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GROWING UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER

Name: GROWING UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER
Author: Clifton Truman Daniel
ISBN: 1-55971-286-X

MEMORIES OF HARRY S. TRUMAN

by Clifton Truman Daniel ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1995

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This is not a story of Harry Truman but the honest and good- humored autobiography of his grandson, a privileged young man who got into trouble and found his way out. Eldest son of Margaret Truman (daughter of Harry and Bess) and New York Times executive Clifton Daniel, the author grew up in a world of entitlement enhanced by his grandfather's preeminence. Although his parents tried to protect him from the spotlight—Clifton only found out that his grandfather was president when he started school—childhood memories include attending the inauguration of Lyndon Johnson and seeing the Johnsons in their pajamas at the White House the next morning. The boy and his grandparents were not close. Truman died when Clifton was 15 and more concerned with sneaking a cigarette than with the funeral. He ultimately flunked out of the University of North Carolina and moved to New York City, first attempting a career as an actor, then living with his parents and staying out nightly in search of drink and drugs. A series of small incidents turned him around, and Daniel left New York for an intern's job on a small North Carolina paper (owned by the New York Times), a stint at a rehabilitation center, and finally a wife, children, and stability. His parents have written a gracious foreword, although he criticizes them mildly but frequently for coldness and inattention through his childhood and suggests—without rancor—that being the grandson of a man like Harry Truman gave him more to live up to then he could handle. Packed with family anecdotes, most having no direct connection with President Truman, this book promises a lot more history—and insight—than it delivers. (24 pages photos, not seen)

Pub Date: June 1, 1995

ISBN: 1-55971-286-X

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Birch Lane Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995

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.