The Diaries of Kenneth Tynan

by Kenneth Tynan (Author), John Lahr (Editor)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $4.73

  Critic Kenneth Tynan, the impresario who created Oh Calcutta , was also an eccentric and connoisseur of cuisine, wine, literature and women. His diaries record a judicious blend of aesthetics, theatre lore, love, marriage, sex and politics.

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.49

• Used

  Hardcover
  2001

  $3.49

  An engaging, and intimate look at one of the most feared and respected critics of our time. 'Be light, stinging, insolent, and melancholy' were the words hanging over the desk of Kenneth Tynan in his early days as a critic for the London Observer, and his journals are just that. For Tynan, arguably the greatest critic of the twentieth century, all life was theater and demanded to be conveyed as such. Whether he is feverishly recording his impressions of the historic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, recounting a scandalously successful meeting between Marlene Deitrich and John F. Kennedy, or venting his frustrations about working with Laurence Olivier, Tynan's wicked observations are consistently clever and inspired. Tynan's journals are an intoxicating mix of aesthetics, theater, love, sex, and politics from the perspective of a man who often served as confidant to the glittering personalities of his age. Already excerpted in the New Yorker, they offer not only an uncensored glimpse into the man himself but also an informed and irreverent view of our time.

• New

  Paperback
  2002

  $20.43

  A brilliant and feared critic, Kenneth Tynan was a nabob of the National Theatre alongside Laurence Olivier, and he was also the daring impresario who created Oh Calcutta . He was a notorious eccentric, a louche sophisticate: connoisseur of cuisine, wine, literature and women. Where else could you find such a judicious blend of aesthetics, theatre lore, love, marriage, sex and politics? These sizzling diaries will remind older readers of a man whose reputation as the greatest critic of the twentieth century is still unchallenged and introduce younger readers to an electrifying writer who simply could not be boring.