Certainly no singer has been more mythologized and more misunderstood than Billie Holiday; who helped to create much of the mystique herself with her autobiography; Lady Sings the Blues. "Now; finally; we have a definitive biography;" said Booklist of Donald Clarkes Billie Holiday; "by a deeply compassionate; respectful; and open-minded biographer [whose] portrait embraces every facet of Holidays paradoxical nature; from her fierceness to her vulnerability; her childlikeness to her innate elegance and amazing strength." Clarke was given unrivaled access to a treasure trove of interviews from the 1970smdash;interviews with those who knew Lady Day from her childhood in the streets and good-time houses of Baltimore through the early days of success in New York and into the years of fame; right up to her tragic decline and death at the age of forty-four. Clarke uses these interviews to separate fact from fiction and; in the words of the Seattle Times; "finally sets us straight. . .evoking her world in all its anguish; triumph; force and irony." Newsday called this "a thoroughly riveting account of Holiday and her milieu." The New York Times raved that it "may be the most thoroughly valuable of the many books on Holiday;" and Helen Oakley Dance in JazzTimes said; "We should probably have to wait a long time for another life of Billie Holiday to supersede Donald Clarkes achievement."
#279057 in eBooks 2012-10-01 2012-10-01File Name: B009QA3GI8
Review
44 of 45 people found the following review helpful. An important update to understanding Irish manuscriptsBy Steve HeroldThe Book of Kells has long been considered one of the greatest art pieces of human history. and rightfully so. It was not properly studied until the mostly black and white Urs Graf reproduction of the early 1950s. and then seriously updated with the 1974 Thames and Hudson color work of 1974. In that volume Francoise Henry detailed the results of two decades of study that confirmed my research for a doctoral dissertation on the palaeography and calligraphy of the book and its antecedants. Now. in an even finer study of the book (that is best used with the excellent Trinity College CD reproducing all pages). we see the depth of material in the codex and its relationship to both Irish culture and the wider celtic cultural diaspora. Bernard Meehan. who has published an earlier. less scholarly volume on the Book of Kells. has given us an essential resource that permits a wide audience to explore and comprehend the glory of this work. No one interested in Irish art or fine manuscripts should be without this first class study.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. MagnificentBy Robert WalkerI have a book on Kells from about 1978 that was fabulous for its day. but this one by Meehan tops it by far. The reproductions are breath-taking and the text is scholarly to fault. The craftsmanship of fine printing. high quality paper. and excellent binding and book cover make this a museum piece. If youve fondness for this period of art. this book should be in your collection.33 of 35 people found the following review helpful. Beautifull illustrated version of the Book of KellsBy Marco Maia CarneiroAlthough I have not yet read the book cover to cover. it is exactly what I was expecting: a beautifully illustrated version of the Book of Kells. The external wooden case protects it and fits it well. while the pictures bring you the details of the Kells pages (that yoursquo;re not allowed to take from the original book). This is also supposed to be the most thorough book out there about the Book of Kells. as the author spent over 30 years studying and decrypting the book.Congratulations to author and publisher for this one.
