Henry Anatole Grunwald (1922–2005)

The installation "Electric Earth," debuted at the 1999 Venice Biennale, brought international recognition to the video and media artist Doug Aitkin. In the piece, a dancer roams a transitory realm of wasted landscapes. Aitken, whose protagonists are usually natural landscapes and cityscapes, here links the electrified structures of our urban world with the nervous system of the human body. The piece, with its pop-surrealist overtones, also reveals Aitken's roots as a director of music show more videos. This artist's book, laid out in a landscape format, presents fascinating views of natural and urban lanscapes and structures from the video. Gijs van Tuyl, in his essay, writes, "You don't have to look through it passively from A to Z...it offers up a space in which the reader can move freely...in order to create a story in the here and now, in the flow of time." show less

The installation "Electric Earth," debuted at the 1999 Venice Biennale, brought international recognition to the video and media artist Doug Aitkin. In the piece, a dancer roams a transitory realm of wasted landscapes. Aitken, whose protagonists are usually natural landscapes and cityscapes, here links the electrified structures of our urban world with the nervous system of the human body. The piece, with its pop-surrealist overtones, also reveals Aitken's roots as a director of music show more videos. This artist's book, laid out in a landscape format, presents fascinating views of natural and urban lanscapes and structures from the video. Gijs van Tuyl, in his essay, writes, "You don't have to look through it passively from A to Z...it offers up a space in which the reader can move freely...in order to create a story in the here and now, in the flow of time." show less

This is an interesting story, but badly flawed in execution. It's set in late 16th & early 17th-century France, in the wake of the religious wars, the St. Bartholomew's Massacre, & the ascension of Henry IV (after his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism). The story focuses primarily on two saintly women, both real historical characters; one's story is well preserved, the other is known mostly by references in the other's story. It's a story of faith, faith in service to the poor & show more sick & orphaned, religion in politics, & politics in religion. But the dialog is wooden, & the author never adequately & plausibly conveys the characters' faith. The last sentence of the "Confession" with which he begins & ends the book may suggest why: "As for me, I believe [Nicole Tavernier, the lesser-known character] show less

"Salinger-The classic critical and personal portrait by more than twenty of his contemporaries" is a fascinating look at a very private person who it seems, accidentally became famous. Originally written in 1962, before he became as famous as a recluse as he was an author, many of the pieces were published in magazines such as Harper's, Time, The Nation, The New Republic, and others.

Reading the thoughts and opinions of writers like John Updike, Dan Wakefield, Joan Didion, William Wiegand, show more and others was fascinating, and insightful. It makes me wonder what they might say today, 40-50 years later.

His Glass family stories are covered in depth and of course Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey.

Introduced and edited by Henry Anatole Grunwald, "Salinger" is an interesting look at his work and a tiny bit of his life.

I received this book from Meredith at Harper Perennial for review. Thank You! show less