What do you think?
Rate this book
The Days of the Bitter End
Jack Engelhard's The Days of the Bitter End may well be the definitive word on the 1960s. This is a landmark book, masterfully evocative. Engelhard once again proves himself to be a truly great novelist in this beautifully crafted historical novel that recaptures an era that has left an indelible mark on our culture to this day. Read it and laugh, read it and weep, because it's all here, the way it was back then, the age of innocence soon to be shattered, but then reborn. This is what it was like to be young, every moment an adventure. Brilliant.
Reviews
"It's all here...masterfully written by one of the greatest novelists of our Age. Engelhard brings to bear his journalistic talents as well as matchless storytelling ability to put the reader right in the center of the action...of the story...of the times.”
- John W. Cassell, author of 1969
"What a great story. If you missed the 60s – if you missed the excitement, the passion, the radicalism, the thrills, the hopes and dreams – this book brings it all alive. I could not put it down."
- Kmgroup review
"Another significant accomplishment from this versatile writer, and it resonates with the sort of dialogue and imagery that not only rings with credibility, but instantly evokes a 'you are there' feeling for the reader."
- Nancy Sundstrom, Northern Express
"Engelhard's writing is superb, and he offers up a slice of 1960s life that is vibrant and moving. The story is skillfully crafted, quite witty and intriguing."
- Carie Morrison, Rambles.net
About the Author :
Contemporaries have hailed novelist Jack Engelhard as "the last Hemingway" and of being "a writer without peer and the conscience of us all." The New York Times commended the economy of his prose... "precise, almost clinical language." His bestselling novel Indecent Proposal made him internationally famous as the foremost chronicler of moral dilemmas and of topics dealing with temptation. Works that followed won him an even greater following, such as Escape from Mount Moriah , his book of memoirs that won awards for writing and for film. His latest novel Compulsive draws us into the mind of a compulsive gambler in a work stunningly brilliant and original, and seductively readable. Engelhard writes a weekly column for The Washington Times . His www.jackengelhard.com
Reviews
"It's all here...masterfully written by one of the greatest novelists of our Age. Engelhard brings to bear his journalistic talents as well as matchless storytelling ability to put the reader right in the center of the action...of the story...of the times.”
- John W. Cassell, author of 1969
"What a great story. If you missed the 60s – if you missed the excitement, the passion, the radicalism, the thrills, the hopes and dreams – this book brings it all alive. I could not put it down."
- Kmgroup review
"Another significant accomplishment from this versatile writer, and it resonates with the sort of dialogue and imagery that not only rings with credibility, but instantly evokes a 'you are there' feeling for the reader."
- Nancy Sundstrom, Northern Express
"Engelhard's writing is superb, and he offers up a slice of 1960s life that is vibrant and moving. The story is skillfully crafted, quite witty and intriguing."
- Carie Morrison, Rambles.net
About the Author :
Contemporaries have hailed novelist Jack Engelhard as "the last Hemingway" and of being "a writer without peer and the conscience of us all." The New York Times commended the economy of his prose... "precise, almost clinical language." His bestselling novel Indecent Proposal made him internationally famous as the foremost chronicler of moral dilemmas and of topics dealing with temptation. Works that followed won him an even greater following, such as Escape from Mount Moriah , his book of memoirs that won awards for writing and for film. His latest novel Compulsive draws us into the mind of a compulsive gambler in a work stunningly brilliant and original, and seductively readable. Engelhard writes a weekly column for The Washington Times . His www.jackengelhard.com
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1998
30 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 28, 2015
The Days of the Bitter End is another masterpiece by Jack Engelhard. As a history buff I appreciate reading about times I have not (really) experienced. Jack delivers. His portrayal of Greenwich Village 1963 lets the aura of time and place come alive. The descriptions are so vivid I could almost hear Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Peter, Paul, and Mary singing.
But there is much more. By creating his character Cliff Harris, the comedian and John Kennedy impersonator, Jack creates the opportunity to have Cliff tell us what Americans were thinking about the president's political decisions and life; people interact with Cliff, the impersonator, since they cannot speak directly to the president.
The more I read the more I got drawn into the book. I wanted to know what was going to happen even though that was clear from the beginning. Kennedy would get shot and obviously his impersonator would not have a career anymore. Suspense arises as Jack's characters take little steps in attempt to live their lives to the fullest. As readers we cannot help but rooting for them and then - unexpectedly sudden - Kennedy is shot and everything is falling apart. I was a baby when John Kennedy got assassinated but I do remember Robert Kennedy getting shot. I had found my mother in the kitchen, weeping almost out of control. The radio was running. Why was she sobbing like I had never seen before? She explained to me that that man, who she had shown me on the cover of a magazine only a few weeks prior, that man who had been depicted with his wife and ten children, who wanted to be president, had been shot. Being six, living in Europe, I could not grasp why anybody would want to shoot a man who wanted to be president of the United States. Seeing my mother weep, I realized that this was a much bigger tragedy than I could understand. It is exactly this feeling that radiates out of Jack's book's pages. Even though Jack's characters and everybody else can guess that history just took a terrible and unexpected turn, nobody can grasp what is about to unravel on many levels. Jack is a master in letting this feeling of uncertainty come alive. Having peeked over the shoulder of Jack's vivacious character Louise Carmen, "we feel" how "she feels" when we read: "Louise Carmen was not young anymore. Then again, nobody was."
Lastly, Jack has his characters Cliff, Ben, and Lenny ask the big questions and make the big statements.
"Is America still a nation or have we simply become an audience?"
"You're not after the truth?"
"Illusion is America and Elvis and I say thank God for illusion."
With such Jack makes us think and reflect. The Days of the Bitter End delivers much more than a fictitious story set in 1963. I highly recommend this book.
But there is much more. By creating his character Cliff Harris, the comedian and John Kennedy impersonator, Jack creates the opportunity to have Cliff tell us what Americans were thinking about the president's political decisions and life; people interact with Cliff, the impersonator, since they cannot speak directly to the president.
The more I read the more I got drawn into the book. I wanted to know what was going to happen even though that was clear from the beginning. Kennedy would get shot and obviously his impersonator would not have a career anymore. Suspense arises as Jack's characters take little steps in attempt to live their lives to the fullest. As readers we cannot help but rooting for them and then - unexpectedly sudden - Kennedy is shot and everything is falling apart. I was a baby when John Kennedy got assassinated but I do remember Robert Kennedy getting shot. I had found my mother in the kitchen, weeping almost out of control. The radio was running. Why was she sobbing like I had never seen before? She explained to me that that man, who she had shown me on the cover of a magazine only a few weeks prior, that man who had been depicted with his wife and ten children, who wanted to be president, had been shot. Being six, living in Europe, I could not grasp why anybody would want to shoot a man who wanted to be president of the United States. Seeing my mother weep, I realized that this was a much bigger tragedy than I could understand. It is exactly this feeling that radiates out of Jack's book's pages. Even though Jack's characters and everybody else can guess that history just took a terrible and unexpected turn, nobody can grasp what is about to unravel on many levels. Jack is a master in letting this feeling of uncertainty come alive. Having peeked over the shoulder of Jack's vivacious character Louise Carmen, "we feel" how "she feels" when we read: "Louise Carmen was not young anymore. Then again, nobody was."
Lastly, Jack has his characters Cliff, Ben, and Lenny ask the big questions and make the big statements.
"Is America still a nation or have we simply become an audience?"
"You're not after the truth?"
"Illusion is America and Elvis and I say thank God for illusion."
With such Jack makes us think and reflect. The Days of the Bitter End delivers much more than a fictitious story set in 1963. I highly recommend this book.
August 29, 2012
A brilliantly written book by the doorman for the Bitter End Cafe. Jack Engelhard was a first hand witness to the zestful days of Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, Lenny Bruce...Cosby, Streisand...all of them. He saw Beat turned to Hip.
The characters are instantly recognizable. They could have been alter egos for the ones I depict in my faction book Odyssey: 1970. It was a surprisingly inclusive time when caution was thrown to the winds and people lived as never before.
Jack Engelhard brilliantly weaves his tapestry, leaving the reader feeling heis standing there on Bleecker St. I was there in '62 and so can attest to the atmosphere he so brilliantly re-creates. But there is much more. The story winds up covering from 62-68, spans both coasts and of course Vietnam.
I finished it with tears in my eyes....tears for a bygone era...for friends now all grown up....
You just couldn't stay forever in NeverNever Land.
The characters are instantly recognizable. They could have been alter egos for the ones I depict in my faction book Odyssey: 1970. It was a surprisingly inclusive time when caution was thrown to the winds and people lived as never before.
Jack Engelhard brilliantly weaves his tapestry, leaving the reader feeling heis standing there on Bleecker St. I was there in '62 and so can attest to the atmosphere he so brilliantly re-creates. But there is much more. The story winds up covering from 62-68, spans both coasts and of course Vietnam.
I finished it with tears in my eyes....tears for a bygone era...for friends now all grown up....
You just couldn't stay forever in NeverNever Land.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews