Writers are readers, naturally enough. So we asked Sun-Timesreporters, columnists and contributors to tell us their favoritebooks from 1997.Movies
Who the Devil Made It by Peter Bogdanovich (Knopf, $39.95).Who the Devil Made It is a feast of memories, history and talltales, told by the directors who shaped the course of Americanmovies, in long conversations over a period of years. It's a massivebook, and if the directors ramble, Bogdanovich is happy to let them;sometimes they ramble straight for gold. Among the subjects areHoward Hawks, Raoul Walsh, Alfred Hitchcock, Leo McCarey and FritzLang ("Did you know that I invented the countdown? When I shot thetakeoff, I said, `If I count 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . an audience doesn'tknow when it will go off. But if I count down . . . 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,Zero - then they will know.' ").Roger Ebert, film criticRockThe Mansion on the Hill: Dylan, Young, Geffen, Springsteen, andthe Head-on Collision of Rock and Commerce by Fred Goodman (TimesBooks, $25).The most eagerly awaited music-business expose since FredricDannen's Hit Men, former Rolling Stone reporter Fred Goodman's heftytome didn't measure up in terms of truly revealing inside dirt, andits Baby Boomer myopia could be offensive to readers who didn't growup thinking that Woodstock was the be-all and end-all of rockhistory. Despite these problems, The Mansion on the Hill was thebest rock read of 1997, charting the origins of the feud between artand commerce that has raged within the music since the idealistic'60s yielded to the materialistic '70s. The main characters are allcited in the title, but it's Bruce Springsteen who takes the biggesthit: Goodman charges that manager Jon Landau virtually remade theBoss, creating a political and social conscience that wasn't therebefore and which, by the time of "Born in the U.S.A.," proved to bevery good for business. This doesn't change the quality ofSpringsteen's music, of course. But it's certainly entertaining toread about the gap between (as Rolling Stone would say) perceptionand reality.Jim DeRogatis, pop music criticDancePassion & Line: Photographs of Dancers, by Howard Schatz(Graphis, $50).Dance is an exceptionally difficult art form to capture inphotographs. The camera freezes time; dance defines and thendiscards it. Only a handful of photographers have demonstrated theability to seize the perfect image of exquisite, highly trained andimpossibly expressive bodies in motion. As this book demonstrates,Howard Schatz is one of them. He also is a master at capturingdancers in moments of repose, recognizing that they embody an almostpalpable kinetic energy even at rest.Drawing on a wide array of performers throughout the UnitedStates - including members of the San Francisco Ballet, Alvin AileyAmerican Dance Theater, the Paul Taylor Company and American BalletTheater - Schatz's vivid images remind you of the phrase MarthaGraham used to describe her dancers. They were, she said, "acrobatsof God." Schatz's subjects are almost unearthly creatures who cancarve out space by outlining the air.There is an unadulterated erotic component to these photographs,as well. Many of the dancers are nude or scantily clothed. But whywould anyone want to dress up a jaguar or an eagle in mid-flight?Hedy Weiss, theater and dance criticAmericanaInside U.S.A. by John Gunther (New Press, $19.95).Over the summer, New Press released the 50th anniversary editionof reporter John Gunther's Inside U.S.A., a spellbinding collectionof 52 essays that Gunther wrote in the 1930s and 1940s as he droveacross America. A native Chicagoan who was born in 1901, Gunther cuthis teeth at the Chicago Daily News. He is a no-nonsense writer,mincing few words as he explores the Tennessee Valley Authority,Henry Ford (then 84 years old), and the magic of Harry Truman'sIndependence, Mo., which some Mormons think will be the scene of theResurrection.Many of Gunther's observations are still pertinent, such as whenhe compared the Chicago Tribune to Soviet Russia (one of thenewspaper's targets): "big, totalitarian, successful, dominated byone man as of the moment, suspicious of outsiders, cranky and withgreat natural resources not fully developed." I became acquaintedwith his work when I was a kid and read Death Be Not Proud, Gunther'stender memoir of his son's battle with a brain tumor. Chase down acopy of Inside U.S.A. and follow Gunther's warm tracks on your nextroad trip.Dave Hoekstra, staff writerJazzSpace Is the Place: The Lives and Times of Sun Ra by John F.Szwed (Pantheon, $29.95).Art aspires to reflect life, and life has a way of reflectingart, but seldom have those twains met as profoundly as they did inshaping the legend of Sun Ra. Laugh at his costumed antics andcosmic claims if you will, but as documented in Space Is the Place,the late avant-garde jazz pioneer was profoundly involved in the ideaof being a brother from a less-cruel planet - and in creating musicthat embodied the high principles of freedom, equality andself-expression.Perhaps in more detail than is needed, Szwed explores Ra'sphilosophies and visions. He immerses us in the origins of theexuberant big band sound this native of Birmingham, Ala., launched inChicago in the mid-'50s. The reader is also privy to Ra's exactingmethods as a leader and unusual communal relationship with the coremembers of his longstanding - and long-neglected - Arkestra.It's a great story, told well. But the best thing about SpaceIs the Place is the appetite it whets for Ra's music. There isnothing like it, and likely won't ever be.Lloyd Sachs, entertainment criticHome improvementThe Tool Book, by William Bryant Logan, (Workman Publishing Co.,$40).All the tools you need to know so you can build the coffee tablethis book should sit atop.Hard to imagine, but author William Bryant Logan has written acoffee table book on tools. Who'd ever imagine tools could be socolorful, so picturesque, so interesting? The Tool Book is 300 pagesof illustrations, historical notes and a guide on how to pick theright tool for any given task.The book, frankly, is beautiful - this from a man who findsturning a spade akin to eating broccoli. Did you know there are 10different types of pruning saw, including the traditional Japanesefolding version and its American counterpart? The Western versionalso comes with Japanese-style teeth, by the way.If you're a gardener, a wood-working hobbyist, or just needadvice on whether to use a thatching rake or light thatching rake foryour fallen leaves, this well-organized book is recommended.It even looks good next to the oversized Monet picture book onyour coffee table.Eric Benderoff, deputy features editor/real estateClassicalMemoirs by Sir Georg Solti (Knopf, $25.95).For classical music fans in Chicago, the top book of 1997 has tobe Sir Georg Solti's Memoirs.The Chicago Symphony Orchestra's music director laureatefinished working on the manuscript a few hours before he diedunexpectedly Sept. 5, and Knopf issued it on Oct. 21, which wouldhave been Solti's 85th birthday. The book is a lively memoir by oneof the CSO's greatest music directors and the last of the greatpost-World War II maestros.Virtually by definition, autobiographies are selectiveremembrances. But it's always valuable to see how great artistsperceive themselves, and Solti's perceptions of himself and themusical world around him are remarkably clear-eyed.The uncertainty of his early struggles to make a career inEurope in the face of anti-Semitism and the upheavals of World War IIis vividly described. So is his love affair with the ChicagoSymphony Orchestra. The classical music world has changedirrevocably since Solti made his conducting debut on the eve of WorldWar II. We truly shall not see his like again.Wynne Delacoma, classical music criticSportsJackie Robinson by Arnold Rampersad (Knopf, $27.50).Rampersad's meticulous and elegantly written story of Robinson'slife, which benefitted immensely from the cooperation of Robinson'swidow Rachel, is as important as any biography that appeared thisyear - or any year.Rampersad accomplishes the formidable task of making Robinson asymbol of Jim Crow America, of the integration of this country'smajor institutions and of the twists and turns of the civil rightsmovement, without ever losing sight of Robinson - the passionate butconflicted human being.The story of how Robinson broke baseball's color line has beentold before, although never in such breathtaking detail. Rampersad'ssignal achievement is to make Robinson's life before and afterbaseball equally compelling.Ron Rapoport, deputy sports editorTravelThese Rare Lands: Images of America's National Parks (Simon &Schuster, $40).With a whole world of topics to chose from, it's no surprise thatthe offerings in the travel category are vast and varied. Greatguide books aside, These Rare Lands: Images of America's NationalParks is at the top of my gift list for this holiday season. Thetopic is a classic and one explored by many, but this testimony tothe country's 54 national parks is as lovely a collection as one willfind. Photographer Stan Jorstad's lush photos capture the grandeurof each park, from Maine's Acadia to Hawaii's Haleakala. Former U.S.poet laureate Mark Strand enhances the photo collection withcompelling reflections. A little bonus: an introduction by RobertRedford.Mi-Ai Ahern, travel editorTelevisionThe Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family edited byRay Richmond (Harper Perennial, $15.95).Publicity-seeking politicians spent most of 1997 yammering aboutfamily values on television programs."The Simpsons," a satiric cartoon series on the Fox network, isthe current longest-running weekly program devoted to a working-classfamily. Now in its eighth season, Matt Groening's creation haspassed "The Flintstones" as the prime-time longevity champ among allanimated TV shows.The Complete Guide is a 249-page collection of "Simpsons"history and mythology."If `The Simpsons' is a show that rewards you for payingattention," says Groening, "then this book is for that exalted and/orsorry bunch of you who just can't seem to stop paying attention."The guide includes character sketches, tons of trivia, factoidsand catchphrases. "Seventeen people went totally insane in themaking of this book," Groening says.Lon Grahnke, television criticMediaA Reporter's Life by Walter Cronkite (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.95;Ballatine paperback, $14).I can die a happy man now that I've read the splendidautobiography of my lifelong hero and mentor, Walter Cronkite.Titled A Reporter's Life, it's the enthralling story of how anoverworked and underpaid wire-service correspondent was instrumentalin the creation of television news (the term "anchorman" was coinedfor him) and came to be known as "The Most Trusted Man in America."From his roots as a newsboy peddling the Kansas City Star to hisstatus today as the revered elder statesman of broadcast journalism,Uncle Walter recalls in vivid detail his impressions as an eyewitnessto the greatest triumphs and tragedies of the 20th century.Ironically, his two decades at the helm of "The CBS EveningNews" gave rise to the cult of personality surrounding the currentcrop of millionaire news anchors - a disturbing trend Cronkitedecries. His book should be required reading for anyone whobroadcasts the news - or watches it.Robert Feder, television/radiocolumnistArtAmerican Visions: The Epic History of Art in America by RobertHughes (Knopf, $65).By the pound or by the inch, Time magazine art critic RobertHughes' American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America is ameaty tome. Hitting the bookstands this spring to coincide with aneight-hour PBS series that aired in May, it was greeted by acontrapuntal chorus of rants and raves - some warranted, some not.It isn't a perfect book. Five hundred years of Americans makingart, and what one of the nation's most widely read and outspokenwriters has to say about it, is a pretty snug fit even for 636 pages.But as a wide-ranging (and, yes, over-reaching) survey aimed at thegeneral reader with an interest in art, it offers lots ofinformation, flashes of insight and even some gossipy tidbits.Hughes' examination of architecture, design, furniture, paintingand sculpture and how they've been influenced by commerce, politics,philosophy and religion is wonderfully descriptive and lively.Central to it all, he believes, is the American obsession with"newness." Not just a loosely stitched patchwork of various artists,eras and styles, this lavishly illustrated chronicle continuouslyweaves past and present art into a rich and textured whole cloth.Garrett Holg, freelance art criticFashionSecrets of a Fashion Therapist by Betty Halbreich (Cliff StreetBooks, $25).Losing your mind over what to wear? Seek help - from a fashiontherapist, that is.Chicago native Betty Halbreich is ready to counsel with her newbook, Secrets of a Fashion Therapist. As director of Solutions atBergdorf Goodman in New York, she's been helping women getdressed for every occasion.Now she, along with Sally Wadyka, wants to help anyone willingto listen. The 204-page book is written in a conversational andcomfortable tone. Halbreich provides sensible advice, taking intoaccount various clothing budgets and tastes. She forces readers totake a cold, hard look at their bodies and assess what works best forthem. She even gives tips on how to shop for clothes in the chapter"Taking the Store by Storm." Unlike other fashion self-help books,Halbreich focuses on the basicsof good dressing. This timeless advice will help any reader make aquick recovery.Lisa Lenoir, fashion writerCelebrityWhen Do I Start? by Karl Malden with Carla Malden (Simon &Schuster, $25).This year, publishers threw money at anyone with a flashy name.Bookstores peddled Jenny McCarthy's (co-written) autobiography, JennyJones' (co-written) life story, even Tina Louise's bizarre memoir(unfortunately, not co-written).But the best celebrity book was by the decidedly unflashyMalden, written with his daughter in a warm, anecdotal, thoughtfulmanner. There are no tales of drug addiction, no axes to grind, noego trips - just the memories of an 85-year-old actor who acceptedalmost any job that would come his way by saying, "When do I start?"The book captures his love affair with acting withoutpretension. And the affair lasted - he tells of starring on Broadwayin "A Streetcar Named Desire," in films such as "Patton," and on TV's"The Streets of San Francisco." And today's actors could learn fromhis professionalism. Acting was his job, and people like MarlonBrando, Michael Douglas and Barbra Streisand were his co-workers.You'll love the trip, even if you weren't around for it thefirst time.Paige Smoron, assistant Showcase editorPop culturePoison Pen: The True Confessions of Two Tabloid Reporters byLysa Moskowitz-Mateu and David LaFontaine (Dove Books, $18.95).There's no guilty pleasure more delicious than reading theconfessional purgings of semi-reformed scum. Lysa Moskowitz-Mateauwas a staff reporter for Star magazine and has free-lanced for theNational Enquirer and the Globe; her ex-husband David LaFontaine wasalso on staff at the Star. Together they have produced a breezy,cheeky and sometimes appalling retelling of their adventures stalkingthe likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Tommy and Pamela Lee, Michael Jackson,and O.J. Simpson. (The celebrity names drop like hockey pucks from areferee's hand in this book.)Even more entertaining are the stories about the minor celebs -a Richard "Empty Nest" Mulligan, a Crystal "Wings" Bernard, - whoseprivate lives must be sullied for the tabloids to have enough copyevery week. You won't like Moskowitz-Mateau or LaFontaine very much,but you'll find them to be fascinatingly repellent creatures - muchlike the jackal or the vulture.Richard Roeper, columnistCookingVegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison (BroadwayBooks, $35).Deborah Madison has written the perfect book for someone whowants to eat healthfully, but is clueless in the kitchen.Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone has more than 1,400 alluringrecipes - from a fresh tomato sauce made with just five ingredients(including salt and pepper) to elegant spring asparagus soup toearthy, trendy goat cheese enchiladas with corn and red mole sauce.But it's also a wealth of easy-to-understand help for beginners.The inside cover lists definitions of the simplest recipe terms("Butter means lightly salted or unsalted butter"). Introductorychapters explain such basics as how to hold a knife while chopping,and describe, in words and sketches, kitchen tools from measuringcups to a food mill. The 115-page vegetables section describesdozens of varieties and tells how to shop for, store and use them.Best of all, Madison, a founder of San Francisco's landmarkvegetarian restaurant Greens, demystifies vegetarianism. Even "ifyou don't attach a title to your eating style," she writes, "you cancook everything in this book and serve it with meat, fish or fowl."That's what I call vegetarian cooking for everyone.Barbara Sadek, food editor
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