November 20-26, 2003

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Holiday BQ Shorts Nonfiction

Cheerleader! An American Icon

By Natalie Guice Adams and Pamela J. Bettis Palgrave, 182 pp., $24.95

Academics Natalie Guice Adams and Pamela J. Bettis admit they got a lot of laughs when they announced they were devoting their studies to cheerleading. But they managed to create a compelling and eye-opening look into what has become a multibillion dollar industry and a separate culture that affects those both involved with cheerleading and around it (how many people do you know who bitterly hate cheerleaders for one reason or another?). Cheerleader! traces the history of cheering, from its roots 135 years ago as a male-only activity through its integration in the '40s and '50s, its female-dominated, short-skirted sexcapades in the '70s and '80s and its current incarnation as a highly athletic and often dangerous "sport" that leaves the football field behind to take center stage at national competitions. Along the way, Adams and Bettis stop to look at gender and race issues, famous former cheerleaders (among them our president), radical cheerleaders (those who use the movements and rhythms of cheerleading for social protest and those who defy the "norms" of cheerleading, like senior-citizen and gay and lesbian squads) and the esteemed role of the cheerleader in the history of porn (Debbie Does Dallas, anyone?). We learn about the "Father of Cheerleading," Lawrence Herkimer, who first capitalized on the business potential of it, and who invented the omnipresent pompoms, only to later change the name to pompons when he discovered that GIs in Hawaii and Japan used the term "pompom" as slang for sex. Though Dallas gets the most attention for professional squads, Philly gets a shout-out for the time the Eagles' cheerleaders sued after discovering the Vet featured a handy peephole into their locker room. Adams and Bettis may go a little far in their claims of cheerleading's importance to American society as a whole, but they give you so much interesting trivia you can easily forgive them. —Debra Auspitz

Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem

By Anthony Bozza Crown, 278 pp., $23

Eminem is hard to pin down. Though he's notoriously prolific and so many observers have tried to define him, responses tend to be polarized. Lyrical genius or social scourge, industry savior or reckless hatemonger, Eminem confounds critics and devotees alike, resisting interviewers' probing and, like any good artist, leaving "explanations" to his art.

Into this seeming breach of meaning strides Anthony Bozza, the writer who, as he's fond of recalling, wrote Rolling Stone's first cover story on Eminem back in 1999. In Whatever You Say I Am: The Life and Times of Eminem, Bozza details the hours he's spent with the artist, as well as some few minutes with mom Debbie and ex-wife Kim, in order to frame him, somewhat usefully, in various contexts: as a product of hip-hop and Detroit, U.S. racism and class wars and culturally condoned misogyny and homophobia.

Not quite a biography, the book is more a series of "captured moments," plus frequent insights from Dave Marsh, Shelby Steele, Andre 3000 and the Village Voice's Sasha Frere-Jones and Richard Goldstein, one a fan and the other a vehement critic of Eminem's "pornographic" ideology. While Bozza allows that Em can be difficult and offensive, he plainly sees him as a crucial emblem of his moment, representing "the current paradigm of race consciousness in America, whereby skin color is almost of secondary consequence to one's racial identity, where racial association seems to be more defined by behavior than color."

While Bozza does make constructive connections, much of the book tends to repetition, clumsy metaphor, vapid observation and glib self-aggrandizement. His "brief history of hip-hop" is only valuable for those who know little; his rehearsal of the differences among Eminem's personae is well worn. He criticizes negative reviews and claims that Em is "a whole new paradigm of the white male: talented, humble, proud, mad, frustrated, hateful and capable of compassion," as if this is in any way "new." Eminem is indeed resonant, complex and representative in multiple ways. But this intro text is best considered a jump-off, an inspiration to more careful consideration. Start with the art. —Cindy Fuchs

Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical Follies

By Ted Chapin Knopf, 368 pp., $30

Opening on Broadway in April 1971, Follies had a Stephen Sondheim score with a James Goldman libretto, was co-directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett and starred Alexis Smith, Dorothy Collins, Gene Nelson and John McMartin. The most unknown name in the production was probably 20-year-old Ted Chapin, a college student who worked as a gofer for independent-study credit. Chapin took copious notes and now, three decades later, he's produced an utterly readable memoir. Any understanding of how Follies became a musical masterpiece will now have to begin with Everything Was Possible.

Follies is set inside a condemned theater, where aging showgirls hold one last reunion to "glamorize the old days, stumble through a song or two and lie about ourselves a little." Two of the women and their husbands are confronted by ghostly incarnations of their younger selves, and during the surreal "Loveland" climax they each suffer breakdowns in the form of Ziegfeld-style production numbers. While The New York Times gave Follies a thumbs down, and it ran just 522 performances, it was a turning point in the staging of musicals; without Follies, there never would have been Chicago or A Chorus Line.

Chapin had an up-front look at the remarkable creative team. He shows Prince subtly motivating the cast, and the younger, impatient Bennett "using every second of the time allotted to him" to create such stunning moments as the "Who's That Woman?" production number. Along with the reclusive Goldman and a modest Sondheim, Chapin profiles Boris Aronson, who designed the epic Follies set. Chapin got along well with the cast, especially Yvonne DeCarlo (Lily Munster), whom Chapin escorted to various nightspots.

Everything Was Possible illustrates the claustrophobia of rehearsals, how for a moment or two, a theatrical company becomes a universe unto itself. Nobody during the 1971 Follies rehearsals mentions the Vietnam War or Richard Nixon. When an elderly actor in a Philadelphia musical drops dead onstage, Prince tries to keep it a secret from his own veteran performers. At another rehearsal he exasperatedly tells ailing actors, "Even if people don't realize it, this is the most important thing going on in the world!" Chapin's marvelous book reminds us that putting on a show is, more than anything else, a genuine act of faith. —Andrew Milner

Living to Tell the Tale

By Gabriel Garc’a Mrquez Knopf, 484 pp., $26.95

The first volume of a proposed three-volume autobiography by Gabriel Garc’a Mrquez, Living to Tell the Tale proves that Garc’a Mrquez's life is, well just like one of his books.

Although the author does explain his source of inspiration for many of his famous novels -- e.g., Love in the Time of Cholera was based in part on his parents' forbidden love and their secret correspondence -- the stories of his youth and coming of age are perhaps the more salient features of this book.

Garc’a Mrquez's memories are recalled here vigorously and with heartfelt nostalgia. Written in the Nobel Prize-winning novelist's typical stream-of-consciousness style, the book details his personal eccentricities -- as a child he spoke with his mouth closed and was afraid of the telephone -- and spills a few long-held family secrets, such as one about his proud mother asking for charity during a difficult period. Although none of these revelations are particularly earth-shattering, the narrative unfolds in such a dramatic fashion that almost every anecdote is breathtaking.

Yet the overriding theme of Living to Tell the Tale is Garc’a Mrquez's dogged pursuit of a career as a writer. At age 23, he explains to his mother -- during a critical trip to sell his family home -- how he dreams of doing nothing else. Since he was a child, everyone he meets has encouraged him to read and write. As he recalls his struggle to fulfill his dream, admirers will develop greater respect for the author as a storyteller.

Garc’a Mrquez's life may have consisted of poverty, reading and hard work, but it is fondly remembered and masterfully retold. Living to Tell the Tale exposes the realism behind the author's magical realism, and it is utterly spellbinding. —Gary M. Kramer

There's a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs

By Kool Moe Dee Thunder's Mouth, 342 pp., $24.95

Music journalists, according to '80s rapper Kool Moe Dee, are too young to understand hip-hop and too easily influenced by industry hype to make honest evaluations of talent. So KMD took it upon himself to compile a list of the 50 greatest MCs of all time -- or at least of the 25 years hip-hop has existed. In 1987, KMD included a rapper's report card on the sleeve of his How Ya Like Me Now album, giving himself an A+. But time has given him dispassionate distance, and on this list he has demoted himself to No. 5. Never mind that he hasn't made a record since 1994: "The only MCs I've ever heard take it to the intricate, meticulous levels I do are Rakim and Eminem."

KMD's perfected his method for scientifically measuring MC value. The criteria for this list consists of 17 categories, ranging from concepts and versatility to flow and social impact. Most of the names are familiar, with only a few relatively obscure inclusions like Just-Ice and Grandmaster Caz. Meanwhile, Jay-Z places at an underrated 15 (rival Nas tops him at 11). And while KMD generously gives LL Cool J a top-10 rating, their long-running hostility surfaces when KMD backhandedly attributes his popularity to sex appeal.

Female MCs are healthily represented in the list: There's Brown, Kim, Lyte and Latifah. Lauryn Hill, despite the sudden career slump that followed her sudden stardom, clocks in at No. 10. Eminem, Mos Def, Bahamadia, OutKast, El-P, Q-Tip and Missy Elliott have not made the cut, but KMD reminds us that these are relative newcomers to the business. With any luck, perhaps one day they, too, will arrive at the intricate, meticulous level. —Elisa Ludwig

KISS: Behind the Mask: The Official Authorized Biography

By David Leaf and Ken Sharp Warner, 430 pp., $27.95

KISS, as you may have heard, is the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world. Not just because of the hits (many consider "Rock & Roll All Nite" to be America's second national anthem), but because of the band's unparalleled ability to sell crap you don't need, emblazoned with their logo.

KISS: Behind the Mask is two books in one. The first section, which will probably be of greatest interest to serious KISS fans, features an original manuscript from 1979 by authors David Leaf and Ken Sharp. The old biography is as bombastic and dramatic as a live KISS show. It also proves that even in 1979, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley were highly interested in protecting their image -- all discussion of the movie KISS Meets Phantom of the Park is kept mercifully brief. The second section is a nonlinear oral history that serves mainly to reinforce the ideas that A) the members of KISS are marketing geniuses, and B) they really knew how to package and sell an image. Oh, are those the same things? Well, it's worth repeating here, as you will read those notions again and again in the book.

Everyone from Bryan Adams to Nancy Wilson comes out to give props, though you have to wonder what Roger Daltry means when he says the band had the right attitude by "not taking themselves too seriously." KISS takes itself very seriously, even during the disco era of Dynasty. It's not even worth making "KISS laughs all the way to the bank," or "Yeah, they sell out -- every seat in the house!" cracks. Of course they love to get paid. But KISS really is about the music, and the book helps sell that point by concluding with a very cool, complete discography that includes comments on each track by the writer and producers (for the record, Stanley gives a lot of his favorites three stars). This helps the puffed-up, self-congratulatory tone of the rest of the book go down a little bit easier. Better yet, give a copy of this book to a fan who already owns the box set, so they can be reminded why they really love KISS -- the songs. —Alex Richmond

President Kennedy Has Been Shot: A Moment-by-Moment Account of the Four Days That Changed America

By the Newseum with Susan Bennett and Cathy Trost Sourcebooks, 300 pp., $29.95

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy 40 years ago this month was the first tragedy shared instantly by hundreds of millions. Where it had taken about two months for news of Lincoln's assassination to reach every corner of 1865 America, one poll concluded that within half an hour of Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally being shot, 68 percent of American adults knew about it. JFK's assassination was also one of the first times news outlets took a step back following a major tragedy to publicly examine how they covered it.

The latest example of this, President Kennedy Has Been Shot quotes 64 print and broadcast journalists who covered the events of Nov. 22, 1963, several of whom (Ben Bradlee, Dan Rather) became household names. Along with primary documents such as transcripts of live radio and TV coverage with their inaccuracies intact, the book includes journalists recalling the rivalries not only between competing wire services and networks, but the larger tension between the local Dallas media and the national press. "[East Coast reporters] stole clippings and pictures out of our library," one Dallas Times-Herald reporter recalls. "They generally were jerks."

The book doesn't ignore the many coincidences of that weekend: Within a minute of the shooting, NBC's Robert MacNeil and Dallas newsman Pierce Allman ran into the Texas School Book Depository looking for a telephone, and each of them unknowingly bumped into Oswald. On the evening of the 22nd, hungry Dallas reporters were given sandwiches by Jack Ruby.

What will make this release essential to students is the accompanying audio CD. Besides containing clips from actual broadcasts, the CD (narrated by Dan Rather) includes Dallas police radio dispatches right after the gunfire, a recording of Tom Wicker breaking down while phoning in news of JFK's death to The New York Times, President Johnson's condolence calls from Air Force One to Rose and Ted Kennedy and Lady Bird Johnson's diary tapes. In a shell-shocked voice, she describes arriving at Parkland: "The Secret Service men began to pull lead guide hustle us out. I cast one last look back over my shoulder and saw a bundle of pink -- just like a drift of blossoms -- lying in the back seat. I think it was Mrs. Kennedy lying over the president's body." —A.M.