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Dr. Sheila Dunnells
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This book is one of the best ever written, bar none, and it is light years ahead of its time.
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Bon voyage!
I particularily liked the photographs, certainly not your average "Gee, here we are in front of the Eifel Tower" standard fare. They capture everything you dream Paris would be: classy, cutting edge and just plain gorgeous. The writing gets to the point quickly with all the necessary facts, yet does allow for some subjectivity that I found refreshing both before our trip and during our stay.
Buy this book if you're a repeat visitor to Paris and looking for another experience beyond the three day quickie when you have barely enough time to see the big league sites. The nightlife and eating sections are worth the price alone. Sure, we carried our Michelin Green Guide because we're architects and enjoy knowing the details, but for a cover to cover guidebook, this is the best yet.
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Born on "the rough side of Brooklyn" and raised in Harlem, Adelaide Hall became one of the most famous black Broadway and cabaret stars, rivaling the legacies of Florence Mills, Ethel Waters, and the like. Williams traces her journey from an ordinary gal from New York to a famed singer, dancer, and actress, the world over.
Williams, a friend of the late Hall, has definitely done his homework. I could tell that he had sat with Adelaide many a time while she related her stories to him in great detail. While I understand that Williams was trying to set a backdrop for Adelaide's story, I felt as though too much time was spent on the histories of her surroundings and her contemporaries, such as Al Capone, Josephine Baker, and even the Duke himself.
I feel like the proverbial wool has been lifted from my eyes about where female jazz vocalists really began. I took the time to research Adelaide further, and even got a chance to listen to some of her recordings. I can now see clearly, after having read Underneath a Harlem Moon, getting to know Adelaide, and hearing her crooning voice, the profound effect she had on divas past and present.
Reviewed by CandaceK
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Her talent was pure ... untarnished by the ravages of [chemicals] and alcohol. She claimed that she was born to sing and entertain, and with an astonishing career that spanned eight decades how prophetic were those words.
To say I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book would be an understatement. The book has been written in such an appealing way that at times I actually felt as if I were part of the story as a member of the audience, so realistic were some of the events and dramas that occur within its pages.
I wholly recommend this book and can truthfully say that it's the best biography I have read this year.
5 stars for the writer.
During the 20s and 30s Hall stood alongside giants in the entertainment world yet today, for some unfathomable reason, she is almost forgotten.
Whilst reading Underneath a Harlem Moon I had an uncanny feeling of discovering hidden treasure that has lain buried for centuries. Thankfully, the writer's intent to inform rather than lecture makes for an engaging and rewarding read. I certainly had no knowledge of the fact that it was Adelaide Hall who helped create the whole genre of jazz singing and, remarkably, that Ella, Billie and all the other jazz diva's that are nailed inside our history books, only followed in Hall's steps.
Williams accounts vivid stories of the glory, persecution, pain and happiness Hall encountered in order to achieve her goals and in the process brings the subject's forceful personality, talent and human nature to light. Hall's focused ambition, drive and tenacity, along with the extraordinary eventful circumstances of her life will drive anyone's interest. Her painful contact with racism, the wrath of her impresario and mentor Lew Leslie, the continual envy she experienced from her colleagues and many of her so called friends, along with the tiresome neglect she endured from her philandering and money grabbing husband all led to an isolation Hall appears to have suffered from continuously throughout her life. Her only escape was to tread the boards, for it was here she felt at home and could bask in the real warmth, love and affection she received from her audience. The stage became her drug and, from the volume of work Hall performed, one feels it was an addiction she had no intention of ever giving up.
Energetic reading with thought provoking facts and the most fascinating account of the Harlem Renaissance that I have ever come across. Williams has done a great job of packing this book with valid information without making it overly wordy which makes for an easy read that fairly flies by.
I hope I'm correct in saying that Adelaide Hall's prospects could very easy change with the publication of this book.
I look forward to this poet's next collection!