An illustrated anthology of —American moments— from the late newsman and wanderer Kuralt (A Life on the Road, 1990; On the Road with Charles Kuralt, 1985). Famous for his —On the Road— broadcasts on CBS, Kuralt transformed himself from a run-of-the-mill network reporter into a kind of latter-day (and, admittedly, much straighter) Jack Kerouac by crisscrossing the country time and again in search of nothing more than something to think about. Although his broadcasts started out as pretty standard human-interest stuff (the man who built a road to nowhere, etc.), he became more and more attentive, as the years passed, to the (often-endangered) shapes and rhythms of ordinary life: the general store, the small-town diner, the open-air market in Seattle, and the old-fashioned tailor in Chicago. This is a collection of his last broadcasts, all of them short, impressionistic, and evocative, all of them together forming a cumulative picture of American life in the 20th century. Just as hokey and sentimental as Kuralt’s broadcasts, they will appeal to his many fans but won—t win many converts among the unbelievers.
Pub Date: Nov. 24, 1998
ISBN: 0-684-85903-3
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1998
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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