Biographies On Icons

Abraham Lincoln, by Carl Sandburg





Listed as one of Michael’s favorite books presented to the Young Adult Services of the Chicago Public Library in 1979, source: “Michael Jackson, The Early Years”


Amazon Description:

Originally published in six volumes, Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln was called “the greatest historical biography of our generation.” Sandburg distilled this work into one volume that became the definitive life of Lincoln. Index; photographs.
About the Author
CARL SANDBURG (1878-1967) was twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize, first in 1940 for his biography of Abraham Lincoln and again in 1951 for Complete Poems. Before becoming known as a poet, he worked as a milkman, an ice harvester, a dishwasher, a salesman, a fireman, and a journalist. Among his classics are the Rootabaga Stories, which he wrote for his young daughters at the beginning of his long and distinguished literary career.

Lincoln's Devotional, by Carl Sandburg





Barnes and Nobles description:

Originally published in 1852, this book is a faithful textual reproduction of the spiritual book of days carried by President Abraham Lincoln.
Annotation
Lincoln is famous to us for phrases and attitudes ringing with biblical references. He had internalized the music and the morality of the Bible–quite possibly by means of a book he signed and carried in his pocket called The Believer’s Daily Treasure. Reprinted in its entirety, this book provides proof of Lincoln’s deeply religious character.

James Dean: An American Icon, by David Loehr





Amazon Description:

This hagiographic work contains an enormous collection of hitherto unpublished photos showing Dean as a child, student and actor both on Broadway and in his three major Hollywood films (East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant). The text is a melange of quotations from previous eulogists and of pretentious attempts to analyze Dean’s attraction. PW remarked: “Dean’s insatiable fans will doubtless be sucked in by this ridiculous scrapbook’s elegant layout.”

Lennon in America: 1971-1980, Based in Part on the Lost Lennon Diaries, by Geoffery Giuliano





Amazon Description:

In an attempt to build the most “human” Lennon composite–libidinous, possibly bisexual, drug-addled, self-loathing and Yoko-controlled–Giuliano (Glass Onion, Two of Us, etc.) spent 16 years interviewing Beatles insiders, listening to rare audiotapes, amassing Lennon’s personal correspondence and examining his much-talked-about unpublished diaries, of which Giuliano obtained a copy in 1983. “Can you imagine,” the longtime Beatles biographer gasps in his introduction, “what it feels like to hold in your hand a document you know has the power to change the course of Beatles history completely and forever?” After trumpeting a publishing revolution, he then warns readers that they “will not find in this book the voice of John Lennon as quoted from his diaries.” Nor will they find paraphrases, because Lennon’s entries “were often incomplete thoughts and snippets–the exact meaning of which is difficult to discern.” If Giuliano’s own double-talk isn’t enough to diminish this work’s credibility, his endless, voyeuristic descriptions of Lennon’s sexual encounters are. Giuliano believes that Lennon’s mother, Julia, who allegedly placed her son’s hand on her breast when he was 14 years old, is to blame for his hero’s idiosyncrasies. At first Giuliano’s intentions to give Lennon admirers “some truth” seem earnest, but in the end it seems that he seeks only to shock. “It’s very unhealthy to live through anybody,” Lennon said after Elvis’s death, but Giuliano keeps trying to worm his way into Lennon’s soul in this crude, predictable exhumation. 70 b&w photos not seen by PW. (May)

Glass Onion: The Beatles In Their Own Words, by Geoffrey Giuliano





Amazon Description:

Glass Onion consists of exclusive, rare, and uncensored transcripts of press conferences, letters, FBI memos, interviews, and dozens of previously unpublished photos. Here are the inimitable voices and views of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, juxtaposed alongside those of Yoko Ono, Linda McCartney, Pete Best, Julian Lennon, Brian Epstein, Billy Preston, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ravi Shankar, Denny Laine of Wings, and many others. In this volume, readers will discover an early 1960s letter from George to Stuart Sutcliff; Elvis Presley badmouthing the Beatles to President Richard Nixon; John’s open letter to Paul after the rancorous Beatles’ break-up; a conversation between Lennon and Samuel Beckett; Lennon’s last will and testament; George Martin and Jeff Lynn discussing the Beatles’ twentieth-anniversary reunion; Paul’s feelings on God, John, and Linda’s death in 1998; and much more.

The Lost Lennon Interviews, by Giuliano





Amazon Description:

Featuring rare, exclusive interviews with John Lennon, taken during the period when he produced some of his greatest work with the Beatles, divorced Cynthia Lennon and married Yoko Ono, and overcame a short-lived heroin addiction, The Lost Lennon Interviews offers new insight into this timeless and troubled hero. 200 photos.

Things We Said Today: Conversations with the Beatles, by Geoffrey Giuliano





Amazon Description:

Things We Said Today features rare interviews with The Beatles that open an extraordinary window into the issues that mattered most: war, sex, religion, and their relationships with each other. The book also includes interviews with Beatles insiders, including John Lennon’s family and Yoko Ono, as well as fascinating press releases and newspaper articles that chronicle their evolution into musical giants. Candid, provocative, illuminating, this is a welcome reissue of a ‘must-read’ book for Beatles fans.

Elvis Day By Day, by Peter Guralnick





Amazon Description:

On the heels of Peter Guralnick’s acclaimed two-volume study of the rise and fall of Elvis Presley (Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love) comes a book that chronicles the same epic tale in a manner that’s far less weighty than the preceding tomes, but almost as telling. For this quick-hit chronology of the Elvis story, Guralnick and his collaborator, archivist/record producer Ernst Jorgensen, were given access to 35 tons of Presley flotsam that included everything from his first income tax return to a mother lode of unpublished candids. Freed from a narrative structure, the authors chronicle the cultural icon through snippets that capture the mundane (Elvis gets his first Tupelo Public Library card, February 13, 1948) and remarkable (Elvis enlists in the battle against drugs when meeting President Nixon in the White House, December 21, 1970). Little by little, the fragments fit together to form the picture of a man hurtling toward the precipice (March 24, 1977: “Elvis’s stage wardrobe is limited to two jumpsuits that he can fit into”). In this sense, Day by Day’s scrapbook appearance is deceiving; this is serious business, indeed. –Steven Stolder

The Rolling Stones: A Life on the Road





Amazon Description:

This is the Rolling Stones’ official story of life on the road, their home away from home for over thirty years, created with the exclusive cooperation of the band, their management, and a select few of their closest colleagues. The Rolling Stones–Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ron, Bill–tell their story in an incredibly candid first-person account which is complemented by hundreds of rare photographs. For this major project, the Stones looked to Dora Loewenstein, the daughter of their business manager, Prince Rupert Loewenstein. Having virtually grown up with them, she enjoys their confidence and support and has been entrusted to present their touring history, from its beginning in 196263 at small, local gigs, to their infamous world tours, culminating with their 199798 Bridges to Babylon tour. In a vivid text, based on extensive interviews conducted by Jools Holland, the Stones reminisce and comment on their experiences, the music, and the relationships which give the band its unique and enduring personality. The Stones’ sidemen, such as sax player Bobby Keys, and long-term associates also add their stories to the mix. The dazzling array of photographs are drawn from the Stones’ own archives and from untapped collections throughout the world. The Rolling Stones: A Life on the Road is the story, quite simply, of the greatest rock-and-roll band in the world doing what they do best.

Bruce Lee: The Celebrated life of the Golden Dragon, by John Little


Listed in Julien’s Auction:





Amazon Description:

The first compilation of Bruce Lee photographs published in association with the Bruce Lee estate. This book reveals the full range of Lee’s talents. It includes rare photos spanning from his early stage career in Hong Kong to his worldwide success as an actor and martial arts phenomenon. Selected with the assistance of Lee’s widow, Linda Lee Cadwell, Bruce Lee expert John Little presents a photographic record, accompanied by descriptive commentary, of all facets of this fascinating man, from the start of his career to his untimely death a quarter century ago. Included are photos from Bruce’s personal family photos, from his childhood years, through the early years in Hollywood, to the peak of his career as an international star.

Elia Kazan: A Life, by Elia Kazan


Elia Kazan Wikipedia description:

Kazan introduced a new generation of unknown young actors to the movie audiences, including Marlon Brando and James Dean. Most noted for drawing out the best dramatic performances from his actors, he directed 21 actors to Oscar nominations, resulting in nine wins. He became “one of the consummate filmmakers of the 20th century”, after directing a continual string of successful films, including, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954), and East of Eden (1955). During his career, he won two Oscars as Best Director and received an Honorary Oscar, won three Tony Awards, and four Golden Globes. Among the other new actors he introduced to movie audiences were Warren Beatty, Carroll Baker, Julie Harris, Andy Griffith, Lee Remick, Rip Torn, Eli Wallach, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, and Pat Hingle. He also elicited some of the best performances in the careers of actors like Natalie Wood and James Dunn. Producer George Stevens, Jr., concludes that Kazan’s films and new actors have “changed American moviemaking”


Amazon description:

Elia Kazan’s varied life and career is related here in his autobiography. He reveals his working relationships with his many collaborators, including Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, James Dean, John Steinbeck and Darryl Zanuck, and describes his directing “style” as he sees it, in terms of position, movement, pace, rhythm and his own limitations. Kazan also retraces his own decision to inform for the House Un-American Activities Committee, illuminating much of what may be obscured in McCarthy literature.