‘Patrimony: A True Story,’ by Philip Roth
When author Philip Roth, 85, died on May 22, 2018, it hit me hard. Through the years, his books never failed to fascinate. His personal life notwithstanding, his artistic growth was profound. I greedily gobbled up American Pastoral (1997), I Married A Communist (1998), The Human Stain (2000) and The Plot Against America (2004). Among his 29 other books, there was one I purposely refrained from reading. Until now.
‘The Fall Of America: Journals,’ by Allen Ginsberg
In 1974, Newark poet Allen Ginsberg [1926-1997] had his groundbreaking The Fall of America: Poems of These States 1965-1971 published by City Lights Bookstore. The poet had originally recited these poems into a reel-to-reel tape recorder given to him by Bob Dylan. In 2020, Michael Schumaker, who previously chronicled the rise of beat culture (precursor to hippie culture), transcribed, edited and annotated those original tapes for the University of Minnesota Press so that The Fall Of America: Journals could bring to light Ginsberg’s comments, reflections, dreams and reactions to his own poetry.
‘Talkin’ Greenwich Village,’ by David Browne
There’s been a lot of books about New York City, but only a few capture the elusive flavor of The Big Apple like Joseph Mitchell’s 1993 Up In The Old Hotel, Patti Smith’s 2010 Just Kids, Herbert Asbury’s 1928 The Gangs Of New York: An Informal History of the Underworld or Robert A Caro’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1974 The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. You can now add David Browne’s stunning Talkin’ Greenwich Village to that list.
‘Springsteen On Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters,’ Edited by Jeff Burger
I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to reading Springsteen On Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches And Encounters. Truth be told, I just wanted to see if my own interview would be included. And it was. Yet as I started reading, an endearing portrait of the artist emerged: caring, responsible, well-versed in those musical heroes who came before him. He loves all the same artists I love. His eloquence in the interview situation is yet another art form. And you get to know him…I mean, really know him this time.
Joel Selvin’s Blockbuster Jim Gordon Biography, ‘Drums & Demons,’ Set For February
He might have been the greatest rock drummer of them all. But now his name is hushed over, hardly mentioned, a mere footnote to rock history, and the book on his tumultuous life and horror ending had never been written. Leave it to Joel Selvin—who wrote the definitive Altamont book—to tackle this subject.
West Long Branch Author Writes The Book Beatle Fans Have Been Waiting For
Leave it to Kenneth Womack, 57, of West Long Branch, to write ‘Living The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story Of Mal Evans’ (Dey Street Books), a project that has had Beatle fans buzzing for years.
Linking Bruce & Billy: ‘Bridge and Tunnel Boys’ by Jim Cullen
‘Bridge & Tunnel Boys’ (Rutgers University Press), by Jim Cullen, subtitled ‘Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and the Metropolitan Sound of the American Century,’ is a $28.50 262-page book detailing the similarities of two artists who grew up similarly influenced on those who came before them.
Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska,’ by Warren Zanes
“After decades in the world, Nebraska is one of those recorded works recognized for its simplicity but also for its density, its many-layeredness. It’s a record you come back to, a record with more than its share of mystery, a record that keeps mattering and keeps throwing off new meanings”—Author Warren Zanes
Jersey Bookshelf
Books by and about Jersey musicians