My three Fathers and the Elegant Deceptions of My Mother Susan Mary Alsop by William S.Patten

This book is a well written account of a time, place and people now gone and a lifestyle that would probably only now exist amongst the British Aristocracy or whatever is left of them.
William S Patten writes a heartfelt memoir, that is generous and forgiving but which equally does not fail to recount the truth and the anger that the truth brings. Until he was 47 Patten believed he was the son of an American Diplomatic based in Paris, the revelation that he was the son in fact of British Diplomat Duff Cooper came as a consequence of an intervention that Patten, his sister and others had arranged for their mother now known as Susan Mary Alsop as they were more than concerned about her propensity for drink.
The man Patten believed to be his father died when he was 12 and his mother married the renowned and homosexual journalist and friend of the famous Joe Alsop who had been Bill Patten`s best friend, the socially advantageous life careened on but not without repercussions for Patten who had an anger problem and a sense of not belonging, of not knowing those who had so influenced him in any but a superficial manner. He was the spitting image of his biological father but the bond was non existent, the man who was married to his mother at the time of his conception and birth was lost to him at an early age and he had very ambivalent feelings about his mothers second husband who had huge issues of his own,this book is the story of Patterns attempt to make a whole out of the main skeins. It is a book that is sprinkled with stories of histories notables, it is generous and forgiving and understanding of what makes a person the way they are and why the might behave a certain way but it isn`t  just a litany of excuses either which makes it quite unique. I didn`t much like Duff Cooper, Susan Mary Alsop or Joe Alsop, each cold, arrogant and self absorbed with a shallowness that was only leavened by the writing abilities of this trio who made a contribution via their writing to history, their brittleness and tendency towards alcohol masked a desperation that all life's riches couldn't really cure. Bill Patten, William`s father was the best of the bunch, weighted down sadly by illness and an inability to tie his abilities to a sturdy lamppost.
A very good read, the type of book that has you turning the pages so you can find out what happens next. It is also an interesting  reality that in today`s media, you`d be hard pressed to get away with this type of behaviour.

Midnight Champagne by A.Manette Ansay.

Manette Ansay became very well know when her book Vinegar Hill was chosen for Oprah Winfrey`s Book Club many years ago, it was a great read.
Set on the shore of Lake Michigan this book is about love and marriage, secrets and lies, life and family.
It is linked by two marriages, one just beginning and one disintegrating into horror. The proximity of one marriage and the denouement of another are linked because they are held at the same time and in the same place, characters go back and forth and intermingle in the most unexpected of ways.
The characters are richly and vibrantly drawn in all their passion, fury, bitterness and pain, they are also very funny and there are alot of laugh out loud moments. The book is divided into 6 interlinked chapters, each covering an aspect of the Wedding of Caleb and April.This is not really the wedding of April`s dreams, in fact its a little trashy but that doesn`t detract at all, it simple brings humour to the story in quite surprising ways. The writing is rather magical and the story fairly hums along, stopping now and again for breath or a secret to be revealed.This is the kind of book that once picked up, you can`t put it down, you simply can`t wait to see what unfolds or who does what and to whom, does love triumph in the end and what on earth would you do in the same situation are questions you will find yourself pondering... doing the right thing can make you feel so good when all is weighed up.
This book is in print and can be ordered from Unity Books in Auckland, its in softcover.

Newspaper Titan by Amanda Smith/ Those Magnificient Medills by Megan McKinney

Two books on the exact same topic, one a massive tome, the other a wee bit smaller but both pack their punch. Imagine my surprise when I got my copy of the NY Times Book Review and there on the front cover was one book I`d just finished with a second book that I was half way through side by side,It won`t happen often so I will make the most of it.
Amanda Smiths book at nearly 600 pages is by far the bigger of the two, it is by any means a rather excellent achievement, researched, detailed, illustrated, noted and highly readable if a little wordy it tells the story of the life of Eleanor Medill Patterson who ended her life as one of the most powerful and highly disliked woman of her times, the first chief editor and publisher of a major daily newspaper she was born into newspaper royalty with all the gifting that that entailed and yet hers and her families lives were entwined.

Alcohol,misery, depression and dissipation on a scale that belies all the were both given and worked for, happiness and good relationships were not theirs, bitter rivalries, jealousy, infighting and attention seeking and gossiping meant that each generation suffered and repeated the behaviour of the preceding generation, intelligence was applied to money making and not to thinking in the Medill/Patterson/McCormick family.
The Medill/Pattersons flourished in a time when Newspapers and Print
Journalism were king, they hesitated not at all to express their feelings and views, especially when it came to politics, it appears that the only person they thought worse than Hitler was Franklin D.Roosevelt. The thought that people might be offended, hurt, ruined or disadvantaged by their words appears never to have entered their heads, their arrogance was stupendous and so was their ignorance. They were however very well connected and so as one door shut, they simply went in another!
The Daily News, The Washington Times-Herald and Newsday all had the imprint of this rollicking family imprinted on them and so did the School of Journalism for many decades to come, although their papers did not long out live them.
While this book is at times overwritten, it is fair, even handed and never looses the opportunity for humour, while a huge read it never wallowed in heaviness.


The Magnificent Medills loses nothing in its smaller telling of the tale and it fairly buzzes along, telling the tale from a somewhat more social point of view than the Smith book and with a longer range focus in that it goes far more into the life of Alicia Patterson, who was the last of this family to truly wield journalistic power and who founded the most successful post WWII newspaper in America..Newsday. It does however cover all the major points that Smiths book does and so nothing is lost if you can only say read McKinneys book, except perhaps some of the ghastly detail of this families lives which made them no Saints of Virtue. One certainly comes away realising that no amount of money or power can bring you health and happiness and it can be very hard to beat the genetic components of our makeup especially if it is entwined around addiction, although some members of the family did triumph, it was a very small number indeed and the price was horrendous.
I enjoyed both books, but to be honest I do favour Amanda Smiths book which I think will go down as the definitive account of this legendary American family.
Amanda Smiths book is available through The Auckland Library System. I bought my own copy of the Magnificent Medills via Unity Books and in hardback it only cost me a few dollars more than a trade paperback.

The Family Law by Benjamin Law

Basically the story of Benjamin Law`s family this is a very well written and very funny book. He pulls a few punches and uses a few unique and special words in the book to describe certain feelings, places and people ,their reactions and behaviours especially when confronted with the different and difficult in life, he never loses perspective and never fails to pop someones balloon when able to.
I liked his description of a family sleeping in and having to rush to get to School on time, alarmingly realistic! His dads Asian Grocery Store and his clumsiness when attending to customers, his mum telling her children that they shouldn't have any and given the choice she wouldn`t bother having them! How his dad believed everything he read in the Cantonese tabloids..the half pig story..stands alone! Witty, lively, full of delicate descriptive phrases and family stories that you will all recognise, I loved it. I would not however give it to Granny unless she has a great sense of humour, I would however give it to almost everyone else. Feeling a bit down, a wee bit sad, this book will soon have you laughing and do as he did..attempt to write down 10 things you know about your Dad or Mum without repeating yourself!
Thank you to Claire Hammon who is very good at choosing books for me to read!

Still Alice by Lisa Genova

I first picked this book up when it was first released, I put it down and passed it on, everyone who read it loved it but until last week when I bought Genovas latest book I couldn't for the life of me remember why I hadn't picked it up again and then I remembered... Barbara our neighbour was going through her Alzheimer's pathway as I began to read this book and it was just too real.
Barbara is no longer with us, but wonderful memories of her remain and this book so vividly brought back to me all that Barbara had gone through, the wonderment, the bewilderment, the bafflement when others didn't understand, the wanderings, the phone calls in the middle of the night, the displacement, the who are you?
Barbara wasn't young like Alice but she had lead a very full and active life and gave unstintingly to her community, helped so many, never forgot a child's birthday, her very face radiated kindness and like a child she retreated into another world, so many of Alices experiences hit back at me and caused me to wonder about lifes fairness and justness and then I concluded that really what life hands you is what you get to deal with.
A rich, loving book, sparsely written in places, short chapters that take you from time and place to time and place, for me it was a book of gratitude, that such a very good writer had taken a topic we don`t like to talk about and thrust it centre forward.  Her characterisations were human and believable, warm and at times thoughtless, gritty, strong, baffled and fragile, we all know them, we just have to recognise them. A wonderful read, at times painful but healing never the less and a book full of hope.....I very much look forward to reading Left Neglected.

Franklin and Eleanor by Hazel Rowley

Another of my obsessions is American First Families and boy do I have the books to prove it!
This well written, well researched book by a rather talented writer delves into a partnership that was both inclusive and destructive, loving and kind, bitter and divisive and that was not only with each other but family members, employees, political cronies and almost anyone who came to have any closeness in their lives.

Poor Eleanor, the daughter of a drunk and a mother who called her Granny because she thought she was ugly, Shining star Franklin, the son of two wealthy and devoted parents whose ambitions for their son promised greatness, this future did not include marriage to cousin "Eleanor" who was seen as socially gauche, overly tall and not at all the beauty that society said Franklin should marry but marry they do against the wishes of Franklin`s rather overbearing mother Sara Delano Roosevelt (his father James is dead and Eleanor is an Orphan) and the journey begins...Pregnancy and ill suited child raising responsibilities, social commitments, martial relations and a feeling of being obsolete due to the unending presence of Sara combine to send Eleanor into a tailspin while Franklin is off working, working, working all to the good of the great future that awaits him and sails along merrily unable to assuage Eleanors disaffection with life, Louis Howe enters the picture, builds Eleanors self esteem and Franklins political career, polio strikes, love affairs on both sides, the Governorship of New York and the Presidency of the USA call and as history well knows at enormous personal cost Franklin and Eleanor amidst what could only be called a dysfunctional marriage rise with dignity and a certain amount of accomdation to lead the people of America through a more than difficult time, Depression and World War 11 and help to build a society that ripples out worldwide.

A great read, fair, even handed and not at all stodgy, Hazel Rowley invokes a time we will not see again and takes us into the era so well that you can feel the warmth and magic of the places the Roosevelts inhabited and also the pain and sadness for the personal damage done (the Roosevelt children had many marriages and many life struggles) and an understanding of the people and the times that shaped the American Dream that we so often hear talked about. America has alot to thank Franklin and Eleanor for.

Life by Keith Richards

Known to most people as Keef, this Rolling Stone has lead a truly interesting life. The highs, the lows, the sex, the drugs are all packed into this marvellously engaging 500 plus page read. In true Rock Royalty style Keith leaves little to the imagination while managing to retain his and his many friends dignity except in the case of Mick Jagger whose appendage is described in less than flattering terms although in fairness to Mick, Jerry Hall has run to his defence and with 7 children to account we can guess that size does not matter!! From his early very humble beginnings to enormous wealth and fame, he and his co-author James Fox manage to keep things tightly plotted but lyrical and beguiling at the same time,you do feel that you are sharing in his Rock N Roll journey and really you could be sitting in the local chatting away about times and places past, he also keeps it honest and calls a spade a spade when he feels it necessary. He didn't have much time for Brian Jones and or New Zealand at certain times and made a rather interesting comment re the much exalted Bob Marley.
All in all this book is better by a country mile than many of the pompous tomes that clog this genre and well rewards the reader! You don't have to be a Stones fan either....