For two people who both began their professional lives in editing and publishing, it is striking how this book, which describes that very beginning, is in need of a heavy editorial hand (Wachtel -- your hand ain't that merciless). The kind of repetition that is regularly encountered (how many times, and in how many pithy formulations do I have to be informed of the cliche that, "this generation" was the generation of freud fans) is not of an interesting artistic kind produced due the fact that there are two alternating narrative voices. Rather, each writer, repeats him and herself within his and her own narrative.

Stylistic quarrels aside, I was struck by what the authors say in their joint introduction about their first collaboration on an article; the piece, about walks in New York, they say, conveyed, "... too much immersion in fashion magazine prose." While, the authors' claim that they are intent on trying to not let "hindsight, regret and reconsideration" distort their account is too ridiculous to even critique, I do believe that they have successfully conveyed the extent to which the people that they were "back then" (if we are to believe them, this has no bearing on the authorial voice which represents these people!) were "too much immersed" in a certain kind of fashion magazine prose, or at any rate, a certain kind of "let's talk about shoes, hair and makeup and throw in a heavy dose of literary names and references for good measure"-prose.

It has to be admitted that Bernays and Kaplan err on different poles of this prose continuum. Bernays treats us to more excitable detail about socio-fashion related facts, Kaplan leans heavily on name-dropping, french-literary-phrase-dropping and posh-literary-gossip. Bernays tells us more about sex (hers and others'), divulges more about familial structures (though where, oh where, has her sister gone, and for that matter, how come I only find out close to the end that Kaplan has an older brother!). Essentially she's very much the charming hostess of this work, while Kaplan lives up to the character created (by both him and her) of being the somewhat taciturn but serious/serial literary insider (the sense of humor which both he and B claim he has, is something which he keeps very much under wraps in actually formulating his account.)

This book (as laid out in the intro) sees it self as being not in the memoire genre, but rather, as a glimpse into "lives" of a certain kind (class?) "back then." However, perhaps due to the authors' insistence to not let hindsight in, a potentially illuminating critical account is blocked (though to give her credit, Bernays slips up, and occasionally tries) -- such that I am given neither "two lives" (in the sense of two strong personal narratives) and nor am I really given the tools to understand the "everyman" of the world which K and B portray. So, basically the book reads to me like a peep into a cocktail party to which I'd never be invited (wrong class, wrong age, wrong clothes, wrong interests etc.); I can smell the delectable food, glimpse the martini glasses, and discern some muffled conversation and laughter -- but I can't quite make it out, the people seem artificial, out of date, and frankly, not all that interesting, and there's a better party going on round the corner.

This memoir is doubly delightful because it's written by two of the wittiest and most interesting contemporary writers. We see two visions of New York City life in the 1950's--one male, one female--and have the fun of watching how these two separate lives end up intertwining. (The authors are husband and wife.) The writing is bright and rich--you're in the hands of masters of style from start to finish.
Although anyone interested in the world of publishing will find the book riviting, BACK THEN will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. It's an intriguing record of what the working world was like for educated women in the 50's (it's easy to forget today how things were before the Women's Movement!) and it's also a charming love story.
The two authors grew up wealthy and privileged, but in spite of this, they were clearly not spoiled. They knew and rubbed shoulders with a dazzling array of famous people (Bernays, for instance, is a great niece of Freud; Kaplan got to dance with Marilyn Monroe at a party,) and they bring us into their world with warmth and openness. There's no arrogance here. Both authors are able to smile at themselves and able to make us smile along with them. And smile we do! This is the kind of book that will keep you up reading late at night and make you want to wake your spouse so you can read aloud your favorite sections (if you haven't woken him or her already with your laughter.)
BACK THEN creates the best kind of reader dilemma: youll want to gobble up the story and at the same time you'll want to savor every line.

This is a fascinating look at a world most of us never get to see, by two people who know it intimately and write about it with both love and a highly refined sense of the absurd.

Glimpsing this world is like window-shopping on Fifth Avenue at Christmas. I couldn't put it down...

What We Call Ourselves and Why It Matters -- this subtitle promises much, but, unfortunately, the authors haven't delivered on it. A better subtitle for The Language of Names would be Dozens of Neat Anecdotes About Names in Thematic Form But Without a Common Thread. There's no premise to this book, just thematic chapters that discuss maiden names, sports team names, etc. That doesn't mean that this isn't an interesting book. At times, The Language of Names is really quite interesting, but this book isn't what the package claims it is.

I recommend this book as a fun exercise in why we name ourselves what we do, not as a serious effort to uncover why it matters.

One other point: the chapter on maiden names attacks at length the tradition of the woman taking the man's name, which is really out of context with the rest of the book. A history of why women take men's names and what the other options are would fascinate. Attacking men and belittling what others choose to do, at least in this context, does not.

A rose by any other name may smell as sweet, but if husband and wife team Justin Kaplan and Anne Bernays are to be believed, the names we call ourselves are anything but irrelevant. Their recent book, "The Language of Names," reiterates and expounds upson everything everyone of importance has ever said about the link between our names for ourselves, our children, our idols, and our cities. And, while much of what the authors have to say makes for diverting reading, the book is by no means the treatise on names that it is packaged to be.

This was a great book to read. It covers more topics than anyone could imagine and many interesting facts were presented. For instance, one neat thing I learned was that people who are named after their fathers are more likely to end up in a mental institution. The book also talks about name-changing in Ellis Island, names of geographical locations, maiden names, and much more. Highly recommended!