Book World Tunes into Internet Social Networks

Claudia Parsons recently covered the trend of book publishers increasing use of internet social networks to get the word out on some very interesting titles. Check out how book publishing is increasingly moving to more online promotion. Read article here: Book World Tunes into Internet Social Networks

Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster)

With the 2006 release of the massive personal papers of Albert Einstein, the door was finally opened to the last remaining secrets of the life of the most renowned mathematician, scientist and quantum physicist of the 20th Century. By covering in great detail Einstein’s entire life from his 1879 German childbirth to his passing from a bursting aneurysm in 1955 at age 76, Issacson has created a much broader understanding of the man, his pursuits and the often turbulent times in which he lived.

Facing great dissent (including that of the anti-Semites) in the pre-war Germany of the 20’s and 30’s, the controversial and publicity seeking scientist is revealed to relish his often contrarian view of science, politics and society while at the same time becoming celebrated by the famous and politically powerful far beyond his country’s borders. Einstein’s motivations, dedication, creative phases and ultimate fame are all revealed in a finely detailed, cogent yet highly readable presentation that gives a new appreciation of the persona behind the discoveries of relativity, the expanding universe and unified theories.

Beyond pure science, Isaacson explores his dedication to family, society and cultural Zionism which in 1932, just before Hilter’s ascent to Chancellor, ultimately lead to his relocation to Princeton University and the United States. Having covered such weighty literary ground as his recent biographies of big-thinkers like Benjamin Franklin and Henry Kissinger, the former CNN chairman and Time magazine managing editor (where in 1999, Einstein was named ‘Person of the Century’) continues to build his case for being in a lofty league of serious contemporary authors in his own rite. – Tim Devine

Recommended Upcoming Releases

It’s the summer of political books (above). From Left to Right (literally).

MAY

The Assault on Reason. Al Gore (Penguin Press)

At the Center of the Storm: My Years At the CIA. George Tenet (Harper Collins)

The Reagan Diaries. Edited by Douglas Brinkley (HarperCollins)

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit and When to Stick. Seth Godin (Portfolio)

JUNE

A Woman In Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Carl Bernstein (Knoff)

Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years. David Talbot (Simon & Schuster)

Rumsfeld: An American Disaster. Andrew Cockburn (Scribner)

You Will Make Money in Your Sleep. Emily White (Scribner)

JULY

Dedication. Nicola Kraus & Emma McLaughlin (Simon & Schuster)

Blair Underground. Anthony Seldon with Peter Snowdon (Simon & Schuster)

The Art of The Band T-Shirt. Amber Easby and Henry Oliver (Pocket Books)

A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas. Chuck Klosterman IV (Scribner)

High Noon. Nora Roberts (G.P. Putnam)

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon, Crystal Zevon (Ecco)

Much has been written of this renegade singer-songwriter since his untimely death of inoperable mesothelioma in September of 2003. As one of the early rock poets of the California 70’s (beginning with a stint in the Everly Bros. before becoming Jackson Browne’s protege and a songwriter whose pennings were covered by Ronstadt, Dylan and numerous others) the acerbic, mercurial Zevon became a celebrated cult figure (despite his big 70’s hits “Werewolves of London” and “Lawyers, Guns and Money”) for his twisted, sometimes auto-biographical musical characterizations presented with a wit and vivid intelligence rarely seen in rock’n'roll. During his final year he requested that his former wife and friend chronicle his life in book form which she has done appropriately enough in the way of an oral history combined with Zevon’s journal entries. Fellow musicians, managers, label execs, lovers and friends from Springsteen to Browne to Bonnie Raitt as well as a cadre of his literary chums like Mitch Ablom and Carl Heissan all add to the story of a well intentioned but oft-times troubled soul who more than dabbled along the dark edge of life. Stories of ex-wives and girlfriends, sexual addiction, guns, alcohol, OCD and even an obsession with collecting Calvin Klein gray T-shirts (and never opening them!) all contribute to a complete picture of the singer that Rolling Stone’s Dave Marsh once described as “a visceral intellectual, except that he reminded me early in our talk of (Raymond) Chandler’s advice: “Eddie, don’t get complicated. When a guy gets complicated, he gets unhappy. When he gets unhappy, his luck runs out.” – Tim Devine

1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die (Universe)

From a series inspired, no doubt, by Patricia Schultz’s ever-so-popular travel tome, “1000 Places To See Before You Die” (one of our 2003 favorites!), artist and UK art professor Stephen Farthing has assembled a magnificant collection of paintings spanning from 1420 BC to 2006 AD. While one may pick up this 960 page tableweight (some are two to a page) looking for their favorite painters or paintings, you actually come away from it with an expanded curiosity for that which you don’t know more than that which you do. While purusing the work of art icons like Titian, Rubens, Goya, daVinci, Picasso, Wyeth, Johns, et al, one is also struck by the stories behind the paintings as well as their historical relationships to each other and the times from which they came. (For example, the first quarter of the book is dominated by religious iconography from Italy yet the book ends quite up-to-date with famed street artist Banksy and Chinese modernist Zhao Bo.) Did you know that though painted in 1503, the title ‘Mona Lisa’ was not officially used until the 19th Century when the identity of the subject, Lisa Gherardini, was revealed by Vasari? Farthing and his eighty-four contributors have created a stunning overview, though even with it’s 1001 entries, still leaves out many of the world’s most famous works in the name of expanding the historical purvue. While the task of actually seeing more than a fraction of this work (some still reside in private collections though most are within museum reach) seems nearly impossible, the book alone acts as a travelogue revealing the stories behind the painters and the paintings one often only gets to experience when they are actually at an exhibition. Comforting to know, I suppose, that one need not travel to the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway to know that on one copy of his iconic, ‘The Scream”, Edvard Munch actually wrote, “Could only have been painted by a madman.” In fact, the best place to see all 1001 paintings may very well be in this book. – Tim Devine

How Doctors Think, Jerome Groopman, MD (Houghton Mifflin)

Every American and any public library catering to the general public ? not just specialty health holdings ? needs HOW DOCTORS THINK. It uses statistics, interviews with prominent physicians across the country, and case histories to consider both how doctors assess problems and come to decisions and diagnoses, to how patients can improve their healthcare by understanding this process. Chapters survey the foundations of diagnostic thinking and why mistakes are made, offering plenty of tips to allow patients to more actively participate in the process. From inter-cultural communication issues to the challenges of handling mental and physical health connections, HOW DOCTORS THINK is an outstanding, highly recommended pick every patient needs. – Midwest Book Review

Guitar Army, John Sinclair and Two Media Whores

On Sunday, I spent a bright and sunny afternoon on the grounds of UCLA, where the Los Angeles Book Fair sprawled out over what looked like several acres of tents and bookstands. Adam Parfrey and Jodi Willie had me at the Feral House/Process Media tent and I signed a few books and memorabilia, including an incredible set of WORKmagazines from the Artists Workshop Press in 1965-67, and one young woman brought a bound volume of the collected WORK and WHEREmagazines that some mental patients published in the 1980s.

Adam dropped me off at the KLSX studios for my radio program with David Adelson and Roy Trakin of Two Media Whores, where we were joined by Wayne Kramer and Pun Plamondon for a well-informed grilling by the program hosts and some pointed comments by their callers.

http://www.johnsinclairradio.com/audio/jsrshow131.mp3

John Sinclair Radio Show #131
Media Whores on KLSX-FM, Los Angeles
Sunday, April 29, 2007 @ 4:30-5:30 pm [20-0714]

I made a small series of Joint Productions of the radio show while I was in Los Angeles to begin my GUITAR ARMY book tour of the USA, and the final L.A. episode took place at the KLSX-FM studios with David Adelson and Roy Trakin, who call themselves Two Media Whores on Sunday evenings. My publisher, Adam Parfrey, dropped me off after my appearance at the gigantic Los Angeles Book Fair at UCLA, and I was joined by my comrades Wayne Kramer and Pun Plamondon. Dave Adelson conducted respectful, well-informed and sharply intelligent conversations with each of us and even slipped in a couple of historical tunes along the way.

Playlist #131

[01] Media Whores Intro by David Adelson and Roy Trakin
[02] Conversation with John Sinclair
[03] Conversation with Wayne Kramer
[04] Conversation with Pun Plamondon
[05] Telephone Report from Coachella Festival
[06] Pun Plamondon Report on Abbie Hoffman and the Who at Woodstock
[06] David Adelson Comments re: Activism and ID
[07] MC5: Motor City Is Burning with Adelson and Sinclair Comments
[08] Telephone Conversations with Listeners and Pun Plamondon
[09] Pun Plamondon re: U.S. vs. U.S. District Court
[10] Telephone Conversations with Listeners and Wayne Kramer & ID
[11] John Lennon: John Sinclair with David Adelson Comments
[12] Telephone Conversations with Listeners, Plamondon, Kramer and Sinclair
[13] Closing Comments by David Adelson and IDs

A Joint Production
Hosted by David Adelson and Roy Trakin for Media Whores
and John Sinclair for Radio Free Amsterdam
Produced, engineered and recorded by KLSX-FM
Mastered and posted by Henk Botwinik
Executive Producer: John Sinclair
Special thanks to Michael Simmons, Adam Parfrey, Jodi Willie, Margaret Kramer, Josh Mills, Tracy Blackburn, Wayne Kramer and Pun Plamondon
Sponsored by Eat at Jo’s in the Melkweg and Feral House/Process Media

Book Reviewers vs. Bloggers

Writer and lawyer, Mary L. Dudziak posted an insightful analysis of the current state of book reviewers vs. bloggers in the ever changing world of both cyberspace and the evolving (some might say ‘de-volving’) world of print media, on her blogsite, Legal History News. See what you think of her observations about the different parameters and styles currently affecting both worlds as we speak.

Here’s a link to check it out.

Legal History Blog

Are Book Reviewers Out of Print? (NY Times)

Last year Dan Wickett, a former quality-control manager for a car-parts maker, wrote 95 book reviews on his blog, Emerging Writers Network emergingwriters.typepad.com, singlehandedly compiling almost half as many reviews as appeared in all of the book pages of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Mr. Wickett has now quit the automotive industry and started a nonprofit organization that supports literary journals and writers-in-residence programs, giving him more time to devote to his literary blog. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, meanwhile, has recently eliminated the job of its book editor, leading many fans to worry that book coverage will soon be provided mostly by wire services and reprints from national papers.

The decision in Atlanta ? in which book reviews will now be overseen by one editor responsible for virtually all arts coverage ? comes after a string of changes at book reviews across the country. The Los Angeles Times recently merged its once stand-alone book review into a new section combining the review with the paper