just really good. I found this book in a library many years ago and there are a hundred scenes that still spring instantly to life, and sentences that are always going to be part of how I look at the world. He betrays his greatest talent in the fact that the book reads like a collection of wonderful chapters rather than a coherent whole, but each is filled with the spirit of a generous, funny, humane man, one of those rare authors that you wish you could hang out with. The people that assure that books keep getting read seem to be forgetting about O'Connor a little, but the pages they keep alive rarely seem to stay in the blood and brain like his do.

2 comments about Aubrey's Brief Lives (Nonpareil Books, No 77) (Nonpareil Books, No 77).

1. Lives of the rich and famous recorded a time when there were no libel laws meant that even the dirt that wasnt fit to print could be disseminated, whether true or not. It still makes fascinating reading.



2. "Brief Lives" has always been a delight, but it was Oliver Lawson Dick's scholarly editing that revealed Aubrey's genius. And Lawson Dick's Introduction, "The Life and Times of John Aubrey", is a miracle of synthesis and compression: certainly one of the finest biographical essays ever written. This Nonpareil Books edition is sumptuous - a joy to read in these days cheap, quickly produced paperbacks.

5 comments about Thomas More: A Biography.

1. This is a detailed, well-researched and thouroughly conventional biography of the life of Thomas More, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, Catholic apologist and saint, man of letters, London lawyer and model father.

   In painting More's portrait, Richard Marius not only describes all aspects of his busy life, including his family life, but also strives to make us acquainted with some of the prominent figures of the time. Erasmus receives special attention and both his works and the correspondence between him and More is treated at great length. Luther is another important character, along with other Reformation figures.

   The author describes meticulously the content of More's main works starting with his account of the life of Richard III and ending with the treatise on death he wrote when he was imprisoned in the Tower. Each book is analysed in depth both as to its philosophical, theological and political import and as a reflection of More's character and beliefs. In fact, the discussion of More's literary production takes up about half the book, so that "Thomas More: A Biography" could appropriately be renamed "Thomas More's Literary Career".

   Another reviewer has torn into this biography, accusing Marius of "deconstructionism". At first I found that Marius's view of Thomas More was surprisingly free of many modern prejudices. Let us not forget that More is a man who should be thouroughly repellent to any liberal scholar: he persecuted heretics relentlessly. He seemes to have been what we now call a religious fanatic, a XVIth century version of Khomeini.

   Now, except for the odd passage, there are no such cynical or condescending remarks as one often finds under the pen of many modern historians when discussing the Middle Ages or Catholicism in this biography. Sometimes I even suspected that Marius might be a crypto-Catholic, for he shows more than disinterested objectivity in his treatment of the causes that More passionately espoused. Sometimes he even vents his repulsion for some Protestant doctrines or the behavior of More's adversaries, describing for example the King at the time of his infatuation with Anne Boleyn as "a boar in rut" and the woman herself as "a strumpet".

   But when I finished the book I was struck by the fact that it had left in my mind a rather negative image of Sir Thomas More. In any case, I didn't think he deserved to be considered as a saint by the Church. In his depiction of him, Marius seems to focus more on the somber aspects of his personality and he certainly doesn't dwell on the likeable or admirable ones.He goes even so far as to compare him with the hateful Torquemada.

   Marius provides a general psychological explanation for More's course of action. It is not specially far-fetched or outrageous, just slightly Freudian: More, says Marius, was obsessed with death and fought against his own sexual drives, traits which were common enough among his contemporaries. Fortunately, Marius does not dwell heavily on his psychological theories and when he does attempt an explanation, refrains from using any pseudo-pschoanalytic jargon.

   "Thomas More: A Biography" is specially valuable for the light it throws on the doctrinal issues that were at the center of the Reformation and I gained many an insight from Marius'clear and profound reflections. The only thing which I found lacking is a detailed description of political events, economic life(More lived in an age of three-digit inflation!)civilization and daily life in 16th century England but then the book might easily have been twice as long. To put it briefly, this biography is more a discussion of ideas than of events, which is understandable since More was a rather second-rate political figure (at least this is how he appears in this work).

   What one will not find either in this book is evocative descriptions of XVIth century London or of King Henry's court. You will not be apprised here of the name of More's dog or find a description of the furniture of his house. Marius doesn't try to recreate the age with a wealth of details: he focuses on More, his books, and on the religious issues and controversies of the time.

   The book is long and does contain a few lengthy and dull passages, especially in the beginning and when Marius goes in great detail into More's books and correspondence but the narrative gets more and more interesting toward the end. One aspect of the book which I found confusing is the author's inability to tell us what was the real state of public opinion in More's time. He often says that the English people were fiercely anticlerical but also states that they were overwhelmingly for Catherine of Aragon and against the Henry's divorce. To me this seems to be a blatant contradiction. Apparently, Marius has failed to make a distinction between the intelligentsia and the popular classes and between London and the rest of the country.

   All in all, I still think that this is a worthy book. I don't think Marius could have been more sympathetic to More without sounding as a Catholic hagiographer. In addition to it and for people who want a more Catholic view of the period, I recommend Hilaire Belloc's books on the Reformation. People interested in a scholarly work about English Catholicism at the time of Thomas More should read The Stripping of the Altars.




2. Among the several recent More biographers, Marius is the best qualified, having served as an editor of the Yale Complete Works of Saint Thomas More. More was an exceedingly complex person whose personality is very, very difficult to capture. Of the three serious biographies of More written in the last 20 years (by Alistair Fox, Marius, and Peter Ackroyd) I found Marius's biography the most rewarding.
   
   
   
   More remains a controversial figure: to Catholics he is a Saint, the patron saint of politicians and statemen. But then again, he was an enthusiastic prosecutor of heretics: more than 30 were burned under More's authority as Chancellor of England. The idea that the brilliant, virtuous More (now frozen in the form of Paul Scofield) could have done this is repellant to some. I believe this accounts for the bile heaped on Marius's book by some reviewers here. Frankly, criticisms of Marius's SCHOLARSHIP are just ridiculous; they say more about the commentor than the subject.
   

   
   
   That said, Marius's bio is not perfect. It has ideas and makes excellent connections; but I found that reading all three of these bios gave me a better sense of Thomas More than any one. Yet as in Rashomon, just when one thinks one has the missing piece needed to know More, one gets the annoying sense that the pieces do not quite fit and one despairs of ever knowing him. He is that deep.
   
   
   
   Still, if one will read only one More bio, I say read Marius's. (Unless, that is, you are looking for outright hagiography -- in which case, read Monti's book.)




3. This is biography of Thomas More lacks scholarship, and contains a surprising number of passages in which Marius shows his lack of depth as an objective scholar with a broad range of learning in this field.

   Do yourself a favor and read Peter Ackroyd's book.




4. This biography often reads more like a novel. Although Marius can lay a claim to scholarship as the editor of More's Collected Works at Yale, his writings on historical figures lack for objectivity and attention to avoiding basic prejudices and popular suppositions.

   Louis Martz, the great More scholar at Yale, was moved to write a "defense" of More's humanism and some of the basic facts of More's life, commonly known to all More scholars, subsequent to Marius' biography.

   What is interesting is that Marius is equally poor is writing about Martin Luther, one of More's literary adversaries. So much so that in the recent reviews of the Luther biography, Marius is accused of the "catholic" view of Luther, when in fact Marius is a protestant.

   I believe that the trouble arises when one does not stick to the scholarship and the facts, and allows oneself to put in imaginary thoughts and conversation and personal biases. Then you just have a work of fiction.

   Better to stick to a readable and sound biography such as that of Peter Ackroyd.




5. Marius presents More "worts and all" and he certainly did have some worts by moderern standards, such as advocating the burning of heretics. But as John Adams said, facts are stuborn things. More wrote and did things of which we cannot approve--as well as a great many things of immortal value. Unlike us, those in times past were frequently wrong and misguided. We must learn to admire More (and any other historical personage, such as Jefferson) despite their flaws.

   Marius presents More in the intellectual context of the day. The reader will learn as much about the Reformation as More, and you will learn More than in all the other biographies combined.

   By no means do I agree with all of Marius's judgements, but he gives you the facts and you can think for yourself. No More can a serious biogapher do.

5 comments about Queen Elizabeth I.

1. Neale's book comes from an older world of historical writing, and would not satisy the demands of current historians. It tells the story of Elizabeth I as a loving tale of a personal friend, focusing on assessments (or presumptions!) about character. The book makes Elizabeth seem a strong and deserving leader. The book reveals little, though, of the details and especially the implications of political decision-making. A war, or a raising of taxes, is seen as meaningful only as a development in some relationship between Elizabeth and some other nobleman. This work would be of almost no help to someone trying to understand the developments in English politics in the 1500s. As a personal drama, though, (perhaps as a soap-opera), this is an engaging and informative read.



2. Although hardly a year goes by without someone new coming up with another biography on Queen Elizabeth I, this probably is the best of the lot. Many of the subsequent volumes that have appeared after Neale generally owe him a debt of gratitude at least for assembling the basic facts of the life of the Virgin Queen.

   Elizabeth's life has been told many times, her parents, Henry VIII and Anne Bolyn's ill-fated marriage, imprisionment during the reigns of both siblings, Thomas Seymour (whose sister replaced her mother in Henry's bed-would any soap opera try this plot twist?), Thomas Wyatt, William Cecil, Robert Dudley, Mary Queen of Scotts, the Spanish Armada, Shakespeare, and Gloriana. What Neale does quite well is to provide some real insight into the life of this the best of Britain's rulers and to place her actions in context. Some might think that Neale's treatment is too positive, I think the tone of the book is consistent with the greatness of this woman who, unlike her modern day namesake, ruled as well as reigned.




3. J.E. Neale, Elizabeth I's most famous modern biographer, is not an author who is easy to read for the modern scholar or anybody who regards the Virgin Queen as anything short of a goddess. His style of history has vanished, I'm glad to say. His worship of Elizabeth and his nationalistic biases make this a very tough read and not a very worthwhile one. Anne Somerset's modern biography would be a better use of the reader's time.



4. After having read everything I could get my hands on about Elizabethan England reading this book was very refreshing. Delving into the social and political realm of Queen Regina is what this book is all about. Well written and easy to read it gives a new perspective on the trials and tribulations of a very courageous and smart lady.



5. Every single one of Elizabeth's biographers (particularly the male ones) seem to have fallen in love with her, and this, the epic Bess bio, is the most unashamedly gushing. Part of the reason for Elizabeth's enduring appeal is that she combined good looks and dress sense with a flair for self-invention (and re-invention) - the very same qualities which still endear Onassis-Kennedy and Diana Spencer to their legions of mourners. As a politician Elizabeth's achievements approached genius, but any sympathetic biographer still has to paper over the cracks somewhat when we get to her reliigious policy, particularly the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Since this biography was written at a time where many Englishmen were still riding the Imperial wave, there is a tendency to forgive the Virgin Queen on matters such as this, but this work remains a milestone.

5 comments about Prince Leopold: The Untold Story of Queen Victoria's Youngest Son.

1. With this book, the author takes a welcome look at the life of Prince Leopold, fourth and youngest son of Queen Victoria. A fascinating prince, Leopold is one royal that history has more or less forgotten save his sad position as the first known royal hemophiliac. The earnest Leopold was highly intelligent (later Oxford educated), and desperate to live some semblance of a normal life, despite his illnesses (besides his hemophilia, Leopold was also likely a mild epileptic, both of which were not well-known outside of his family). His precarious health also made his already overbearing mother keep an even shorter leash on her youngest son, and his battles for a life separate from her were hard-won.
   
   Zeepvat is by profession a historian, and this book was definitely well-researched. The author includes much correspondence amongst a family of prolific letter-writers, and gives her audience an almost daily account of Leopold's activities and whereabouts. This approach also gives a well-rounded portrait of Leopold's personality, his thoughts on his illnesses, his struggles for independence, and his familial relationships. Aside from his dealings with Queen Victoria, Zeepvat also highlights Leopold's very close relationship with Alice, Grand Duchess of the small German principality of Hesse, and likewise her husband Louis. Zeepvat likewise describes Leopold's Oxford days well, along with the long-lasting friends he made there (Alice Liddell of Alice in Wonderland fame among them) and the happy memories he kept.
   
   The author also offers a theory on Leopold's hemophilia coming from Victoria's mother's family. Though the disease is passed to sons by their mothers, hemophilia was previously unknown on Victoria's maternal side. Hypotheses since Victoria's time have offered suggesting that Victoria's genes were perhaps mutated. Zeepvat points out what little was known about hemophilia even in Leopold's time, and further points out several young boys of Victoria's maternal family who died of what was thought to be usual childhood maladies of the times.
   
   The book is well-written in the fact that it is so rich in historical fact; however, Zeepvat's profession as a historian is evident, as the narrative is not particularly engaging. Also absent is much information on Leopold's wife, Helena of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Though their marriage was brief (it lasted just short of two years, ending in Leopold's sudden death), Leopold had wanted to marry very badly as part of living a more ordinary life. He and Helena had a very happy relationship, unlike many arranged royal unions of the time, and had two children, a rare feat for a 19th century hemophiliac.
   
   Nonetheless, Zeepvat has provided a solid effort with this work on Leopold, giving her audience a good picture Leopold's life, one that was all too short and is remembered far too little.



2. This is a decent biography on Prince Leopold, although the author's theories on how he contracted hemophilia through his mother Queen Victoria was a little over my head, and the author could have made her explanation a bit more clearer. Also, I do wish the author would have made a family tree of Prince Leopold's descendents.



3. This is the first book, of the many I have read on Queen Victoria and/or her children, that focuses on Prince Leopold. Even reading the edited letters between Victoria and her daughter Vicky had very little mention of this child. The book was informative and I learned a great deal regarding her true obsessive and sometimes vicious behavior to Leopold, as a child and as a grown man. I highly recommend it.



4. I'd rate this less than zero, if the rating system allowed me to. This is completely lousy book and a huge waste of money! Many facts are wrong, which is a disgrace for someone of Ms. Zeepvat's experience. Her writing is flat and uninspiring and almost anything of interest is obtained from other books about the subject. Personally I'm sick of all these royal books that are basically re-packaged versions of previous books.



5. In the many books about Queen Victoria's family that I have read, Leopold seems to be known only for his haemophilia. He seems to have been the most popular member within the royal family, although not with his mother, who seemed to see him as a convenient drone. She was notorious for trying to keep her children on a leash long into adulthood. Leopold appears to have overcome these obstacles. In his short life, he accomplished a great deal, he was the first of the royal family to attend Oxford, he was on the boards of a great many charities, he managed to travel, and he worked as an unofficial secretary to his mother.

   This is a well written and researched book. The author provides information on other more obscure members of Queen Victoria's family, such as her half sister Feodora and her family. The family tree of the female side of Victoria's family is the most extensive and interesting I have seen, although it does not solve the question of where the haemophilia in the family came from.

5 comments about Meet the Beatles: A Cultural History of the Band That Shook Youth, Gender, and the World.

1. Being a Beatles fan,I am wary of how the "lads" are portrayed in books & media. I like a balanced POV of a band that was both a musical & cultural phenomenon and whose music(for the most part) still sounds as fresh and exciting as the day it was recorded. That being said,I think the author did a fairly balanced job of portraying them as talented,intelligent yet without mythologizing them. I especially liked how he showed the unique contributing factors of their native Liverpool & later,Hamburg's) influence on their music & look. They were originals,(the first rock band to work as a collective unit,for example)which we take for granted now and this book reminds of us this fact.(though the author's description of them as "androgynous" is a bit extreme,in my opinion(perhaps "boyish" is a better term)& their effect on the women's movement is an interesting concept,if a bit over-stated. That being said This book is a fast,highly involving read that does make you appreciate the band's contributions to popular music even more.



2. As a child of the 60s, the Beatles' music can be recalled in my mind more easily and indelibly than any other tunes. This both hinders my objectivity as a listener and heightens my pleasure at reading about them. This modest book, a sort of condensation of the detail that can be found within such newer studies as the weighty Bob Spitz biography (also reviewed by me) and Jonathan Gould's 2007 social history "Can't Buy Me Love," (which will be reviewed by me, and which does not mention Stark!), efficiently retells the familiar story. Where, as the author admits right away, it differs remains in the stress given the cultural factors.
   
   Not a professional scholar of the group, and not a hagiographer of the band, Stark writes with less passion than Spitz and less range than Gould. The book does move over the later years too rapidly, and while it lists many sources consulted, the references within the text are less easily cross-referenced. This does ease readibility but may frustrate those wishing for more exactitude. The music, likewise, appears but cursorily covered compared to the social impact. Songs remain understated. You will not find the day-by-day chronicle or the musical cut-by-cut analyses; Stark cautions us early on that other books have done this already. So, any reader needs to understand that this book offers instead an overview, if chronologically ordered, of the wider implications of the Beatles upon their decade. John and Paul gain the most notice; relatively little to Ringo and George has been given. There is very little attention paid to the songs. Artistic trends and packaging of the band and its records receive little direct interpretation. For instance, the discussion of "Revolver" ignores totally its cover art!
   
   But, for a relatively brisk read, Stark does add nuances that pleased me. For instance, reminding us of the power of the limited range of TV and radio, the single-sex enrollment of English schools that encouraged students to imitate in drama the (absent) opposite sex, nostalgia and romanticism as literary forces in Britain, the gender-bending tradition of British humor and fashion, Liverpool's ties to the American South but not the African American diaspora, the ambiance of the art school, or the influence of drugs of various types on the band. The Hamburg years and the fact the Beatles played a thousand gigs before coming to America make clearer their musical and psychological development before 1964.
   
   Also, rarely noticed points to those of us less than totally obsessed, such as that Ed Sullivan did not even learn of the band's fame prior to the show until he had been delayed on a plane due to the band's landing ahead of him causing congestion, make this a worthwhile version of another explanation for the band's prominence. He explains why they made it when Elvis, the Stones, or earlier musicians did not. He emphasizes the group dynamic that changed how audiences regarded collective endeavor in the arts. Most of all, Stark shows why in regard to the counterculture, gender roles, intellectual currents, and their quasi-religious allure, the four young men were able to lead the boomers into a revolution after all-- not the one Yoko might have expected, but one that changed hairstyles, demeanors, LPs, and the process of how artists relate to and are in turn changed by their fans.



3. This is yet another biography of the Beatles. This particular one tells the story of the Beatles while explaining the influences that shaped them, and also the ways that they helped to shape culture, especially the women's movement and the youth movement. The author does a particularly good job in discussing "the boys" childhoods, and how that influenced the men they became. It's true that John and Paul are mentioned much more than George and Ringo, but then again, they were the "leaders" of the group and thus of the most influence to society. Overall, I found the book to be quite interesting.



4. this book is good. It is not excellent, but it is good. It does touch on the background of the fab four and I would say that it is intrresting to read. I have tons and tons of books on the Beatles and I saw them on stage "live" twice back in 1966, the last year that they stopped touring on stage.
   
   I would recomomend this book to anyone who wanted to know their background .



5. I literally couldn't put this book down once I started it. That hardly ever happens to me.
   
   Having only been 4 when the Beatles exploded on the U.S. scene in '64, I have only vague memories of the early Beatles--I do remember skipping across the playground at Our Lady of Providence School, circa '66, and singing "She Loves You, yeah, yeah, yeah" with playmates. And I remember circulating the riddle du jour: "What did the boy octopus sing to the girl octopus? I wanna hold your hand, hand, hand, hand..."
   
   If you're already a fan who knows every bit of minutiae about the Fab Four, this book probably isn't for you. But this is THE book to read if you're a new fan or if you were too young for the Beatles Experience when it was happening or especially if you question WHY the Beatles became a virtual religious experience when no other bands did.
   
   My only complaint is that author Stark far too often overlooks my two fave Beatles -- George & Ringo. They receive precious little ink with regard to their own biographies. In that respect, the book should really be titled _Meet Paul & John_.
   
   Not having read any other Beatles books, I've been recently informed that this is typical of books about the Beatles. That's really too bad. Perhaps it's because (as I learned in this book) George had the most normal and loving childhood of the four and was the only Beatle with a fully intact family in which a parent neither fled nor died. Maybe that's why Stark gave us so little info. about George. Perhaps George was too boring because of this--too few sensational stories.
   (Do read the new, '06 biography of Harrison, _Here Comes the Sun_ if you long to know more about him.)
   
   As for Ringo, God love him, the little that is in the book helps one understand his incredible "everyman" appeal and also why he's always seemed the most empathic of the four. It's because he was an only child who spent most of his childhood sick, in bed, at the doctor, and/or in hospital. But his mum was quite steadfast and loving (dad wasn't around), and little "Richie" seems to have coped by developing quite the sense of humor as well as a sensitivity to the downtrodden "little guy" which he both figuratively and literally was in the Beatles. (Though he got the most fan mail, much of it from children.)
   
   Overall a great read. I just hope Stark writes another book that focuses on the two "economy class" Beatles (George Harrison's term, not mine.)

No comments about The Private Life of an Elizabethan Lady: The Diary of Lady Margaret Hoby 1599-1605.

No comments about Downhill All The Way: An Autobiography Of The Years 1919 To 1939.

5 comments about A Cure for Gravity: A Musical Pilgrimage.

1. I have been a Joe Jackson since his unforgettable video debut on MTV in Stepping Out. This book is about his wonderful career in the business of making and playing music. He doesn't namedrop as often enough. He writes about his upbringing in a working-class family. He aspired to be a musician despite the other kids' cruelty at school. He was accepted and made it into the Royal Academy of Music with fellow classmates like Annie Lennox. Joe writes candidly about his awkward teen years, his budding sexuality, his discovery of girls who only liked him as a friend but he wanted more, and being an outcast. It's something that I can relate too as not fitting in. He writes about his life in Portsmouth and his life in New York City, his adopted hometown. He doesn't come across as arrogant but more or less just honest about his life and that's something I respect him for that. I would give five stars but there are no pictures in the book about his life. Maybe that's the way he probably wanted it. Regardless, it's an entertaining book and I'm going to mail it to a friend of mine trained in classical music and voice who might find it refreshing that Joe Jackson is a Beethoven fan. He should be on the British honors list for his services and contributions to music. He writes quite candidly about his circumcision as an adult and his relationship with his former wife, Ruth Rogers Wright. Jackson seems to be comfortable within himself. He sets a good example for musicians today who are struggling or those who are conflicted with success and fame without losing their identity. I gave a star less because there are no pictures of him or his family or his life.



2. Anybody interested in music should read this book by Joe Jackson. Its a musical autobiography, covering his life in music from his childhood up to the point where he made it as a 'popstar'. I use the quotes around popstar because Joe Jackson was always more than a popstar and if you have an interest in Classical music or Jazz you might also find this book interesting.
   
   Jackson is interested in most forms of music, he talks about Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, the difficulties of playing solo Piano gigs, the many musicians he played with, the madness of being in a band and some of the awful gigs he did. So whether you've played in a pub band, or you play in an Orchestra there is something here that will interest you.
   
   For the musical snobs out there, Joe Jackson studied at the Royal Academy of Music and has letters after his name (LRAM in percussion). This shouldn't be relevent but some people will avoid this book just because he is/was a pop star.
   
   This is well written by Jackson, on occasions funny, and to anybody who who has obssessed about music in the same way as he has you will find it an absorbing read, regardless of what form of music you like.



3. Joe Jackson's music entered my mind in 1978 and has lodged there ever since. He's one of the few pop musicians I followed for more than two albums, because he continally reinvented himself. It was a great discovery to find that he had written an autobiography.
   
   The focus is on his musical development up to the point when his LP "Look Sharp!" made him famous, but it is also informed by what happened afterwards. I enjoyed this book very much, and dusted off the turntable to play his records again. They are every bit as great as I remembered them.



4. Joe Jackson is a very good writer, certainly better than many of his peers in the music business. This book covers Joe's early years, before he even was known as Joe, and works its way through his formative development as a young man and dedicated musician, up until the success of "Look Sharp"
   
   While I am a fan of Joe's early work, especially Look Sharp and I'm The Man, I think this book would appeal to non-fans as well. It comes down to basic writing skill, and Joe's got it. The book flows nicely from start to finish, never bogging down with unnecessary details of rock band debauchery, or getting too preachy. The pacing is just about perfect, with a nice balance of interesting, humorous stories and personal opinions about music, and life in general.
   
   Joe Jackson tells a good story, and for fans, the stories alone are worth the price of admission. In addition to the entertaining stories and a very honest revealing of his life and early development of his career in music, Joe sprinkles in astute observations and opinions about music and the entertainment business along the way. While always remaining true to his passion for music, Joe keeps his ego in check, which enhances the success of the book by making him someone that the reader can identify with.
   
   A better writer than Marilyn Manson, Dee Dee Ramone, and many other musicians; and providing much more insight than your average biographer, Joe Jackson tells his own story with heart, humor, and insight. Pick this up new or used, you won't be disappointed.



5. I am very upset about Mr. Jackson's comment on Workinton, England. He obviously doesn't really know the place. It is where my mother is from, and it is filled with such beauty and warmth. I suggest Mr. Jackson take another visit.

No comments about Mary Queen of Scots (Routledge Historical Biographies).