Book Reviewed: The Bowery: The Strange History of New York's Oldest Street by Stephen Paul DeVillo

Bowery: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood This book is an exploration of Manhattan's historic neighborhoods in the southern part of the district that had secret spots and colorful characters. This includes the Five Points location; It was the scene of riots, scams, saloons, brothels, and drunkenness. Bowery encompasses Chinatown on the south; Lower East Side and the East Village to the east; and Little Italy to the west. Historically, it is considered a part of the Lower East Side of New York City. In the 17th century, this area was owned by Dutch fur traders who gave way to farmers, these farms in turn gave way to taverns, saloons, circuses, tattoo parlors, flophouses, and brothels. By the 1890s, the Bowery was a center for prostitution, and bars catering to gays, lesbians, and orgies at various social levels. One investigator in late 1800s noted that six saloons and dance halls were the resorts of "degenerates" and "fairies." Even though it was ravaged by crime and poverty, it also invented tap dance, Jazz music, arts, theater, entertainment, and show-business. The poverty of this area was shared by immigrants of Irish, Jewish, German, Italian, Chinese, and African Americans population of that time. In this book, author DeVillo describes the history of Bowery with few illustration and pictures. This book is overshadowed by several books on this topic by other authors which I found more entertaining and had more historical facts. I did not find this this book engaging. However, the book contains some images of Bowery district from late 1800s that is of some interest to the readers. But many of these pictures are obtained from Library of Congress which may also be accessed directly on the Library of Congress website.

Book Reviewed: Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe by Lee Smolin

The cosmic evolution In this book, physicist Lee Smolin argues that time is a real phenomenon, and suggests that the laws of physics evolved over cosmic timescale, and the current laws came into existence because of cosmological natural selection like biological evolution. One of the principal reason is that this theory avoids the use of anthropic principle which claims that the universe came into existence with current laws that support living systems, but for Lee Smolin, since this idea is not scientifically falsifiable, therefore that it is not scientific. The book is philosophical than physics since it lacks scientific explanations as to why cosmos was born with different laws than we have at present. There are no scientific explanations except for ideas of an imaginative thinker. There is a conflict between relativity and quantum mechanics with regards to the concept of time. It is measured and malleable in relativity but remains as background (and not an observable) in quantum mechanics. Time emerges mainly from the second law of thermodynamics, a law that is statistical in nature which does not depend on the nature of individual particles but the behavior of a collection of particles. Time is not an irreducible element or concept required to construct physical reality. It is a human construct that differentiates present from our memories of the past. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity is that there is no absolute time, no absolute space, but everything is relative. This is a block universe, made of four-dimensional space-time (three space and one-time dimensions) structure where time is like space, in that every event has its own coordinates, or address, in spacetime. The malleability of space and time mean that two events occurring far apart might even happen in one order when viewed by one observer, and in the opposite order when viewed by another. Hence, time change really is an illusion according to relativity because there's nothing that's changing; it's all there, past, present, and future. But the laws of quantum physics are symmetric and reversible, hence that time could have moved in a backward direction or in the forward direction. For example, according to the ‘big crunch’ theory, the universe is expanding since its birth, but at some time in future it will stop expanding and starts contracting back in on itself. This will require time to flow backwards, and the cosmos will collapse into a big crunch into its initial state when big bang happened. Physicists like Sean Carroll, Andreas Albrecht, and John Polkinghorne believes that the flow and direction of time are real but do not claim that it permits the evolution of laws of nature over time. But physicists like Julian Barbour, Max Tegmark, Carlo Rovelli, and philosopher J. M. E. McTaggart are strong proponents of time being an illusion. Lee Smolin considers that space is an illusion and only time is real and paramount to the way the universe evolved to its current state.

Book Reviewed: Hollywood's Lost Backlot: 40 Acres of Glamour and Mystery by Steven Bingen

Filming in the iconic Culver City Studio backlots called 40 Acres Movie studios are magical locales where films, stories, legends, and matinee idols are created. Although some movie studios offer tours, few guests from outside the Hollywood community have ever witnessed the artistry and the production skills that go into making successful movies and television shows. Backlot trips at the Universal, Warner Brothers and Paramount Studios show a glimpse what goes into creating carefully orchestrated scenes visible during the studio trips. In this book, Hollywood historian Steven Bingen opens the forgotten gates of 40 acres backlot, as it was known in its heydays in Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. This book has stunning behind-the-scenes photos, maps, and a revealing backstory. It is your ticket to a previously veiled Hollywood paradise. Built in the 1920s by producer Thomas Ince, this was the home for many iconic films and television shows that included numerous stars. This magical place was the location for Tara, a neighborhood in the legendary film Gone with The Wind, and several locations that is supposed to be in Atlanta, GA., scenes from King Kong, Superman, and Cecil DeMille’s 1927 classic King of Kings. This backlot was leased to Cecil B. DeMille’s production of The King of Kings on which he constructed historical Jerusalem at a colossal cost. But that structure remained for the RKO production of King Kong in 1933. TV shows like Andy Griffith Show, Hogan’s Heroes, Gomer Pyle, Bonanza, and Star Trek were also made on this backlot. Stars like Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Fay Wray, H.B. Warner, and Warren Beatty worked here. Legendary producers like David O Selznick and Cecil DeMille, and TV stars like Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, and many others dazzled in this little area called 40 acres backlot. This backlot, unfortunately is no longer here and has been razed to make new construction amid rapidly grown Culver City, CA. The RKO Pictures originally owned Forty Acres Backlot and later by several other owners including RKO-Pathé Studios, and Desilu Productions of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. This book narrates the tale of one of the most influential and photographed places that were seen on the screen. There are numerous pictures, many in color, of the scenes from Gone with the Wind, King Kong, King of Kings and Andy Griffith Show. This volume makes a great coffee table book. Highly recommended to readers interested in the history of Hollywood.

Book Reviewed: Hollywood's Hard-Luck Ladies: 23 Actresses Who Suffered Early Deaths, Accidents, Missteps, Illnesses and Tragedies, by Laura Wagner

Images of women lost during the early years of Tinseltown This book discusses the lives of 23 ladies of entertainment industry of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's who were known in their heyday but are virtually unknown today to anyone under the age of 50 unless you watch Turner Classic Movies (TCM) regularly. That was the Golden Age of Hollywood, between 1920s and 1950s, when the studio system ruled the film industry. The Big Five studios controlled the business, they created stars and owned their work contracts and marketed their talents like a product. There have been many tragedies in Hollywood history. The well-known are, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Natalie Wood, Sharon Tate, Jean Harlow, Thelma Todd, Carole Lombard, and Jayne Mansfield. But there are many stories which are less documented, and they found it either difficult to navigate the rough waters of entertainment industry or saw their dreams shattered by hard luck. Many girls braved the entertainment industry. They were looking for long and lucrative careers, but they never attained stardom, but their stories deserve to be heard, and this book narrates the stories of each of them. They had pressures of work and competition that exacerbated the performer's drinking and her already fragile mental stability. Some suffered from mental illness, drug addiction, victims of accidents, suicides, and murder. There were few medical treatments for mental illness those days, and some were victims of bipolar disorder like Lynne Baggett, Mary Castle, Mae Clarke, and Mayo Methot. With no medications to ease their pain, alcohol and controlled substances was their escape which complicated their careers. Actress Suzan Ball lost a leg to cancer; a hunting accident paralyzed Susan Peters; a car crash put Marjie Millar out of commission. Lynne Baggett and Helen Walker were involved in vehicular homicide that affected them emotionally. Car crashes brought untimely deaths to promising screen personalities like Dorothy Dell and Judy Tyler. Actress Susan Cabot was clubbed to death by her own son. Morphine addict Mary Nolan was in and out of hospitals many times. There are too many fascinating stories in this book that makes an interesting read. TCM cable channel offers a great opportunity for movie fans. I have watched the films of many women in this book over the years and it has helped me connect with their work and challenges. Some of them endured harsh circumstances in their short and unsuccessful careers. You will find inspirational stories which are sad, but there were also brighter moments of joy and victory in their lives.