Terminalcoffee discussion

The book I'm reading now is about Harriet Spencer, which has led me to want to read books about Georgiana Spencer and Caroline Lamb. Does anyone have any recommendations of either authors or specific works?

TIA!

Reflected Glory: Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman

Eminent Victorians

If you're a fan of Jeff Buckley, I recommend Dream Brother.

Bluebeard: The Life and Crimes of Gilles de Rais by Leonard Wolf

Fascinating biography of the Breton knight who served alongside Joan of Arc and ended up being put to death for the horrific murders of hundreds of children.

George Sand: A Biography by Curtis Cate was good. Long, though.

Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

These three biographies all are unexpectedly good in the surprises one finds. This is true for those who are quite familiar with the lives of the individuals. The Black Count is as much about author Alexandre Dumas as it his father who is an almost unknown historical figure of great importance.

A book that may not be a traditional biography as it covers two people is:

L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City by John Buntin

This is a very well done and exciting romp through Los Angeles and its darker side. The story of William Parker contained in this is a must read for biography buffs. Readers interested in the modern world of law enforcement should include this if not start with this book to see the rise of L.E. in response to organized crime and the relationship good and bad of L.E. with politics.

Clark seems to have a very large collection of rock n roll/music biographies... or at least to have read a large collection of them.

My personal favorite:

Kate Remembered by A Scott Berg (Katherine Hepburn)

Santiago wrote: "Has anybody read Cronkite? Would you recommend it?"


OHHH!!! I want to read that one!

Chopin, the Reluctant Romantic
Liked this one a lot.

Evenings with Horowitz: A Personal Portrait
Very interesting. Not a completely unbiased biography; Dubal was a close friend of the Horowitzes and a big brown-noser, until he displeased them and was dropped like a hot potato.

I am not usually a biography or autobiography reader but I would consider reading the one about Patty Duke.

I should try biographies on audio.

Heidi wrote: "Clark seems to have a very large collection of rock n roll/music biographies... or at least to have read a large collection of them."

Too many...

Jammies, I don't have a bio recommendation for the women you asked about, but my favorite biography is, "The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage, by Paul Elie. It's an intertwined bio of Flannery O'Connor, Thomas Merton, Walker Percy and Dorothy Day.

Dr. Detroit wrote: "Too many..."

SEE??!!?!

Once you get past Motley Crue's "The Dirt" and Slash's autobiography, you're numb and nothing can truly be shocking ever again.

Those guys were completely fucked up...

Ozzy. Ozzy was (most likely still is) fucked up, too. He shocked Motley Crue with some of his antics.

Yeah, according to Ozzy, the wheels came off during his "Bark At the Moon" tour - with the Crue in tow - but I don't recall any mention of Ozzy shooting up.

That's what separates the pretenders from the truly driven. Regardless, how any of them are still allowed to roam the Earth is surely one of life's great imponderables.

Some of those books ought to be required reading for all middle-schoolers on how not to act. Regrettably, all we had were Sonny and Cher to warn us during those junior high anti-drug films and let's face it, who was going to listen to anyone wearing granny glasses and love beads?

I was thinking of the story, that I believe Tommy Lee told on an interview, where they got off the tour bus and Ozzy knelt down next to a line of ants on the ground and snorted them. I'm not even sure he was on anything when he did that one.

Just eating them would have been healthier. So did they end up in his lungs? I don't snort a lot of things so I'm not an expert.

I resorted to Yahoo answers...this is sort of helpful, but not entirely helpful:
"When you snort fine powders like crushed pills or cocaine it does not usually make it into your lungs. The linings of your nose and upper throat area are wet with mucous. The powder clings to the mucous and is absorbed quickly into your bloodstream."

So what about ants?

The ants most likely stuck to the mucus in his upper throat, became intoxicated from his heavy alcohol intake and washed down his esophagus to the hellish acids in the depth of his stomach where they perished. At least, that would be my guess.

Then he shat them out and they ascended to ant heaven.

No. Of course if you just fight the urge to snort them then you should have no worries.

Shat. A word I heard my grandfather say once.

Félix wrote: "Shat. I word I heard my grandfather say once."

I miss Kirk Curnutt.

Santiago wrote: "Has anybody read Cronkite? Would you recommend it?"

Just brought this one home from the library! One more to get read this month!

Peter the Great by Robert K. Massie was fascinating. It really brought Peter to life, and Massie is a Harvard scholar who has several books on Russian history to his credit.

I recommend Steve Jobs's and Einstein's biographies, by Walter Isaacson.