Terry Peters
Book Reviews

® Physiognomy: The Mark
Seliger Photographs,
Bulfinch Press, 224 pages,
$103.

Mark Scliger has pho-
tographed the rising stars,
and the icons of twentieth
century culture. He has pro-
duced both stunning black
and white portraits and elab-
orate colourful images.
Seliger is as talented at
revealing a subject’s inner
self through a simply fit
study as he is at creating
large set productions.

In this rich collection of
188 images we are exposed
to a full range of Seliger’s
work. Many of the photos
are recognizable magazine
covers from Rolling Stone
and Us, where Seliger has

-worked as chief photograph-
er. All of the subjects are
identified in the final pages.

Seliger has presented
these varied celebrities in
sharp, honest detail, like the
black and white image of
George Harrison, and in
playful fantasy, such as the
cast of Seinfeld in Wizard of
Oz costumes. A shining col-

~ lection of some of the enter-
-,tainment worlds’ brightest
stars.

Jorgensén, Ballantine

Books, 399 pages, $75.

From childhood photos ..
and mementos, like early ~
report Cards, through tos. ..

secording sessions and Vegas:
show pictures, Elvis’ life his-*..
-. many friends and had seen

. some of them die.

ing vontracts and his movie
career, his personal and fami-
ly landmarks are all record-
ed.

The authors provide an
incredible amount of detail
which when viewed together
create a multi-faceted look at
cne of music’s most famous
figures. Elvis’ life is put
under a microscope of exten-
sive research but much of it
feels like a sanitized version.
There are comments about
his excesses but they are
played down.

Rare photos illustrate the
life he led and the peopie
who surrounded him, this
combined with his itinerary
shows a very tight group liv-
ing and travelling together ~
and enjoying the generosity
Elvis lavished on his friends.
He bought cars and jeweiry
for anyone he liked. Those
he really liked might receive
keys to a new home courtesy

~ of the king. .

For the Elvis fan, this
book is a fascinating diary of
his life, certainly a good

_ companion piece for other

published biographies.

Ss Freefall by Tom Read,

Little, Brown & Company,

348 pages, $39.

Tom Read had already
lived an extraordinary lite
when he retired from the
SAS, the British military's

elite corp. He’d been a

member of the “Ked
Devils,” the army’s demon-
stration parachute team,
completing over a thousand
jumps. He had been sta-
tioned in'Northern Ireland,

~. had parachuted into the

Falklands War, had trained
with the best. He had made’

“ANNUAL JANUARY

SALE

for the sidewalk signs

oN

In 1994 Read was work-
ing towards a single goal. He
wanted to become the first
man to break the spced of
sound without a vehicle. He
planned to go up in a bal-
loon that would take him to
ihe edite of space, and at
over oventy-six miles above
the carth he was going to
jump.

As the project, Skydive
from Space, progressed and
the demands increased, so
did the stress. Then one day
instead of diving to the
earth's surface he fell much
further. Sinking into mad-
ness and despair, Read land-
ed hard, finding himscif in a
mental institution.

This is an account of one

man’s journcy into madaess
and his battle to regain con-
trol of his life. The story
moves smoothly from his
past to his present, as he

bares his soul and exposes
his psyche for us t0 examine.
Read confronts his demons
and allows us to experience
with him this very private
war. A unique story of a
couregcous man.

& The Hozse of Whacks by
Matthew Branton,
Bloomsbury, 249 pages,
$13.95 US.

In 1950s Chicago the
American Dream is changing
and the women are moving
with the changes. Out of
work actress, Susan de
Souza, is introduced ro the
House of Whacks, a photog-
rapher’s studio where she
becomes a rising star in the S
& M maii-erder trade.

Meanwhile the ediror of a
pulp magazine is dying and
looking to go out with a
bang, taking her crew of
misfit writers along with her.
Their stories run parallel
through the novel and col-
lide in the final pages.

Guns, whips, booze,
wiseguys, babes — its all
here in this °90s version of a
760s pulp novel. Branton
can't seem to decide if he
wants to satire the genre or
pay homage to it. One chap-
ter is all smoke and tough-
talk laced with postwar opti-
mism and then the next is a
too-modern look at carly girl
power. Like so much of the
60s’ promise, The House of
Whacks, starts with a bang
but never reaches the goal it
sets for itself.

"Peace of mind
under our sign."

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North Yancourer

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Physiognomy

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“Mystical Women”
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OPENING RECEPTION

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