Category Archives: Books

Gift Guide 2017: Petrucelli Picks the Best Celebrity Bios of the Year (Part One)

On the morning of January 15, 1947, the bisected body of aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short was discovered on the sidewalk of a vacant L.A. lot, and at first it was mistaken for a mannequin. The gruesome chance sighting ignited one of the most sensational and flawed manhunts in the history of American criminal justice. Seventy years after the most notorious unsolved murder in American history, Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America’s Greatest Unsolved Murder (Liveright, $26.95) uncovers tantalizing evidence to raise fresh theories about the culprit.  Pulling from recently unredacted FBI and LAPD files, author Piu Eatwell goes further than any previous investigator, untangling the web of secrets and rampant corruption that clouded the Black Dahlia case for decades. The murder became infamous for the frightful description of Short’s severed body and for the confounding clinical way it seemed to have been carried out, pointing to a killer experienced with a knife. Image result for black dahlia deathAfter the corpse was identified as a young beauty with jet-black hair and a rose tattoo, she became instant tabloid fodder. Christened by the press as “The Black Dahlia,” an exotic flower both toxic and intoxicating, Short became a potent symbol of the dark side of Hollywood and a warning to young women about the fatal snares of glamour, adventure, and female sexuality. In an all-too-familiar transformation, Eatwell recounts the swift transition of Elizabeth Short, New England ingénue, to transient temptress violated by a delinquent man (or lustful lesbian lover). This is the best book of the year: What sets Eatwell’s account apart from the many speculative histories, fictional retellings, movies and TV documentaries, is her gripping re-creation of the period through letters, memoirs, newspaper accounts and other evidentiary documents. So who killed Liz? Read and savor!

The second best book of the year: The Way It Was: My Life With Frank Sinatra (Hachette Books, $27). I loved it because I grew up during the years of the Westchester Premier Theater, where I saw all the greats, giving flowers and getting autographs. And we all knew it was run by the Mafia. That’s just part of Eliot Weisman’s candid memoir (he also was thisclose to Liza and Steve and Eydie); the memoir takes an inside look at the final decades of Frank Sinatra’s life. Frankie invited Weisman into his inner circle, an honor that the budding celebrity manager never took for granted. Even when he was caught up in a legal net designed to snare Sinatra, Weisman went to prison rather than being coerced into telling prosecutors what they wanted to hear. With Weisman’s help, Sinatra orchestrated in his final decades some of the most memorable moments of his career. There was the Duets album, which was Sinatra’s top seller, the massive tours, such as Together Again, which featured a short-lived reunion of the Rat Pack—until Dean Martin, having little interest in reliving the glory days, couldn’t handle it anymore—and the Ultimate Event Tour, which brought Liza and Sammy Davis Jr. on board and refreshed the much-needed lining of both their pocketbooks.  Ultimately Weisman, who had become the executor of Sinatra’s estate, was left alone to navigate the infighting and hatred between those born to the name and the wife who acquired it, when a mystery woman showed up and threatened to throw the family’s future into jeopardy. Great fearless stuff!

Vanda Krefft’s The Man Who Made the Movies: The Meteoric Rise and Tragic Fall of William Fox (Harper, $40) is the first definitive biography of William Fox: The fascinating, flawed, and brilliant man who risked everything to realize his bold dream of a Hollywood empire. It took her 10 years to research and write this compelling, well-researched massive tome that has it all: Ambition, genius, vision, glamour, greed, fortune and misfortune unfolding at the dawn of modern America. This is a landmark in film history . . . and the photos have never been seen before!

With his bestselling biography Jack Kennedy, Chris Matthews shared a new look of one of America’s most beloved Presidents and the patriotic spirit that defined him. Now, with Bobby Kennedy: The Raging Spirit (Simon & Schuster, $28.99), Matthews returns with a gripping, in-depth, behind-the-scenes portrait of one of the great figures of the American twentieth century. Bobby kennedy 9781501111860 hrDrawing on extensive research and interviews, Matthews pulls back the curtain on the public and private worlds of Robert Francis Kennedy. He shines a light on all the important moments of his life, from his early years and his start in politics to his crucial role as attorney general in his brother’s administration and his tragic run for president.

If you ask “who?” when we urge Head of Drama: The Memoir of Sydney Newman (ECW Press, $22.95) you will learn that this is the autobiography of the creator of Doctor Who . . . as well as a legend in British and Canadian TV and film.  For the first time, his comprehensive memoirs—written in the years before his death in 1997—are being made public. At the BBC, overseeing a staff of 400, Newman developed a science fiction show that flourishes to this day: Doctor Who. Providing further context to Newman’s memoir is an in-depth biographical essay by Graeme Burk, which positions Newman’s legacy in the history of television, and an afterword by one of Sydney’s daughters, Deirdre Newman.

Cher. Liza. Bette. Beyoncé also needs only a one-word introduction. She is a singer, an artist, an activist, a mom and an icon. In the first bio-graphic book of its kind, Beyoncegraphica  (Aurum Press, $29.99), her genius is explored like never before, with fun, informative infographics looking at the highlights and successes of her career–from costume changes to record sales, http://cloud.firebrandtech.com/api/v2/img/111/9781781316511/Mher impressive vocal range to her work off-stage, as well as including the all-important breakdown of some of her most popular dance routines. Beyoncé’s astonishing accomplishments are showcased against fellow legends of the industry in addition to celebrating her achievements in her own right.

Henry Fonda and James Stewart were two of the biggest stars in Hollywood for 40 years. They became friends and then roommates as stage actors in New York, and when they began making films in Hollywood, they roomed together again. What a wonderful life. They got along famously, with a shared interest in elaborate practical jokes and model airplanes, among other things. For Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart (Simon & Schuster, $29),  Scott Eyman spoke with Fonda’s widow and children as well as three of Stewart’s children, plus actors and directors who had worked with the men—in addition to doing extensive archival research to get the full details of their time together. This is not another Hollywood story, but a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary friendship that lasted through war, marriages, children, careers and everything else.

Miss D and Me: Life with the Invincible Bette Davis (Hachette Books, $27) is a story of two powerful women, one at the end of her life and the other at the beginning. As Bette Davis aged she was looking for an assistant, but she found something more than that in Kathryn Sermak: A loyal and loving buddy, a co-conspirator in her jokes and schemes, and a competent assistant whom she trained never to miss a detail. But Miss D had strict rules for Kathryn about everything from how to eat a salad to how to wear her hair . . . even the spelling of Kathryn’s name was changed (adding the “y”) per Miss D’s request. Throughout their time together, the two grew incredibly close, and Kathryn had a front-row seat to the larger-than-life Davis’s career renaissance in her later years, as well as to the humiliating public betrayal that nearly killed Miss D. A fun read.

Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis, who knew Lou Reed and interviewed him extensively, tells the provocative story of his complex and chameleonic life in Lou Reed: A Life (Little, Brown and Company, $32). With unparalleled access to dozens of Reed’s friends, family and collaborators, DeCurtis tracks Reed’s five-decade career through the accounts of those who knew him and through Reed’s most revealing testimony, his music. LOU-REED-A-BIOGRAPHY-ANTHONY-DECURTIS-FIRST-EDITION-2017-BRAND-NEW-NEVER-READWe travel deep into his defiantly subterranean world, enter the studio as the Velvet Underground record their groundbreaking work, and revel in Reed’s relationships with such legendary figures as Andy Warhol, David Bowie, and Laurie Anderson. Gritty, intimate, and unflinching, Lou Reed is an illuminating tribute to one of the most incendiary artists of our time.

The cyclone of stories ABC News chief meteorologist Ginger Zee relates in Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I am One. (Kingswell, $26.99) is for all the mistake makers who have learned to forgive others and themselves-even in the aftermath of man-made, or in this case Zee-made, disasters. Ginger also opens up about her lifelong battle with crippling depression, her romances that range from misguided to dangerous and her tumultuous professional path. She’s shattered the glass ceiling for women in meteorology, but admits here first, she’s the one natural disaster she couldn’t have forecast.

At a moment of crisis over our national identity, venerated journalist Dan Rather has emerged as a voice of reason and integrity, reflecting on—and writing passionately about—what it means to be an American. Now, with What Unites Us (Algonquin Books , $22.95), he reminds us of the principles upon which the United States was founded. Looking at the freedoms that define us, from the vote to the press; the values that have transformed us, from empathy to inclusion to service; the institutions that sustain us, such as public education; and the traits that helped form our young country, such as the audacity to take on daunting challenges in science and medicine, Rather brings to bear his decades of experience on the frontlines of the world’s biggest stories. As a living witness to historical change, he offers up an intimate view of history, tracing where we have been in order to help us chart a way forward and heal our bitter divisions. With a fundamental sense of hope, What Unites Us is the book to inspire conversation and listening, and to remind us all how we are, finally, one.

 

With his trademark acerbic wit, incisive humor, and infectious paranoia, Dick Gregory, one of our foremost comedians and most politically engaged civil rights activists, looks back at 100 key events from the complicated history of black America. In this collection of thoughtful, provocative essays, he charts the complex and often obscured history of the African American experience. In his unapologetically candid voice, he moves from African ancestry and surviving the Middle Passage to the creation of the Jheri Curl; the enjoyment of bacon and everything pig; the headline-making shootings of black men; and the Black Lives Matter movement. A captivating journey through time, Defining Moments in Black History explores historical movements such as The Great Migration and the Harlem Renaissance, as well as cultural touchstones such as Sidney Poitier winning the Best Actor Oscar for Lilies in the Field and Billie Holiday releasing Strange Fruit. An engaging look at black life that offers insightful commentary on the intricate history of the African American people, Defining Moments in Black History is an essential, no-holds-bar history lesson that will provoke, enlighten, and entertain.

 

The Big Moolah would have loved “Sisterhood of the Squared Circle”

No fighting about it: It’s time to show my age as I proudly remember the day I met, Mary Lillian Ellison, better known as The Fabulous Moolah. The time: The late ’50s. The place: Paragon Park, Hull, Massachusetts.

Moolah was there doing what she did best: wrestling. And making moolah. How good was she? She was the first female inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame and was affiliated with the organization for fifty-two years. She held the world’s women’s championship for twenty-eight years beginning in 1956. At the age of 76, she reclaimed the title for a final time.

I can’t recall her opponents, and it doesn’t matter, since Moolah was the Mama of Woman Wrestlers. She died in 2007, yet we got a chance to revisit with her by reading Pat Laprade and Dan Murphy’s riveting romp, Sisterhood of the Squared Circle The History and Rise of Women’s Wrestling (ECW Press, $18.95). The book’s foreword was penned by WWE Superstar Natalya.

Once a staple of carnival side shows, women’s wrestling has come into its own in recent years. Under the guidance of Stephanie McMahon, WWE has made a commitment to the women’s division, shifting attention from the “divas” of years past to competitive matches featuring talented women wrestlers. The book includes more than 100 wrestler profiles, from trailblazers like Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah to today’s stars like Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch and Bayley.

Featuring rare photos and exclusive interviews, Sisterhood of the Squared Circle presents the fascinating history of women’s wrestling more extensively than ever before.

Image result for fabulous moolah grave

There’s only one piece of Moolah memorabilia I like better: Her autograph! And I have it! I also recently visited her grave.

Image result for fabulous moolah grave

 

A new chapter will soon begin in Ransom Riggs’ career . . . more peculiar children!

Curious minds want to know: Yes, Ransom Riggs will begin a new chapter in his life by continuing the story of Jacob, Emma, and other peculiar children in a brand new trilogy. His collection of short stories set in the same universe will be releasing in paperback on Halloween, making the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Boxed Set (Quirk Books, $33.97), the best way for fans of YA fantasy to join the adventure from the beginning.
The box set contains all three paperbacks, packaged in a beautifully designed slipcase, along with a special collectible postcard, highlighting the most memorable characters of this extraordinary three-volume fantasy. Santa will probably place many sets under gaily-decorated trees.

Together in paperback for the first time, the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Boxed Set includes the bestseller Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children—recently made into a motion picture from visionary director Tim Burton—and its two sequels, Hollow City and Library of Souls. All three paperbacks are packaged in a beautifully designed slipcase. Also included is a special collectible postcard, highlighting the most memorable characters of this extraordinary three-volume fantasy.

About the Books:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in this groundbreaking novel, which mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling new kind of reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob Portman journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.

Hollow City: September 3, 1940. Ten peculiar children flee an army of deadly monsters. And only one person can help them—but she’s trapped in the body of a bird. The extraordinary adventure continues as Jacob Portman and his newfound friends journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. There, they hope to find a cure for their beloved headmistress, Miss Peregrine. But in this war-torn city, hideous surprises lurk around every corner.

Library of Souls: A boy, a girl, and a talking dog. They’re all that stands between the sinister wights and the future of peculiar children everywhere. Jacob Portman ventures through history one last time to rescue the peculiar children from a heavily guarded fortress. He’s joined by girlfriend and firestarter Emma Bloom, canine companion Addison MacHenry, and some very unexpected allies.

 

Spend time with Babs Streisand gabbing while on her shrink’s couch

Looking to relax on the couch and read about Babs’ loves and lifestyle? Yearning to learn just what makes Mrs. James Brolin tick (and tock)?

The On the Couch series by Alma Bond, Ph.D. gives readers an opportunity to discover the “secret” lives of Marilyn, Hillary and Jackie O through the eyes of renowned New York psychoanalyst, Dr. Darcy Dale. According to the powers-that-be, “the fictionalized biographies provided a unique and revealing perspective of their lives.”

In Barbra Streisand: On the Couch  (Bancroft Press, $27.95), Bond captures the details found in other biographies dedicated to the life of Babs in a way that provides deep insight into her personality and character. Dr. Darcy Dale―a Madhattan psychiatrist whose expertise is confronted by Babs, dismayed after 30 years of minimally successful therapy.

Throughout a year, Dr. Dale conducts an intimate psychoanalysis, breaking through ego defense mechanisms, and repressions to go deep into the heart and mind of one of America’s last remaining superstars. Babs’ many dimensions come alive as we hear her story in her own words. She fluctuates between self-inflation and insecurity. She cracks wise. She becomes angry. She weeps. For better or worse, Dr. Dale sees her client in all of her raw, most human, aspects, giving readers unprecedented access to her pain and joy.

Babs is funny, a bit abrasive, but very intelligent. Bond provides interesting insights into what Barbra could have been thinking during pinnacle times in her life, and her state of mind from a psychoanalyst’s point of view. While this book is technically fiction, the facts themselves are all true. Only the thoughts and feelings attributed to Barbra are fictitious, along with the story of her “analysis.” Dr. Bond’s extensive research into the life of Streisand, along with her professional knowledge of psychology and her beautiful style of writing, give fans of Barbra’s work and her persona fresh insight into a complicated woman, making this biography “thoroughly enjoyable,” according to Kitty Kelley, who used to write unauthorized celeb bios about every three days.

The book contains no photographs (an obvious money/legal reason) but a slew of rather unattractive illustrations. Funny, girl.

 

Dolly Parton at 71: Her first kiddie album and so much work she looks like a kid (of sorts)

That bosom buddy Dolly Parton is doing another first. No, not another breast reduction. (The last time we spoke, she confided her 40DD bust were “hurting my back”.)

We’re not kidding around when we reveal the 71-year-old is releasing  I Believe In You, her first album written and recorded for kids (and those young-at-heart). A digital release of the new album on Dolly Records/RCA Nashville will be available September 29; the physical CD hits shelves October 13.  We ask that Dolly accepts aging and stop the plastic work.

Dolly Parton: I Believe In You
“My first album was released 50 years ago and it’s been an amazing 50 years since then,” Dolly coos. “I am very excited that now I’m coming out with my first children’s album in all of those 50 years. I’m proudest of all that all of the proceeds from this CD will go to the Imagination Library. It’s been 20 years since the Imagination Library was launched. We’ve seen 100 million books get into the hands of children and hopefully there will be many more.”
Image result for dolly then and now
Since its beginning in 1996 in Dolly’s hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee, the Imagination Library has expanded into four countries serving more than one-million children by providing a brand new, age-appropriate book each month. In North America, every child’s first book is the classic Little Engine that Could.

I Believe In You Track Listing

  1. I Believe in You
  2. Coat of Many Colors (new recording)
  3. Together Forever
  4. I Am a Rainbow
  5. I’m Here
  6. A Friend Like You
  7. Imagination
  8. You Can Do It
  9. Responsibility
  10. You Gotta Be
  11. Makin’ Fun Ain’t Funny
  12. Chemo Hero
  13. Brave Little Soldier
  14. Bonus track spoken audio: Coat of Many Colors (book read by Dolly Parton)

Let us now steer you to “The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Muscle Cars”

Let us steer you to the history of Chrysler Corporation. In many ways, a history of a company recaps its floundering from one financial crisis to the next. While that has given shareholders fits for nearly a century, it has also motivated the Pentastar company to create some of the most outrageous and collectible, cars ever built.

Let us now detour you to The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Muscle Cars (Motorbooks, $50). 

The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Muscle Cars

From the moment Chrysler unleashed the Firepower Hemi V-8 engine on the world for the 1951 model year, they had been cranking out the most powerful engines on the market. Because the company pioneered the use of lightweight unibody technology, it had the stiffest, lightest bodies in which to put those most powerful engines, and that is the basic muscle-car formula: add one powerful engine to one light car.

When the muscle car era exploded onto the scene, Chrysler unleashed the mighty Mopar muscle cars, the Dodges and Plymouths that defined the era. Fabled nameplates like Charger, Road Runner, Super Bee, ‘Cuda and Challenger defined the era and rank among the most valuable collector cars ever produced by an American automaker.

Featuring cars from the incomparable Brothers’ Collection, The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Muscle Cars celebrates these cars in studio portraits using the light-painting process perfected by Tom Loeser. It is the ultimate portrayal of the ultimate muscle cars.

 

Remember the Bay City Rollers? Read about their world of sexual depravity and drug use!

If you still like the Bay City Rollers, you can keep on dancing. Yet did you know their story is one of the greatest scandals of the music industry? Turn to When the Screaming Stops: The Dark Story of the Bay City Rollers (Overlook Press, $30) in which biographer Simon Spence offers up a rigorously investigated and unflinching exposé of the sinister undercurrents and dark truths behind “Rollermania”—the hysterical adulation for the Bay City Rollers that spread throughout the U.K., U.S., and around the world during the ’70s.  (They came up with their names by throwing a dart at a map of the United States, which landed near Bay City, Michigan.)

With the release of their debut album Rollin’ and the No. 1 Billboard 100 smash hit “Saturday Night,” the Bay City Rollers quickly went from average Scottish teenagers to international heartthrobs. Everywhere the band went mountains of screaming girls, calling themselves the Tartan Horde, followed. The band’s skyrocket to fame led by Tam Paton, one of pop music’s most notorious managers, was one for which they were wholly unprepared.

Paton, their Svengali bandleader, controlled his charges and promoted them as clean-living, wholesome teens. What the world did not know was that behind this happy facade the band was continuously subjected to various forms of mental and sexual abuse. In Paton, the industry cliché of the manipulative and venal pop manager found its most grotesque expression. Dazzled by sudden global fame and corrupted by Paton’s unquenchable sexual appetites, the Bay City Rollers soon fell into his world of depravity, victimhood, crime and psychosis. Band members became hooked on drugs, and their fall was almost as rapid as their rise, leaving them penniless and emotionally destroyed. Three years after they fired Paton in 1979 he was finally imprisoned, convicted of gross indecency with the teenage band members. The band then spent a decade in litigation with Sony Records over the millions of dollars never paid to them under Paton’s management.  

That such gross exploitation could have happened to one of the world’s most famous boy bands is a brutal reminder that conspiracies of silence about sexual exploitation were once the norm in the music and entertainment business. When the Screaming Stops: The Dark Story of the Bay City Rollers is a no-holds-barred exposé of sex, drugs, and financial mismanagement. Based on more than 500 hours of interviews with many of the Bay City Rollers’s closest associates, including former band members, Spence’s look into this chilling scandal is an essential read for those interested in the inner-workings of the pop music industry.

A wonder, woman: “The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History”

Think strong female protagonists are a modern invention? Think again. Women have been a staple of comics since the creation of the medium. Prepare for a deep dive into pop culture and the fantastic female characters who shaped the world of superheroes with The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen: Awesome Female Characters from Comic Book History (Quirk Books, $24.95).

Author Hope Nicholson, owner and founder of Bedside Press, is one of the fastest rising stars of the comic book industry. Here,  Nicholson plumbs each decade of comics’ rich history, from the ’30s to today, exploring not only prominent women (both fictional and real) but also key trends. Readers will time-travel through the birth of the industry in the ’30s, the wartime comics of the ’40s, the Golden Age of superheroes in the ’50s, the popularity of romance comics in the ’60s, the indie comics boom of the ’70s, and the creation of the modern comic book trade from the 1980s to today.

Immersive chapters highlight a diverse slate of iconic and forgotten characters, with each heroine receiving her own write-up, paired with vintage art and essential reading suggestions. Each chapter ends with an “Hero of theDecade” feature packed with facts and thoughtful critique about some of the most important female protagonists of all time, including Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Watchmen’s Silk Spectre and Ms. Marvel. These heroines are celebrated for their lasting pop-cultural impact and the important role they played in redefining the way people interacted with women in comics.

The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen introduces long-lost characters while allowing readers to see their favorites in a whole new light.  We also learn that the superwomen of the comic book industry weren’t merely confined to the page.

Throughout the book Nicholson reveals fascinating anecdotes about women who worked in the medium, from the all-female creative team at publisher Fiction House during World War II to the surge of female creators during the independent comics boom of the 1970s.

Longtime and recent fans alike will love this comprehensive look at the female characters who have defined comics since the very start. From the halls of comic cons to the halls of academia, The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwomen will become your go-to reference for history’s greatest heroines.

Anne Frank was right: Paper has more patience than people, and “An Anthology of Decorated Papers” stuns

Papercrafting has just gotten more elegant, more exciting and much richer and more dignified with the stunning An Anthology of Decorated Papers  (Thames & Hudson, $60). P.J.M. Marks, P. J. M. Marks, curator of bookbindings at the British Library,  has pulled together a collection of gorgeously reproduced decorated papers, along with a thoughtful and carefully researched history of this often-overlooked art.book cover

Rich in ornamentation, decorated papers have been in use for centuries—as wrappers and endpapers for books, as the backing for playing cards, and even as linings for chests and cases.

Yet despite the many contexts in which they can be found, they often go unnoticed. The remarkable new book An Anthology of Decorated Papers not only showcases several hundred of the best and most exquisite examples of decorated paper, but also provides a fascinating introduction to its history, traditions and techniques.

“Decorated papers have been produced worldwide for centuries,” Marks writes in the introduction to the book. From rudimentary paper in the Chinese court in 105 AD to block printing in China and Japan in the ninth and seventeenth centuries, respectively, to pre-industrial European decorated papers in Germany, France and Italy, to the impact of decorated papers, including Benjamin Franklin’s introduction of bank notes printed marbled paper to counter fraud, Marks examines the many paths and uses of decorated paper throughout history, including in art, bookbinding, and stationery.

Drawing on the Olga Hirsch collection at the British Library, one of the largest and most diverse collections of decorated papers in the world, this beautifully produced anthology will both delight and inspire designers, bibliophiles, and anyone with a love of pattern and decoration.

 

Thames & Hudson keeps the fashion of great books with “A Life in Fashion: The Wardrobe of Cecil Beaton”

When fashion photographer and costume designer Cecil Beaton died in 1980, it was not surprising that one of his tailors was telephoned with the news before Buckingham Palace, despite Beaton’s close association with the Royal Family.

CB in later years, still handsome

Yep, that’s how famous and informational he was. From the moment Cecil arrived at Cambridge University in 1922 wearing an evening jacket, red shoes, black-and-white trousers and a large cravat, to his appearance nearly 40 years later at Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, Beaton expressed a flamboyant sartorial nonchalance. He had accounts with the best Savile Row tailors; he bought his shirts from Excello in New York; and his clothes from Lanz of Salzburg. Clothes hound par excellence. Those duds now reside, along with other elements of his wardrobe, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Benjamin Wild’s luscious A Life in Fashion: The Wardrobe of Cecil Beaton (Thames & Hudson, $50)Life in Fashion: The Wardrobe of Cecil Beaton - 藝術 | 誠品 ... is the first book to showcase the evolving wardrobe of the famed fashion photographer and designer, whose brilliant style is being celebrated as classic tailoring comes back in vogue.

Barbra Streisand - 1966.jpg
CB’s photo of BS

A Life in Fashion is a lively and informative study of Beaton’s style, which kept evolving over the decades, driving and reflecting the transitions in men’s fashion that followed World War II. Drawing on unpublished records and interviews with Beaton’s former tailors, fashion historian Benjamin Wild delightfully scrutinizes Beaton’s approach to fashion as well as his influence on such designers as Giles Deacon and Dries van Noten. “I don’t want people to know me as I really am,” Beaton is quoted as saying, “but as I’m trying and pretending to be.”

In his Introduction to the book, Wild notes “if the style and sartorial savvy of Cecil Beaton are significant, they have hitherto been sidelined by writers focusing on his accomplishments as a photographer and costume designer…

A 1932 Standard Rolleiflex, a type of camera used by Beaton

While renewed interest in Beaton’s wardrobe is part of a more general contemporary appreciation of vintage styles, it is his personal engagement with fashion, and his critical understanding of it, that makes him a unique and enduring figure in the annals of style.”