From: sbrock@teal.csn.org (Steve Brock)
Subject: Several short reviews of new biographies
Followup-To: rec.arts.books
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 01:39:17 GMT

Here are several short reviews of new biographies:

FEAR AND LOATHING: THE STRANGE AND TERRIBLE SAGA OF HUNTER S.
THOMPSON by Paul Perry.  Thunder's Mouth Press, 54 Greene St.,
Suite 4S, N.Y., NY  10013-7682.  Illustrated, index.  274 pp.,
$22.95 cloth.  1-56025-012-7

                             REVIEW

     One of at least three new books on Thompson (all unautho-
rized), to judge this one we must refer to Thompson's famous quote:
"the perception of reality is often more important than reality
itself."  Nothing written about him will ever be as good as he
writes himself.  His biography is in everything he writes, and what
he writes are his perceptions.
     Perry worked with Thompson at "Running" magazine and compiled
many hours of taped interviews.  He also spent three years
researching Thompson, which means interviewing his friends - those
who try to keep up with him.  
     Perry makes many predictions about Thompson.  "Once he started
doing cocaine," he says, "he started freezing at the typewriter. 
I have my doubts that we will see his book on the 1992 elections." 
Sorry Perry, I think you meant he got very cold sitting at the
typewriter.  "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail 1992" has
been purchased by Random House and should be out sometime this
year.





HELLO, I MUST BE GOING: GROUCHO AND HIS FRIENDS  by Charlotte
Chandler.  Citadel Press, 120 Enterprise Ave, Secaucus, NJ  07094. 
Illustrated, chronology.  568 pp., $14.95 paper.  0-8065-1346-2

                             REVIEW

     Nurse: "Oh, Groucho, I think I'm gonna wind up an old maid."
     Groucho: "Bring her in, we'll wind her up together!"

     Published to coincide with the 102nd anniversary of Groucho's
birth and the revival of his television show "You Bet Your Life,"
this biography is a humorous, though ordinary, look at his
remarkable life.
     Chandler knew Marx in his later life and has excerpted many of
his conversations with the likes of Woody Allen, Jack Lemmon, and
Bill Cosby (who emcees the reborn TV game show).  While there are
some episodes of witty repartee, there is also much here that is
terribly redundant - especially with regard to the sexual prowess
of older men.
     Cosby once told Groucho "You're the only one who could do 'You
Bet Your Life.'"  He was right.  The show has been canceled, so
should your appointment to read this book.





HEMINGWAY: A LIFE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES by James R. Mellow. 
Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, N.Y., NY  10003. 
Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes.  704 pp., $30.00 cloth. 
0-395-37777-3

                             REVIEW

     The arguement goes on even today... was he a better novelist
or a better journalist?  Novelist!  Journalist!  Mellow suggests
both by concluding that he was a highly original and eccentric
literary stylist - a product of his generation.
     Mellow's sympathetic and sensitive portrayal does not gloss
over Hemingway's irresponsibility and acts of excess, but tries to
interpret the reality behind the myth.  Although rife with
methodological qualifiers, Mellow's depiction of Hemingway in
Paris, writing his early novels, shines.
     "A Life Without Consequences" is called Volume Three in
Mellow's "Lost Generation" trilogy.  Volumes One and Two are
"Charmed Circle: Gertrude Stein & Company," and "Invented Lives: F.
Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald."  All three are highly recommended.





MALCOLM X: A FORCE FOR CHANGE by Nikki Grimes.  Fawcett/Columbine
Publishing, 201 E. 50th St., N.Y., NY  10022.  Illustrated.  177
pp., $4.00 paper.  0-449-90803-8

                             REVIEW

     It says on the cover of this book, for ages 8-11, that Malcolm
X is one of Grimes' heroes.  It's quite evident.  Malcolm Little's
early days as a petty thief are related with sadness, but the
reader feels right by his side as he hustles customers at Small's
Paradise, or gets arrested in a jewelry heist that left him in jail
at Concord Prison.
     It is with growing excitement and verve that she describes
Malcolm Little's conversion to Islam, his transformation into
Malcolm X, his association with Elijah Muhammad, and his confronta-
tion with racism.  
     His murder is depicted with horror, and details are given on
the trial and prosecution of those arrested.  Although the case is
officially closed, Grimes says that there are several people who
feel that responsible parties are still loose.  Recommended.





REMEMBERING MALCOLM: THE STORY OF MALCOLM X FROM INSIDE THE MUSLIM
MOSQUE BY HIS ASSISTANT MINISTER by Benjamin Karim with Peter
Skutches and David Gallen.  Carrol and Graf Publishers, Inc., 260
Fifth Ave., N.Y., NY  10001.  Illustrated, index.  206 pp., $21.00
cloth.  0-88184-901-4

                             REVIEW

     While most whites and some blacks were fearful of Malcolm's
fiery black nationalist rhetoric, Karim introduces the reader to
the Malcolm X from the perspective of a fellow Muslim minister who
worked with him for seven years at New York Mosque Number Seven.
     This is a devoted and gentle man, an outstanding teacher as
well as a student, an uplifting counselor, and a man of morals who
fasted for three days each month.  Karim is the one who introduced
Malcolm on the day he was assassinated at Harlem's Audubon
Ballroom, just two days after Malcolm's house was firebombed.
     This is a sincere and heartfelt story from one of Malcolm's
closest friends.  Recommended.





KEITH RICHARDS: THE BIOGRAPHY by Victor Brockis.  Poseidon Press,
1230 Avenue of the Americas, N.Y., NY  10020.  Illustrated, index,
source notes.  409 pp., $24.00 cloth.  0-671-70061-8

                             REVIEW

     At 48, it's such a wonder that he's still alive!  How many
controlled substances has he done?  Brockis says "lots," but in the
end labels him a "family man."  Come again?
     Richards became popular at a time when it was heroic to live
a life of excess, and this is what Brockis zeroes in on, from
extended trips to the lu, to ordering more drugs to be brought in
by jet, Richards, according to Anita Pallenberg, was too stoned for
sex for months at a time.  That left just rock and roll and drugs.
     Being a lead guitarist and songwriter of a world-class rock
band and still playing second fiddle to the lead singer hasn't worn
well on Richards, and Brockis says he has gotten satisfaction from
his solo efforts.  
     Both, however, have new releases pending, and even now critics
are saying that Jagger's will be better.  
     Brockis has also written biographies on Andy Warhol and
William S. Burroughs.  "Keith Richards" is entertaining and highly
recommended.
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