[An] affectionate look at Nash's life.... Richly detailed with excerpts from family correspondence.
A fast-paced, readable biography....One of the delights of Parker's book is its reprinting of Nash's pleasure-giving lines.
Admirably concise.
Affectionately honest.
Capable biography...
Douglas M. Parker believes that Nash has become too little-known, and he makes a good case.
Douglas M. Parker, a retired Washington, D.C., lawyer, writes a solid biography of Ogden Nash (1902-1971), perhaps America's most beloved versifier.... The author has done himself proud. It wouldn't bother citizens of the country much if more Washington lawyers took to writing biographies.
Douglas M. Parker's biography tells his story with an abundance of detail.
Douglas Parker has given us an attractive book about an engaging writer.
Douglas Parker's intelligent, informative, and engaging new biography fills a significant scholarly need in presenting the life and times of this neglected but important American poet.
Douglas Parker's superb biography of Ogden Nash is the book I would rather find in a hotel drawer than the Gideon Bible. Ironically, upon reading a Nash verse, I am invariably tempted to break the Commandment: thou shalt not steal.
Explores the complex person behind the deceptively simple verse.
I've marked page after page to treasure-for the skill of the friendly first-time biographer as well as the delights of the poet.
In the best of Nash we find a haiku of hilarity, a profound explication of the human condition. Parker has given us a levelheaded explanation of where Nash was coming from.
In this faithful and fascinating chronicle, Ogden Nash's triumphs and disappointments on Broadway and in Hollywood; his battles with writer's block and the bottle; his disparate careers as poet, lyricist, editor, film writer, radio and television personality, courtly lover, and resident "Jesus" for Harold Ross of The New Yorker, are all revealed. Nash was a man without enemies; Douglas M. Parker's captivating biography should win him legions of new friends.
Multi-faceted biography covers all aspects...and is a 'must' for any Nash reader.
Now that humor has finally been released from the doghouse called 'light verse' and has reclaimed its rightful place in poetry, how well-timed is Douglas Parker's examination of the life and work of Ogden Nash, who refused to hide his joyful wit behind the long, serious mask donned by the writers of 'heavy verse.'
Ogden Nash is an irresistible subject for biography. Douglas M. Parker, a former lawyer and public servant, has undertaken the task out of affection and admiration for his subject; his response to Nash is that of an intelligent layman to a unique talent. Without indulging in special pleading for Nash's importance, Parker's Ogden Nash is a temperate and carefully measured account.
Parker has done a tremendous service by writing this readable and workmanlike biography-the first biography of Nash, amazingly enough.
Parker narrates Nash's accomplishments with careful detail, sprinkling apt verse excerpts throughout to add lyrical detail.
Parker tells this life story smoothly.... Nash's legion of fans should find themselves satisfied at this total story.
Parker's biography may well lead to a new appreciation of Nash...
Parker's finely written biography provides a thorough picture of Nash. The reference section is extensive and impressive. If you are a Nash fan to begin with, you will be more so upon completion of Parker's book.
Parker's is a useful, highly readable biography of one of America's best-loved poets.
Parker's sympathetic appraisal reveals a man of adaptable talents.
Really quite dandy to read by the fire whilst nibbling on candy...a good introduction to Nash.
Richly detailed....[An] affectionate look at Nash's life.
There seems to be a law of deceptive appearances requiring that anyone who wrote as much and as wittily as Ogden Nash must have been deeply troubled. However, according to Douglas M. Parker's carefully researched and authoritative new biography of the master of light verse, Nash violated that law as cavalierly as he broke the laws of rhyme and prosody. In Odgen Nash Parker shows that Nash was in fact the likable man that his poems suggest. Even when his verses are slightly acerbic, he describes universal experiences that strengthen the bonds of our humanity.
This biography is a fine and overdue tribute to a good man who wrote very funny and sometimes sad light verse. It is particularly strong on Nash's ventures into musical theatre and his long involvement with the New Yorker.
Well-researched.
Worth Reading.