South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Wenner looks at rock, rolling role
Jann S. Wenner takes us on a long, strange trip with his accessible and entertaining rock ’n’ roll memoir. As the founder, co-editor and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, Wenner had an unusual backstage pass to the rock ’n’ roll revolution as he chronicled how the Baby Boomer generation reshaped postwar America.
Now 76, Wenner was just in his 20s when he helped found the magazine in 1967. Rolling Stone went on to chronicle not only the music of those times, but also politics and cultural change. The magazine became popular for its 20,000-word profiles and essays and bold photography and graphics.
Wenner started writing about rock music for the Daily Californian student newspaper at the University of California, Berkeley. After launching Rolling Stone with music critic Ralph J. Gleason, Wenner was soon befriending top rock stars like Mick Jagger when they were both still in their 20s. Wenner also befriended Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, serializing his book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” in the magazine, then assigning him to cover Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign. He helped launch the career of photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The memoir allows Wenner to tell his story in his own words after being disappointed with the 2017 biography he commissioned journalist Joe Hagan to write.
Wenner touches on the personal, including his life as a closeted man during a long marriage to Jane, who remained an important part of his life after he started a relationship with partner Matt Nye. But his narrative could leave the reader feeling like some interesting details have
been left out.
Wenner reluctantly sold the magazine. And just as he had for more than a half-century, Wenner wrote passionately about a key issue of the times in his last letter from the editor in March 2020.
With young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg on the cover, Wenner invited his readers to contemplate the dangers of climate change: “We will answer for what we did to protect our children and the miracle of nature and her diversity of species on this planet, when we still had the time.” — Anita Snow, Associated Press
YouTube has become such a part of daily life
and popular culture in its 17-year history that it’s easy to forget how simple of a concept the site began with. In “Like, Comment, Subscribe,” Mark Bergen chronicles YouTube’s rocky history beginning in 2005 when it was envisioned as a simple video-sharing service. He even notes how its creators originally considered the idea of a video site focused on dating, a concept that seems perplexing today when looking at its scope.
Anyone with an internet connection knows just how much of a technological and cultural behemoth the site has become since then, and Bergen offers a revealing look at how YouTube has struggled with that growth.
Bergen, a writer for Bloomberg and Bloomberg Businessweek, begins the book with a quote from Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” and it’s easy to see why. From outsized YouTube personalities to misinformation campaigns, YouTube oftentimes comes across as the creature whose makers have lost control.
The fast-paced story explores YouTube’s challenges, including its handling of misinformation about the 2020 election and the pandemic. It sharply explains how YouTube’s economy has changed over time, and the backlash it has faced from creators and users over those changes.
Bergen deftly covers YouTube’s rise. The cast of characters include YouTube creators who may seem like ancient history to many users now.
Bergen’s book underscores, though, how much of YouTube’s history has been driven by the millions of people who watch its videos or post on it each day.