16 minute read
EDITOR’S NOTE
NONFICTION | Eric Liebetrau The Annus Horribilis Gets the Graphic Treatment
Leah Overstreet
Cue the sad trombone: Despite high hopes, it turns out that 2021 was not a significant improvement over 2020. Though visual artist Elise Engler’s Diary of a Plague Year: An Illustrated Chronicle of 2020 (Metropolitan/Henry Holt, Jan. 18, 2022) is a distinctly 2020 narrative, it features plenty of material and themes that carried over through 2021. In a starred review, our critic called it “a dynamic artistic rendering of chaos survived—at least so far.”
I have always been a big fan of contemporary graphic nonfiction—Maus, Fun Home, Seek You, Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? etc.—primarily because of its ability to distill complex information and contextual details into digestible, succinct, often visually stunning creations that both move and educate. That is certainly the case with Engler’s book; as our reviewer noted, “2020 would confound everyone’s expectations, and revisiting it through Engler’s vivid drawings and sharp memories is enough to give anyone whiplash.”
The author opens the introduction by setting the stage for the tumultuous, dynamic narrative to follow: “A global pandemic with millions dead, half a million Americans among them; a national uprising ignited by police killings of Black Americans; cities shut down, poverty soaring, a president inciting a riot to stop his election defeat, hellish wildfires, mass shootings. It was the worst year of our lives, people said, apocalyptic, unprecedented, biblical in the scale of its disasters. Throughout 2020…I painted the day’s headlines, making a picture of the first few news items I heard emitting from my wooden bedside radio when I woke up each morning. Viewed together here, these daily paintings, which include ordinary events along with the historic ones, ended up forming an unusual visual record of an epic, momentous year.”
Each page captures yet another moment of chaos and disruption, snapshots that move readers along at a dizzying pace. In one day, Aug. 4, 2020, Engler encapsulates all of the following: “Vanity Fair article says Kushner’s secret testing plan ‘went poof into thin air,’ because at [the] time [the] virus was affecting blue states; Trump goes after Dr. Birx on COVID-19 testing being widespread; Filing suggests Trump and Co. investigated for bank and insurance fraud; Census cuts all counting efforts short by a month; Tropical Storm Isaias floods mid-Atlantic coast, speeding towards Northeast; Judge says thousands of NYC primary ballots missing postmarks must be counted; NYC teachers protest back to school.”
While some readers may need an extended break from the cascading cycle of depressing news, Engler is up to the challenge of showing us just how significant the year was. Over the course of nearly 300 pages, wrote our critic, “Engler combines the sharp eye of an editorial caricaturist with the vibrant color of a portraitist, and the energy of the artwork underscores the sense of urgency in the day’s news. The accompanying text has a matter-of-fact tone that belies the powerful underlying sense that so much has gone seriously awry. A dynamic artistic rendering of chaos survived—at least so far.”
Slot this one next to Eli Saslow’s Voices From the Pandemic and, for readers hungry for more graphic treat-
Elise Engler
Sue Brisk
ments of the pandemic era, Covid Chronicles: A Comics Anthology (Graphic Mundi, Feb. 15), edited by Kendra Boileau and Rich Johnson, which our starred review called “a diverse, impassioned book” in which “quick responders illustrate the impact of the pandemic with work of lasting value.”
Eric Liebetrau is the nonfiction and managing editor.
to become a supporter of avant-garde art and the people who made it. Consequently, their New York City home became an influential salon. After Duchamp visited and became a close friend, their home transformed into an “international hot spot.” Duchamp enjoyed the attention of his new friends, the wealthy, married Louise Norton and actor and artist Beatrice Wood, a key player in this libidinous tale. At the same time, Henri-Pierre Roché, future author of Jules et Jim and a “voracious connoisseur” of sex, found himself under Duchamp’s spell. Also in town was Duchamp’s married friend Francis Picabia, who was smitten with Mary Louise. The plot thickens as Brandon pauses to discuss Duchamp’s Fountain, a groundbreaking “readymade” piece in the form of an upside-down urinal with puzzling “R. Mutt 1917” lettering. But the author quickly returns to the world of parties, alcohol, jazz, and free-wheeling sex as she chronicles the various relationships, with Duchamp, the instigator, lurking in the background along with new player in town photographer Man Ray. Overwhelming at times, in the end, this is really the ladies’ story.
There’s more sex than art in this elaborate, spicy, period piece tell-all.
IMPACT How Rocks From Space Led to Life, Culture, and Donkey Kong
Brennecka, Greg Morrow/HarperCollins (304 pp.) $28.99 | Feb. 1, 2022 978-0-06-307892-5
An exploration of the role meteorites played in the formation and cultural evolution of Earth.
Had Earth’s head-on collision with the meteorite named Theia not occurred exactly when it did, our planet would have evolved much differently. Brennecka, a cosmochemist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, explains that this event, and later impacts, “may have delivered the organic material from which life developed, as well as the water on Earth that sustains it.” In this highly entertaining book, filled with informative and humorous charts, diagrams, and images, the author explores this moon-forming impact as well as other historical cosmic events involving space rocks—e.g., the 1990 discovery of an impact crater in Mexico that scientists believe caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Other topics include: Christopher Columbus’ using his knowledge of an upcoming lunar eclipse to avert an uprising when he had outstayed his welcome in Jamaica, Donald Trump’s staring directly at the sun without eye protection during the 2017 solar eclipse, and how “Mark Twain was born and died on occurrences of Comet Halley.” Brennecka also examines how meteorites have played a significant role in cultural and religious teachings throughout the world, including Aboriginal lore, Greek and Roman literature, biblical studies, and Islamic tradition, and he takes us to regions around the world where large numbers have been extracted: Australia, the Sahara Desert, and Antarctica, among others. The increased availability of samples has aided countless scientists in their research about Earth’s cosmic origins, but the meteorite trade has also led to the removal of objects that were treated as sacred by Indigenous peoples and made it difficult for research groups working on tight budgets. “Regardless of the discussion about the morality and business of meteorites,” writes the author, “meteorite monetization has been both a blessing and a curse for meteorite researchers.”
Brennecka’s enthusiasm for meteorites will appeal to experts and novices alike.
in hitler’s munich
IN HITLER’S MUNICH Jews, the Revolution, and the Rise of Nazism
Brenner, Michael Trans. by Jeremiah Riemer Princeton Univ. (392 pp.) $35.00 | Feb. 1, 2022 978-0-691-19103-4
A German Jewish historian mines the intricate story behind Hitler’s rise to power in Munich as a direct reaction to the failed socialist coup of 1918-1919, many of whose leaders were liberal Jews.
In the wake of the assassination of Kurt Eisner—the first Jewish prime minister of Bavaria, whose socialist republic overthrew the centuries-old monarchy—in February 1919, reactionary, antisemitic forces took hold in that once-liberal cultural capital and enabled the rise of Hitler. Brenner looks closely at the lives and beliefs of those Jewish intellectuals, anarchists, and revolutionaries, such as Eisner, Erich Mühsam, Ernst Toller, Eugen Leviné, and Gustav Landauer, as well as the better-known Rosa Luxemburg and Leon Trotsky. Many were from czarist Russia, where they had been oppressed and found in socialism freedom, opportunity, and a method for helping others in similarly oppressive situations. As Saul Friedländer wrote, “the activities of the Jewish revolutionaries in Germany were based on an unquestionably naïve, but very humane idealism—a sort of secular Messianism, as if the revolution could bring deliverance from all suffering.” Many were nonpracticing or nonbelievers, and many worked in opposition to each other and did not necessarily share a political consensus. Still, the revolutionary actors in Bavaria banded together to effect a bloodless takeover of the monarchy, leading first to shock among the bourgeoisie and then vengeful new rulers and a wave of terror—a “pogrom atmosphere in Munich.” Brenner examines the ideology and background of each of the key players and how their Jewishness affected their worldview. The violent reaction to the coup put the “Jewish question” front of mind and the “unspeakable Jewish tragedy,” as Martin Buber called the era, to follow at center stage. The story Brenner pieces together is fascinating, with details that will be unknown to nonspecialist readers, and its ramifications were world-changing then and remain so today.
Deep, important research by a master historian.
EXTREME NORTH A Cultural History
Brunner, Bernd Trans. by Jefferson Chase Norton (256 pp.) $27.95 | Feb. 15, 2022 978-0-393-88100-4
An investigation of the cultural history and mythology of “the North,” which “represents a space both real and imaginary.”
German historian Brunner begins by explaining the concept of the North; where it begins is “in the eye of the beholder.” Depending on where you live—North America, Europe, Africa, etc.—your concept of the North will vary. As with the South, Brunner asserts, “over time,” the North “has also become layered with cultural and political meanings, baggage even.” In an engaging, sometimes academic tone, the author analyzes how the idea of the North has evolved over the centuries. Among the many topics he explores are early European fears of Viking raids, the effects of the European obsession with finding a northwest passage to China, and Norse myths and fairy tales. Stories of fierce Vikings continue to fire the imagination despite the fact that “we have only the flimsiest evidence of how men and women of Viking times might have looked.” As demand for products such as whale blubber, cod, and narwhal ivory grew, writes Brunner, the image of the Nordic people shifted from “fearsome barbarians to trustworthy merchants with whom good business could be done.” However, acts of barbarism toward Indigenous populations
beginning in the 16th century forever changed their lives. “It was only in the late nineteenth century that Westerners began to develop even a rudimentary understanding of Inuit culture,” and the Inuit were but one among many northern peoples the Europeans encountered. During this time, scientists and romantic travelers also had an increasing interest in seeing the North as opposed to merely reading about it. Yet another shift came following World War I, with an increase in writings related to racial science, which described a “superior” branch of humanity and “channeled interest in the North in an ominous new direction.” Today, writes the author, “the mythical North remains very much in currency,” continuing to inspire writers, environmentalists, politicians, and adventurers.
A fascinating and historically disturbing journey through an intriguing land of mystery and legend.
ENDLESS ENDLESS A Lo-Fi History of the Elephant 6 Mystery
Clair, Adam Hachette (384 pp.) $30.00 | Jan. 18, 2022 978-0-306-92394-4
Oral history of a unique indie-rock collective. One of the pillars of the Elephant 6 collective was Neutral Milk Hotel, whose album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998) is a rarity in the modern age of cult classics, one that remains (mostly) shrouded in mystery and allows new fans to discover it on their own terms. This loving, in-depth book won’t change that much, but longtime fans should find enough to satisfy. Journalist Clair worked on this book for more than 13 years, interviewing many of those responsible for that album as well as dozens more who were part of the Elephant 6. He did not, however, interview Neutral Milk Hotel’s frontman, Jeff Mangum, whose distinctive vocals drove the project and whose memorable performances have achieved mythical status in certain circles. Mangum’s hiatus from performing—as well as interviews—just as his band was building a following confused some at first. Now, more than two decades later, it’s a part of the band and album’s legend. “There’s no answer key in the pages that follow, no glossary to explain what Jeff or anybody else meant by this or that lyric or setlist or recording decision,” Clair explains in his introduction. Instead, he offers a “mixtape of the story of the Elephant 6,” letting various players speak for themselves in their own styles at their own pace. The result is uneven. The author offers intense, remarkably precise explanations of other bands’ album creations and lengthy descriptions of the food at the famous Elephant 6 potluck dinners. However, there are few new revelations from Mangum about the masterwork at the center of all this attention. Though Clair generally uses the oral history format of lengthy quotes from numerous people, when he synthesizes material and explains things in his own voice, he is more effective and entertaining.
A fascinating yet flawed look at an enduring indie rock mystery that shines a light on the power of community and creativity.
GOING THERE
Couric, Katie Little, Brown (528 pp.) $30.00 | Oct. 26, 2021 978-0-316-53586-1
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private. In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative
unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former cohost and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
MUSLIMS OF THE HEARTLAND How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest
Curtis IV, Edward E. New York Univ. (256 pp.) $30.00 | Feb. 15, 2022 978-1-4798-1256-1
A multicultural view of a huge swath of America. Curtis, a professor of liberal arts and religious studies, draws on rich archival sources to create a vivid portrait of Syrian communities in the Midwest from 1900 to the 1950s. Himself the great-grandson of a Syrian immigrant and son of an Arab mother and White father who grew up in the Bible Belt of southern Illinois, Curtis reveals the extent to which Arabic-speaking Christians and Muslims “built a world of shared networks, friendships, and political interests before World War II.” Fighting against “the bleaching of Midwestern history,” which represents the Midwest as dominated by White Christians, Curtis depicts a diverse region that “became America’s Arab Muslim heartland.” Inspired by tales of opportunity, immigrants from Ottoman Syria—which included Lebanon, Palestine, and Jordan—flocked to the Dakotas, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana, where many got their starts as grocers, factory workers, or homesteaders. As the author illuminates the lives of many Syrian families, he emphasizes their aspiration to assimilate while still maintaining ethnic and religious ties to their heritage. The mosques they built, he asserts, were not only sites for prayer, but also cultural and social centers, places where families could share food and convene for celebrations. Always aware of America’s pervasive “color line,” Syrians encountered negative views of Muslims that portrayed them as violent and hedonistic. At various times, they also faced legal challenges to their status. For example, in 1909, the “Department of Commerce and Labor said that Syrian-born people were not white, but Asiatic (that is, Asian or Oriental)”; in 1915, that ruling was reversed, making Syrians eligible for naturalized citizenship; in 1924, the National Origins Act implemented a racist immigrant quota system that made it nearly impossible for Syrians to enter the country while favoring immigrants from “Nordic” European countries. Hardly an “unassimilable” group, as Curtis amply shows, they contributed significantly to the communities in which they lived.
A fresh portrayal of American history and identity.
buster keaton
BUSTER KEATON A Filmmaker’s Life
Curtis, James Knopf (832 pp.) $40.00 | Feb. 15, 2022 978-0-385-35421-9
A life of the Great Stone Face. Film historian and biographer Curtis draws on abundant archival sources as well as interviews, memoirs, and previous biographies to create a comprehensive, warmly sympathetic life of iconic entertainer Joseph Frank “Buster” Keaton (1895-1966). Born into a family of traveling performers, Keaton made his debut as a toddler, featured along with his parents as one of The Three Keatons. “Broadly acrobatic,” he quickly discovered the power of a deadpan expression to elicit laughter, and his porkpie hat, rumpled clothes, and sad eyes became as well known and beloved as Charlie Chaplin’s bedraggled Little Tramp. In 1917, he ventured out on his own; by 1920, he was hailed by a studio head as “the greatest comedy sensation since the heyday of Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle in two-reelers.” After serving as Arbuckle’s assistant director, Keaton moved into directing and producing, setting up his own studio to make shorts and feature films. In lively detail, Curtis—biographer of Spencer Tracy, Preston Sturges, and W.C. Fields, among others—recounts the highs and lows of Keaton’s prolific career, tracing “the development of gags, the logic of gags, the mechanics of gags” as he acted on stage and in silent movies, talkies, and TV, including being cast in a film by Samuel Beckett and performing with Chaplin in Limelight. Outside of work, Keaton experienced “personal chaos,” including his marriage to fellow actor Natalie Talmadge, which lasted 10 years and ended in acrimonious divorce, incited, in part, by his heavy drinking. His second marriage, to a woman who nursed him through a regimen of drying out, lasted only a few years, as did his abstention from alcohol. In 1935, he ended up in a “psychopathic ward.” Finally, in 1940, he married happily. In this authoritative portrait, Curtis portrays his subject as “a gentle soul, so quiet and unassuming,” sometimes startled by acclaim
