Review by New York Times Review
LOCKING UP OUR OWN: Crime and Punishment in Black America, by James Forman Jr. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $27.) A masterly account of how a generation of black elected officials wrestled with crises of violence and drug use by unleashing the brutal power of the criminal justice system on their constituents. A COLONY IN A NATION, by Chris Hayes. (Norton, $26.95.) Drawing on his experience growing up as a white kid in the crack-era Bronx, Hayes offers a forceful analysis of two "distinct regimes" in America - one for whites, which he calls the Nation; the other for blacks, which he calls the Colony. "In the Nation you have rights; in the Colony, you have commands," he explains. WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE SOLOMONS, by Bethany Ball. (Atlantic Monthly, $25.) Ball's first novel is a wry, dark multigenerational tale, full of emotional insight, about the Israeli and American branches of an extended family. WHO LOST RUSSIA? How the World Entered a New Cold War, by Peter Conradi. (Oneworld, $27.99.) A smart, balanced analysis of the internal developments that have shaped Russia's course. Putin's current assertiveness, Conradi shows, has roots in the tumultuous '90s. LETTERMAN: The Last Giant of Late Night, by Jason Zinoman. (Harper/HarperCollins, $28.99.) Zinoman's lively book does impressive triple duty as an acute portrait of stardom, an insightful chronicle of three rambunctious decades of pop-culture evolution, and a very brainy fan's notes. MARTIN LUTHER: Renegade and Prophet, by Lyndal Roper. (Random House, $40.) Impeccable scholarship and painstaking fair-mindedness characterize his deeply illuminating biography. Roper has mined the correspondence, and Luther's charisma and complexity shine through the letters. THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY, by Hannah Tinti. (Dial, $27.) In this strikingly symphonic comingof-age novel, the present life of a teenage girl raised by her career-criminal father alternates with stories of his past, represented by his 12 bullet wounds. THE TEMPORARY BRIDE: A Memoir of Love and Food in Iran, by Jennifer Klinec. (Twelve, paper, $15.99.) A Canadian woman's vivid foodie travelogue about home cooking in Iran turns into a surprising love story. THE MURDERER'S APE, written and illustrated by Jakob Wegelius. Translated by Peter Graves. (Delacorte, $17.99; ages 12 and up.) A gorilla who understands everything humans say but cannot speak is the narrator of this charming young adult book, full of heart and illustrated with delightful drawings. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [April 16, 2017]
Review by Booklist Review
This new biography of David Letterman is based on interviews with numerous people, including Letterman himself. It tracks the talk-show host's life and career from its early days to the end of his long-running CBS program. Letterman, a born laugh-maker, got his professional start in Indiana, on a university radio station. He was supposed to give listeners information about the music being played, but it wasn't long before he was making up fake stories a key element in Letterman's comic portfolio, and one that would repeatedly get him in trouble with employers. Zinoman, a New York Times writer and critic, presents Letterman as a driven, extremely talented, and highly idiosyncratic man; he takes a respectful approach (the author admits up front he's a huge fan), but the book never crosses the line into hagiography. We see all sides of Letterman, including the dark sides. Well researched, incorporating a nice mixture of interviews with Jay Leno, Merrill Markoe, Chris Elliott, and Martin Short, among many others and previously published material, the book is the Letterman biography fans have been waiting for.--Pitt, David Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Zinoman, the comedy critic for the New York Times, expertly toggles between keen analysis and dogged reporting in escorting readers down David Letterman's lengthy path to greatness. Letterman's retirement in 2015 devastated the comedy world. Jimmy Kimmel called the late-night talk show host "my Jesus" and Jon Stewart deemed him "an epiphany." The author breaks down the counterculture humor that made the landmark Late Night with David Letterman special, and he examines how success corroded the rapport between the neurotic star and his collaborators, including Merrill Markoe, his creative muse and longtime (and long-suffering) girlfriend. Comedy aficionados will savor the numerous behind-the-scene stories and tales of how Letterman evolved from an acquired taste to a mainstream star. After he became CBS's face of late-night TV in 1993, Letterman spent less time skewering talk-show conventions and became broad and splashy. But Letterman also showed more of himself, using his show to vent his confusion over the 9/11 terrorist attacks, confess his adultery, and embrace fatherhood. Zinoman's ambitious work succeeds in capturing Letterman's cultural impact while unearthing the human being behind the frequently inscrutable television icon. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
New York Times comedy critic Zinoman (Shock Value) dissects comedian David -Letterman and his legendary television run, taking readers from Letterman's Muncie, IN, college radio days through his seminal work at NBC to his star-studded retirement show decades later on CBS. Here Letterman is presented as an iconoclast who grew from mocking talk show clichés to representing the format as an elder statesman. Along the way we meet the writers and cast members who shaped the show, explore the origins of signature Letterman segments (the Top Ten List, Stupid Pet Tricks, etc.), and meet the man behind it all. While recognizing -Letterman's groundbreaking work, -Zinoman avoids hero worship. Letterman is on full display, directly quoted, flaws and all. Scholars of TV history will also appreciate how Letterman drew from predecessors such as Jack Paar and Steven Allen, and later influenced Jon Stewart and others. Behind-the-scenes drama provides an additional draw for those who remember the jockeying between Letterman and Jay Leno for Tonight Show host Johnny Carson's seat. VERDICT Top-notch research bolstered by one-on-one interviews make this a must-read for Letterman fans.-Terry Bosky, Madison, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The tale of a tormented TV star and his legacy.This is a critical biography, not in the sense of being negative (although there are parts that Letterman won't like, since he doesn't seem to like much), but as a work of criticism that focuses on the inner workings of a TV career rather than any life away from show business. "Years before the term Generation X' moved into circulation, David Letterman made ironic detachment seem like the most sensible way to approach the world," writes New York Times comedy critic Zinoman (Shock Value: How a Few Eccentric Outsiders Gave Us Nightmares, Conquered Hollywood, and Invented Modern Horror, 2011) in this sharp, revealing biography. Such an attitude would establish him as a generational spokesman during an era of political apathy. Yet Letterman was more obsessed than detached, a "spectacularly committed hypochondriac," a self-lacerating critic of his own show, and a performer who had to be pushed out of his comfort zone for his paradigm-shifting innovations. Though he played his eccentricities and insecurities for laughs, they were no laughing matter for the staff that was crucial in the development of his comedic dynamic, the writers who so often found themselves isolated (or occasionally berated) by the boss they were trying so desperately to please. The most significant of these collaborators was Merrill Markoe, his partner and foil from his early stint on daytime TV, who, "as much as anyonehelped invent the aesthetic of David Letterman." Most of the rest were men, frequently from Harvard, and the boys' club atmosphere became more of a problem as Letterman's sexual relations with female interns became public. Zinoman's analysis is often refreshingly counterintuitive: Letterman was a good interviewer. He recast and renewed himself during the writers' strike. He didn't fail as Oscar host. He was even more miserable as the winner of the late-night ratings war than he had been as the underdog. This incisive, illuminating book shows the personal toll that success took on all responsible, the price paid for laughs. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
