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Thanks, papeetepatrick, for the list. Chandler is great but as a tour guide, I dunno, and his L.A. has dated. It’s interesting that Chandler thought little of Macdonald (I agree) and Ellroy doesn’t think much of Chandler (I disagree; Ellroy is just trying to push Chandler out of the high seat). I can’t read Macdonald or Ellroy myself. Would be curious to know what you think if you do, GWTW. You should note that Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon books are pretty sordid with some crudity in the writing. Not for every taste. Should you check them out of the library, don’t leave them around the kids, if they are younger. Also he cannot be relied upon when it comes to details, which often as not he gets wrong. His account of the Black Dahlia case, for example, is quite unreliable. Thanks, vagansmom. Good to hear from you.

Ideally you should have both books, but if I had to choose one it would be Afterimages. Much of the material in it was written, as Dale notes, before Croce got her regular berth at The New Yorker, and this has its minuses and pluses. You don’t get the week in week out season coverage, but there is more variety in the material. At this early juncture Croce was doing a certain amount of chest pounding and there are many swipes at her fellow critics, not generally allowed at The New Yorker, which makes for lively reading and you can observe Croce staking out her territory. I wonder if we'll ever see the Balanchine book. It sounds as if there's something wrong.

Thank you, Welsely, I enjoyed this review. These are all very instructive for those of us on the other coast.

Thanks so much for keeping us informed on what you're seeing!

Off topic! Ginger loved that frock and fought for it, and the feathers flying during takes didn’t much bother her. They were, however, a fierce foe to Fred, who hated the dress. I think it’s beautiful, myself, and Rogers was right. (I think the matter of her dresses was one of the few areas where she had some clout on the picture, especially when Mark Sandrich was directing.) I don’t think miliosr meant that it was Yamaguchi’s fault personally – just that there’s not a lot of tension or suspense currently and that may be affecting audience response. I agree with you that ratings don’t always matter, but with a reality show where audience participation is solicited, it’s certainly a factor to consider.

Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Sorry to have missed this. I hope the broadcast makes it to television. (We don't get the radio broadcast in my area any more, and listening on the net is cumbersome for me.)

Sometimes, when she's on. But other times I have the impression that her true subject is Me and My Sensibility, and not California at all. Papeetepatrick, I’m sure we’d all want to hear more about some of your favorites. Please share them with all of us!

He speaks in perfectly parsed sentences and paragraphs, too. I thought Peter Martins’ book was a pleasurable read – straightforward, tactful, and unpretentious. Perhaps someday he’ll write a sequel. Comparing it to Farrell’s and Kent’s books, or Kirkland’s is a bit like apples and oranges – Martins is writing from the standpoint of a career in medias res, not looking back post-retirement or doing a tell-all like Kirkland. It’s closer to Ashley’s book in viewpoint and approach, and I like it just as much. In addition, Far From Denmark has an appendix that I wish was required for all dance bios – a detailed list is included of Martins’ roles, where and when he danced them, the names of his partners, and whether or not the role was made on him. Very nice. Steinbeck, natch. Kevin Starr has written a series of well researched if uninspired books on California history. I recently read and liked Mike Davis’ Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See, if you wind up that far south. I’d like to revisit that one. I learned a lot from that book.

Just a brief thank-you to those who are posting and keeping this thread going!

Dmitri makes up his mind, with the aid of a visit from the Beyond.

Thanks for telling us about it, SanderO. I hope others will report!

Nice article. Thanks, Mme. Hermine. Maybe not the most spontaneous of encores.

This question wasn't addressed to me, but I'll pipe up until sidwich returns to the fray. The discussion of sex roles on the show was interesting and accurate, I thought. But ballroom dancing itself doesn't seem to be of much interest to Acocella, and it showed. And the writing does drip with condescension.

I'm glad any writing about dancing is showing up in The New Yorker - there's been hardly anything of late, and with this week's Kirov review that makes two in a row, a hopeful sign. (It doesn't have to be Acocella - good dance writing from any quarter would be welcome in the magazine.)It might have been more helpful if she had talked a bit more about the dancing itself, which is discussable. It is also possible that she makes too much of the 'toil and suffering' theme, which is also commonly heard on a variety of sports broadcasts, especially when they're trying to attract female eyeballs. I remember one Olympic cycle where a concentrated effort was made in this direction, and there were so many soft focus film segments with embattled athletes and their dying (or ailing, or recovering) relatives, pets, etc., that people started complaining.

Well, they’re going ahead with it: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol...icle3720744.ece

Thanks for posting, Helene.

The moral: Never be generous about the talents of a colleague. Eventually someone ( I don’t mean you, canbelto ) will cite it as irrefutable evidence that the other fellow was better than you.

Thank you, cubanmiamiboy. La Boheme is a favorite of mine, although I suppose it's a very obvious choice....

The book is worth reading even if you don’t like it overall. There’s material in it that doesn’t appear elsewhere, Kavanagh spoke to people who haven’t talked publicly before (although not all of that material is useful) and I can’t imagine not dipping into it if you’re interested in Nureyev or ballet. Perhaps she didn’t spend as much time on the Canadians as she might have, but they weren’t ‘forgotten’ by any means. Well, he couldn’t help being as attractive as he was. Indeed, Nureyev could have cultivated such a persona more than he did. Baryshnikov’s reputation as a womanizer did influence his image onstage and off -- it’s exploited very consciously in Dancers and The Turning Point (and even Sex and the City), presumably with Baryshnikov's cooperation --even if he wasn’t as sexy as Nureyev onstage. There’s already more than one account in print of Baryshnikov in bed, Twyla Tharp’s, for one, and it wouldn’t surprise me if there are eventually more.

What Farrell Fan said. We are very lucky to have Macaulay at the Times. I think it pretty much goes without saying that he likes ballet.

Thanks for the additional details, canbelto. Did you happen to see the recent PBS American Masters special on Carol Burnett? Burnett and Andrews did a Carnegie Hall show together and hit it off very well personally --they had a lot in common, including a difficult family background with both parents drinking. I think Andrews always showed a sense of humor, but then I'm a fan.

Maybe he'll have a revival like Handel's. It's remarkable how many Handel operas are in the active repertory now.

I don’t know the book or the series. I didn’t really become aware of music hall until I saw “The Entertainer” for the first time years ago and reading about it in Osborne’s memoirs – he loved the halls and wrote about them very well.

I hear the trick ending is great, cubanmiamiboy. Seriously, I'm impressed.... Thank you, canbelto, for mentioning Julie Andrews' book. I didn't realize she had written an autobiography, and I'd like very much to read it. Does she have anything to say about her early years performing in the music halls? She was, I think, the last major star to have experience in them.

Sad news, but considering the nature of his illness, probably a release. Obituary An appreciation