Through a Lens Darkly [Paperback]

Jan Wahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2008

Noted children's author Jan Wahl has led a storybook life-much of it connected to Arts and Movies. THROUGH A LENS DARKLY invites you to share personal encounters with many luminaries from the Golden Age of Entertainment. You are treated to revelations about Gloria Swanson, Isak Dinesen, Robert Mitchum, Rita Hayworth, and more. His essays will charm and mesmerize. Join him as he sheds light on the artistic contributions of lesser-known personalities like animators Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising-and legendary dancer Paul Swan. Navigating his life is truly an adventure. Journey to Denmark with him as he participates in the now classic film Ordet by the great director Carl Th. Dreyer. Come along as Jan relives a poignant twenty-year friendship with Louise Brooks. Enjoy his sense of humor as Mae West chases him out of her dressing room-and feel his shock as he almost kills Greta Garbo. You will come away from this book knowing why Jan Wahl is, as one child has put it, "America's Best Otter."

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: BearManor Media (October 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593933118
• ISBN-13: 978-1593933111
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,659,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You MUST peer into this Lens!, June 3, 2009

By 

Sigmund Humanski "dime-store alchemist" (Toledo, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Through a Lens Darkly (Paperback)

Jan Wahl's collection of essays, "Through a Lens Darkly", is a fascinating compendium of a rich life filled with wondrous and magical experiences. Not only has he been a mainstay author in the world of Children's Literature since 1964(with well over 100 books published), but also in pursuing his avocational love of film and the art of comic strips, he's been blessed with encountering many of the most talented inhabitants of all these worlds.
In addition to meeting more familiar names such as Rita Hayworth, Gloria Swanson, and Mae West, you'll be treated to adventures with more esoteric personalities like the great Danish film director, Carl Theodor Dreyer and the pioneering animator/artist, Oskar Fischinger.
Each of his essays offers deeply personal and unique insights into the many artists featured. Among the most notable are the ones dealing with his friendships with Louise Brooks(he'll be soon publishing a collection of her letters to him that cover their 20 year relationship), the Oskar Fischinger family, Leni Riefenstahl, and the ironically shocking day he nearly killed Greta Garbo.
Jan's gentle humor and wit are sprinkled throughout. The reader isn't likely to forget any of his delightfully entertaining and informative stories. The book is lavishly illustrated with photos and drawings that dramatically enhance each essay. Buying and reading "Through a Lens Darkly" is money and time well spent. I highly recommend it.