California Classics Books
3941 Veselich Avenue, Suite 158, Los Angeles, California 90039
Voice: (323) 906--0262 Fax: (323) 906-0259
e-mail: calclass@earthlink.net
Cal Class Co-Founder
Lionel "Menuhin" Rolfe
Goes Electronic
In His Latest Book,
DEATH AND REDEMPTION IN LONDON AND L.A.
Lionel Rolfe, one of the principal owners of California Classics books, will have his newest book, Death and Redemption in London and L.A., published by Dead End Streets (http://deadendstreet.com/), a premier online electronic book publisher. Sometime later in this year it will be available directly from Dead End Street or through Barnes and Noble or Powell Books online.
Unlike his recent Fat Man on the Left: Four Decades in the Underground, which was published by California Classics books, Death and Redemption in London and L.A. is a powerful narrative that will especially appeal to anyone who follows classical music and in particular has been curious about the career of Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Menuhin was Rolfe's uncle.
But Death and Redemption is far more than just a story of interest to lovers of classical music. While Fat Man was a collection of Rolfe's essays, the new book tells the tale of a whole life that unfolds in the last year of the last millennium. Nothing quite like it has ever been published before. This is easily Rolfe's most compelling work.
The book is an examination of death, sex and love that should particularly resonate with those millions of people who are facing major transitions in their own lives. The passage of time -- of historical and personal change -- as well as a strong sense of place is the context of the story. This is, of course, a very personal story but it also is meant to be a very universal one.
Rolfe's Death and Redemption in London and L.A. also is a contribution to the literature of left politics and high art.
Rolfe's publishing house, California Classics Books, which he founded with Nigey Lennon, will resume bringing new books out with Literary L.A. III, scheduled for early in 2002. Copies of Fat Man are still available to the book trade through SCB Books Distributor (www.scbdistributors.com), which handles Cal's national distribution. Individual copies can be ordered from Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com.
A few of California Classics titles were written by Rolfe and Lennon (her Being Frank: My Time With Frank Zappa was easily Cal's best seller). Most, however, were written by other authors and were dedicated to Californiana. Rolfe and Lennon also wrote with Paul Greenstein a classic piece of Californiana with the publication of Bread and Hyacinths: The Rise and Fall of Utopian Los Angeles.
Rolfe's collected works and biography are at:
http://www.usc.edu/isd/locations/ssh/special/Rolfe.html.
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