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MIRAGE

Name: MIRAGE
Author: George Hager
ISBN: 0-8129-2452-5

WHY NEITHER DEMOCRATS NOR REPUBLICANS CAN BALANCE THE BUDGET, END THE DEFICIT, AND SATISFY THE PUBLIC

by George Hager & Eric Pianin ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1997

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A gimlet-eyed history from Hager and Pianin (reporters for Congressional Quarterly and the Washington Post, respectively) of the capital's budget follies, culminating in last year's impasse between President Clinton and the GOP-controlled Congress. The nation's fiscal difficulties are nothing new: The last time the budget was balanced was by LBJ in 1969. Although his successors could not fulfill fervent promises to tame the deficit beast, the worst offender, the authors claim, was Ronald Reagan, who, in pushing for tax cuts and defense-spending hikes, ended up tripling the nation's debt. What ensued, they show, was a partisan ``tit-for-tat, revenge-seeking game.'' The problem is that budgets, the government's declaration of major priorities, are as serious as they are arcane, and are especially crucial to special-interest groups. Washington's pols understand three things about this situation: that deficits corrode the nation's economic vitality by causing less private investment and lower long-term standards of living; that entitlement programs must be curbed lest the deficit worsen; and that any serious attempt to do so is ripe for partisan exploitation. Democrats learned this to their dismay when candidate Walter Mondale was hammered for advocating tax increases, while Republicans lost the Senate in 1985 after having tried to freeze Social Security cost-of-living adjustments. In 1990, Democratic intransigence forced George Bush to break his ``read my lips'' pledge against new taxes; in 1995, the Gingrich-led Congress got outfoxed by Clinton and were blamed for causing a ``train wreck'' (D.C. lingo for government shutdown). Hager and Pianin enrich their narrative with portraits of such budget-war veterans as Bob Dole, Richard Darman, Leon Panetta, and John Kasich—all initially hopeful of progress, all knowing better now. In depicting responsible governing checkmated by partisan sniping, the authors present a true-life spectacle as funny as a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta and as painful as root canal.

Pub Date: April 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-8129-2452-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Times/Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997

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.