|
Popular Culture March 2020
|
|
|
|
| Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music in America from the Great War Through the Cold... by Jonathan RosenbergWhat it's about: the surprising ways in which America's classical music scene was shaped by 20th-century global politics, from the ban on German operas during World War I to the Cold War-era boasting of American achievement at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Is it for you? Classical music fans and readers who enjoy political histories will best appreciate this richly detailed work from history professor and Juilliard-trained musician Jonathan Rosenberg. |
|
|
Brother & Sister
by Diane Keaton
The Academy Award-winning film star and best-selling author of Then Again presents a memoir of her complicated relationship with a beloved younger brother, who transitioned from a close sibling into a troubled and reclusive alcoholic.
|
|
| Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War by Mark HarrisStarring: directors Frank Capra, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, and William Wyler, who put their talents to use during World War II by creating military training films, propaganda, and documentaries.
Read it for: a perceptive look at how the war impacted their lives and careers -- particularly Stevens, whose experiences filming the horrors of Dachau informed his directing of 1959's The Diary of Anne Frank.
Media buzz: Five Came Back is the basis for the Emmy Award-winning Netflix docuseries of the same name narrated by Meryl Streep. |
|
| Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina LongworthWhat it's about: how eccentric businessman and aviator Howard Hughes became a successful film producer, often at the expense of the actresses he sought to employ -- and control.
Why you should read it: Rife with sobering parallels to the #MeToo movement, Seduction illuminates the long and troubling history of Hollywood power players' exploitation of women.
Author alert: Film historian Karina Longworth is the creator and host of the popular classic Hollywood podcast You Must Remember This. |
|
| Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American... by Anne Helen PetersenWhat it is: a thoughtful re-appraisal of some of Hollywood's earliest scandals that reveals how public perception of stars' off-screen misdeeds reflected the tensions surrounding evolving social norms.
Topics include: Fatty Arbuckle's rape case; the smear campaign that derailed "It Girl" Clara Bow's career; Mae West's arrest for indecency; Rudolph Valentino's "slave bracelet."
Reviewers say: "brisk and lively" (Library Journal). |
|
Contact your librarian for more great books!
|
|
|
|
|
|