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STREISAND

Name: STREISAND
Author: Anne Edwards
ISBN: 0-316-21138-9

IT ONLY HAPPENS ONCE

by Anne Edwards ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 30, 1997

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La Streisand, warts and all, in this unusually thorough and perceptive biography. Streisand presents something of a paradoxical challenge for biographers. Even detractors cannot overlook the sheer range and magnitude of her talent, the powerful, perfectly modulated voice, her abilities as an actress and a director. But even admirers cannot ignore her egotism, her control mania, her self-righteous stance as a perpetual victim. Given these difficulties, veteran celebrity biographer Edwards (A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn, 1985, etc.) walks the tightrope of fairness with remarkable ease and grace. Streisand once summed up the double standard by which she felt she has been judged by noting, ``A man is commanding—a woman demanding. . . . A man is a perfectionist—a woman's a pain in the ass.'' Sexism in Hollywood is still a problem, but as Edwards makes clear, much of Streisand's controversial behavior has stemmed not so much from her experiences in show business as from her miserable childhood. Her father died when she was very young; her mother never provided the love and uncritical support she craved; she did not possess conventional good looks. Yet these miseries also fueled her ambition. As she once remarked: ``I wanted to prove to the world that they shouldn't make fun of me.'' Edwards traces Streisand's long, determined climb to stardom, describing in detail her career on Broadway, her albums, her work in Hollywood. She argues persuasively that Streisand's fear of failing, the insecurity that stretches back to her childhood, has been the dominant element in her life: ``Nothing was ever enough. She had to prove herself over and over and over again.'' There are times, though, when Edwards skims over events, such as Streisand's break-up with longtime lover Jon Peters, to dwell on their psychological meanings, to little effect. Nonetheless, this is clearly the best account of Barbra Streisand in all her contradictory, difficult glory. (b&w photos, not seen) (Book-of-the-Month Club selection; author tour)

Pub Date: April 30, 1997

ISBN: 0-316-21138-9

Page Count: 608

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1997

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE REAGANS
by Anne Edwards

- BOOK REVIEW
MARIA CALLAS
by Anne Edwards

- BOOK REVIEW
EVER AFTER
by Anne Edwards

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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.