Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Out West
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY: British
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1779901/ * https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/out-west-travels-through-the-american-west-past-and-present/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Male.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author and documentary filmmaker. BBC, filmmaker.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Tim Slessor is a British author of books on deception and on the American West. He is also a documentary filmmaker, producer, and director who has worked on America (1972), Bombay Superstar (1973) and Television: The Magic Rectangle – An Anatomy of the TV Personality (1986). His interest in government cover-ups came from his father, who was the senior Fleet Air Arm officer on the HMS Glorious, the British Royal Navy aircraft carrier that was sunk during World War II and the controversy over the lack of rescue for the sailors, causing embarrassment to the navy. Slessor works for the BBC.
Ministries of Deception and Lying in State
In 2002, Slessor published Ministries of Deception: Cover-ups in Whitehall. The book chronicles conspiracy and government cover-ups, usually for events that embarrass the government and other organizations. He explains how attempts to gloss over or misinform the public only causes more damage once the facts are uncovered. He asks why cover-ups are attempted in the first place, how they grow, the complex issues involved, the consequences of deception, and examples of perpetrators of deceit finally owning up.
Slessor followed that book up with the 2004 Lying in State: How Whitehall Denies, Dissembles and Deceives – From the Chinook Crash to the Kelly Affair. Slessor follows massive government misinformation and outright deception as he chronicles the imminent “weapons of mass destruction” lie leading up to the American led war in Iraq, as well as the naming of Dr. David Kelly, a Welch specialist in biological warfare, and his mysterious death. In other historical instances, Slessor describes the sinking of the HMS Glorious in World War II, the sinking of the General Belgrano during the Falklands War, the mysterious Chinook helicopter crash in Scotland, and the ejection of the native inhabitants from Diego Garcia so it could be handed over to the United States military. Slessor contends that such deception from unaccountable government and military officials is undemocratic and is the cause of injustice that ruins reputations and destroys the lives of real people.
Out West
An enthusiast of American western culture and history, Slessor published Out West: Travels through the American West–Past and Present in 2016. For the book, he uncovers myths, rumors, and quirky stories about the West and “has crafted what can easily be termed an armchair-traveler’s favorite kind of escape,” according to Colleen Mondor in Booklist. Mondor added that his writing is funny, smart, and delightfully lively. Slessor himself has traveled through the High Plains region in 1961 while working for the BBC. He’s began a love affair with the West for forty years and spent one year living in western Nebraska. He views the West as the most quintessentially American of all places in the country.
The stories in his book include the rumor that Butch Cassidy survived his Bolivian shoot-out and returned to the American West, and tales of fur traders, the gold rush, Lewis and Clark’s traversing the continent from the Louisiana Purchase territory to the Pacific Coast, building the transcontinental railroad, Custer and his last stand at Little Big Horn, and the Wounded Knee Massacre with the Sioux. He also includes travelogues and memories of his years traveling across Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas, and insights he gained from his years of research and interviews he conducted during his filmmaking career. A writer in Kirkus Reviews commented: “Some of his interesting anecdotes reveal his deep affection for the West, but because they do not form a coherent subnarrative, they distract rather than add to the overall narrative.” On the other hand, a Historical Novel Society website contributor noted: “His asides are smart and witty, and he draws interesting parallels between the West’s past and contemporary events.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, November 15, 2016, Colleen Mondor, review of Out West: Travels through the American West–Past and Present, p. 13.
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2016, review of Out West.
ONLINE
Historical Novel Society, https://historicalnovelsociety.org/ (September 1, 2017), review of Out West.*
Tim Slessor
Biography
Mini Bio (1)
Tim Slessor is a producer and director, known for America (1972), Bombay Superstar (1973) and Television: The Magic Rectangle - An Anatomy of the TV Personality (1986).
Filmography
Jump to: Producer | Director | Self
Hide HideProducer (9 credits)
2015 Foot in Mouth (Short) (executive producer) (post-production)
1987 Australia (TV Mini-Series documentary) (series producer - 5 episodes)
- From Woy Woy to Wagga Wagga (1987) ... (series producer)
- Journey to the Interior (1987) ... (series producer)
- Changes (1987) ... (series producer)
- Australia Will Be There (1987) ... (series producer)
- Beginnings (1987) ... (series producer)
1986 Television: The Magic Rectangle - An Anatomy of the TV Personality (TV Movie documentary) (executive producer)
1973 Man Alive (TV Series documentary) (producer - 2 episodes)
- Equal Before the Law (1973) ... (producer)
- Bombay Superstar (1973) ... (producer)
1973 Bombay Superstar (producer)
1973 Look, Stranger (TV Series) (producer - 1 episode)
- Foula - The Lonely Island (1973) ... (producer)
1970 Bird's-Eye View (TV Series documentary) (producer - 1 episode)
- From Bishop Rock to Muckle Flugga (1970) ... (producer)
1961-1963 Looking at Britain (TV Series documentary) (producer - 11 episodes)
- Survey (1963) ... (producer)
- Coventry: Engineering City (1963) ... (producer)
- The Valleys: South Wales (1963) ... (producer)
- Northern Ireland: Farming and Industry (1963) ... (producer)
- Survey (1961) ... (producer)
Show all 11 episodes
1962 Looking at the United States (TV Series documentary) (producer - 10 episodes)
- A Discussion (1962) ... (producer)
- Who? What? Where? (1962) ... (producer)
- Mid-West: The Corn Belt (1962) ... (producer)
- The Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains (1962) ... (producer)
- California: The Central Valley (1962) ... (producer)
Show all 10 episodes
Hide HideDirector (4 credits)
1991 Q.E.D. (TV Series documentary) (1 episode)
- On His Own Two Feet (1991)
1987 Australia (TV Mini-Series documentary) (1 episode)
- Beginnings (1987)
1972 America (TV Series documentary)
1970 Bird's-Eye View (TV Series documentary) (2 episodes)
- From Bishop Rock to Muckle Flugga (1970)
- The Highlands and Islands of Scotland (1970)
Hide HideSelf (2 credits)
2005 Timeshift (TV Series documentary)
Himself - Expedition Member - Expedition Writer
- The Lost Road: Overland to Singapore (2005) ... Himself - Expedition Member - Expedition Writer
1973 Look, Stranger (TV Series)
Himself - Narrator
- Foula - The Lonely Island (1973) ... Himself - Narrator (voice)
Out West: Travels through the American West-Past and Present
Colleen Mondor
Booklist. 113.6 (Nov. 15, 2016): p13.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Listen
Full Text:
Out West: Travels through the American West-Past and Present. By Tim Slessor. Nov. 2016. 356p. Interlink, paper, $20 (9781566560641). 978.
BBC filmmaker Slessor might seem like an unlikely writer to take on the American West, but his obvious enthusiasm for the region, many visits, and a year living and working in Nebraska should wipe away any concerns. Focused on history, especially the deeply personal history of small towns and the clash of truth and legend (his belief that Butch Cassidy survived and returned to the U.S. from Bolivia makes for an exceptionally convincing, myth-busting chapter), Slessor is funny, smart, and delightfully lively as he shares stories he found while on and off assignment in this legendary region. Each chapter delves into a fresh tale as he follows history's trail from Lewis and Clark to the railroads, the gold rush, and Wounded Knee. Slessor has no grand pronouncements to make about what the frontier or its people mean to America, but he obviously loves the place and can't get enough of it. He teases out plenty of new facets to make any reader happy, and has crafted what can easily be termed an armchair-traveler's favorite kind of escape.--Colleen Mondor
Slessor, Tim: OUT WEST
Kirkus Reviews. (Oct. 15, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Listen
Full Text:
Slessor, Tim OUT WEST Interlink (Adult Nonfiction) $20.00 12, 13 ISBN: 978-1-56656-064-1
A former BBC contributor's history-cum-travelogue of the American West.Slessor (Lying in State: How Whitehall Denies, Dissembles and Deceives, 2002, etc.) first traveled through the High Plains region on assignment from the BBC in 1961. His visit gave rise to a lifelong love affair with the West, a place the author saw as being the most quintessentially American of all places in the country. Here, Slessor interweaves memories of journeys through and stays in Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas with a history that begins with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. That event doubled the size of a fledgling nation by adding much of the land that would later become known as the High Plains and Midwest. The author recounts the stories of Lewis and Clark, who crossed the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase territory all the way to the Pacific Coast, and of the trappers, gold prospectors, young pioneer families, and religious dissidents known as Mormons who sought to make new lives. The westward push, which eventually involved the building of a transcontinental railroad, was not without its challenges: settlers and the U.S. military fought bitter and bloody battles, such as those at Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee, against Plains Indians unwilling to give up their territory. Slessor also traces the rise of the great cattle barons, some of whom came from Britain to become "self-styled 'Gentlemen of the Prairie.' " He concludes with reflections on the exploits of Butch Cassidy, "the world's favorite outlaw," and the less glamorous men and women who tamed the often harsh and unforgiving Great Plains into agriculturally productive land. Slessor's historical information is "distillation of other people's books and articles," and he offers no new insights into these well-known historical events. Some of his interesting anecdotes reveal his deep affection for the West, but because they do not form a coherent subnarrative, they distract rather than add to the overall narrative. Well-informed but scattered and ultimately dispensable.
Out West: Travels Through the American West—Past and Present
BY TIM SLESSOR
Find & buy on
British writer and filmmaker Tim Slessor created documentaries featuring the American West for the BBC for over 40 years. He became so intrigued by the landscape and the people that he and his wife took a year-long hiatus from England to live in Nebraska. Since retiring, his interest in the West has not waned, and in his book, he presents some of the biggest stories and best-known figures who shaped the land west of the Mississippi River.
Though the United States is young in comparison to other parts of the world, writing a book that covers such a vast geographical landscape, and 200-plus years, is no small undertaking. One imagines Slessor must have struggled to narrow down to the stories he included, but he does hit most of the highlights, from Lewis and Clark to the Gold Rush to Wounded Knee to Butch Cassidy. Interspersed with the historical information are Slessor’s own insights and observations, based on his years of research and interviews he conducted during his filmmaking career. His asides are smart and witty, and he draws interesting parallels between the West’s past and contemporary events. Slessor’s book reads like a love letter to the land that stole his heart. He has written a history book that is both entertaining and well researched. Highly recommended.