Our Huckleberry Friend: The Life, Times and Lyrics of Johnny Mercer

Rating:
Summary: The Big J As Coffee-table Accessory
Review: One day some sage will write a comprehensive biography of Johnny Mercer. Until then we'll have to settle for this tripe. Part coffee-table book, part biography, part social history, part songbook for the karaoke-impaired.... This book pursues all these goals, but really succeeds in none. The lack of focus is disorienting, and all the elements are thereby diluted. Still, it's a nice book to have about the house...along with Fowler and the Communist Manifesto....not entirely uninformative, but simply not truly satisfying. And let's face it, it's the best we'll get for a long time.