George Gershwin -- His Life & Music

Rating:
Summary: Just the facts
Review: I'm not a musicologist or a Gershwin expert, but I was hoping to find a bio about him that would really enthrall me. This one didn't, but I'm not sure any of the ones available about him would. Chronologically tracing his life and works, this book summarizes major plots, themes, and players in a fairly cut and dried fashion. To a Gershwin newcomer, all the words start to run together after awhile, and I would imagine that a Gershwin fan might find all the recaps a bit trying. Wood does give some interesting tidbits along the way, like how Gershwin and Ellington collaborated without ever managing to exchange a word in their lifetime, but you'll have to wade through the summaries and what-happened-whens to get to them. If you're looking for a good biography to curl up with, I couldn't recommend this one. If you're specifically looking to learn about Gershwin, though, this may be as good a place to start as any. Gershwin doesn't seem to have been a well-documented (or documenting) character, despite his celebrity. Given that, Wood's work may do as comprehensively concise a study as one could hope for.