From the rugged beauty and refined splendor of this vast state emerges a remarkable volume of personal recollections; narrative histories and astonishing stories. Explore the fortitude and cultural diversity behind the development of Utah through �Big Bill� Haywood; vilified by the New York Times as �the most feared figure in America.� Experience compelling accounts of women bruised on the front lines of suffrage battles; enthralling stories of Chinese �paper sons and daughters� and heroic endeavors of Northern Ute firefighters. Celebrate downtown�s �Wall Street of the West;� the off-road cyclist known as the �Bedouin of the Desert� and Utah�s love affair with sweets. Culled from her popular Salt Lake Tribune �Living History� column; award-winning author Eileen Hallet Stone uncovers captivating tales of ordinary people and their extraordinary contributions that shaped Utah history.
#128604 in eBooks 2016-06-03 2016-06-03File Name: B01GKC7HL6
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A literary mixtape. a musical maritime map.By DMPPerhaps I should preface this by saying that I know Cosby personally and I know a bit about music. But other than attending one book reading a few months ago. I read this book with fresh eyes only this week while abroad in Mexico (more on that below). I now know more than a "bit" more about music than when I started. And appreciate the immense amount of work that clearly went into this book. If you are a fan of US history. Human history. Race relations and the origins of todays music .... this book is essential. educational. straightforward and impactful.A musical journey. In the words of U2s Larry Mullen Jr.. a la Rattle Hum. this book is a musical journey. In fact. much of what is told here was U2s journey chronicled in that very film. (It was hard for critics to accept that the worlds biggest rock band in the late Eighties could have so much to learn and gaze upon as students of music. but read this book and watch that film and appreciate both in that light.) This book is more. though. Subversive. Why? It is not just about music. It is a history lesson. A history of America during a lengthy period of ups and downs. racism. poverty. and cultural dynamics that challenge the reader and educate them. The metaphor mentioned in the book about streams and river source is all too true. This is a maritime map of American streams. Winding in and out. flowing into a river. leading to an ocean of rock and roll. Linear the history is not. Sometimes yes. though usually not. Cosby is adept at rewinding the tape where appropriate - reminding you of the etch marks left along the way that you need to revisit as you piece together this history. You are three streams over from the one you sailed 50 pages ago. but the connections are material and while some trees may block your view back to the streams you already navigated. ultimately you reach a place and look back with a nod of understanding. able to see clearly through openings in the branches. And also with a nod of appreciation. Both really.This book also presents a problem for the reader. It is what I will call a literary mixtape. If you are a music person and you dont know all of these tunes and images described throughout. you will be tempted to toggle to your ITunes. to YouTube - to see and hear what Cosby is describing. Or you will flag things for future listening. Thats what I have done. Both in fact. For that matter. it doesnt matter if you consider yourself a "music person". It matters that your curiosity is piqued. And that is something that this book accomplishes.I did not know much of the Elvis detail described here. What strikes me is the notion that. to a person. his peers (e.g.. BB King) praised him for being a genuinely good person. devoid of racism. Fast forward today to many popular artists who coin him a racist. I have a suspicion they havent read half as much of Elviss history as what is presented briefly here. Cosbys point is taken though - go read and form more informed opinions. Perhaps Cosby and the reader could be persuaded that Elvis was every bit the good ol boy. Fair enough. That just means there is more reading and storytelling to be done.Cirrhosis. Another thing that strikes me about the history told here. How many people in this great story were declared dead from cirrhosis? Seems like a lot. So much that the word should be in the index. It isnt. But note to the publisher.Mexico. Its a fact that I read this while in Mexico. And while doing so. just in one week I saw a restaurant advertising not one. but two. "award-winning" Elvis impersonators. Then I saw a band open a public rock show at the beach with Johnny B. Goode. Reading the story of Lou Reeds "Rock Roll" and the Jenny featured. I tuned to Janes Addictions version for the soundtrack as I read. Poignant. all of this. If there is one message Cosby is conveying. it is the transcendent power of rock and roll. It resonates everywhere. clearly. not just in the US. This is not a novel concept but the book gives you a musical lens with which to see the place where you live or work or travel as you read it. Try it yourself as you read through.So whats missing? Whats next? Perhaps a good deal to say about Johnny Cash. The British Invasion teed up at the end of the book. Punk. Synth pop. Grunge. And on and on. It is hard to say something new about these topics. It is hard to approach all that has already been written as a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces tell a larger story when properly joined. But thats what this book accomplishes well. And thats why it deserves to be shared. revisited. critiqued and analyzed.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Best book ever written on the roots of Rock ( ...By sean fThis IS IT!!! Best book ever written on the roots of Rock ( in my opinion)0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. An Interesting Attempt At A Big SubjectBy Ghost of Christmas #5The author makes a pretty commendable stab at the sociological history and fruits of the genre of music called Rock Roll. Hopefully this attempt will inspire future books with perhaps a more seriously scholastic approach. The reason for the 3 star rating is that the author all too often runs off in long passages of opinion. and just plain speculation that is not backed up with any facts that might have informed them. And then there are some really silly mistakes for which there are no excuses in this modern age of easy research. One such goof that sticks in my head from early in the book: the author writes about the decimation of the cotton crop in the southern USA by the boll weevil. which he informs us is a rodent. It is not. it is a bug. There is no excuse for that one slipping through the editing process. and there are a few other similar mistakes of facts. figures. and dates. Looking past those relatively minor annoyances. this book is otherwise a nice attempt at examining a facet of the subject of Rock Roll Music that few others have sought to approach.
