Review by Booklist Review
The compilers of this oral history date the youthquake (Diana Vreeland's coinage) that defined the era from the nearly simultaneous debut appearances on British television on January 13, 1963, of the Beatles and Bob Dylan. With the emphasis distinctly on events in the UK, the authors have culled quotes from musicians (Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, among others), music agents and promoters, and fashion pioneers Vidal Sassoon and Mary Quant to delineate how the postwar generation broke from tradition and set a new style. On the American side, coming out of a very different war experience, folksingers like Carolyn Hester and R&B and blues/soul singers such as Mary Wilson of the Supremes (who are both quoted) and Dylan (who is not) charted a parallel course. There is very little narrative connecting the quotes, which are selective (no Beatles, no African American bluesmen despite their acknowledged influence). This is a familiar story and the concentration on the authors' English homeland may limit its audience in the States, but to the baby boomers whose story this is, interest in the period (i.e., in themselves) is ongoing.--Levine, Mark Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
When British and American youth revolted in the early 1960s, cultures around the globe felt the tremors of its impact. British journalists Morgan and Leve orchestrate a tribute to this time of great change through the voices of entertainers, fashion mavens, writers, and artists of the period. This oral history is a cavalcade of celebs marking their coming of age in the golden era of the space race, the rising campaigns for women's and civil rights, and the tragedy of J.F.K.'s assassination. Among the notables Morgan and Leve rounded up to recall their experiences are guitarist Eric Clapton, songwriter Neil Sedaka, singer Mary Wilson, hair stylist Vidal Sassoon, Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Bill Wyman, writers Robert Christgau and Gay Talese. It's an unusual collection of figures, but what is remarkable is that many of these people never thought they would be stars, yet in this burgeoning counter-culture generation, they became rich, famous, and shook up the world. Through colorful, warts-and-all interviews, Morgan and Leve bring together a variety of viewpoints on the year the '60s really began. B&w photo inserts. Agent: Rob Weisbach, Rob Weisbach Creative Management. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A hit-and-miss oral history of the "youthquake" year, from a predominantly British perspective. Former Sunday Times Magazine editor in chief Morgan and Leve (It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me, 2010) show how the advent of the birth control pill, the ascent of youth-oriented designers and models and photographers, the sex scandals that rocked the British government (but barely registered in the States), and the general feeling that life as well as youth were short were all integral elements of this seismic shift. Maintains Andrew Loog Oldham, former manager of the Rolling Stones, "It wasn't the Beatles and it wasn't the Rolling Stones, it was Vidal Sassoon, it was Mary Quant, David Bailey, the models, they were the start of it." All are represented here, along with musicians who have covered this period more colorfully in their own books (Keith Richards, Bill Wyman, Eric Clapton) and a smattering of Americans, including journalists Robert Christgau and Gay Talese, both of whom could undoubtedly write books on the topic with greater depth and insight. "If I write my book, if it will be about anything, it will be about the Beatles and the Stones and the Supremes in '64," says Christgau, referencing the year that much of what is detailed in this book had more impact in America. He also testifies to his part in the sexual revolution: "I was having sex at least every two weeks throughout that entire period." The authors mostly disappear from the text after proclaiming that "[i]n just one year, the landscape of our lives, loves and looks changed forever." However, there's no indication of when these interviews took place, whether they were all for this specific book or why these particular people were selected (Stevie Nicks in a book about 1963?). Whatever the nuggets of interest, this reads like an endless magazine article in need of editorial shaping and some kind of organizing principle.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
