May 2023 MBR The Biography Shelf

The Biography Shelf

To the One I Love the Best
Ludwig Bemelmans
Pushkin Press
www.pushkinpress.com
9781782277934, $15.95, PB, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/One-I-Love-Best/dp/1782277935

Synopsis: Ludwig Bemelmans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Bemelmans) autobiography "To the One I Love the Best" is a charming memoir of inter-generational friendship and provides an enormously enjoyable nostalgia trip to the sun-soaked glamour of Los Angeles with its classic movie stars and a luminous parade of life's oddities.

With the publication of "To the One I Love the Best", Bemelmans lifts the curtain on 1950s Hollywood -- a bygone world of extravagance and eccentricity, where the parties are held in circus tents and populated by ravishing movie stars.

Bemelmans, who was working at MGM, had originally come to the California home of de Wolfe just for cocktails but by the end of the night, he was firmly established as a member of the family: given a bedroom in their sumptuous house, invitations to the most outrageous parties in Hollywood, and the friendship of the larger-than-life woman known to her closest friends simply as 'Mother'.

"To the One I Love the Best" (which refers to de Wolfe's dog)is a touching tribute to a fabulously funny woman and an American icon.

Critique: An inherently fascinating and candidly informative memoir, "To the One I Love the Best" will have a very special appeal to readers with an interest in a life lived among Hollywood movie starts, parties, and spectacular culinary events. While highly recommended, especially for community and academic library American Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "To the One I Love the Best" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $12.99).

Editorial Note: Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was an Austrian-born American writer and illustrator of books for children and adults. He travelled to American in 1914, at the age of sixteen, and worked for three years in the dining halls of what he called, in his autobiographical works, the Hotel Splendide. In 1926, he quit working in hotels to become a full-time cartoonist and made frequent contributions to the New Yorker, Vogue and Town and Country. He is perhaps most well-known as the author of the beloved Madeline books.

Truth or Consequences
Daniel Asa Rose
High Road Books
c/o University of New Mexico Press
1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87131-0001
www.unmpress.com
9780826364784, $27.95, HC, 264pp

https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Consequences-Improbable-Adventures-Near-Death/dp/0826364780

Synopsis: Daniel Asa Rose was a successful novelist, memoirist, book critic, and columnist for the New York Times Magazine, Esquire, and others, when the top blew off his domestic life. His wife of sixteen years wanted out. Before he could slip into depression, doubt, and self-loathing, Dan's lifelong friend Tony made an irresistible proposition: go back to the place where, forty years earlier, their college road trip had come to a crashing halt, T-boned by a woman in the decidedly oddball little town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

Dan and Tony return to the scene of the crash in an effort to make sense of that fateful moment. He's certain that if he can locate the woman in whose arms he almost died, he will find the self he lost and make peace with his life choices since. Dan moves into a single-wide trailer four blocks from the crash. Over the next eight months, inexplicable encounters make him fall in love with the New Mexico desert and the wiggy place that embraces him.

Critique: A deeply personal memoir that readers with all the literary flair of a deftly crafted novel, "Truth or Consequences: Improbable Adventures, a Near-Death Experience, and Unexpected Redemption in the New Mexico Desert" by Daniel Asa Rose is an inherently fascinating and ultimately inspiring read. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Truth or Consequences" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $27.95).

Editorial Note: Daniel Asa Rose (https://www.danielasarose.com) won an O. Henry Prize and two PEN Fiction Awards for the stories in his first collection, Small Family with Rooster. His first novel, Flipping for It, a black comedy about divorce, was a New York Times New and Noteworthy Paperback. Daniel is also the author of Hiding Places, the story of how he took his young sons to Belgium to retrace their family's escape from the Holocaust. His book, Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China with My Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant--and Save His Life, was named one of the Top Books of the Year by Publishers Weekly.

Your Heroes, My Grandparents: A Granddaughter's Love
Julie Rogers Pomilia
Briton Publishing
https://britonpublishing.com
9781956216110, $22.99, PB, 262pp

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Heroes-My-Grandparents-Granddaughters/dp/1956216111

Synopsis: Singing cowboy film star Roy Rogers (November 5, 1911 - July 6, 1998) and his third wife, actress, singer and songwriter Dale Evans (October 31, 1912 - February 7, 2001) were particularly famous nation-wide in the 1940s, 50s. and 60s.

"Your Heroes, My Grandparents: A Granddaughter's Love" by Julie Rogers Pomilia is their biography and life story filled with an abundance of candid pictures, many of them never seen by the public.

"Your Heroes, My Grandparents" is a charming read, and the first book ever to chronicle the lives of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, one of the most famous couples in western film and television history from the distinctive perspective of their grandchild. We knew them as our heroes, but she knew them as simply, Grandma and Grandpa.

Having lived through the '50s and '60s at the height of their popularity, and on into these current times when few people under the age of 50 remember who they were and the impact they had on American culture, the author shares unique insights about what it was like living with her famous grandparents. Still relatable, these heartwarming experiences transcend time and generational differences.

Being the youngest daughter of Dale Evans' only biological son, Julie shares from personal experience, the love, and acceptance her grandparents exuded as they adopted five children from different walks of life and cultures. Combining "yours, mine, and ours, step, adopted and foster" making nine total, they were the Brad and Angelina of the '50s before it was in vogue.

Each chapter stands alone, one short story after another, as she recalls with humor and tenderness, the perception of fame, the tragedies they endured, and the rollicking times they experienced being part of this multicultural brood. Spanning from her earliest memories until the time of their passing, this is a must-read for anyone longing for an intimate, positive encounter with two of the most beloved heroes in American history.

Critique: An absolutely 'must read' for the still remaining legions of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans fans, "Your Heroes, My Grandparents: A Granddaughter's Love" is a fascinating, informative, and a little nostalgic trip down memory lane. A welcome and recommended addition to personal and community library 20th Century American Biography/Memoir collections, librarians should note that there is a large print hardcover edition of (9781956216097, $29.95) available from Briton Publishing LLC,

Editorial Note: Julie Rogers Pomilia. being the granddaughter of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, her life from childhood on, has been colored with the deep familial love born out of the most famous on-screen (and off-screen) western couples of all time The King of Cowboys, Roy Rogers, and The Queen of the West, Dale Evans. Her book "Your Heroes, My Grandparents", is a collection of short stories and family photos of Roy and Dale, that was originally written for her three sons. Because this couple played such a vital role in the formation of American culture, as well as much encouragement from people along the way, she decide to widen her audience to the public.

In Search of the Blonde Tigress
Silvia Pettem
The Lyons Press
www.lyonspress.com
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
9781493068630, $29.95, HC, 272pp

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Blonde-Tigress-Untold-Eleanor/dp/1493068636

Synopsis: Beginning in 1933, Eleanor Jarman was sensationalized by the press as the "blonde tigress" and "the most dangerous woman alive." But a closer look at her life shows that she was an otherwise ordinary woman who got caught up in a Chicago crime spree, then was convicted as an accomplice to murder and sent to prison. In 1940, Eleanor escaped and managed to live out her life as, perhaps, America's longest-running female fugitive.

Following the murder of an elderly shopkeeper, readers are given a front-row seat for Eleanor's arrest, trial, conviction, and sentencing (all documented with recently unearthed primary-source police records, court transcripts, and prison files) and her subsequent prison years. Woven in are comparisons and contrasts between Eleanor's and her escape partner's criminal histories, as well as speculation on their lives on the lam. Whether Eleanor deserved her sentence, or whether it was too harsh, is left for the reader to decide.

With the publication of "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman", author Silvia Pettem sets the mystery and intrigue of this wanted woman into an historic context. It also includes her family's plea, in 1993, for Eleanor to come forward and apply for clemency. Most revealing at the time was Eleanor's alias. With that information (and considering that Eleanor, born in 1901, is certainly now deceased), "In Search of the Blonde Tigress" documents her search for Eleanor's remains -- right up to a visit to her likely grave.

Critique: Rescuing from obscurity one of the most unusual stories in the annals of American Criminology, "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman" is an extraordinary, exceptionally well researched, and simply fascinating study that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal reading lists, as well as professional, community, and academic library 20th Century American Biography collections and supplemental curriculum Criminology studies lists.

Editorial Note: Silvia Pettem (http://www.silviapettem.com) is a Colorado-based historical researcher, writer, and author. After local history research led her to the identification of a decades-old murder victim, Pettem switched from writing about history to the genre of true crime. Pettem's other books that relate to cold case investigations include Someone's Daughter: In Search of Justice for Jane Doe (2009); Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases (2013); The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families (2017); and Cold Case Chronicles: Mysteries, Murders, and the Missing (2021).

Matilda's Triumph: A Memoir
Richard M. Moss
www.RichardMossMD.com
LangMarc Publishing
https://www.langmarc.com
9781880292860, $21.95, PB, 390pp

https://www.amazon.com/Matildas-Triumph-Memoir-Richard-Moss/dp/1880292866

Synopsis: With the publication of "Matilda's Triumph: A Memoir", Dr. Richard Moss of Jasper, Indiana, writes of his childhood in the Bronx, his mother's struggles raising five boys alone, Richard's graduation from medical school, pro bono work in several countries, and finally setting up a traditional medical practice in Indiana. He also writes of his struggles dealing with his mother's stroke and his inability to save her.

Critique: This inherently interesting, candidly personal, effectively written life story includes flashbacks, medical research, and his present day life. With a special appeal to readers with an interest in a personal life stories that inspire and linger on in the mind and memory long after the book has been finished and set back upon the shelf, "Matilda's Triumph: A Memoir" is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Matilda's Triumph: A Memoir" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $5.99).

Editorial Note: Richard Moss M.D. (www.RichardMossMD.com) is a board-certified specialist in Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (Ear Nose and Throat). He earned his undergraduate degree in Biology at Indiana University and completed his Doctor of Medicine Degree at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. Dr. Moss has written regular columns for Indiana newspapers, including The Dubois County Herald, The Indianapolis Star, The Evansville Courier and Press, The City County Observer, The Vanderburgh Independent Press, The Bloomington Herald-Times, The Petersburg Press Dispatch, and The Ferdinand News; had a local radio talk show; and was the host of a local TV show Yoga for Health.

From Lawyer to Warrior
Chris Paviak
www.lawyertowarrior.com
Houndstooth Press
https://www.houndstoothpress.com
9781544538457, $28.99, HC, 242pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lawyer-Warrior-Failing-Becoming-Finding/dp/1544538456

Synopsis: When Chris Pavlak failed the bar exam in 2006 and 2007, the comfortable optimism of becoming an attorney vanished, replaced by feelings of shame, humiliation, and inadequacy.

Fixated on the financial ascendancy of being a lawyer for a large law firm, Chris had attended law school for all the wrong reasons. In that hypercompetitive environment he became singularly focused on comparing himself to others, status, and making money. When chaos reared its ugly head in the form of repeated failures, he realized he would have to radically reshape his life.

Uncertain about where a new path might lead, Chris embarked on a life of service in the United States Marine Corps.

With the publication of his biography, "From Lawyer to Warrior: Failing the Bar, Becoming a Marine, and Finding Meaning", Chris shows how failure might be considered an opportunity to willfully and courageously confront the chaos of life. The crucible of Marine officer training and the privilege of leading Marines ultimately helped recalibrate the vision of his life.

This is an honest and inspirational memoir about reinvention and reclamation-of finding meaning in the uniqueness of personal tragedy by being absorbed in something bigger than yourself, camaraderie, and being responsible for others.

Critique: Exceptionally well written, inherently interesting, and with a very special appeal to readers with an interest in personal stories of dealing with life's problems and opportunities, "From Lawyer to Warrior: Failing the Bar, Becoming a Marine, and Finding Meaning" is an especially recommended addition to community and academic library Contemporary Biography/Memoir collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "From Lawyer to Warrior" is also available in a paperback edition (9781544538464, $16.99) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $6.99).

Editorial Note: Chris Pavlak (www.lawyertowarrior.com) graduated from law school in 2006. He failed the bar exam twice before joining the marines and becoming a ground intelligence officer. During his service, Chris has led marine rifle and scout sniper platoons, been a planner for Marine Corps service-level exercises, and served as an advisor to Afghan security forces. Still in the Marine Corps Reserves, Chris is a faculty member at National Intelligence University near Washington, DC. As a civilian, he is a consultant on the policies, ethics, governance, and regulations of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

My One and Only Love
Laura H. Gilbert
Independently Published
9798378143764, $18.00, PB, 88pp

https://www.amazon.com/My-One-Only-Love-1938-2021/dp/B0BYR86HCS

Synopsis: Helen Day was born in 1923 to a poor family in rural Indiana. Helen dreamt of playing in the school band but had no means to acquire an instrument - until her domestic-worker mom rescued a clarinet from the trash. Two years later Helen's band director lent her the school's saxophone. She fell in love with it and aspired to a career in music.

In 1942, at age 19, Helen began her 11-year career on the road. Even when she left the road to be a 1950s housewife, Helen never left music. It was her everything; her heart and soul. After nearly two decades of practicing and waiting to perform, at the age of 48 Helen joined a local pick-up group -- and was never without a band again!

In 1989 Helen, at the age of 67, began her second musical heyday that lasted 31 more years. "My One and Only Love - A Big Band Love Story 1938-2021" by Laura H. Gilbert is her story.

Critique: Nicely enhanced for the reader's enjoyment with illustrations throughout, "My One and Only Love - A Big Band Love Story 1938-2021" is a deftly crafted and inherently interesting biography of Helen Day by her daughter, Laura H. Gilbert. Exceptionally well written, organized, and presented, "My One and Only Love" presents the life and accomplishments of a dedicated musician and is an unreservedly recommended addition to personal, commlunity, college, and university library American Biography, Women's Biography, and Actor/Entertainer/Musician Biography collections.

Editorial Note: Laura H. Gilbert (https://www.nextavenue.org/writer/laura-h-gilbert) lives in Minnesota where she worked as a musician, professor, creative consultant, attorney, and policy analyst. Laura writes in a practical, friend-by-your-side voice, sharing her personal experience and the creative paths she took to meet common challenges: managing college costs, downsizing a lifetime's worth of stuff, and retiring well on a middle-income budget. Her most recent work follows her mother's 80+ year journey as a Big Band musician. She is also the author of: "Enough: A Retirement Life That Works for Me", "The Stories We Leave Behind: A Legacy-Based Approach to Dealing with Stuff", "Back to School for Grownups", "How to Save $50,000 on College", "Graduate School on a Budget", and "Our Plan - A Family-Centered Approach to Paying for College."

American Journey: My Life in Art
Marco Sassone
https://marcosassone.com
Arti Grafiche Press
https://www.artigrafichepress.com
9780935194159, $39.00, HC, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/American-Journey-My-Life-Art/dp/0935194150

Synopsis: "American Journey: My Life in Art" is the vivid, transformational life story of internationally acclaimed American-Italian painter Marco Sassone, who came to California in search of artistic freedom and success. His journey led him through periods of hope and despair and ultimately to the threshold of true self-fulfillment: a deeper understanding of himself and his mission as an artist.

The life he has lived and the people he has known make the memoir of this remarkable artist a wonderful revealing canvas. Dining with Sophia Loren, conversing with Luciano Pavarotti, and joking with Tina Turner at his Beverly Hills opening are all part of his California days during the 1970s.

But what makes this memoir extraordinary is Sassone's vivid recollection of his real-life stories that include: His childhood in post war-torn Florence in the 1950s; his beginnings as an artist in the glorious studio of his teacher overlooking Giotto's Bell Tower; and his harrowing experience of survival during the great flood of Florence in 1966; His first drawing of "Willie" in San Francisco in the late 1980s, and his extensive personal research on the homeless that led to his groundbreaking exhibition "Home on the Streets"; And more recently, his reflections on the forgery of his artwork and the subsequent lawsuit in the Nevada's Supreme Court.

In his memoir, Sassone also offers vivid descriptions of what takes place in his studio during the act of painting: an intimate affair that he reveals for the first time in his memoir. "American Journey" is an inspiring, sometimes painful and courageous examination of a life in art. Sassone's story explores the very nature of all human beings and fulfills the inner vision that motivates them.

Critique: A fascinating and fearlessly candid personal life story that is informatively enhanced with the inclusion of numerous full color illustrations, an informative 'Afterword', a four page listing of Acknowledgments, and a seven page Index, "American Journey: My Life in Art" by artist and now author Marco Sassone will have a particular appeal to readers with an interest in the life stories of artists in general, and Marco Sassone in particular. While an especially recommended addition to community and academic library Biography collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "American Journey: My Life in Art" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Marco Sassone (https://marcosassone.com) was born in Florence, Italy, and the most poignant and enduring of influences can be traced back to his studies in the 1960s with acclaimed painter Silvio Loffredo, himself a student of the Austrian Master, Oskar Kokoschka. The agitated brush strokes and vibrant colors appealed to a young Sassone, offering the artist a foundation upon which to create his emotional, expressive art works. Numerous books and catalogues have been written about his work, including a 300-page monograph, "Sassone", written by art historian Donelson Hoops. His paintings hang in collections throughout the world. Marco Sassone was knighted into the "Order of the Merit of the Italian Republic" by President Sandro Pertini in 1982

The Fruit You'll Never See
Gail Brenner Nastasia
Independently Published
9798986931302, $14.99 Paper/$9.99 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/FRUIT-YOULL-NEVER-SEE-overcoming-ebook/dp/B0BWZYGBFV

The Fruit You'll Never See is a memoir about shame and overcoming negative messages from childhood. It will heavily resonate with readers who have struggled to overcome their own self-limiting training and self-perception, and represents an example of the process of nurturing inner strength against all odds.

Gail Brenner Nastasia's memoir opens with a bang: "Not even law school could change the fact that I was trash." As her life is revealed, readers learn some shocking facts about her family and the progression of her coming of age and entry into adulthood which fostered this sense of shame and self-depreciation. Gail's realizations about her beloved aunt's shortcomings acknowledges the lure of being included at all costs "...even though I know she used me, at least I got to go along for the ride."

As she repeats patterns of trusting and loving those who do not have her best interests at heart, Gail moves ever deeper into a familiar quagmire she is, sadly, well-equipped to handle: trading sexual favors for the feeling of belonging, being desired, and being loved. As Gail moves into various addictions, it is with the underlying conviction that her value lies in her worth to others -- not herself. The remarkable part of her story lies in how she overcame drug addiction to become a successful attorney; then took another big step in defying her inheritance of low self-esteem by creating a different life.

How she achieves her goals, learns different, healthier ways of interacting with her family, and maintains the equilibrium that truly reinforces her value makes for a powerful memoir that many readers will find inspirational and revealing. Rather than consulting self-help books for growth lessons, readers would do better to read The Fruit You'll Never See. Its lessons in abuse, recovery, and the contrast between healthy and unhealthy life choices are stark and involving, offering clues to better living. It ideally will be pursued in book club and psychological group discussions, as well as available for library patrons interested in vivid, candid stories of getting and staying clean.

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