Synopses & Reviews
From a critically acclaimed cultural and literary critic, a definitive history and analysis of the memoir.
From Saint Augustine?s Confessions to Augusten Burroughs?s Running with Scissors, from Julius Caesar to Ulysses Grant, from Mark Twain to David Sedaris, the art of memoir has had a fascinating life, and deserves its own biography. Cultural and literary critic Ben Yagoda traces the memoir from its birth in early Christian writings and Roman generals? journals all the way up to the banner year of 2007, which saw memoirs from and about dogs, rock stars, bad dads, good dads, alternadads, waitresses, George Foreman, Iranian women, and a slew of other illustrious persons (and animals). In a time when memoir seems ubiquitous and is still highly controversial, Yagoda tackles the autobiography and memoir in all its forms and iterations. He discusses the fraudulent memoir and provides many examples from the past?and addresses the ramifications and consequences of these books. Spanning decades and nations, styles and subjects, he analyzes the hallmark memoirs of the Western tradition?Rousseau, Ben Franklin, Henry Adams, Gertrude Stein, Edward Gibbon, among others. Yagoda also describes historical trends, such as Native American captive memoirs, slave narratives, courtier dramas (where one had to pay to NOT be included in a courtesan?s memoir). Throughout, the idea of memory and truth, how we remember and how well we remember lives, is intimately explored.
Yagoda's elegant examination of memoir is at once a history of literature and taste, and an absorbing glimpse into what humans find interesting--one another.
Review
Praise for
The B Side:
“Wow, what a piece of work! I love it. The B Side is A PLUS.” — Dave Frishberg
“A provocative, consistently engaging counternarrative to the conventional wisdom that rock 'n' roll killed Tin Pan Alley.” — Kirkus Reviews
"A great many books celebrate the pre-rock Great American Songbook. Ben Yagodas highly original and shrewdly argued The B-Side isnt one of them. It tells how the Songbook emerged, but is more intent on dissecting its meretricious demise, and the way a new songbook emerged from the rubble. It is anecdotal, illuminating, and persuasive." — Gary Giddins, author of Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams and Visions of Jazz
"[The B Side is] an entertaining and thoroughly researched exploration of Americas songwriting history. With deftness of pen and skill, Yagoda has produced a work that will appeal to both musicologists and fans." — Library Journal
"Essayist Yagoda energetically conducts a journey through the development of popular music in this vibrant piece of cultural history” — Publishers Weekly
“Actually, this wonderful chronicle is a B-side. . .This will be one big revelation for anyone steeped in a rock-centric understanding of pop history, and validation for those who treasure the Songbook in all its glory. And since these songs comprise so many strains of Americas cultural DNA, everyone stands to walk away from this richly told saga with not only a song in her/his heart, but also fresh knowledge about how it got there.” — PopMatters
Praise for Ben Yagoda:
“All hail to Ben Yagoda!” - Cynthia Ozick
“[He] is his own walking billboard for the joys of imaginative, precise, and fresh language usage.”—Maureen Corrigan, NPRs Fresh Air
“Hes witty and erudite and unafraid to read between the lines of his interviewees pronouncements.”—Ron Rosenbaum
“Yagoda . . . is blessed with a genius for apt quotation.”—John Leonard
“Ben Yagoda is always fine company, with just the right word, kindly good judgment, and another great story coming up on the next page.” —Richard Ben Cramer
Review
"A shrewd and witty history of memoir sweeps us from Julius Caesar to James Frey. Our guide, Ben Yagoda, is always fine company, with just the right word, kindly good judgment, and another great story coming up on the next page. It's a splendid journey."
--Richard Ben Cramer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of What It Takes: The Way to the White House
"Ben Yagoda is one of the most subtle-and entertaining-writers about writing one can find. His history of the memoir reads between the lines-and the lies-with illuminating precision."
-Ron Rosenbaum, author of Explaining Hitler and The Shakespeare Wars
"We owe Ben Yagoda such a huge debt of thanks: his witty, comprehensive, and insightful 'biography' of the form reminds us why the memoir matters - and will continue to matter as long as humans think, read, and write. This is literary criticism at its lively best."
-David Friedman, author of A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis and The Immortalists: Charles Lindbergh, Dr. Alexis Carrel, and Their Daring Quest to Live Forever
Synopsis
From an acclaimed cultural critic, a narrative and social history of the Great American Songwriting era.
Everybody knows and loves the American Songbook. But its a bit less widely understood that in about 1950, this stream of great songs more or less dried up. All of a sudden, what came over the radio wasnt Gershwin, Porter, and Berlin, but Come on-a My House” and How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” Elvis and rock and roll arrived a few years later, and at that point the game was truly up. What happened, and why? In The B Side, acclaimed cultural historian Ben Yagoda answers those questions in a fascinating piece of detective work. Drawing on previously untapped archival sources and on scores of interviewsthe voices include Randy Newman, Jimmy Webb, Linda Ronstadt, and Herb Alpertthe book illuminates broad musical trends through a series of intertwined stories. Among them are the battle between ASCAP and Broadcast Music, Inc.; the revolution in jazz after World War II; the impact of radio and then television; and the bitter, decades-long feud between Mitch Miller and Frank Sinatra.
The B Side is about taste, and the particular economics and culture of songwriting, and the potential of popular art for greatness and beauty. Its destined to become a classic of American musical history.
About the Author
Ben Yagoda