In 1962; Maurice Wilkins; Francis Crick; and James Watson received the Nobel Prize; but it was Rosalind Franklin's data and photographs of DNA that led to their discovery.Brenda Maddox tells a powerful story of a remarkably single-minded; forthright; and tempestuous young woman who; at the age of fifteen; decided she was going to be a scientist; but who was airbrushed out of the greatest scientific discovery of the twentieth century.
#95512 in Books David Margolick 2001-01-23 2001-01-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .38 x 5.31l; .33 #File Name: 0060959568168 pagesStrange Fruit The Biography of a Song
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Truth is stranger than fiction!!By The DudeA fascinating story about one of the most fascinating and important songs ever written."Strange Fruit"; without being tiresome or pedantic in any way; insidiously and irresistibly gave a major boost to the nascent Civil Rights Movement through the seductive medium of song.People who would never have listened to any graphic recounting of the truly ghastly horrors of America's history of racial atrocities; were beguiled by this seemingly strange and innocent little ditty.Made famous by a very reluctant blues legend; Billie Holiday in 1939; "Strange Fruit" had an even stranger origin.The book itself is fascinating; yet short; bursting with a creation story that surely suggests the hand of a much higher inspiration than ever inspired a blues song; ever.After you read this fascinating little primer; you will never ever listen to this song the same way!!!Definitely a must-have book for serious collectors of cultural and socially significant esoterica.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. "There was a certain willful purpose when she sang that tune." (p.102)By Eddie HutchinsonAbel Meeropol; white Jewish schoolteacher in New York City; after being so moved by an image of a lynching (speculated that the photo is the lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion Indiana) wrote a poem about it. After being set to music; Meeropol's poem became the song ultimately known as Strange Fruit. The song was played for jazz singer; Billie Holiday; and she sung it for the first time in front of an audience in 1939. Billie said she was nervous at first and "...was scared people would hate it."But from that point on; Strange Fruit and Billie Holiday became intertwined in jazz history. Sure; others sang it; others certainly tried; but no one could sing it like Billie Holiday:"When Billie sings it; you feel as if you're at the foot of the tree." p.78"Not only did you see the `fruit' evoked in all its graphic horror; but you saw in Billie Holiday the wife or sister or mother of one of the victims beneath the tree; almost prostrate with sorrow and fury..." p.76-77"...and with every defeat she suffered; with every additional increment of abuse she endured or inflicted upon herself; the more personal the song came to seem. The confidence with which she'd first sung it gave way to pure pathos." p.89-90According to Meeropol; who heard her sing the song; said: "She gave a startling; most dramatic and effective interpretation; which could jolt an audience out of its complacency anywheres[sic]." p.305 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Short...But Worth the ReadBy Franklin Johnson'Strange Fruit: The Biography of a Song' does a great job of dispelling the myths about the song and pinpointing the truth about one of the most famous American songs of the 20th century. Not only that but it also does a great job at pin-pointing why the song still has a shroud of mystery about it; and how it impacted generations of African-Americans and whites.It seems like a bit of light reading; but since the song is an important one; the book is a gem.
