Rock 'n' roll history looks at L.A.'s dark side
By DAVID W. WERSINGER
ACCENT EDITOR
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Sand, surf, sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll?
Yes, please.
In his irresistible page-turner of a book, "Waiting For The Sun," Barney Hoskyns chronicles the music of Southern California, a sound that embodies the area's seemingly laid-back, mellow façade. But much like an onion left too long in a California field, as the layers
are peeled away, a seamy, debauched, druggy core is revealed. And for readers, that's a good thing.
Hoskyns starts the tour in the 1940s, when black jazzmen -- and heroin -- dominated the Southern California music scene. The book moves briskly through the decades: the druggy '60s, the free-love and rock royalty era of the '70s, the hard-core and anger-fueled punk of the '80s and the violent, misogynistic rap of the '90s.
Along the way, "Sun" is filled with tales of performers hitting creative, influential heights, only to come burning, comet-like, back to Earth as permanently damaged wrecks. It's a richly detailed account, filled with interviews and recollections from the people who were actually there, including members of the Byrds, the Eagles, Steely Dan, Neil Young, Frank Zappa, Linda Ronstadt, Phil Spector, Ice Cube, Beck and even Charles Manson, whose song, "Cease to Exist," was recorded by the Beach Boys in 1969 as "Never Learn Not To Love."
Perhaps it's this last relationship that best sums up the Southern California musical landscape: At the heart of bright, hummable pop songs for the masses, lies a very dark star indeed.
"Waiting for the Sun," by Barney Hoskyns, Backbeat Books, 420 pages, $16.99, paperback
Attention, Bruce fans
To say that Louis P. Masur is a fan of Bruce Springsteen is just about the epitome of understatement.
Masur, the William R. Kenan Jr. professor of American institutions and values at Trinity College, is so taken with Springsteen's work that he has merged his academic research with his favorite artist. The result is Masur's latest book, "Runaway Dream: 'Born to Run' and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision," which was released Sept. 1.
It's an exceedingly detailed analysis of the singer's breakthrough album: how it was created, its cultural context and what it means today.
-- Eric, R. Danton, Hartford Courant
"Runaway Dream: 'Born to Run' and Bruce Springsteen's American Vision," Bloomsbury Press, 256 pages, $23, hardback
Fitting tribute to a sacred institution
By KAREN DUFFY
STAFF WRITER
The Daytona Beach News-Journal
If you're reading this page, chances are good that you're a bibliophile -- and chances are equally as good that the recently published "The Library: An Illustrated History" would be a welcome addition to your reading list.
From the early clay tablets from Mesopotamia to the digital formats found in today's society, libraries were created to house these treasures for posterity.
This beautifully illustrated history of the "collections of recorded knowledge" provides a wealth of information about the written word, the buildings that house said knowledge, as well as the history of librarianship.
Of particular interest is the section titled "Libraries of the World," which takes readers on a virtual visit to several of the world's greatest libraries -- public, academic and special (for example, the Vatican Library in Rome).
As stated in the book's foreword, during today's difficult economic times, the institution of the library is very much alive and in demand -- much like it was during the days of the Great Depression, when patrons flocked to libraries in record numbers. "The Library: An Illustrated History" is a well-crafted homage to this institution.
-- Staff Writer Karen Duffy is News Research Editor for The Daytona Beach News-Journal -- and a librarian.
karen.duffy@news-jrnl.com
"The Library: An Illustrated History," by Stuart A.P. Murray, Skyhorse Publishing, 320 pages, $35, hardback
An uplifting tale of reincarnation
By J.W. FLETCHER
Special to The Daytona Beach News-Journal
Reincarnation -- the idea that we have lived other lives and may live future ones. World War II history -- Naval air combat in the Pacific. These two topics come together in a very unusual way in the story of James Leininger in "Soul Survivor."
At age 2, little James began having recurring nightmares of being shot down during the battle for Iwo Jima. The nightmares continued and his parents realized, over time, that he was reliving the death of Fighter Pilot James Huston from Pennsylvania. This child had knowledge of World War II aircraft and ships that no youngster should have. He remembered names and men, living and dead, from Squadron VC81.
His parents' quest to help their son led them to the USS Natoma Bay. Eventually, they attended a reunion of the squadron and traveled to the place where Huston had died more than 50 years earlier.
The vivid previous-life memories of this young child touched the lives of many others over time, including Huston's surviving 84-year-old sister. They also brought this young child into the embrace of the aging veterans of Huston's Squadron VC81, the men who flew with him.
Whether one believes in reincarnation or not, Leininger's story is an amazing one. Life is full of unexplained coincidences, large and small. Some are more difficult to comprehend than others. Is it a coincidence that my father (VC91) flew the exact same types of planes of exactly the same type of carrier as James Huston? I have attended my dad's squadron reunions exactly as described in "Soul Survivor." Is it a coincidence that the friend who gave me this book to review is also named James Huston (of Daytona Beach) and has roots in Pennsylvania? Is it a coincidence that Books Editor Karen Gallagher knows the James Huston who passed it along to me? Is it just a coincidence that a 2-year-old child appears to have vivid memories of a life years before he was born?
If you are a skeptic when it comes to reincarnation, you will probably still be one after reading this book, but it will give you something to think about.
(Note: Authors Bruce and Andrea Leininger, James' parents, live in Louisiana with their son, who is now 11.)
"Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot," by Bruce and Andrea Leininger, Grand Central Publishing, 256 pages, $24.99, hardback
Florida Book Awards taking entries
TALLAHASSEE -- The fourth annual Florida Book Awards competition kicked off earlier this month with a call for entries in seven categories.
The contest recognizes and celebrates the year's best books penned by full-time residents of the Sunshine State (with the exception of submissions to the Florida Nonfiction category, whose authors may live elsewhere). The Florida Book Awards competition is coordinated through The Florida State University Libraries, with the support of professors and librarians across the FSU campus.
The contest categories are General Fiction, Young Adult Literature, Children's Literature, Florida Nonfiction, Poetry, Popular Fiction, and Spanish-Language Book.
Entries, which can be submitted by anyone (e.g. publisher, author or literary agent), must be professionally published and have both an original publication date between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 and an International Standard Book Number.
Although all entries must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, 2010 (this is not a postmark deadline), applicants are encouraged to submit their books into competition any time during the 2009 calendar year.
Three-person juries will choose up to five finalists in each of the seven categories. The 2009 winners will be announced in early March.
For information and the entry form, requirements and instructions for the competition, visit floridabookawards.lib.fsu.edu.
-- Wire Report
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