James R. Mellow (1926–1997)

This isn't a particularly long book. Why then, did it take me so very long to read it? Because it was very boring. This is one of those rarities -- a boring book on an interesting subject.

That subject is Gertrude Stein and her circle of friends. The friends include Picasso, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Juan Gris, Matisse, Cezanne, and many, many others. Those people and that time and place fascinate me, and I've read accounts about and by many of them. And I must say that of all those fascinating and talented people, Gertrude seems to me to be the least talented.

On the other hand, it is fascinating to see how far she got with so little going for her. What she had in her favor was a brother who was a brilliant art collector, and the luck of being in the right place at the right time. She had an ego to rival that of Salvador Dali, but not the talent. She helped many young writers, but would usually drop them if they reached a level to be a threat to her professionally. She supported Petain if not because she was a fascist, then at least because it was in her own self-interest to do so. I think her greatest attribute was her personality that many people found profoundly attractive. I also give her credit for forming a lifelong bond with her partner Alice Toklas. They were together for 40 years, until her death. In that she was also lucky.… (more)

WALKER EVANS, written by James R. Mellow, is the biography of the brilliant American photographer who captured the country in black and white stills, starting in the 1920s.
Mellow’s comprehensive 654 pages traces Evans’ life from birth in 1903 through 1955, where Mellow’s text abruptly ends. This is due to the untimely death of the author. A year-by-year summary of Evans’ life from 1957-1975 taken from Mellow’s notes follows, along with a list of footnotes, a ten-page list of credits for the included photos, a brief chronology, selected bibliography, and an index.
Walker Evans was a contemporary of Berenice Abbott, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Margaret Bourke-White, and Ansel Adams (whom he did not admire), and he seemed to be acquainted with just about everyone in the artistic elite circle of the day, whether they be photographers, writers, or painters. From drinking with Ernest Hemingway in Havana, to collaborating with poet/writer James Agee for LET US NOW PRAISE FAMOUS MEN, his life was always intertwined with the who’s-who.
Having first aspired to be a writer, Evans left lots of notes, lists, and correspondence from which to extract the story of his life, and Mellow uses them to fine effect.
With Evans’ classic book, AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHS, being reissued in early 2009, now is a good time to learn about the man behind the camera.
I’m keeping this book! It is a great resource!
~Stephanie… (more)

This is an excellent source of information for true Hemingway fans. Mellow does a great job of detailing Hemingway's life and providing documentation from letters and other sources as he pieces together the history of Hemingway's own life story. That said, this is more of a scholarly work and unless you are a true Hemingway fan the book may be cumbersome to read, as it is extremely detailed. It would be an excellent resources for a college paper or anyone who desires to know as much as can be possibly known about this author. A great reference book/ resource.… (more)