Irving Berlin New York Genius

Author: James Kaplan

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $34.95 AUD
  • : 9780300180480
  • : Yale University Press
  • : Yale University Press
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  • : 0.666
  • : November 2019
  • : 2.9 Centimeters X 14.6 Centimeters X 21 Centimeters
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  • : 54.99
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  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : James Kaplan
  • : Jewish Lives Ser.
  • : Hardback
  • : 2002
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  • : English
  • : 782.42164092
  • : 424
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Barcode 9780300180480
9780300180480

Description

A fast-moving, musically astute portrait of arguably the greatest composer of American popular music

Irving Berlin (1888-1989) has been called--by George Gershwin, among others--the greatest songwriter of the golden age of the American popular song. "Berlin has no place in American music," legendary composer Jerome Kern wrote; "he is American music." In a career that spanned an astonishing nine decades, Berlin wrote some fifteen hundred tunes, including "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "God Bless America," and "White Christmas." From ragtime to the rock era, Berlin's work has endured in the very fiber of American national identity.

Exploring the interplay of Berlin's life with the life of New York City, noted biographer James Kaplan offers a visceral narrative of Berlin as self-made man and witty, wily, tough Jewish immigrant. This fast-paced, musically opinionated biography uncovers Berlin's unique brilliance as a composer of music and lyrics. Masterfully written and psychologically penetrating, Kaplan's book underscores Berlin's continued relevance in American popular culture.