Jay Leyda (1910–1988)

A capital timeline of the life of Herman Melville. Leyda's attempt was unique: collect all the important events, sources, etc. in Melville's life and allow the reader to create their own biography of Melville. A mash of images, letters, title pages, book excepts, that will delight any Melvillean. It's also a must for any serious Melville scholar.

The arc and heartbreak of Melville's life is presented quite beautifully. It was painful to read near the end of his life, quoting a 1919 show more reminiscence by Frank Jewett Mather Jr., (p. 831):

Shortly before [M's] death the magnanimous poet-critic, Edmund Clarence Stedman, managed a complimentary dinner for him and with difficulty got him to attend it. It was about the only public recognition he ever received.

Hershel Parker leaves this poignant scene out of his massive bio.

Now, of course, Leyda is selective and a shaper just like any other biographer. So, you're not really creating your own mental bio of Melville, you're creating Leyda-You bio of Melville. But, it's neat. show less

Lavishly illustrated with hundreds of production photos and film stills as well as Eisenstein's own notes and sketches, Eisenstein at Work offers a rare behindthe-scenes look at one of this century's most creative filmmakers - Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948). Written and compiled by Jay Leyda, Eisenstein's lifelong friend and associate and a leading authority on his life and work, Eisenstein at Work is the definitive study of this innovative filmmaker's revolutionary career. Bringing together show more Eisenstein's own notes, sketches, and letters with film stills and original photos of Eisenstein instructing his actors and production crews and setting up his shots, Leyda and co-author Zina Voynow have created a startlingly original montage, a book that goes beyond biography to present a director's sketchbook of visions, themes and methods. From Eisenstein's earliest theatrical work, the book moves film by film through his masterpieces - Strike, Battleship Potemkin, October, Alexander Nevsky, Ivan the Terrible - to the legendary projects he never completed, such as An American Tragedy and Que Viva Mexico! Drawing on the collection of the Eisenstein Committee in Moscow and of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, it presents a wealth of visual material that will change forever the way Eisenstein's films are viewed. show less

Being an exhibition catalog of studies of American film prior to WWI. The last half of the book, which consists of an illustrated and annotated filmography, is very good. The first half also has interesting illustrations, but the text consists of critical essays which are extremely pedantic.

Some interesting history, but mostly for those making a study of film, otherwise a bit repetitive and boring, otherwise why should I know or care about these people places and companies?