bookshelf

CHICAGO

Name: CHICAGO
Author: A.J. Liebling
ISBN: 0803280351

THE SECOND CITY

by A.J. Liebling ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 23, 1952

bookshelf

A blast- at the windy city, as a New Yorker correspondent (where these pieces had their original appearance) offers an outlander's insights on some of her institutions, attitudes, and overstated claims to fame. From the dinginess of her appearance, to the civic self-approbation of her gestures, from the purely quantitative approach and the "first or nothing" psychology which discolors her thinking habits, this goes on to her leading citizens- Insull and Capone and the "miasmic influence" of Colonel McCormick; her saloons and her race tracks; her social life- "round-robbinical"-limited and exhausting; her theatres and stores which reflect a certain distrust of native produce; her press and industry; the disgraceful housing conditions- and the racial feeling it helps to stimulate; the University of Chicago and the easy way to an I.B.M. tabulated degree; etc., etc. An anatomy, with precision instruments and more than a little wicked humor, this in its remorseless revelations should amuse where it does not insult.

Pub Date: June 23, 1952

ISBN: 0803280351

Page Count: 162

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: May 18, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1952

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
A NEUTRAL CORNER
edited by James Barbour & Fred Warner & by A.J. Liebling

- BOOK REVIEW
LIEBLING ABROAD
by A.J. Liebling

- BOOK REVIEW
THE EARL OF LOUISIANA
by A.J. Liebling

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.