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Eric Walrond
by James DavisThe first biography of a fascinating Caribbean-born writer, unraveling the mystery behind his disappearance from New York at the end of the Harlem Renaissance and recognizing his contribution to the New Negro movement beyond Harlem.
Eric Walrond: A Life in the Harlem Renaissance and the Transatlantic Caribbean
by James DavisThe first biography of a fascinating Caribbean-born writer, unraveling the mystery behind his disappearance from New York at the end of the Harlem Renaissance and recognizing his contribution to the New Negro movement beyond Harlem.
Eric Walrond: A Life in the Harlem Renaissance and the Transatlantic Caribbean
by James DavisEric Walrond (1898–1966) was a writer, journalist, caustic critic, and fixture of 1920s Harlem. His short story collection, Tropic Death, was one of the first efforts by a black author to depict Caribbean lives and voices in American fiction. Restoring Walrond to his proper place as a luminary of the Harlem Renaissance, this biography situates Tropic Death within the author's broader corpus and positions the work as a catalyst and driving force behind the New Negro literary movement in America.James Davis follows Walrond from the West Indies to Panama, New York, France, and finally England. He recounts his relationships with New Negro authors such as Countée Cullen, Charles S. Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, and Gwendolyn Bennett, as well as the white novelist Carl Van Vechten. He also recovers Walrond's involvement with Marcus Garvey's journal Negro World and the National Urban League journal Opportunity and examines the writer's work for mainstream venues, including Vanity Fair. In 1929, Walrond severed ties with Harlem, but he did not disappear. He contributed to the burgeoning anticolonial movement and print culture centered in England and fueled by C. L. R. James, George Padmore, and other Caribbean expatriates. His history of Panama, shelved by his publisher during the Great Depression, was the first to be written by a West Indian author. Unearthing documents in England, Panama, and the United States, and incorporating interviews, criticism of Walrond's fiction and journalism, and a sophisticated account of transnational black cultural formations, Davis builds an eloquent and absorbing narrative of an overlooked figure and his creation of modern American and world literature.
Eric Williams and the Making of the Modern Caribbean
by Colin A. PalmerBorn in Trinidad, Eric Williams (1911-81) founded the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's first modern political party in 1956, led the country to independence from the British culminating in 1962, and became the nation's first prime minister. Before entering politics, he was a professor at Howard University and wrote several books, including the classic Capitalism and Slavery. In the first scholarly biography of Williams, Colin Palmer provides insights into Williams's personality that illuminate his life as a scholar and politician and his tremendous influence on the historiography and politics of the Caribbean. Palmer focuses primarily on the fourteen-year period of struggles for independence in the Anglophone Caribbean. From 1956, when Williams became the chief minister of Trinidad and Tobago, to 1970, when the Black Power-inspired February Revolution brought his administration face to face with a younger generation intellectually indebted to his revolutionary thought, Williams was at the center of most of the conflicts and challenges that defined the region. He was most aggressive in advocating the creation of a West Indies federation to help the region assert itself in international political and economic arenas. Looking at the ideas of Williams as well as those of his Caribbean and African peers, Palmer demonstrates how the development of the modern Caribbean was inextricably intertwined with the evolution of a regional anticolonial consciousness.Born in Trinidad, Eric Williams (1911-81) founded the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's first modern political party in 1956, led the country to independence from the British culminating in 1962, and became the nation's first prime minister. Before entering politics, he was a professor at Howard University and wrote several books, including the classic Capitalism and Slavery. In the first scholarly biography of Williams, Colin Palmer provides insights into Williams's personality that illuminate his life as a scholar and politician and his tremendous influence on the historiography and politics of the Caribbean. Palmer focuses primarily on the fourteen-year period of struggles for independence in the Anglophone Caribbean, when Williams was at the center of most of the conflicts and challenges that defined the region. Looking at the ideas of Williams as well as those of his Caribbean and African peers, Palmer demonstrates how the development of the modern Caribbean was inextricably intertwined with the evolution of a regional anticolonial consciousness.-->
Erich von Manstein: Hitler's Master Strategist
by Benoit LemayA Selection of the Military Book Club: An “informative and objective” biography of a genius commander and a study of his loyalty to the Nazi cause (Library Journal).To many close students of World War II, Erich von Manstein is considered the greatest commander of the war, if not the entire twentieth century. He devised the plan that conquered France in 1940, and led an infantry corps in that campaign. At the head of a panzer corps he reached the gates of Leningrad in 1941, then took command of 11th Army and conquered Sevastopol and the Crimea. After destroying another Soviet army in the north, he was given command of the ad hoc Army Group Don to retrieve the German calamity at Stalingrad, whereupon he launched a counteroffensive that, against all odds, restored the German front. Afterward he commanded Army Group South, nearly crushing the Soviets at Kursk, and then skillfully resisted their relentless attacks as he traded territory for coherence in the East.Though an undoubtedly brilliant military leader—whose achievements, considering the forces at his disposal, rivaled of Patton, Rommel, MacArthur, and Montgomery—surprisingly little is known about Manstein himself, save for his own memoir and the accolades of his contemporaries. In this book we finally have a full portrait of the man, including his campaigns, and an analysis of what precisely kept a genius like Manstein harnessed to such a dark cause.A great military figure, but a man who lacked a sharp political sense, Manstein was very much representative of the Germano-Prussian military caste of his time. Though Hitler was uneasy about the influence he’d gained throughout the German Army, Manstein ultimately declined to join any clandestine plots against his Führer, believing they would simply cause chaos, the one thing he abhorred. Though he constantly opposed Hitler on operational details, he considered it a point of loyalty to simply stand with the German state, in whatever form. Though not bereft of personal opinions, his primary allegiances were, first, to Deutschland, and second, to the soldiers under his command, who’d been committed against an enemy many times their strength.It is thus through Manstein that the attitudes of other high-ranking officers who fought during the Second World War, particularly on the Eastern Front, can be illuminated. This book is “a well-researched, convincingly reasoned analysis of a general widely considered one of WWII’s great commanders” (Publishers Weekly).Includes photographs
Erich von Manstein: Leadership, Strategy, Conflict
by Robert ForczykErich von Manstein was one of the most successful German commanders of World War II. An apostle of the German concept of Bewegungskrieg -- manoeuvre warfare -- he was responsible for the operational plan for the German breakthrough in the Ardennes Forest that led to the rapid defeat of France in 1940. He led a panzer corps in the drive to Leningrad in 1941 and an army in the Crimea, culminating in the capture of Sevastopol in 1942. As commander of Heeresgruppe Don, he oversaw the doomed attempt to rescue the German position at Stalingrad, before inflicting a major reverse on Soviet forces in the third battle of Kharkov in March 1943, probably his finest victory. This is a military account of von Manstein's greatest battles, providing an analytical account of his tactics, decisions and character traits that helped him succeed in battle and made him one of the most respected German commanders.
Erik Satie: A Parisian Composer And His World
by Caroline PotterThe music of Erik Satie (1866-1925) appeals to wide audiences and has influenced both experimental artists and pop musicians. Little about Satie was conventional, and he resists classification under easy headings such as "classical music". Instead of pursuing the path of a professional composer, Satie initially earned a living as a café pianist and moved in bohemian circles which prized satire, popular culture and experiment. Small wonder that his music is fundamentally new in conception. It is music which is not always designed to be listened to attentively: music which can be machine-like but is to be played by humans. For Satie, music was part of a wider concept of artistic creation, as evidenced by his collaborations with leading avant-garde artists and in works which cross traditional genre boundaries such as his texted piano pieces. His music was created in some of the most exciting and creatively stimulating environments of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: Montmartre and Montparnasse. Paris was the artistic centre of Europe, and Satie was a notorious figure whose music and ideas are inextricably linked with the City of Light. This book situates Satie's work within the context and sonic environment of contemporary Paris. It shows that the influence of street music, musicians and poets interested in new technology, contemporary innovations and radical politics are all crucial to an understanding of Satie. Music from the ever-popular Gymnopédies to newly discovered works are discussed, and an online supplement features rare pieces recorded especially for the book. CAROLINE POTTER is Reader in Music at Kingston University London. A graduate in both French and Music, she has published widely on French music since Debussy and was Series Advisor to the Philharmonia Orchestra's Paris 2014-15 season.
Erin's Diary: An Official Derry Girls Book
by Lisa McGeeSet in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1990s, Derry Girls is a candid, one-of-a-kind comedy about what it's like to be a teenage girl living amongst conflict.It's a time of armed police in armoured Land Rovers and British Army check points. But it's also the time of Murder She Wrote, The Cranberries, Salt-N-Pepa, Doc Martens and The X Files. And while The Troubles may hang over her hometown, Erin has troubles of her own, like the fact that the boy she's in love with (actually in LOVE with) doesn't know she exists. Or that her Ma and Aunt Sarah make her include her weirdo cousin Orla in everything she does. Or that head teacher Sister Michael refuses to acknowledge Erin as a literary genius. Not to mention the fact that her second best friend has ALMOST had sex, whereas Erin's never even kissed anyone yet. These are Erin's Troubles.Described by the Guardian as 'daft, profane and absolutely brilliant', by the New Statesman as 'pitch-perfect' and by i-D as 'the greatest show on British (and Irish) TV', Derry Girls has dazzled audiences for two series, with Channel 4's biggest UK comedy launch since 2004 and the biggest television series in Northern Ireland since modern records began.Now, this autumn, comes the first official tie-in. In the manner of the very best TV comedy books, Erin's Diary is a hilarious 'in world' publication that extends the laugh-out-loud humour of Derry Girls onto the page. With Erin's inner take on everything that has happened so far, this book will both dive deeper into the events we have seen unfold on the screen and unveil brand new stories and never-before-revealed details about characters. Complete with newspaper clippings, doodles, poetry, school reports, handwritten notes from her friends, and much much more, Erin's Diary is as warm, funny and brilliantly observed as the TV; a must-have for fans this Christmas.'Erin is sixteen and wishes she had a boyfriend and a life. Nothing else really happens... It's boring.' Orla McCool
Ernest Gellner
by John A. HallErnest Gellner (1925-95) was a multilingual polymath and a public intellectual who set the agenda in the study of nationalism and the sociology of Islam. Having grown up in Paris, Prague, and England, he was also one of the last great Jewish thinkers from Central Europe to experience directly the impact of the Holocaust. His intellectual trajectory differed from that of similar thinkers, both in producing a highly integrated philosophy of modernity and in combining a respect for nationalism with an appreciation of the power of modern science. Gellner was a fierce opponent, in private as well as in public, of such contemporaries as Michael Oakeshott, Isaiah Berlin, Charles Taylor, Noam Chomsky and Edward Said. As this definitive biography shows, he was passionate in the defense of reason against every form of relativism--a battle that his intellectual inheritors continue to this day.
Ernest Hemingway & Gary Cooper in Idaho: An Enduring Friendship (American Legends)
by Larry E. MorrisAn account of the decades-long friendship between the iconic author and the famed actor, with photos included.In the autumn of 1940, two icons of American culture met in Sun Valley, Idaho—writer Ernest Hemingway and actor Gary Cooper. Although “Hem” was known as brash, larger-than-life, and hard-drinking and “Coop” as courteous, non-confrontational, and taciturn, the two became good friends. And though they would see each other over the years in Hollywood, Cuba, New York, and Paris, it was to Idaho they always returned. Here they hunted together, waded through marshes, and hiked sagebrush-covered hills, sometimes talking and sometimes not, but continually forging a close comradeship. That bond sustained them through the highs and lows of stardom, through personal trials and triumphs, and from their first conversation to their deaths seven weeks apart in 1961. Here, historian Larry Morris celebrates the story of that unforgettable friendship.
Ernest Hemingway and the Pursuit of Heroism
by Leo GurkoLong Synopsis: Dr. Leo Gurko, professor of English at Hunter College in New York, synopsizes and explicates the nonfiction, novels and some of the short stories by Ernest Hemingway. The first chapter is biographical, and the ninth chapter explores Hemingway's search for heroism. Among the material covered in this highly readable book is The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, To Have and Have Not, The Torrents of Spring, Across the River and Into the Trees, Death in the Afternoon, and more.
Ernest Hemingway: A Biography
by Mary V. DearbornThe first full biography of Ernest Hemingway in more than fifteen years; the first to draw upon a wide array of never-before-used material; the first written by a woman, from the widely acclaimed biographer of Norman Mailer, Peggy Guggenheim, Henry Miller, and Louise Bryant. A revelatory look into the life and work of Ernest Hemingway, considered in his time to be the greatest living American novelist and short-story writer, winner of the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Mary Dearborn's new biography gives the richest and most nuanced portrait to date of this complex, enigmatically unique American artist, whose same uncontrollable demons that inspired and drove him throughout his life undid him at the end, and whose seven novels and six-short story collections informed--and are still informing--fiction writing generations after his death.From the Hardcover edition.
Ernest Hemingway: A New Life
by James M. HutchissonTo many, the life of Ernest Hemingway has taken on mythic proportions. From his romantic entanglements to his legendary bravado, the elements of Papa’s persona have fascinated readers, turning Hemingway into such an outsized figure that it is almost impossible to imagine him as a real person. James Hutchisson’s biography reclaims Hemingway from the sensationalism, revealing the life of a man who was often bookish and introverted, an outdoor enthusiast who revered the natural world, and a generous spirit with an enviable work ethic.This is an examination of the writer through a new lens—one that more accurately captures Hemingway’s virtues as well as his flaws. Hutchisson situates Hemingway’s life and art in the defining contexts of the women he loved and lost, the places he held dear, and the specter of mental illness that haunted his family. This balanced portrait examines for the first time in full detail the legendary writer’s complex medical history and his struggle against clinical depression. The first major biography of Hemingway in over twenty years, this monumental achievement provides readers with a fresh, comprehensive look at one of the most acclaimed authors of the twentieth century.
Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life
by Catherine ReefAn introduction to the life and work of one of the most significant and notorious American writers of the 20th century. Ernest Hemingway's literary status alone makes him worthy of a biography. In addition, his life reads like a suspense story--it's full of action, romance, heartbreak, machismo, mishaps, celebrity, and tragedy. He had first-hand experience of several historic events of the last century, and he rubbed elbows with many other notable writers and intellectual greats of our time. Though his reputation has weathered ups and downs, his status as an American icon remains untouchable. Here, in the only biography available to young people, Catherine Reef introduces readers to Hemingway's work, with a focus on his themes and writing styles and his place in the history of American fiction, and examines writers who influenced him and those he later influenced.
Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts From A Life
by Michael Katakis Sean Hemingway Patrick HemingwayBeautifully designed, intimate and illuminating, this is the story of American icon Ernest Hemingway's life through the documents, photographs, and miscellany he kept, compiled by the steward of the Hemingway estate and featuring contributions by his son and grandson.For many people, Ernest Hemingway remains more a compilation of myths than a person: soldier, sportsman, lover, expat, and of course, writer. But the actual life underneath these various legends remains elusive; what did he look like as a laughing child or young soldier? What did he say in his most personal letters? How did the train tickets he held on his way from France to Spain or across the American Midwest transform him, and what kind of notes, for future stories or otherwise, did he take on these journeys? Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts from a Life answers these questions, and many others. Edited and with an introduction by the manager of the Hemingway estate, featuring a foreword by Hemingway’s son Patrick and an afterword by his grandson Seán, this rich and illuminating book tells the story of a major American icon through the objects he touched, the moments he saw, the thoughts he had every day. Featuring over four hundred dazzling images from every stage and facet of Hemingway’s life, many of them never previously published, this volume is a portrait unlike any other. From photos of Hemingway running with the bulls in Spain to candid letters he wrote to his wives and his publishers, it is a one-of-a-kind, stunning tribute to one of the most titanic figures in literature.
Ernest Hemingway: Artifacts From A Life
by Michael KatakisFor many, Ernest Hemingway remains more a compilation of myths than a person: soldier, sportsman, lover, expat and, of course, writer. But the actual life beneath these various legends remains elusive; what did he look like as a laughing child or young soldier? What was his handwriting like and what did he say in his most personal letters? How did the train tickets he held on his way from France to Spain or across the American Midwest feel, and what kind of notes did he take on his journeys? This remarkable book answers these questions. Featuring a foreword by Hemingway’s son Patrick and an afterword by his grandson Sean, the book has the intimate feel of being a member of the family. It tells the story of a major American icon through the objects he touched, the moments he saw, the thoughts he had every day.Beautifully designed, including over 400 dazzling images of him at every stage of his life along with the letters, notes and miscellany that made his life so rich, it is an intimate, illuminating portrait like no other.It is a one-of-a-kind, stunning tribute to one of the most titanic figures in literature.
Ernest Hemingway: The Last Interview
by Ernest HemingwayHemingway was not only known for his understated style, but for his public image as America's greatest author and journalist-and for the grand, expansive, adventurous way he lived his life. The prickly wit and fierce dedication to his craft that defined Hemingway's life and work shine through in this unprecedented collection of interviews Series Overview: A new series of pocket-sized interview collections, featuring conversations with some of the iconic writers and thinkers of our time.
Ernest J. Gaines: Conversations (Literary Conversations Series)
by Marcia GaudetAs the acclaimed author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines (b. 1933) has been publishing stories and novels for more than sixty years. His brilliant portrayals of race, community, and culture in rural south Louisiana have made him one of the most respected and beloved living American writers.Ernest J. Gaines: Conversations brings together the author’s own thoughts and words in interviews that range from 1994 to 2017, discussing his life, his work, and his literary legacy. The interviews cover all of Gaines’s works, including his two latest books, Mozart and Leadbelly: Stories and Essays (2005) and The Tragedy of Brady Sims (2017). The book provides a retrospective of his work from the viewpoint of a senior writer, now eighty-five years old, and gives an important international perspective on Gaines and his work.Among the many things Gaines discusses in his interviews are the recurrent themes in his works: the search for manhood, the importance of personal responsibility and standing with dignity, the problems of fathers and sons, and the challenges of race and racism in America. He examines his fictional world and his strong sense of place, his role as teacher and mentor, the importance of strong women in his life, and the influence of spirituality, religion, and music on his work. He also talks about storytelling, the nature of narrative, writing as a journey, and how he sees himself as a storyteller.
Ernest Lluch: Biografia d'un intel·lectual agitador
by Joan EsculiesErnest Lluch (1937-2000) és encara avui, gairebé vint anys després del seu assassinat pel terrorisme d’ETA, una de les figures més estimades i recordades de la nostra història contemporània. PREMI GAZIEL DE BIOGRAFIES I MEMÒRIES 2018 Economista, historiador, diputat en els anys de la Transició, ministre de Sanitat i Consum del primer govern socialista, rector de la Universitat Menéndez y Pelayo, melòman, atleta, apassionat del futbol, del Barça i de la Reial Societat, columnista, tertulià, professor d’universitat i, sobretot, pare de tres filles, va tenir múltiples facetes i interessos inabastables. Persona oberta al coneixement, la curiositat, la tolerància i la vida, mai no va renunciar a cap debat, ja que entenia la controvèrsia com l’oportunitat d’entendre les raons de l’altre. Les successives i variades vides d’aquest intel·lectual a qui agradava agitar, conversar, i debatre per convèncer i deixar-se convèncer, el van dur per quatre grans geografies peninsulars, Catalunya, el País Valencià, Madrid i el Nord (Santander i Sant Sebastià). Totes elles es recorren en aquesta biografia, minuciosa en els detalls i alhora de visió panoràmica, resultat d’un llarg i rigorós treball de documentació i de més de seixanta entrevistes a personatges que van compartir molts moments de la vida d’Ernest Lluch. La seva lectura ens permet també aprofundir en la història d’unes Espanyes que Lluch va imaginar en les quals tothom, des de la diversitat i respecte mutu, s’hi podria sentir còmode.
Ernest Marples: The Shadow Behind Beeching
by David Brandon Martin UphamErnest Marples revolutionised three UK government departments. At Transport (1959-1964) he appointed Dr Beeching chairman of British Railways and commissioned him to produce his infamous report, inaugurated motorways and introduced significant regulations for motorists. At Housing (1951-1954) he delivered 300,000 new houses annually and as Postmaster General (1957-1959), he reformed Post Office accounting systems and launched postcodes and Subscriber Trunk Dialling. This first biography of Marples uses newly-available archives to examine public and private transport policy, the growing power of the pro-road lobby and the identification of personal freedom with driving. Railway sentimentalism was no match for these. Marples was lucky not to be implicated in the Profumo Affair which rocked the Conservative Party but his political career was over soon afterwards. Questionable business practices caused his 1975 flight to Monaco hotly pursued by the Inland Revenue. Beeching, unhappy under a Labour government, returned to private industry although he later chaired a Royal Commission. Labour, despite promises, proved little friendlier to the railways but a more positive approach to loss-making passenger services eventually emerged under Barbara Castle. This book should appeal to those interested in Britain's railways and in mid-Twentieth Century British politics.
Ernest Thompson Seton: Scout and Naturalist
by Wyatt BlassingameThis naturalist and artist learned much from the Indians, and he wanted to share his knowledge with boys, so that they would love and protect wildlife. Other books by this author are available in this library.
Ernest's Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway's Life
by Cristen Hemingway JaynesFollow the path of one of America's finest novelists—and one of history's greatest adventurers—from Paris to Havana, from Madrid to Idaho, with his great-granddaughter. Ernest Hemingway, the Nobel Prize-winning author, was known as much for his prose as for his travels to exotic locales, his gusto and charm created excitement wherever he went. In Ernest's Way, we follow Cristen around the globe to the places he lived, wrote, fought, drank, fished, ran with the bulls and held court with T.S. Elliot, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein and many other influential writers, artists and intellectuals of the 20th century. In fresh and lively prose, Cristen brings to life atmosphere of La Closerie des Lilas, the Parisian cafe where Hemingway penned The Sun Also Rises. Or to dine on suckling pig at the oldest restaurant in the world, Sobrino de Botín in Madrid, as Hemingway did while writing and drinking three bottles of rioja alta in one sitting. We can follow his path through Northern Italy, where he served as an ambulance driver and was seriously wounded in the First World War, or trek through the locations described in A Farewell to Arms. Ernest's Way is a map to Hemingway’s creative and psychic history—they made him who he was and shaped his life and his work. Ernest’s Way is a guide and literary exploration in to the cities Hemingway visited and lived in, both as they are now and as they were when he graced them. Cristen brings these places to life for the modern reader, allowing all who admire Hemingway's life and literature to enjoy his legacy in a new and vibrant way.
Ernesto: The Untold Story of Hemingway in Revolutionary Cuba
by Andrew FeldmanFrom the first North American scholar permitted to study in residence at Hemingway's beloved Cuban home comes a radically new understanding of “Papa’s” life in CubaErnest Hemingway first landed in Cuba in 1928. In some ways he never left. After a decade of visiting regularly, he settled near Cojímar—a tiny fishing village east of Havana—and came to think of himself as Cuban. His daily life among the common people there taught him surprising lessons, and inspired the novel that would rescue his declining career. That book, The Old Man and the Sea, won him a Pulitzer and, one year later, a Nobel Prize. In a rare gesture of humility, Hemingway announced to the press that he accepted the coveted Nobel “as a citizen of Cojímar.”In Ernesto, Andrew Feldman uses his unprecedented access to newly available archives to tell the full story of Hemingway’s self-professed Cuban-ness: his respect for Cojímar fishermen, his long-running affair with a Cuban lover, the warmth of his adoptive Cuban family, the strong influences on his work by Cuban writers, his connections to Cuban political figures and celebrities, his denunciation of American imperial ambitions, and his enthusiastic role in the revolution. With a focus on the island’s violent political upheavals and tensions that pulled Hemingway between his birthplace and his adopted country, Feldman offers a new angle on our most influential literary figure. Far from being a post-success, pre-suicide exile, Hemingway’s decades in Cuba were the richest and most dramatic of his life, and a surprising instance in which the famous American bully sought redemption through his loyalty to the underdog.
Ernie Kovacs & Early TV Comedy: Nothing in Moderation
by Andrew HortonAmong the pioneers of television, Ernie Kovacs was one of the most original and imaginative comedians. His zany, irreverent, and surprising humor not only entertained audiences throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, but also inspired a host of later comedies and comedians, including Monty Python, David Letterman, much of Saturday Night Live, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, Captain Kangaroo, and even Sesame Street. Kovacs created laughter through wildly creative comic jokes, playful characterizations, hilarious insights, and wacky experiments. “Nothing in moderation,” his motto and epitaph, sums up well Kovacs’s wholehearted approach to comedy and life. In this book, Andrew Horton offers the first sustained look at Ernie Kovacs’s wide-ranging and lasting contributions to the development of TV comedy. He discusses in detail Kovacs’s work in New York, which included The Ernie Kovacs Show (CBS prime time 1952–1953), The Ernie Kovacs Show (NBC daytime variety 1956–1957), Tonight (NBC late-night comedy/variety 1956-1957), and a number of quiz shows. Horton also looks at Kovacs’s work in Los Angeles and in feature film comedy. He vividly describes how Kovacs and his comic co-conspirators created offbeat characters and zany situations that subverted expectations and upended the status quo. Most of all, Horton demonstrates that Kovacs grasped the possibility for creating a fresh genre of comedy through the new medium of television and exploited it to the fullest.
Ernie McClintock and the Jazz Actors Family: Reviving the Legacy
by Elizabeth M. CizmarErnie McClintock and the Jazz Actors Family is a critical biography examining the life and work of Ernie McClintock, the founder of the Jazz Acting Method and 1997 recipient of the Living Legend Award from the National Black Theatre Festival, whose inclusive contributions to acting and actor training have largely remained on the fringes of scholarship and practice. Based on original archival research and interviews with McClintock’s students and peers, this book traces his life from his childhood in Chicago to Harlem in the 1960s at the height of the Black Arts Movement, to Richmond, Virginia in 2003, paying particular attention to his Black Power–influenced, culturally specific acting theory and versatile Black theatrical productions. As a biographical study, this book establishes McClintock as a leading figure of the Black Theatre Movement, proven by the Jazz Acting technique, his critically acclaimed productions, and his leadership positions in organizations such as the Black Theatre Alliance. Ernie McClintock and the Jazz Actors Family explores how the Jazz Acting technique was applied in productions such as N.R. Davidson’s El Hajj Malik, Derek Walcott’s Dream on Monkey Mountain, Cheryl West’s Before It Hits Home, Endesha Mae Holland’s From the Mississippi Delta, and many collectively-authored pieces. The book also investigates why he has been excluded from dominant theatre histories, especially considering how, as a gay Black man, he persistently defied the status quo, questioning practices of administrators of theatres and mainstream theatrical standards. Ernie McClintock and the Jazz Actors Family is situated at the intersection of Black acting theory, Black Arts Movement history, and Black queer studies, and is an illuminating study of an important figure for actors, acting teachers, acting students, and cultural historians. This is an essential resource for readers who are seeking histories and approaches outside of a white, straight, Eurocentric framework.