Gerard Jones, about whom we have written lo these many times -- most recently on 6 June -- continues with his marketing campaign for his book of memoirs, Ginny Good. And so he should because it's a very fine piece of work.
Thanks to Gerard's ceaseless efforts, Ginny Good is beginning to get the recognition it deserves. Here are the links to some recent honours:
Ginny Good was placed first in the autobiography/memoir class in the 2005 IPPY awards. The Ippies -- full title Independent Publishers Book Awards -- were launched in 1996 and are designed to recognise excellence as published by the smaller firms. Entries for the Ippies this year came from more than 1,500 publishers from all over the world: from all 50 U.S. states, nine Canadian provinces, and 18 foreign countries.
Next, Linda L. Richards, editor of January magazine, listed Ginny Good as her choice for the best non-fiction book of 2004. Linda had earlier written an excellent review of the book.
Should you wish to buy the book, which is well worth the money, you can find more details of where and how to buy it on Gerard's own web site. As a short cut, let me tell you that the book is available through Amazon both in the UK and the USA. Doubtless any other decent bookseller can get it for you too.
Meanwhile, the indefatigable author is proceeding to produce his own audio version of his memoir. Details are once again supplied on Gerard's own web site, but if you can't wait to hear the great man's voice here is a quick link to a sample: http://everyonewhosanyone.com/audio/gg6.mp3.
Only one caveat: unless you have broadband, some of the audio files may prove to be too much for your machine. Mine complained a bit, but it was really very interesting to hear the author read his own stuff. With a little help, of course from Yma Sumac. Remember her? If you do, you're even older than me and Gerard.
Opinions will differ, but my own view is that Gerard's book will have a long life. Historians will be rambling on about the hippie movement and the summer of love and flower power, and all that stuff, for decades to come. And the smarter of them will very soon catch on to the fact that Gerard was there. And he put it all on paper.
In due course (and remember you read it here first) Gerard's book will become a set text on college courses. Thus disproving, just for once, my frequently repeated assertion that the people who teach those courses can't tell Stork from butter; or shit from shinola; or whatever they say in your part of the world.
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3 comments:
Stork from butter? I'm guessing Stork's some kind of Brit margarine, but it's shit from Shinola, which in the good old USofA is cheap shoepolish...and yes that's precisely what I was aiming to say. I just got a response to my most recent e-mail onslaught from Bob Loomis, some EVP guy in charge of one of the divisions at US Random House:
Him: Your manor is so ingratiating--but I'll have to pass. Bob Loomis
Me: I have a manor? Wow. Maybe I'm rich. I doubt you'd recognize a decent book if you ever read one so I guess it's understandable that you have to pass. Thanks. G.
If I had a choice between a billion dollars and the chance to crack myself up, I'd choose to crack myself up. Thanks. Again. G.
Havnig read Ginny Good I'd say it's about as much of a memoir as, say, Bukowski's Factotum, or Steinbeck's East of Eden, or Moby Dick.
Gerard Jones' 1960's memoir traces brilliantly the history of pro wrestling and hydrotherapy (and the subtle but undeniable connection between the two), from its inception in the early '60s to the present time.
The traditional red rubber bag works well for some, a more modern inception of that classic design for others- this seems to be the subtext of Gerard's rich narrative.
One must not understate however, the extent to which Ginny Good hints at the dark world behind such early WWF greats such as Hulk Hogan. These giants of show business and their mid career discoveries of the magic of lavage are a fascinating, postmodern phenomenon handled deftly by Jones.
Indeed, i would dare say no other writer since Hemingway has shown such a manly ability to penetrate the dark world of the World Wrestling Federation and colonic hydrotherapy, and touch upon each of them with a homoeroticism that i myself found rather stirring.
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