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The View from Babylon: The Notes of a Hollywood Voyeur
Los Angeles. As luxurious as it is decadent, it is host to lush and extravagant galas, aglitter with the rich and famous, overrun by exotic cars, rife with crazed body builders, peopled by agents scoffing at nine-figure deals, and haunted by greed, ambition, and despair. Devastated by earthquakes, it is even more gloriously rebuilt. But beneath it all echo the cries of infants murdered by drug addicted parents, husbands who kill themselves in hotel rooms, and marriages broken over bank accounts. From the best to the worst, Donald Rawley offers it all up in a sprawling book that captivates the reader with its devastating honesty.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 18, 2011
This is probably one of the best books I've ever read-but you have to have a strong stomach for it.
This is a collection of essays by Donald Rawley, all of them about Hollywood,the myths that go with it, and the psychosis that go with those myths
You know you're in for a tough book when his credits are listed on the back flap, and after listing his various publications-it reads
'a former editor of Buzz magazine- he died in May,1998.'
Ouch. Right in the kisser.
That's pretty well what the whole book was like.
This guy doesn't mince his words. ( About half way through- I kind of wished he did.)
I won't outline each essay- I'll only say that each of them pertain to crimes that you could not begin to fathom.
The one essay- entitled "Little Ghosts" was probably one of the most horrific pieces I've ever read. In it he describes the epidemic of infanticides in Antelope Valley. That means parents killing their babies.
I'll only say that these aren't just murders- these are the whole host of perversions that accompanied these murders. The horror is just - there's just no words for it .
It was at that point that I thought that if this guy, Rawley hadn't of died- he would probably have killed himself.
There is something about a brilliant writer that makes you sit up hard and take notice.
A brilliant writer can make you want to read anything- no matter how irrelevant it is to your own life.
Such is the work of Donald Rawley.
It is just such a relief to read the thoughts of a smart human being. Someone who's actually thinking and thinking hard.
Of course writing about Hollywood is a tricky act. On one hand he wants to be snide and cynical- and then on the other hand he just cannot resist dropping names- which he does - at great length.
It didn't matter to me. At that point I liked the guy so much I would've forgiven him anything- anything at all.
There was just one chapter - where even I had to smile.
Tennessee Williams apparently had the hots for him and he made it quite well known- to anyone who'd listen.
But here's the thing.
Now I had never known Tennessee Williams but I was at a seminar once where he was the guest speaker and he charmed the pants off me. He was truly a charming human being BUT for those on the inside, with his close friends- he was called TOM- which was his real name- Tom Williams.
Now throughout the essay " Nights with Tennessee" which is basically a very big brag about this famous playwright persuing Rawley - in it Rawley keeps referring to him as Tennessee.See what I mean? That's like the Lone Ranger having a crush on you and you keep calling him the Lone Ranger.
"..and then the Lone Ranger lifted up his glass to me and stared into my eyes."
That essay kind of blew his cover but like I said I liked him so much at that point-I'd have forgiven him anything.
Excellent book. Excellent writer. Excellent all the way.
Such is the work of Donald Rawley.
JM
This is a collection of essays by Donald Rawley, all of them about Hollywood,the myths that go with it, and the psychosis that go with those myths
You know you're in for a tough book when his credits are listed on the back flap, and after listing his various publications-it reads
'a former editor of Buzz magazine- he died in May,1998.'
Ouch. Right in the kisser.
That's pretty well what the whole book was like.
This guy doesn't mince his words. ( About half way through- I kind of wished he did.)
I won't outline each essay- I'll only say that each of them pertain to crimes that you could not begin to fathom.
The one essay- entitled "Little Ghosts" was probably one of the most horrific pieces I've ever read. In it he describes the epidemic of infanticides in Antelope Valley. That means parents killing their babies.
I'll only say that these aren't just murders- these are the whole host of perversions that accompanied these murders. The horror is just - there's just no words for it .
It was at that point that I thought that if this guy, Rawley hadn't of died- he would probably have killed himself.
There is something about a brilliant writer that makes you sit up hard and take notice.
A brilliant writer can make you want to read anything- no matter how irrelevant it is to your own life.
Such is the work of Donald Rawley.
It is just such a relief to read the thoughts of a smart human being. Someone who's actually thinking and thinking hard.
Of course writing about Hollywood is a tricky act. On one hand he wants to be snide and cynical- and then on the other hand he just cannot resist dropping names- which he does - at great length.
It didn't matter to me. At that point I liked the guy so much I would've forgiven him anything- anything at all.
There was just one chapter - where even I had to smile.
Tennessee Williams apparently had the hots for him and he made it quite well known- to anyone who'd listen.
But here's the thing.
Now I had never known Tennessee Williams but I was at a seminar once where he was the guest speaker and he charmed the pants off me. He was truly a charming human being BUT for those on the inside, with his close friends- he was called TOM- which was his real name- Tom Williams.
Now throughout the essay " Nights with Tennessee" which is basically a very big brag about this famous playwright persuing Rawley - in it Rawley keeps referring to him as Tennessee.See what I mean? That's like the Lone Ranger having a crush on you and you keep calling him the Lone Ranger.
"..and then the Lone Ranger lifted up his glass to me and stared into my eyes."
That essay kind of blew his cover but like I said I liked him so much at that point-I'd have forgiven him anything.
Excellent book. Excellent writer. Excellent all the way.
Such is the work of Donald Rawley.
JM
November 4, 2011
A collection of fascinating essays about Hollywood (up until the late 1990s, Rawley died in 1998). It felt like a more hardcore version of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends or a more hard-boiled Tom Wolfe. Recommended.
March 2, 2011
An entertaining book about the "inside" of hollywood.
June 11, 2012
I enjoyed this. I'm a new Donald Rawley fan.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews