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THE BEST CAT EVER

Name: THE BEST CAT EVER
Author: Cleveland Amory
ISBN: 0-316-03744-3

by Cleveland Amory ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 1993

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Fans of Amory's delightful cat books (The Cat and the Curmudgeon, 1990; The Cat Who Came for Christmas, 1987) may find this third and final volume in the series disappointing: It's really more a memoir of Amory's college days and writing career than an account of his famed relationship with his much beloved feline, Polar Bear. This isn't to say, however, that Amory's life hasn't been interesting. As he travels with Polar Bear to reunions at Milton Academy and Harvard, we find out much about his prep school and university days. With the help of Katharine Hepburn and her family, he landed a plum editorial job right out of college with the Saturday Evening Post and soon was spending a summer in France hobnobbing with celebrities as a guest of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. (He was supposed to ghostwrite an autobiography of the Duchess, but the project never got off the ground.) Later, Amory achieved his own fame, spending 14 years as a critic for TV Guide. (The hilarious excerpts from his 1963-76 column—write-ups on Queen for a Day, Let's Make a Deal, etc.—are one of the highlights here.) The two concluding chapters, about the declining health of both Amory and his cat—they both become arthritic; Amory gets hit by a truck; Polar Bear develops incurable kidney problems—are the most compelling, and Amory's moving account of his decision to put his dear companion of 15 years to sleep is heartrending. Happily, his eventual adoption of a new waif, Tiger Bear, ends matters on an uplifting note. Not the best cat book ever—but R.I.P., Polar Bear. (B&W line drawings throughout)

Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1993

ISBN: 0-316-03744-3

Page Count: 264

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1993

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.