Memoir Archive |
Love of My Life - GUEST BUTLER RON FRIED is the author of two novels, as well as a collection of profiles of 20th century boxing trainers. More recently, he’s written a novel about the
Luck and Circumstance: A Coming of Age in Hollywood, New York, and Points Beyond - Orson Welles? Or Michael Lindsay-Hogg? When I met Michael in l985, the possibility that he was the son of the genius who co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in “Citizen Kane” was
Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment - Katrina Kenison is a writer with a following. That she was previously unknown to me is a function of the kind of writer she is and the kind of following
Man’s Search for Meaning - Hitler had already occupied Austria when Viktor Frankl, a young Viennese psychiatrist and writer, learned that the United States had approved his request to immigrate. His
Memorable Days: The Selected Letters of James Salter and Robert Phelps - James Salter is the American writer I most often re-read. I’m not the only writer who does. Salter’s supreme gift is the sentence --- he produces the best sentences of
Miranda Lambert: Y’all Eat Yet?: Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin’ Kitchen - I haven’t been to Texas since I interviewed Tom Cruise in Dallas in 1989, and given the politics there, the odds I’ll be returning any time soon are zero to
Monsieur Proust - All writers who have seen their masterpieces rejected by publishers delight in the fact that “Du côté de chez Swann” was rejected by several publishers and that Andre Gide returned
Mouthpiece: A Life in — and Sometimes Just Outside — the Law - Do you remember Bonfire of the Vanities, the late-'80s mega-bestseller by Tom Wolfe? In that novel, a Wall Street trader --- a 'Master of the Universe'
Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra - "Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra,” is my favorite tell-all. George Jacobs was Sinatra’s live-in valet from 1953 to 1968. He wrote his memoir with the help of veteran
My “lunch” with Nora Ephron, years after her death - Meg Ryan starred in “When Harry Met Sally” and “Sleepless in Seattle” and “You’ve Got Mail” --- movies written and sometimes directed by Nora Ephron. If you’ve thought of her
My Father’s Secret War - The greatest thing about The Greatest Generation is how little they burdened their kids. They fought demonic Nazis and maniacal Japanese, and after they won the
My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands - One recent evening, as I was trying to justify the purchase of a flat-screen, I stumbled onto Chelsea Handler’s show, “Chelsea Lately.” It’s a nutty format: On the “E!” network,
My Mother’s Clothes - Caring a lot about clothes is not my thing. Because I’m male, I’m not penalized for this --- unless you think it’s a tragedy to be ignored by the committee
My Paris Dream: An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine - There is no dream that’s more of a cliché than a young woman’s dream of living in Paris. Wild parties, suave lovers, memorable encounters with giant intellects? She’s blond and
My Road Home: A 13 month journey from Wall Street to behind the walls of a NY State Prison - Amy Winehouse has died. For a smart Guest Butler's assessment of her music, click here. ============ I was really flattered when Gerry Bryne asked me to write the script for a program
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey - I knew of Jill Bolte Taylor's TED talk in 2008, but as someone who often confuses his brain with his life, I wasn't quick to watch it. I didn't watch
Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life - I thought Life, by Keith Richards (with a lot of help), was the best rock memoir I ever read right up to the minute the Rolling Stones were officially anointed
Nina Kaufelt pines for John Prine — and peaches - NINA KAUFELT last wrote, unforgettably, “It was like watching a Hollywood movie in which Gregory Peck straightens everyone out, only it was in my own house, and it was my
Not Exactly What I Had in Mind - I liked it better when I didn't know how this story ended --- when I didn't know the story had an end. When I picked up Rosemary Breslin's book in 1996, I sort
Nothing Like Sunshine: A Story in the Aftermath of the MLK Assassination - I saw a Sears commercial last night that announced an “MLK Day Sale.” Well it has been 43 years since Dr. King was assassinated --- time blurs things. And now,
