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MY TURN TO SPEAK

Name: MY TURN TO SPEAK
Author: Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr
ISBN: 0-08-040563-0

IRAN, THE REVOLUTION AND SECRET DEALS WITH THE U.S.

by Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 1991

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Bani-Sadr, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the American hostage crisis and the early stages of Iran's war with Iraq, offers an interesting-though frequently incredible and consistently self-serving-memoir of his brief tenure in office. The author portrays himself as the man who not only gave succor to the Ayatollah Khomeini during the years of exile in Iraq and Paris, but who was responsible for much of Khomeini's prominence during that period. But his account, Bani-Sadr is: a moderate who tried to foster democracy in Iran and resisted the authoritarian impulses of the fanatical Shiite clerics; an inspiring military leader who reformed the Shah's military and led the army to a stunning victory over Iraq in the first year of the war (only to be thwarted by mullahs who wanted the war to continue); and an incorruptible public official who, almost alone among Iranian leaders, resisted the wicked influences of the US and the Soviet Union. In the tradition of Persian intrigue, his story is replete with fantastic conspiracy theories, pronounced as incontrovertible fact. Among these are allegations of secret alliances between the Iranian clerics and American officials and an accusation that America surreptitiously started the Iran-Iraq war. Bani-Sadr adds that because of his resistance to Khomeini's attempts to perpetuate the power of the mullahs, he was forced from office and into exile in June 1981. As a historical document, this is a memoir of some importance, and Bani-Sadr's insights into the Machiavellian politics of revolutionary Iran are often absorbing. Nonetheless, frequent sensational accusations render his tale an eccentric, implausible commentary on the tragic folly of the Iranian Revolution.

Pub Date: May 7, 1991

ISBN: 0-08-040563-0

Page Count: 192

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.