End Notes for Thursday, 1 September 2011

WELCOME TO END NOTES, Advance Copy's weekly trawl for all the book and publishing news that's fit to print, with some music thrown in for good measure. Email me at: books@currentintelligence.net.

--

In-House: Our H-Net review of the week (they appear Mondays) is James Rodger Fleming's Fixing the Sky: The Checkered History of Weather and Climate Control, reviewed by Sam White. Our Reviews page can be found here.

Dick Cheney: Cardinal Richelieu, errr, Dick Cheney, has published his memoirs. Given his combatitive character, perhaps its not surprising to learn that he pulls no punches in the pages of In My Time. Robert G. Kaiser calls it "self-serving" in the Washington Post. Michiko Kakutami accuses Cheney of cherry-picking his information in the New York Times. Dahlia Lithwick in Slate looks at Cheney's legacy in terms of torture and the law. David Weigel in Slate suggests that Cheney's just trying to prove that he's a human being. The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal points out the contradictions between Cheney's version of events and that of his erstwhile boss, as well as that of Former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell, meanwhile, has hit back at Cheney in an interview on "Face the Nation." Condoleeza Rice, another target of Cheney, has also fought back, saying that he has attacked her integrity. Jena McGregor looks at how Cheney has used the media of political memoir.  The Wall Street Journal has excerpts. Meanwhile, apparently Cheney fears being prosecuted as a war criminal, which the Christian Science Monitor says is unlikely. And lastly, Foreign Policy hosted a roundtable on the human lightning rod known as Dick Cheney. 

With Friends Like These...: Cheney does like Tony Blair, though, heaping praise on the former British PM in his new memoir.

Kashmir: To call the Kashmir a "contested region" is a bit of an understatement. It's kind of like saying there are a few controversial claims to Jerusalem. Anyway, the very first Kashmiri book festival has had to be cancelled due to, you guessed it, security fears.

Libya: Happily, the reign Colonel Moumar Gaddafi is on its last legs. Daniel Barrow looks at how Libyan authors turned to fiction to counter the colonel during his reign. Salon had an interesting idea, approaching novelists for their take on the Libyan strongman's state of mind in these last days. The results are here.

Leningrad: Leningrad is, of course, once again St. Petersburg. But in the Second World War, it was the site of a vicious siege by the Nazis, lasting a total of 872 days before the Germans were finally beaten off by the Russians. Anna Reid's new book looks at the siege; The Economist reviews.

The Cat's Table: Michael Ondaatje's 1976 novel, Coming Through Slaughter, is one my favourite novels of all time. I remember the day I bought it in the summer of 1994, at Duthie's Books on West Fourth Avenue in Vancouver. I read it in a single day, most of it spent lazing on the lawns of the University of British Columbia. I've re-read it at least a half-dozen times since. Ondaatje has a new novel, The Cat's Table, out. Annie Proulx reviews.

Guardian First Book Award: The long list was just announced this morning. 

Turkey: Turkey, specifically, Istanbul, is the home of one of my favourite writers, Orhan Pamuk. Jason Goodwin offers up his ten favourite books about the enigmatic nation.

HAL 9000: I'm intrigued by the new website, BookLamp.org, which can apparently offer up recommendations for you based on algorithms and your tastes. I gave it a try, using the afore-mentioned Coming Through Slaughter. I'm not 100% sold on the recommendations, but it's a start. Kinda neat, really.

 --

MUSIC

London Riots: The fire at the Sony Warehouse in Enfield, North London, may have in fact been orchestrated by professionals, who used the riots as cover to break into the warehouse and empty it out before the fire broke out. 

Smile: Seven years after Brian Wilson released a solo version of the legendary lost album by the Beach Boys, Smile, the surviving members of the band have collaborated on the release of the SMiLE Sessions. It will be released at Hallowe'en. The press release from Capitol/EMI, the band's label, says that this is an "approximation" of what the completed album was intended to sound like. I've long been intrigued by the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson, but just can't quite get into their music. Maybe this will be the catalyst for me.

My Favourite Album: The Guardian's music critics are blogging about their favourite albums. So far, they seem rather pedestrian. I don't have a single favourite album, I have three to five albums that rotate around my top 5, they are, in no particular order: The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses; U2, The Joshua Tree; The Arcade Fire, Funeral; Wolf Parade, Expo 86; Underworld, Beaucoup Fish.

The Worst of the 90s: Rolling Stone asked its readers for their worst songs of the 90s. Not hard to argue with these stinkers. Billy Ray Cyrus should have been thrown in jail for that mullet. And for fathering Miley. 

Revolution!: Back in 1990, Pop Will Eat Itself released an album, Cure for Sanity, which began with some talking head relating revolutionary quotations about music. One was about Lenin. Or maybe it was Lennon. Either way, Lenin/Lennon said that the quickest and easiest way to undermine a society was through its music. China clearly got the message. It has banned music that might stir Middle Eastern-style unrest. One must question their wisdom of banning the likes of Lady Gaga and the Backstreet Boys, though.

Dubai: Australian Paul Kelly was the bassist for an unheralded Dubai-based indie band that didn't go anywhere. But he then went on to start Triple W, a website devoted to linking Dubai-based bands to their listeners. Kinda cool.

--

VIDEO

And finally...: As always, some video to send you on your way into the weekend. First, my favourite Beach Boys song, Good Vibrations." Second, Underworld's classic track, "Born Slippy," from the Trainspotting soundtrack. And then, Pop Will Eat Itself's "Touch by the Hand of Cicciolina," from Italia '90. Have a good one.