Jann Wenner is an unabashed fanboy (there is another word for this, and one that the ever candid Wenner might use himself) of musicians, actors, and Democratic politicians, and his memoir is filled with anecdotes of the rich and famous, along with tales of editing the magazine he co-founded and his fizzled efforts to build a durable publishing empire. Come for the tales of Mick and Bruce and Bono, but stay for the tender and surprisingly moving stories about his family and his decision in 1994 to leave his wife and three sons to partner with the much younger Matt Nye. His account of falling in love with Nye, the concerns he had for the impact on his wife, and how he ended up blending his two families the best he could (he and Matt have two kids of their own) is the beating heart of this memoir and worth the price of admission.
Who knew that one of the world’s premier architects could possess such an engaging and warm voice as he recounts his life and explains what he tries to achieve in his work? Moshe Safdie, born in Haifa, Israel, 84 years ago, studied at McGill University, and it is there in Montreal that he designed perhaps his best-known work, the housing complex known as Habitat 67, built as part of the city’s Expo 67.
