Word: simonizes
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...trial that sends Valjean back to prison, his haggling with the inn-keeper to win Cosette?s freedom, the final confrontation with Javert and his last words to his adopted daughter - all are realized with an enthralling depth and immediacy. "Purely as a professional achievement, this is breathtaking," writes Simon Callow, in "Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu," a biography that contains the most detailed analysis I?ve found of the radio work. "Welles at twenty-two produced a show that could rival any by the most seasoned practitioner...
DAUGHTER OF INVENTION: Moon Unit Zappa says that her first novel, "America the Beautiful" (Simon & Schuster Trade Paperbacks) is "17.2 percent autobiographical." The heroine, America Throne, has an unusual name, is the daughter of a famous person, and has a musician brother. "Obviously there are some similarities there," she says wryly. To say the least. Moon, as she is known to her friends, is the daughter of the late Frank Zappa, a bandleader, guitar hero, composer, satirist, and political commentator whose creativity is legendary. She admits that Growing Up Zappa was complicated business. "I?ve had enough excitement...
...ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK: Simon Winchester goes for arcane subjects. His bestselling "The Professor and the Madman" told the story behind the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. His new book, "The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology" (HarperCollins; August 14) tells the story of William Smith, "whose lifelong obsession with fossils and the strata of rock formations proved to be the foundation for the science of geology." Kirkus adored it, giving it a starred review. "A fluid, fascinating, emotional story of an unlikely genius who created a science." HarperCollins is really behind...
...ADAMS FAMILY: David McCullough's "John Adams" (Simon & Schuster) is the No. 1 nonfiction book on the New York Times (NYT) list after nine weeks. That's good news for the founding father's wife, Abigail. PW reports that Simon & Schuster will be reissuing "Dearest Friend: The Life of Abigail Adams" by Lynn Withey (1981), which has long been out of print. First Ladies are all the rage in publishing these days: in addition to the books about Edith Wilson (below) and Abigail Adams, Pantheon will be publishing "Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages that Shaped Our Recent History" by Kati Marton...
...early 1990s Vanzant found a following among African Americans with books like Acts of Faith: Daily Meditations for People of Color. After 11 books with 8 million copies in print, "her message became more universal," says Trish Todd, her editor at Simon & Schuster, but her core audience has stayed with her. At the taping, Vanzant asks who has read her books; about half the audience, and most of the black women, raise their hands...