Halloween Season — Remembering Washington Irving

By John J. Hohn | October 17, 2014

Halloween Reading Penguin Books is promoting the paperback version of the classic Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories intimating during this Halloween season that it could be almost companion piece to the currently popular animated television program Sleepy Hollow appearing currently on FOX network stations. Hopefully, that doesn’t present anyone with…

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My Fair Lady — Uproarishly Fresh and Engaging

By John J. Hohn | September 15, 2014

My Fair Lady, the musical, has been around for years. Several of its songs have become standards. The iconic cast of the 1964 film featuring Rex Harrison, Audrey Hepburn, Wilfred Hyde-White and Stanley Holloway spring to mind as the standard against which all other performances should be measured. Richard Rose, Artistic Director, demonstrated tremendous confidence…

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Blog Hop — Going from One Web Site to Another

By John J. Hohn | July 9, 2014

Blog Hop. I never heard of one until a few weeks ago. But now, as the old story goes, I are  tagged in one. A blog hop, as it turns out, is a bit like a chain letter. The person tagged, in this case yours truly, chooses to participate by answering four questions on his…

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Marilyn Monroe — Icon: The Life, Times and Movies of Marilyn Monroe

By John J. Hohn | April 17, 2014

Marilyn Monroe died on August 5, 1962, yet she has remained alive in the minds and hearts of people throughout the world ever since. While 600 books have been published about the actress, Gary Vitacco-Robles’ biography, Icon: The Life, Times and Films of Marilyn Monroe, is a prodigious achievement that easily relegates the efforts of…

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Viral Mythology Explores How Myths Are Created and Broadcast

By John J. Hohn | March 26, 2014

The subtitle to Viral Mythology, by Marie D. Jones and Larry Flaxman, reads “How the truth of the ancients was encoded and passed down through legend, art, and architecture.” The authors present an ambitious explanation of how and why the ancient myths and those we create today continue to roll forward in time often without…

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Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment by James C. Thompson – A Review

By John J. Hohn | March 6, 2014

Thomas Jefferson’s Enlightenment James C. Thompson is published by Commonwealth Book Publishers of Virginia which was founded by the author in 2009. According to their press announcement Commonwealth “publishes three-dimensional stories about ideas—where history, philosophy and art meet.” The book succeeds on all on all three counts­, but the achievement is virtually negated because of…

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Duryea: The Movies — An Exquisitely Presented Book from BearManor Media

By John J. Hohn | February 18, 2014

    Duryea: The Movies, by Joseph Fusco, is another beautifully produced book by BearManor Media. The publisher presents books that are thoroughly researched and brimming with documentation including news articles, vintage photos and advertizing. Like so many other volumes from BearManor, Duryea: The Movies not only makes for an engaging first read but will…

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Fredric March: A Consummate Actor by Charles Tranberg — Reviewed by John J. Hohn

By John J. Hohn | November 26, 2013

#fredricmarch #cinema #thebestyearsofourlives Charles Tranberg’s biography, Fredric March: A Consummate Actor, belongs in the library of every fan of theater and film in America. Tranberg’s masterful work follows March’s career from his Wisconsin boyhood through to his final triumphant appearance as Harry Hope in The Iceman Cometh released by 20th Century Fox in October, 1973.…

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