The Great  Jimi Hendrix

ROOM FULL OF MIRRORS/ A BIOGRAPHY OF JIMI HENDRIX by Charles R. Cross

Publisher    HYPERION 

NUREYEV  :  The Life,  by Julie Kavanagh  / Pantheon Books  .....a biography of one of the most if not the most iconic ballet dancers of all time. The brilliant Nureyev ( 1938-1993). Defecting from the Soviet Union and the Kirov in 1961 Nureyev joined with Margot Fonteyn to create stage magic, charisma and notariety in that he was a flamboyant superstar and ballet's first  pop icon. Nureyev danced for all the major ballet and modern choreographers of the twentieth century. He defied his HIV status for 11 years but finally succumbed to AIDS in 1993...A major biography !!     

LIKE A ROLLING STONE/ BOB DYLAN AT THE CROSSROADS/ GREIL MARCUS

Publisher   PUBLIC AFFAIRS BOOKS

PUNK PUNK PUNK  LOUD AND FAST

CBGB  and OMFUG   THIRTY YEARS FROM THE HOME  OF UNDERGROUND ROCK  by David Byrne with an INTRODUCTION by Hilly Kristal

A spectacular chronicle of a fabulous NY  landmark, the dingy but legendary CBGB and OMFUG.  Owner /Operator Hilly Kristal opened the club in 1973 just a few blocks south of the legendary  5 SPOT a jazz landmark of the 50's gone and forgotten. The book published by the great Harry N. Abrams Inc. includes about 200 b&w photos of the famous and infamous who either performed there or came to listen. A book to read and own as the official document of the NY Punk scene.   ***** 5 stars from this reviewer

BOOK REVIEWS:

self portrait che guevara

by Che Guevara

Publisher   Ocean Press   Melbourne, Australia

 www.oceanbooks.com.au

We have received this spectacular 310 page volume which gives

intimate look at the man behind the icon. The book is filled with never

before seen photographs and  Che's  own words filling in the years

1928-1967. His memoirs found in this volume are drawn from his diaries,

letters, poems, short stories and journalism. The photo's are from his

family albums.  THIS IS A December  CHOICE..A TRUE WINNER

THIS IS HISTORY NO MATTER WHAT YOUR POLITICS !!!

Lincoln In The Times  edited by David Herbert Donald and Harold Holzer / St. Martins Press.    The year 2005 marks the 140 year since President Lincoln's assassination. This book is particularly timely and traces the unique history of Lincoln's political rise, presidency, and death, as originally reported in the NY Times. Newspaper coverage was so important to Lincoln that he would keep pocketsful of clippings in his pockets. The night he attended Ford's Theatre, his pockets were filled the newspaper reports.

 Assassination Vacation  by Sarah Vowell  / Simon & Schuster..The author takes the reader on an irreverant and thought provoking excursion from New York to Alaska, Washington D.C. to Florida. In examining the deaths of Lincoln,Garfield and McKinley , she notes how politically important blood has been used for fun and profit for political and cultural advantage. Drawing from a wealth of historical research and personal examination, Vowell brings us on a provocative and unique road trip across America

JERRY GARCIA  The Collected Artwork... by April Higashi  / Preface by Bob Dylan / and Foreward by  Mickey Hart.  Published  by  Thunder's Mouth Press  NYC.   Published to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Grateful Dead.  Full color with 6 gatefolds. The books is an illustrated celebration of Garcia's  art and life. The artwork includes over one hundred full-color reproductions of Garcia's paintings, drawings and prints. It is a stunning book in an accessible coffee table format.  Long Live Jerry

BARNEY ROSS  by  Douglas Century / Schocken Books     2006

The story of the great Barney Ross is one of the great stories not only of an incomparable fighter but an extraordinary man. His story is safe in the hands of Douglas Century. Ross watched his father get killed in a holdup gone bad, whose mother suffered a nervous breakdown in response, his  brothers and sisters  sent off to an orphange , but Ross survived and became the world's lightweight, jr welterweight and welterweight champion. Ross enlisted in the Marines in 1942 was shipped to Guadalcanal and earned a silver star  for heroism under fire by the Japanese where all of Ross's comrades were wounded or killed Ross fought all through the night and carried his one remaining wounded buddy to safety in the morning. Ross aligned himself with the Zionist movement and acted as a front for the Irgun, Menachem Begin's undergound organization. Ross died in 1967 at the age of 57.

Barney Ross is a MUST READ for all those intersted in boxing, Chicago during the depression, 20th century Jewish history and street brawlers.

 Dov-Ber Rasofsky 'the pride of the ghetto' ( Barney Ross ) 1927

The Joke's Over  / Ralph Steadman on Hunter S. Thompson...  Random House   ...   In the Spring of 1970  artist Ralph Steadman came to America in search of work and found more than he bargained for. At the Kentucky Derby he met  a former associate of the Hell's Angels, one Hunter S. Thompson. Their working relationship resulted in what is now known as GONZO JOURNALISM.  'The Joke's Over' tells of a remarkable collaboration that documented the turbulent years of the Civil Right Movement, The Nixon Years, Watergate and the many bizarre events that shaped the second half of the 20th century . When Thompson committed suicide in 2005, it ended a unique friendship filled with both betrayal and understanding. A no holds-barred memoir and the story from the inside....