Picture

Somehow, the rampant self-obsession and main character energy of today's social media stained culture is a near-constant POV, even in the pages of supposed high-minded publications. Take a certain cloying, golly gee food critic we'll call.... Anna Silverturd. The word "I" shows up so many times in her articles, often in such quick succession, it's like the end of Pearl Jam's Jeremy. Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yeaaaaa-uh.

Not the case, however, for Picture, by Lillian Ross, a New Yorker contributor who was invited onto the set of John Huston’s adaptation of The Red Badge of Courage. The book offers the sort of unfettered access that only a journalist who quietly slips into the walls can garner. It's also a brilliant snapshot of the wild, wooly days of early-ish Hollywood.