Books News
New book: Joni, Carly, & Carole
By M&C News
Apr 19, 2008, 10:13 GMT

If any of those names ring a bell, then this might be the book for you. Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller the NYT notes that the book, “turns out to be unexpectedly captivating. And it defies expectations, to the point where Ms. Weller’s grand ambitions wind up fulfilled.”

Calling the book “a strong amalgam of nostalgia, feminist history, astute insight, beautiful music and irresistible gossip about the common factors in the three women’s lives. Much of the overlap has to do with these women’s ties with certain men.”

Of course there is going to be James Taylor and Bob Dylan, and a number of names—all of whom were popular in their day.

The book description notes, “Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon remain among the most enduring and important women in popular music. Each woman
is distinct. Carole King is the product of outer-borough, middle-class New York City; Joni Mitchell is a granddaughter of Canadian farmers; and Carly Simon is a child of the Manhattan intellectual upper crust. They collectively represent, in their lives and their songs, a great swath of American girls who came of age in the late 1960s. Their stories trace the arc of the now mythic sixties generation -- female version -- but in a bracingly specific and deeply recalled way, far from cliché. The history of the women of that generation has never been written -- until now, through their
resonant lives and emblematic songs.”

Click here to read the NYT review. Atria Books is the publisher.