thing he wanted to be, except a mem-
ber of the Christhaven Country Club."
Franken, the author, goes on to
describe the campaign trail and his brain
trust of loyal advisers, who include his
brother Otto, a recovering sex addict
and alcoholic; manager Norm Ornstein,
the think-tank policy wonk; media con-
sultant Dick Morris; and former
"Grizzly Adams" star Dan Haggerty.
Franken finally stuns the nation by
defeating Al Gore for the Democratic
nomination, then sweeps into office
with a landslide victory over Newt
Gingrich. His all-Jewish Cabinet
reflects "a Cabinet the president is
comfortable with."
The closing section of the book takes
us into the Franken White House in a
Bob Woodward-inspired account of the
first hundred days. Unfortunately, the
president begins to exhibit not only
chronic fatigue syndrome but severe
bipolar behavior and is forced to coop-
erate with the Joint Congressional
Committee on the President's Mood
Swings. When the committee releases
his personal diaries to the public,
Franken faces his ultimate crisis.
Although Al Franken may have mis-
timed his book, what with the actual
hi-jinks in Washington and our obses-
sion with the Monica story, his imagi-
natively funny satire proves clever and
fresh in its format as well as its
premise. Silly, yes, but not as absurd as
the theater we call real-life politics.
— Reviewed by Linda Bachrack
With A Song In His Heart
"Few men have given so much
pleasure to so many people," said the
essayist and social critic Lionel Trilling
of Richard Rodgers. William G.
Hyland documents the man and his
music in the first complete biography
of Rodgers since the composer's death
in 1979, Richard Rodgers (Yale
University Press; $30).
Rodgers, born in 1902, composed
more than 1,000 songs for the
American stage, collaborating with the
lyricist Lorenz Hart and later partner-
ing with Oscar Hammerstein II to cre-
ate the musical play. Beginning with
Oklahoma! in 1943, the pair dominat-
ed Broadway for almost 20 years with
a string of hits that have become the-
ater classics: Carousel, South Pacific,
The King and I and The Sound of
Music.
Born the second son of a Russian
Jewish doctor who lived in the upper-
middle-class neighborhood of Harlem,
Rodgers began making melodies at an
early age, a means, he said, of escape
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from the constant tension and conflict
in his family. Treasured moments,
however, were found in Richard's par-
ents' piano duets. The piano was a
source of pleasure at a time when he
desperately needed it.
Life outside the household was
pleasant. The neighborhood was home
to the Harlem Opera House, owned
by Oscar Hammerstein I, where the
entertainment might be Fanny Brice
or Sophie Tucker. Families congregat-
ed on stoops and children played in
the streets. By 1900, Harlem was the
second largest Jewish settlement in
New York.
According to the book, the Rodgers
family was divided over religion. With
the death of Richard's great-grand-
mother Rodgers, Orthodox Judaism
ceased to be observed in the Rodgers
household. From then on, the family
was Jewish for socioeconomic reasons
rather than out of conviction. Richard
later became an atheist, and as a par-
ent he resisted religious instruction for
his children.
Rodgers entered Columbia
University (the college of choice for
well-to-do young Jewish men) in the
fall of 1919, and it was there he met
Lorenz Hart and they became a team.
Rodgers likened their relationship to
((two volatile chemicals in a retort,"
but the "explosion" resulted in a series
of great songs. Rodgers' melodies were
enhanced by Hart's brilliant lyrics —
they were a perfect team.
After a long run that included
scores for shows like The Boys from
Syracuse and Pal Joey, Rodgers and
Hart parted ways in late June 1942.
The first Rodgers and
Hammerstein collaboration was
Oklahomal. "Oscar and I hit it off
o m p a n o
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Detroit Jewish News
3/19
1999
95