RaveNewsweek[A] wonderful new book ... Putting It Together works on many levels ... [It] will be catnip for Sondheim fans, who will likely breeze through the 380-plus pages, and then go back from time to time to dip into it like a biblical text ... This is a detailed look into theatrical art and business of a specific period, but most importantly it offers much insight into the greatest musical theater minds of the 20th century—and by extension ever.
Christopher Buckley
RaveNewsweek... funny and often hilarious ... To regular viewers of the all-breaking-news-all-the-time networks, Make Russia Great Again reads like a whispered procedural of everyday life in the 2020 White House ... Buckley takes us on a fictional roller-coaster ride of blackmail, intrigue, more blackmail and way more intrigue that rivals reality, well almost, at least at press time. And this was written before the pandemic and before the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests. There are no masks, no marches, no TikTok-inflated rallies, [no fill-in-the-blank insanities that were not known at press time]. Their absence actually gives Make Russia Great Again an almost nostalgic appeal ... But plenty of meat is left on the carcass of the Executive Branch for Buckley to feast on. While the plot plays out, he gives some of the most brilliantly funny characterizations. In a few words he can size up, cut down and serve up slightly roasted thumbnail descriptions of people who may or may not represent purveyors of the White House Kool-Aid.
