Reviewed by Patricia Selinger, Head, Preservation
This book profiles the lives of seven people and how they used their time in the spotlight of fame. It's ironic how so many people struggle to become famous yet it's often the case that fame finds the person, not the other way around. The story of Melvin Dummar is especially poignant as he struggled to find fame as an entertainer but instead, fame found him when he received a will allegedly written by Howard Hughes leaving him millions. Dummar's story is interwoven among those of Maury Wills, Irene Cara, Jim Wright, Mick Foley, Susan McDougal, and Gerry Cooney. All had compelling ambitions, became famous, and reinvented themselves trading on their famous names. Their choices to be true to themselves—or not—are the stories behind the stories highlighted in this book. This is a good book to reflect on and learn something about yourself.
March 2006 Archives
Reviewed by Jill Stover, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Known to many as a maverick of the marketing world, Seth Godin has no shortage of bold ideas, irreverent humor, and innovative marketing advice. His latest book All Marketers are Liars is a thought-provoking and fun read about what motivates people to buy. Godin asserts that a sound product is not enough to give companies an edge. After all, products can easily and quickly be copied and improved upon by competitors. What is much more difficult to imitate is the story behind a product that captivates consumers' imaginations.
Godin suggests that consumers tell stories, or "lies," to themselves about how a product will improve their lives, their looks, their image, etc. in some way, so that they are not really buying products, but stories. One example Godin uses is that of a wine glass maker who sells his hand-blown glasses for large sums of money because people believe that the glasses actually make the wine taste better, even though there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the claim is true.
According to Godin, marketers can and should play a role in crafting these stories. Despite what the title suggests, Godin doesn't advise marketers to lie, but rather to tell authentic tales about their businesses that resonate with their consumers' worldviews.
While I found the book to be a bit redundant, Godin writes in a conversational tone that makes All Marketers are Liars a quick, enjoyable read. If you like the book, you may want to read others by Godin including Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, Free Prize Inside, and the upcoming The Big Moo (October 20, 2005).
Reviewed by Monique Prince, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Betty Smith became an overnight celebrity when her first novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was published in 1943. Much of the novel surrounds Francie Nolan's childhood in Brooklyn, New York. Smith colorfully describes the various people Francie encounters, and portrays both the hardships and small joys of living in an impoverished family and community. Although she is a lonely child, Francie's greatest escape is found in books and from her perch on the fire escape outside her home, she reads and watches her neighbors interact through the branches of the tree growing around her. She thinks often of her lovable, alcoholic father, her hard-working mother, and her younger brother and best friend, Neely. The novel is somewhat autobiographical—both Smith and Francie Nolan grew up in the tenements of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, both loved theatre and reading, and both completed an eighth-grade education before working odd jobs and eventually enrolling as a special student at the University of Michigan. This classic coming-of-age story is compelling both for its literary merit and for its portrayal of city life in the early 1900's.
Reviewed by Judy Pask, Reference Librarian
Set in a time of both political and religious turmoil, this historical novel, The Illuminator has everything—romance, adventure, murder, and mystery. It is the story of a fourteenth century illuminator of religious manuscripts named Finn who with his sixteen year old daughter boards in the manor home of Lady Kathryn, a widow with twin fifteen year old sons. Their personal lives, present and past, intertwine with disastrous results as each character deals with their sense of duty and position in English feudal society on the verge of great change. The author weaves an engaging story combining both historical figures such as John Wycliffe, John Ball, and Bishop Henry Despenser, and the fictional characters of Finn, his daughter Rose; Lady Kathryn, her sons Alfred and Colin; a dwarf named Half-Tom, and Agnes the manor's hardworking cook.
Reviewed by Renée Bosman, Government Information Librarian
At the center of this amazing work of storytelling are the four ex-wives of Jack Mauser, who become stranded together in a blizzard after attending his funeral. To pass the time, stay alert, and ensure their survival, they huddle together and share stories of how their lives intersected with Jack—a charming, self-destructive man who let his first wife die in a snowstorm, an incident which haunts him throughout his subsequent marriages.
"Pretend this car is a confessional," says Dot. "Rule one...No shutting up until dawn. Rule two. Tell a true story. Rule three. The story has to be about you. Something that you've never told another soul, a story that would scorch paper, heat up the air!"
Erdrich skillfully weaves the wives' stories together with exquisite prose, setting them against the background of a stark, expansive North Dakota landscape. The narrative structure of the book is also very compelling; the style with which it swings back and forth between memories and the present from different points of view (yet never confusingly so) adds to the dreamlike quality of the stories that unfurl.
Reviewed by Monique Prince, Undergraduate Services Librarian
Frederich Buechner, a Presbyterian minister, is a prolific writer of both nonfiction and fiction works focusing on moral and religious themes. The Son of Laughter is Buechner's retold and embellished story of Israel's biblical patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob narrates the story, and focuses mainly on his family relations—first, his father, Isaac, his mother, Rebekah, and his brother, Esau. He is forced to flee after he and his mother plot to deceive his father into bestowing him with the birthright (blessing and inheritance), rather than Esau who is the older son. He goes to live and work with his uncle Laban and marries two of Laban's daughters: first Leah (after working seven years for the right to marry Rachel), then after another seven years of work, finally Rachel. After several years, Jacob has many children and much wealth. He decides to return home and attempt to be reunited with Esau and raise his children in the land of his forefathers. The remainder of the story is about Jacob's son Joseph, whom his brothers sold into slavery in Egypt and eventually becomes the Pharaoh's trusted advisor. Buechner artfully interweaves these characters and stories in a narrative that brings passages from the book of Genesis to life.
