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Left
for Dead - My Journey Home from Everest
by Beck Weathers with Stephen G. Michaud Oh, I can hear you sighing from here! Yes! Another Everest book. I watched and listened in horror in May 1996 as 8 climbers died on Everest in the worst one-day disaster that had ever happened on that mountain. I was overjoyed and incredulous when the news broke that one of the climbers, Beck Weathers, who had been left for dead on the mountain, had somehow managed to walk back into camp. Dr. Weathers lost his nose, both hands and his toes from frostbite, but he lived through his ordeal on the mountain. This is Weathers' story. It follows Weathers through his depressions to his discovery of mountain climbing and from there, the story really begins. This book is told from Weathers' point of view with his wife, Peach and several friends, relatives and acquaintances chiming in with their recollections. I enjoyed this book. It is a quick read and very interesting. I do have to warn you, however, there are times that this book reads as if it were a marriage counseling session between the Weathers. I found that Beck Weathers is a person to be admired for his sheer will and determination, but he is very human and very flawed. |
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| Jacqueline
du Pré - Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend by Elizabeth
Wilson Jacqueline du Pré was a child prodigy on the cello. She made her debut at the age of 16, having been held back by her mother and cello teacher. But once she hit the stage - she became an international star. Her playing was so interpretive that she was often criticized for detracting from the music. However, she also influenced many notable classical musicians of our time with her fervent interpretations of the cello repetoire. Her career as a cellist, however, was short-lived as, at the age of 27, she was diagnosed with MS. Her cheerful demeanor and courageous outlook on life is chronicled here, as are most of her performances. This biography, while some times reading like a discography of Jacqueline du Pré is a very biased toward du Pré's husband's point of view, but much more even-handed about du Pré than Hilary and Jackie, (see the next review). However, Elizabeth Wilson is herself a cellist and student of du Pré and she makes a lot of assumptions that the reader will also have a thorough understanding of certain musical terminology such as up or down bow or glissando. This is an interesting book, but may be terdious to anyone who does not have a thorough grounding in the cello repetoire, classical music or the playing of a stringed instrument. |
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| Hilary
and Jackie by Hilary du Pré and Piers du Pré This book is the "Mommy, Dearest" for the cello set. This biography, written by Jacqueline Du Pré's sister and brother is Jackie's life as seen through the eyes of her siblings. Unfortunately, they are very jealous and, I think, petty relatives. According to this book, Jackie was a genius, but selfish, self-centered and an all-around not nice person. On the other hand, Hilary and Piers were giving and, consequently, martyred, all for the talent of Jacquelyn Du Pré. If you're in the mood for a really mean-spirited look into this cellist's life, this is the book you've been looking for! |
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Isak
Dinesen - The Life of a Storyteller by Judith Thurman I've never read "Out of Africa", but I did see the movie. I've heard plenty, however, about Isak Dinesen, whose real name was the Baronnesse Karen von Blixen. What a fascinating life this woman led. The people she, her husband, Bror and lover Dennis Finch-Hatton knew, met, and took on safari is full of names that even little-read people will recognize. Her upbringing, life and adventures in Denmark, Sweden and Africa are written here with a great deal of distance, yet they are made interesting to the reader. If you enjoy biographies, this one is very good - it doesn't read like an adventure novel, but allowed the reader to enjoy the idiosyncracies of its subject! |
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