Lives and Letters

March 28, 2011
Squalid demises are unusually common in these lively, sardonic sketches of creative typesâheavily weighted toward long-dead writers, Old Hollywood icons and dance pioneersâgathered from magazine pieces by Gottlieb, former editor-in-chief of Knopf and the New Yorker (he closes with a bitter retort to Renata Adlerâs acid-etched memoir of his tenure at the magazine). Gottlieb claims he is "not drawn to sagas of self-destructing divas," but that is false: Judy Garland ("illness, addiction and degradation"), Isadora Duncan (a "ghastly wreck"), Katharine Hepburn ("vulgar and pathetic desperation to stay up to date and in the limelight"), and Tallulah Bankhead (last words: "'codeineâbourbonâ") are among the many tragic figures he profiles. Fortunately, his ambivalent, sometimes intimate appreciations of his subjects, many of whom he edited or otherwise knew, deftly illuminate the talent that preceded the denouement. Many of the pieces are reviews of biographies that serve as foils to Gottliebâs own interpretation; they let him deplore salacious scandal-mongering while quoting it, and embrace psychoanalysisâCharles Dickensâs mother issues, Harry Houdiniâs bondage fetishâwhile mocking it. These essays are really criticisms of their subjectsâ livesâamusing and engaged, but somewhat cool and dissatisfied, ready with praise but attuned to the revealing flaw. 20 b&w illus.

June 1, 2011

This collection of pieces about actors, dancers, literary figures, and others shows that Gottlieb (former publisher, Alfred A. Knopf; Sarah: The Life of Sarah Bernhardt) always knows what he's writing about. He wrote many of these essays using the publication of a particular new book as its raison d'etre, but the pieces quickly move beyond being simple book reviews. Gottlieb's personal experiences with some of his subjects make those pieces--on such giants as George Balanchine, Elia Kazan, Diana Vreeland (Gottlieb edited Kazan's and Vreeland's memoirs and played an important volunteer role in Ballanchine's New York City Ballet for years)--especially compelling. His pieces on Steinbeck, Kipling, and The International Encyclopedia of Dancing are models of intelligent commentary, as is his assessment of the lasting influence of F.R. Leavis's perpetually undersubscribed journal of literary criticism, Scrutiny (1932-53). Least interesting may be those where Gottlieb had no firsthand contact with the contemporary figure he is writing about, e.g., Princess Diana or California murderer Scott Peterson. Even here, though, his observations are always on the mark. VERDICT This fine collection will appeal especially to readers of The New Yorker (although these pieces come from a broader selection of periodicals), but there's something here for all lovers of the creative life. Strongly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 11/8/10.]--David Keymer, Modesto, CA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 1, 2011
Such polish, such incisiveness. The quintessential professional, Gottlieb (formerly editor of the New Yorker and editor in chief of Alfred A. Knopf) is a maestro of the biographical essay as he not only captures the essence of a life but also restores unfairly besmirched reputations, or skewers a subject with vim and drop-dead wit. Writing with insight and authority about such divergent charismatic and scandalous individuals as Tallulah Bankhead and Bruno Bettelheim, Gottlieb layers an amazing amount of fact and interpretation into his meticulously crafted and heaven-to-read portraits, many sparked by the release of a comprehensive biography and originally published in such venues as Vanity Fair or the New York Times Book Review. His telling of the story of once-famous French child poet Minou Drouet becomes a dissection of fame. Refreshingly forthright about sex, Gottlieb presents an archly poisonous and wickedly satisfying profile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and the louche and scary consort Jimmy Donahue. Other subjects in this omnivorous collection include Isadora Duncan, Douglas Fairbanks, Katharine Hepburn, and Elia Kazan; writers Dickens, Kipling, and Steinbeck; and even convicted killer Scott Peterson. A scintillating and provocative carousel of lives.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)