JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Brian Austin Whitney Blog Saturday, May 27th, 2006

Books a Million, here I come. That sounds like my kind of book - also sounds like a great Father's Day present! Thank you for the suggestion; I may well buy 3 copies.

Here's a good summer reading suggestion: _Beethoven's Hair_ by Russell Martin. It is a true story, well researched and very well told. It is 3 stories in one.

One story is of a lock of Beethoven's hair, which was snipped by a young musician admirer of Beethoven's shortly after the great man's death. The lock of hair was a family heirloom, and eventually it wound up "out in the world." The story tracks the travels of this fascinating item.

The second story is a "light" biography of LVB. I say "light" because it is not at all exhaustive, but gives a good overview of his life and work.

The third story is of the two American Beethoven enthusiasts who purchased the lock of hair. They had it put through some very in-depth testing in order to get a "health picture" of Beethoven which would include answers to the questions of (1) why he was ill so much and so often, (2) why he became deaf, and (3) what finally killed him.

I have been a fan of Beethoven since childhood, and his compositions have soothed me and stirred me for as long as I can remember. I came away from this book with an even greater appreciation of his genius and his dedication to music, a real enjoyment of the "treasure hunt" involved, and a fascination of the testing used.

I read it probably about 3 - 4 years ago. I think I'll re-read it soon, it's a definate keeper.

Brenda