As Thousands Cheer (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Laurence Bergreen
- First Published: 1990
- Type of Work: Biography
- Time of Work: 1888-1989
- Setting: Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood
- Principal Characters: Irving Berlin, Ellin Macray, George Gershwin, Alexander Woollcott, Helmy Kresa, Fred Astaire
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: History, World War II, Class consciousness, Immigration or emigration, World War I, Theater, Songs or songwriters, Filmmaking or filmmakers, Paranoia, Popular music
- Locales: Hollywood, CA
The fact that Irving Berlin discouraged all publication of personal information during the last years of his life brings more than usual interest to this biography, which was four years in the making. Laurence Bergreen earned a strong reputation for this kind of work with the publication of James Agee (1984), and here examines the life of America’s best-known popular composer in a thorough and fair study.
As in all good biographies, the world of the subject is described in such rich detail that the work is transformed into a history of Berlin’s time. The Tin Pan Alley...
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