Hollywood East tells the story of how the movies evolved as a business—a business controlled from the Eastern seaboard. As Diana Altman notes, “Hollywood was a pretty face but New York was the heart and lungs.”
How did the business of movies grow? Who were the men and women who made it grow? Where did all the innovations—technical and business—come from? What innovative twists did mobsters Al Capone and Willie Bioff add?
Most film historians concentrate on the Hollywood studios and treat the New York side as an unimportant annoyance to the creative geniuses of Hollywood. In fact, New York ran the whole show, and the geniuses were merely employees as far as New York was concerned. And artistic innovations weren’t limited to the West Coast either. Many of the elements of film art and technology were developed in the East. The star system itself was an eastern innovation. James Stewart, Joan Crawford, Ava Gardner, Franchot Tone, Bob Hope, Henry Fonda, and many, many other stars got their start in the Fifty-fourth Street Manhattan studio where the screen test was invented.
Hollywood East is the story of Louis B. Mayer from his days as a film exhibitor through his stewardship as studio head at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, through his bitter battles with Nicholas Schenck and Dore Schary, his dismissal from the company bearing his name, and the proxy fight to regain control.
It is the story of William Fox, who at one time had ambitions of controlling the entire film production industry and had a net worth of $100 million before the stock market crashed and he was sent to prison for bribing a judge.
It is the story of Marcus Loew, Adolph Zukor, Jesse Lasky, Samuel Goldwyn, Cecil B. DeMille, and the other giants of the twenties.
It’s all here: how the stars emerged, how the public relations mills did their jobs. And the book explains how the moguls always put aside their rivalries when they were threatened by adverse publicity.
Many of the photographs in the book are from the one-of-a-kind collection of the author’s father.
Altman’s writing is thoughtful and articulate…The author speaks with sophistication and style about the experiences of American women in the recent past.
Kirkus Reviews
In its finely observed depiction of family dynamics, We Never Told reminds me of Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping or Richard Ford’s Canada. This is a compelling novel that deserves to be widely read.
Graham Hillard, editor of the Cumberland River Review
Altman’s uncanny ability to yoke the everyday drama out of life and imbue her characters with an emotional complexity makes We Never Told a novel that gets to the essence of what family is. A tale that unfolds with nuance and an endearing sense of humor, this is the kind of writing that is impossible to shake as it bravely mirrors our collective experience of learning to love what feels at times impossible to embrace.
Liam Everett, award-winning artist
Diana Altman’s We Never Told is a witty, insightful, compelling novel about a woman’s journey to unlock a family secret that is burning a hole in her life. The deftly told story offers a fresh look at the way childhood myths cast shadows on adult life. This book grabbed me from the first page and never disappointed.
Nancy Newman, author, Disturbing The Peace
Diana Altman is a brilliantly clever novelist.
Scott Neuffer, Editor, Trampset.
There are stories relating to women that are as timeless as time itself. As advanced as society may become, there are issues that women and their children deal with that seem never to change. We Never Told is one such tale…Families are a sum total of all of their parts, no child is raised in a vacuum…That is the beautiful lesson of We Never Told. Altman weaves together an incredible story of women, children, families, care-takers…a timely read for today’s generation.
Macsbooks - book review
Love At A Girl’s School And Other Stories is an exciting anthology of stories that I found to be great short reads. I love the variety of genres in this book. It is the kind of collection with a bit of something that everyone can enjoy. The characters in each story are unique, and each plot has the perfect amount of depth and detail to keep you reading. My personal favorite is the story of Rupert, his owner, and the dog walker trying to find herself in a distant place. I recommend Love At A Girl’s School to readers who enjoy quick stories that are fun and entertaining. I hope that Diana Altman has many more short stories to add to future collections like this one.
Amy Raines for Readers' Favorite
Altman (author of We Never Told) delivers an eclectic collection exploring the nuances and strangeness of everyday life, the sharp immediate dramas that explode from tense situations. She balances hefty character drama—the weighty “Unwanted Babies,” where a pregnant teenager is forced to give her baby up at birth, only to spend her entire life searching for her lost daughter—with the whimsical, as in “Itty Bitty Betsy” chronicling the life of a petite purse secretary, meant to help women with their untidy purses. Even the most seasoned reader will find moments of surprise and tenderness in this collection.
booklife.com Reviews
