Plenty of satisfying entrees here, but next year the editor should try to provide some more adventurous fare as well.
The debut of a planned annual collection, this stellar selection of mostly American food writing has everything but the unexpected.
Among the top-drawer usual suspects featured here, R.W. Apple Jr. delves into bacon; Jeffrey Steingarten spends a whole lot of pages on his quest for pig’s blood; Calvin Trillin tries to tempt his daughter home with bagels; and James Villas goes on about pimento cheese. No doubt M.F.K. Fisher, Jane Grigson, and Waverly Root would be here too if they hadn’t died before Y2K. Less trafficked names still recognizable to those who read food magazines comprise the remainder. Highlights include John Thorne, who is not only a deep thinker and lovely writer but actually seems to be living his material rather than simply remembering it; Ann Hodgman, who as always provides an intelligent, comic breath of fresh air; and wild Jim Leff, the chowhound, in whose heart a fire for authentic food burns bright. English cuisine is resurrected by playwright Jonathan Reynolds, who recently subbed for and upstaged the dreary Molly O’Neill in the New York Times Magazine, and novelist Jhumpa Lahiri offers an elegant, fragile food memory. But former Fodor’s editor Hughes didn’t extend her reach much beyond the New Yorker, the New York Times, the food glossies, and a few heavily publicized books. It would have enhanced this collection if she’d made an effort to include some of the fresh, surprising writing that appears in letters distributed by wine shops and single-malt societies, newspapers issued by such stores as the Vinegar Factory and Zingermann’s, the rogue material on the Internet, or anything at all from the Slow Food movement, whose magazine Slow is in a class by itself.
Plenty of satisfying entrees here, but next year the editor should try to provide some more adventurous fare as well.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2000
ISBN: 1-56924-616-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2000
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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