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| January-March 2008 |
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BOOK |
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Team
of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln |
| (Doris
Kearns Goodwin) |
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The
life and times of Abraham
Lincoln have been analyzed and dissected in
countless books. Do we need another Lincoln biography?
In Team of Rivals, esteemed historian Doris
Kearns Goodwin proves that we do. Though she
can't help but cover some familiar territory, her
perspective is focused enough to offer fresh insights
into Lincoln's leadership style and his deep understanding
of human behavior and motivation. |
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| Goodwin
makes the case for Lincoln's political genius by
examining his relationships with three men he selected
for his cabinet, all of whom were opponents for
the Republican nomination in 1860: William H. Seward,
Salmon P. Chase, and Edward Bates. These men, all
accomplished, nationally known, and presidential,
originally disdained Lincoln for his backwoods upbringing
and lack of experience, and were shocked and humiliated
at losing to this relatively obscure Illinois lawyer.
Yet, Lincoln not only convinced them to join his
administration—Seward as secretary of state,
Chase as secretary of the treasury, and Bates as
attorney general—he ultimately gained their
admiration and respect, as well. How he soothed
egos, turned rivals into allies, and dealt with
many challenges to his leadership—all for the
sake of the greater good—is largely what Goodwin's
fine book is about. Had he not possessed the wisdom
and confidence to select and work with the best
people, she argues, he could not have led the nation
through one of its darkest periods. |
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| Ten
years in the making, this engaging work reveals
why "Lincoln's road to success was longer,
more tortuous, and far less likely" than the
other men's, and why, when opportunity beckoned,
Lincoln was "the best prepared to answer the
call". This multiple biography further provides
valuable background and insights into the contributions
and talents of Seward, Chase, and Bates. Lincoln
may have been "the indispensable ingredient
of the Civil War", but these three men were
invaluable to Lincoln, and they played key roles
in keeping the nation intact. -Shawn Carkonen
for Amazon |
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FILM |
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| La
Vie En Rose (a/k/a La Môme) |
| (rated
PG-13 for substance abuse, sexual content, brief
nudity, language and thematic elements) |
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A
swirling impressionistic portrait of an artist who
regretted nothing, writer-director Olivier Dahan's La Vie en Rose stars Marion
Cotillard in a blazing performance as the
legendary French icon Edith Piaf. |
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The
TV Set |
| (rated
R for language) |
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an
insightful and fast-moving comic look at the world
of network television development; stars David
Duchovny | The story follows a TV pilot as
it goes through the network TV process of casting
production and finally airing. |
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MUSIC |
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| The
Sermon on Exposition Boulevard |
| Rickie
Lee Jones |
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| The
Sermon On Exposition Boulevard,
the new album by Rickie Lee Jones, and her first
for New West Records, is a beauty—soul-satisfying
and sonically unique. Rickie Lee sounds completely
tapped in, alive and vital, heading down some mighty
interesting roads and discovering new magical essences.
Lots of creative sparks here—plenty of them. She sounds like she's going through a transformation
throughout the album, in a way that's reminiscent
of Van Morrison's performances on his classic album Astral Weeks. -Amazon |
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| In
Rainbows |
| Radiohead |
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| On
the deliriously satisfying In Rainbows, Radiohead
returns to a more straight-ahead (though subdued)
rock sound. Much hubbub has been made about this
record's innovative release. (Radiohead allowed
fans to pay what they wished to download fairly
low-resolution tracks from the band's own Web site.)
Like so many innovations, it already seems funny
both that it was such big news and that someone
else of similar stature hadn't done it sooner. Some
pundits were appalled that it took awhile to download
the tracks if you tried to do it at the same time
as thousands of other people, while others decried
that the group was trying to kill the music industry
(or save it). Little of the press seemed to focus
on the record, itself, which actually made sense
because it was so entertaining and inviting, the
most low-key album Radiohead has made to date. There's
even a very straightforward, simple, silly little
love song, "House of Cards". It might
be a bit lethargic, but the simple instrumentation
of electric guitars, bass, and drums is lovely as
heck. A handful of these tunes enchanted fans for
years before finally being committed to computer
'tape'. This is particularly fitting as In Rainbows is the group's most band-sounding album since OK Computer. This is not a record that hits
you over the head with how far this group is pushing
the envelope; it's simply a phenomenal, well-crafted,
and exciting album. As soon as it's done, you're
playing it again. -Mike McGonigal for Amazon |
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TV |
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| (Monday
- 9 pm/8c; FX) |
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Executive
producers Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds),
David Nutter ("Supernatural", "Smallville")
and C2 Pictures (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
bring to television an intense new drama based on
the celebrated heroine of the "Terminator"
movies: Sarah Connor. |
| At
the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah
vanquished the liquid metal Terminator sent from
the future to kill her teenage son, John. Sarah
and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous,
complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they
are confronted with the reality that still more
enemies from the future, and the present, could
attack at any moment. |
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| "The
Sarah Connor Chronicles" reveals what happens
when Sarah (Lena Headey of The Brothers Grimm and 300) stops
running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving
technological enemy bent on destroying her life
and, perhaps, the world. Her son, 15-year-old John
Connor (Thomas Dekker of "Heroes"), knows that he may be the
future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to
take on the mantle of leadership that he's told
is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably
drawn to Cameron (Summer Glau of Serenity and "The Unit"), an
enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school,
who soon proves to be much more than his confidante—she
assumes the role of Sarah and John's fearless protector.
On their trail are not only threats from the future,
but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, James Ellison
(Richard T. Jones of
"Judging Amy"), who soon becomes a powerful
ally. |
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| Directed
by David Nutter and produced by Warner Bros. Television
and C-2 Pictures, "The Sarah Connor Chronicles"
represents an exciting reinvention of the "Terminator"
franchise, in which the strong and intrepid Sarah
discovers that protecting her son and stopping the
rise of the machines is more difficult than she
had ever imagined. -Fox TV |
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WEB |
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This
site is intended to promote Dylan
Thomas' poetry and prose for both enjoyment
and educational purposes. It contains the fullest
chronology of Thomas' life yet published, which
has been researched over the last five years,
and is illustrated with quotes from his work.
Other parts of the site have further information
on Thomas' "craft or sullen art", and
on literature written about him. |
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Named
Best Wine Shop by New York Magazine,
Pasanella & Son stocks over 450 first-rate
wines and liquors in its Manhattan store, just
north of the South Street Seaport. This charming
endeavor is the labor of love of designer, author,
and founder of The Polenta Design Group, Marco
Pasanella. |
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