December 2023 MBR The Biography Shelf

The Biography Shelf

Found: A Veteran Story
Jack McLean
Huntington Bay Press
9798988539216, $17.00

https://www.amazon.com/Found-Veteran-Story-Jack-McLean/dp/B0CH5GTVWG

Found: A Veteran Story chronicles the lasting impact and legacy of the Vietnam War in a memoir that charts Jack McLean's stint in the U.S. Marine Corps. The saga he began in Loon: A Marine Story is expanded in Found, which documents a wide-ranging series of experiences from McLean's service. From the start, Found reviews life events that open, here, with his discharge from service in 1968 and his enrollment in Harvard University to become its first incoming Vietnam veteran. McLean came home to a changed America because of the war. This is his story of that homecoming, which returned him to soil which felt at once familiar and alien. Many books have been written about Vietnam experiences overseas. Fewer embrace the extent of cultural and social changes Vietnam brought to America and the veterans who returned home to unfamiliar territory to confront them.

McLean cultivates a "you are here" series of insights about his homecoming and the connections between his tour of duty in Vietnam and his revised milieu, both of which tug at his heart. He also documents a common occurrence: "While several people had welcomed me home, no one had thanked me for my service. Americans, in the fall of 1968, did not regard service in the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War as being worthy of thanks." He continues then reflects upon the surreal atmosphere brought about by his return: "I felt like Rip Van Winkle, the fictional Washington Irving character who, in the late eighteenth century, fell asleep in the Catskill Mountains and awoke twenty years later to discover that he had missed the entire American Revolution. While I had only been gone for a year, it seemed that another American Revolution had occurred in my absence."

As he navigates a revised America and unexpected attitudes towards not only the war but those who fought it, McLean discovers that his place in this country has also vastly changed. As he navigates personal trails, new responsibilities and relationships, and educational and romantic pursuits, McLean reflects on how his tour of duty changed his capacity for connecting with others: "While the responsibility for her death weighed heavily on my shoulders, I had lost my ability to grieve during the afternoon of June 5, 1968, when Tom Morrissey and seven other boys were killed within minutes during a blistering rocket attack." His struggles with his revised abilities in the world are moving and engrossing reflections on how military service and conflict can permanently imprint upon veterans, changing their basic reactions to life and death.

McLean finds enlightenment in Found - and so do readers interested in stories of the Vietnam era and a changing world. His trace of the imprints and impressions of the times and reflections on his Marine Corps service and its lasting connections will particularly engage readers interested in the widespread process of service validation: "Vietnam veterans of all stripes were emerging from the holes within which we had buried our experiences. We were finally able to feel the catharsis that came with the understanding, acceptance, and acknowledgment, first among ourselves and then, over time, by the country. It was a time of widespread validation. For the first time, we were allowed to be proud of our service and unafraid to show it."

The result is a powerful story of individual and national transformation that should be made a part of any library strong in memoirs of the Vietnam War and its aftermath. Book clubs interested in debating the lasting psychological effects of these times will find many discussion topics embedded in Found: A Veteran Story. These will lend to attraction by any group pursuing social, political, and psychological revelations.

The Wrong Calamity
Marsha Jacobson
DartFrog Plus
https://dartfrogbooks.com
9781959096931, $25.99 Hardcover/$15.99 Paper/$5.99 ebook

https://www.amazon.com/Wrong-Calamity-Memoir-Marsha-Jacobson/dp/1959096931

The Wrong Calamity: A Memoir opens with Marsha Jacobson's birth "in the whoosh of baby boomers" in Indiana and then reveals her life with an abusive husband. It deftly answers the question of why intelligent women marry into such a situation, much less stay in it - and perhaps seldom in the literature is the answer so clear. Jacobson saw no other opportunities, and no way out. The irony lies in the fact that, more than many other women in her position, Jacobson fell into a form of business success that theoretically gave her numerous resources and alternative options. As she became more successful, however, her husband became more abusive. Only when she returned to familiar territory, leaving her sojourn in Japan for America, was she able to flee, two toddlers in tow, into a better life.

Also more vividly portrayed than most stories of abuse and freedom are the slow-simmering revelations Jacobson experienced as her relationship with Peter evolved. From his quick temper and jealousy to how she changed from a woman who gave her husband complete charge of their honeymoon plans to one who came to question her very presence in his life, the progressive realizations are nicely presented and compellingly written. Jacobson's ability to delineate the transformations, realizations, and influences that led her to revise her life and future will prove inspirational to other women facing the same situation. She documents an evolutionary growth that deserves equal discussion in psychology and book reading groups for its specific insights and realizations.

The impact of her progressive determination and contributions to the relationship is hard-hitting and eye-opening. From her re-entry into dating and the snafus that led to new realizations about those she chose and her moral and ethical foundations to business and personal growth choices, Jacobson creates a powerful story of calamity, discovery, and change. This will serve as an inspiration (and road map) to other women facing similar conundrums. Libraries and readers seeking stories of not just escape from abuse, but considerations of the financial, psychology, and social influences on their evolution, will find The Wrong Calamity enlightening, revealing, and hard to put down.

Outpourings
CK Sobey
Inner Harvesting
https://innerharvesting.com/books-by-kas
9781737506171, $19.99 Paperback, $29.99 Hardcover, $9.99 E-book

https://www.amazon.com/Outpourings-Musings-Woolgathering-Ghosts-II/dp/1737506165

Outpourings is the second volume of CK Sobey's reflections (begun in Musings, Woolgatherings & Ghosts), but requires no prior familiarity with the first book in order to prove entirely accessible to newcomers. It features the same special blend of personal reflection, poetry, and philosophical musings that marked the first book, but carries these themes into wider waters as Sobey marks her life and heritage with passages of experience and growth that blend spiritual reflection with life inspection. Sobey often writes with an underlying philosophical view. This will attract a wide audience of thinkers who enjoy deeper-level inspections.

This collection begins with a consideration of impermanence and the impetus for writing and publishing one's thoughts for posterity: "Nothing is truly gone but can be so fleeting. I'm trying to capture the feelings a moment longer and put them into words." It then presents a series of surges and reflections that reflect both an appreciation for Japanese poetic structure and accompanying prosaic considerations of wisdom, spiritual dialogues, and the fabric of building personality and perspective over the years.

CK Sobey is particularly adept at capturing her life experiences and inspections in an interweave of reveries about marvels, mysteries, and miracles to reflect both an appreciation of what is known about life and aspects which are in flux or unknown, yet to be developed. Like a fine photograph, Sobey's work slowly comes to light in the darkroom of life, assuming clarity and form as readers either choose a progressive approach to reading or dip in and out at various points in her book, as desire dictates. It's unusual to find a work which offers dual approaches to readers who pursue either linear or non-linear paths of exploration, but Outpourings (and its predecessor) offers satisfaction to both kinds of readers as it embraces a "multiple passage of steps" to arrive at thought-provoking considerations of the human spirit and wisdom.

The intersection of haiku and prose works well in this pursuit, lending vivid imagery and possibilities to Sobey's work and strengthening her intention to reach as wide an audience as possible: "I think about things that touch me. Believe me when I say I am touched in countless ways every day. Not always in thoughtful, poetic ways. My life can be outrageously foolish, and sometimes it involves a great deal of shouting and disruption. Reaching some passionate and evocative altitudes helps me to turn up the heat when I need that. I'm not alone in this, just my version. I will do my best to share that authenticity with you in this book." Her special brand of memoir, literary inspection, and philosophical and spiritual reflection will delight libraries that look for evocative, accessible writings for those that appreciate prose, poetry, philosophy, and everything that goes into inspecting life.

Crusade to Heal America
Judith L. Pearson
Mayo Clinic Press
https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org
9798887701561, $27.99, HC, 336pp

https://www.amazon.com/Crusade-Heal-America-Remarkable-Lasker/dp/B0BRQTJRNR

Synopsis: "I am opposed to heart disease and cancer the way one is opposed to sin." With that as her battle cry, health activist and philanthropist Mary Woodard Lasker had a singular goal: saving lives by increasing medical research.

Together with her husband, advertising genius Albert, they created the Lasker Foundation, bestowing the Lasker Awards. Known as the "American Nobels," these became the most prestigious research awards in America. The Laskers' next step was transforming the sleepy and ineffectual American Society for the Control of Cancer, reinventing it as the American Cancer Society in 1944.

But the real increase in medical research funding occurred when Mary discovered a revolutionary source: the federal government. "I'm just a catalytic agent," she would insist, while she tirelessly lobbied Congress and presidents alike. She played a major role in expanding the National Institutes of Health from a single entity to the largest research facility in the world.

A feminist who used her femininity wisely, Mary's ultimate victory was bringing together two political adversaries to help launch the original cancer moonshot: the 1971 National Cancer Act.

"Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker" by Judith L. Pearson is a deeply researched biography that showcases the life and accomplishments of a woman who was savvy, steely, and deliberate.

Mary Lasker courageously positioned herself at the crossroads of politics, science, and medicine. At a time when women in research laboratories and the halls of Congress were anomalies, she smashed stereotypes in the fashion of Jeannette Rankin, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Shirley Chisholm. As eloquently described in this absorbing personal and professional history, the country's march to conquer humanity's most feared maladies was well- fueled by its fearless and feisty crusader -- Mary Lasker.

Critique: Informative, detailed, compelling, insightful, memorable and inspiring, "Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker" is an extraordinary and impressively well written biography that is especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university library Women's Biography collections. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that 'Crusade to Heal America: The Remarkable Life of Mary Lasker" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note: Judith Pearson (https://judithlpearson.com) is the award-winning author of three previous books: The Wolves at the Door, Belly of the Beast, and From Shadows to Life, which won the 2022 Nautilus Gold Award.

What Was Shakespeare Really Like?
Stanley Wells
Cambridge University Press
www.cambridge.org
9781009340373, $19.95, HC, 130pp

https://www.amazon.com/What-Was-Shakespeare-Really-Like/dp/1009340379

Synopsis: Sir Stanley Wells is one of the world's greatest authorities on William Shakespeare. With the publication of "What Was Shakespeare Really Like?" from the Cambridge University Press, he brings a lifetime of learning and reflection to bear on some of the most tantalizing questions about the poet and dramatist that there are.

How did he think, feel, and work? What were his relationships like? What did he believe about death? What made him laugh? This freshly thought and immensely engaging study wrestles with fundamental debates concerning Shakespeare's personality and life.

The mysteries of how Shakespeare lived, whom and how he loved, how he worked, how he produced some of the greatest and most abidingly popular works in the history of world literature and drama, have fascinated readers for centuries. This concise, crystalline biography conjures illuminating insights to reveal Shakespeare as he was. Wells brings the writer and dramatist alive, in all his fascinating humanity, for a new generation of readers.

Critique: Inherently interesting, insightful, absorbing, eloquent, thoughtful and thought-provoking, "What Was Shakespeare Really Like?" by Professor Stanley Wells is an unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and college/university library biography collections and supplemental William Shakespeare curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for students, academia, dedicated Shakespeare enthusiasts, and non-specialist general readers that "What Was Shakespeare Really Like?" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note: Professor Sir Stanley Wells, CBE, FRSL, is Honorary President at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. His many successful books include Shakespeare: For All Time (2002), Looking for Sex in Shakespeare (2004), Shakespeare & Co. (2006), Shakespeare, Sex, and Love (2010) and Great Shakespeare Actors (2015). He is co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage (with Sarah Stanton, Cambridge University Press, 2002), The New Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare (with Margreta de Grazia, Cambridge University Press, 2010), The Shakespeare Circle: An Alternative Biography (with Paul Edmondson, Cambridge University Press, 2015) and All the Sonnets of Shakespeare (also with Paul Edmondson, Cambridge University Press, 2020). He is also the General Editor of the Oxford and Penguin editions of Shakespeare. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Wells)

Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith
Stephen C. Tayson
The University of Utah Press
www.uofupress.com
9781647691271, $95.00, HC, 469pp

https://www.amazon.com/Like-Fiery-Meteor-Joseph-Smith/dp/1647691273

Synopsis: Joseph F. Smith was born in 1838 to Hyrum Smith and Mary Fielding Smith. Six years later both his father and his uncle, Joseph Smith Jr., the founding prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were murdered in Carthage, Illinois. The trauma of that event remained with Joseph F. for the rest of his life, affecting his personal behavior and public tenure in the highest tiers of the LDS Church, including the post of president from 1901 until his death in 1918.

It was Joseph F. Smith who laid the theological groundwork for modern Mormonism, especially the emphasis on temple work. This contribution was capped off by his "revelation on the redemption of the dead," a prophetic glimpse into the afterlife.

With the publication of "Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith", Professor Stephen Taysom deftly traces the roots of this vision, which reach far more deeply into Joseph F. Smith's life than other scholars and biographers have previously identified.

"Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith" is the first cradle-to-grave biography of Joseph F. Smith and utilizes previously unavailable primary source materials to craft a deeply detailed, insightful story of a prominent member of a governing and influential Mormon family. Most importantly, Professor Taysom situates Smith within the historical currents of American westward expansion, rapid industrialization, settler colonialism, regional and national politics, changing ideas about family and masculinity, and more.

Though some writers tend to view the LDS Church and its leaders through a lens of political and religious separatism, Professor Taysom does the opposite, pushing Joseph F. Smith and the LDS Church closer to the centers of power in Washington, DC, and elsewhere.

Critique: A inherently fascinating and impressively informative read from start to finish, "Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith" is further enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of 'A Note on Sources', an eight page Bibliography, sixty-four pages of Notes, and a twelve page Index. An extraordinary work of meticulous scholarship, exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, and college/university library American Biography and Mormon History collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, members of the Mormon community, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Like a Fiery Meteor: The Life of Joseph F. Smith" is also available in a paperback edition (9781647691288, $34.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.99).

Editorial Note: Stephen C. Taysom is a professor of philosophy and comparative religion at Cleveland State University. He is the author of Shakers, Mormons, and Religious Worlds and editor of Dimensions of Faith: A Mormon Studies Reader, as well as of numerous articles in academic journals.

The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I
Steven Veerapen
Birlinn
c/o Casemate Publishers
www.casematepublishers.com
9781780278162, $34.95, HC, 432pp

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-wisest-fool-steven-veerapen/1143241926

Synopsis: James VI and I was the first monarch to reign over Scotland, England and Ireland and has long endured a mixed reputation. To many, he is simply the homosexual king, the inveterate witch-roaster, the smelly sovereign who never washed, the colorless man behind the authorised Bible bearing his name, or the drooling fool whose speech could barely be understood.

For too long, he has paled in comparison to his more celebrated Tudor and Stuart forebears. But who was he really? To what extent have myth, anecdote, and rumour obscured him?

With the publication of "The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I" by Steven Veerapen is a new and ground-breaking biography in which King James's story is laid bare and a welter of scurrilous, outrageous assumptions penned by his political opponents put to rest.

What emerges is a portrait of Elizabeth I's successor as his contemporaries knew him: a gregarious, idealistic man obsessed with the idea of family, whose personal and political goals could never match up to reality. With reference to letters, libels and state papers, this seminal study casts fresh light on the personal, domestic, international and sexual politics of this misunderstood sovereign.

Critique: In new and inherently fascinating biography, the life, times, and accomplishments of James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 - 27 March 1625) is carefully laid out with an impressive degree of meticulous research and corrects a traditional welter of scurrilous assumptions penned by his political opponents which are diligently put to rest. Based on primary and printed sources, along with fourteen pages of Notes and featuring a seventeen page Index, this hardcover edition of "The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I" by Steven Veerapen is an impressive and highly recommended addition to community and college/university library 16th & 17th English History and Royal Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of students, academia, dedicated Anglophiles, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "The Wisest Fool" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $19.95).

Editorial Note: Steven Veerapen (https://www.stevenveerapen.com) was born in Glasgow to a Scottish mother and a Mauritian father and raised in Paisley. Pursuing an interest in the sixteenth century, he was awarded a first-class Honours degree in English, focussing his dissertation on representations of Henry VIII's six wives.

Connery, Sean Connery
Herbie J. Pilato
BearManor Media
www.bearmanormedia.com
9798887712642, $32.00, PB, 416pp

https://www.amazon.com/Connery-Sean-Before-During-Famous/dp/B0CHL3MGP5

Synopsis: Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 - 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Connery originated the role in Dr. No (1962) and continued starring as Bond in the Eon Productions From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Connery made his final appearance in the franchise in Never Say Never Again (1983), a non-Eon-produced Bond film.

With an in-depth perspective, "Connery, Sean Connery", biographer Herbie J. Pilato defines and distinguishes the iconic star's life and career before, during, and after his most famous role. With a Foreword by Barbara Carrera (Sean Connery's co-star from Never Say Never Again, his final film as everyone's favorite British super secret agent), and an Introduction by Richard Demarco (Connery's lifelong friend), "Connery, Sean Connery" from BearManor Media also features exclusive commentary from actors like Brendan Lynch (another of Connery's lifelong friends), Luciana Paluzzi (Thunderball), Tippi Hedren (Marnie), and more.

Critique: Enhanced for the reader with the inclusion to two sections of B/W photos, chapter notes, a bibliography, a selected timeline, and a useful index, "Connery, Sean Connery" is an absolute 'must' for the legions of Sean Connery fans and unreservedly recommended for both community and college/university library Cinematic History/Biography collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Herbie J Pilato (https://www.herbiejpilato.com) is a writer, producer, TV personality, singer/songwriter, actor, and the author of over 14 media tie-in/popular culture/celebrity biographies.

Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision
Anne Koval
Goose Lane Editions
www.gooselane.com
9781773101729, $45.00, HC, 320pp

https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Pratt-Love-Affair-Vision/dp/1773101722

Synopsis: As a Canadian artist, the work of Mary Pratt (March 15, 1935 - August 14, 2018) has captivated millions of Canadians. Her luminescent paintings capture reality in a way that few artists have been able to achieve -- the chip in a glass bowl, the play of light across a dish-strewn supper table, the vulnerability of a naked woman. Replete with symbolism, Pratt's work elevates the traditional still life by transforming the everyday into the iconic.

Art historian Anne Koval wrote "Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision" in close consultation with Pratt before she passed away. Her biography is informed by extensive interviews with the artist, and her family, friends, and colleagues and by unprecedented access to Pratt's archival holdings at Mount Allison University. This in-depth study of Pratt's life and work explores the complex issues of gender, feminism, and realism in Canadian art, resulting in a richly layered biography of an artist who redefined the visual culture of her period and whose art and life intersect in varied and surprising ways.

Critique: Illustrated throughout with full color imagery, "Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision" is an extraordinarily informative biography of an extraordinary artist and will be well received by her legions of fans. While especially and unreservedly recommended for community and college/university Canadian Artist Biography/Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $24.95).

Editorial Note: Anne Koval (https://www.writersunion.ca/member/anne-koval) is Professor of Art History, Museum and Curatorial Studies at Mount Allison University. She is the author of Whistler in His Time, and the co-author of James McNeill Whistler: Beyond the Myth. She has also written on Anna Torma for the Textile Museum of Canada and her writing on contemporary art has appeared in several edited volumes, including Stitching the Self: Identity and the Needle Arts, More Caught in the Act: An Anthology of Performance Art by Canadian Women, and The Radcliffe Line and Other Geographies: Sarindar Dhaliwal, which includes a series of ekphrastic poems by Koval. She has curated exhibitions at the Owens Art Gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, the Banff Park Museum, and the Confederation Centre Art Gallery, which included the work of Ed Pien, Merle McMaster, D'Arcy Wilson, Diana Thorneycroft, Aganetha Dyck, Barb Hunt, Jeannie Thib, Janice Wright Cheney, Cindy Sherman, and Sylvia Plath.

Keith Urban
Jeff Apter
Citadel Press
c/o Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
9780806542737, $28.00, HC, 464pp

https://www.amazon.com/Keith-Urban-Jeff-Apter/dp/080654273X

Synopsis: Keith Urban came from humble origins. His father worked at the local landfill and Keith was a high school dropout. But Keith had a plan: conquer Nashville. "It's my destiny," he said. And Keith was hell-bent on scaling that musical Everest. Whatever it took.

But it didn't come easy. Keith served his apprenticeship in the beer barns of Australia, and his early trips to America were disastrous. But he never gave up, settling in Nashville in the 1990s and forming The Ranch. When the band fell apart, so did Keith, ending up in rehab (not for the last time). But Keith did eventually reach the top, through a combination of talent, charisma, sex appeal, dogged perseverance -- and skin thick enough for a rhino. And along the way he married Nicole Kidman.

As Keith has said, "All those detours, the really dark ones, got me to where I am now. I would not want to change one leaf on any tree in the whole journey."

Critique: Exceptionally well researched, written, organized and presented, "Keith Urban" by biographer Jeff Apter is the definitive biography of an international music superstar. Inherently fascinating and impressively informative, "Keith Urban" is a 'must' for the legions of his fans and an especially, unreservedly recommended pick for community and college/university library Contemporary American Biography & Contemporary Music collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that "Keith Urban" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $13.99).

Editorial Note: Jeff Apter (https://www.jeffapter.com.au) is the author of more than thirty books about music and musicians. His subjects include AC/DC's Bon Scott and the Young brothers, Daniel Johns of Silverchair, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Cure, Dave Grohl, Jeff Buckley, and many others. As a ghostwriter and co-author, he's worked with Kasey Chambers, Mark Evans (of AC/DC) and Richard Clapton, and while on staff at Rolling Stone he wrote about legends such as Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith, Robbie Robertson, Bob Dylan, Chrissie Hynde and Lucinda Williams.

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