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MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA

Name: MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA
Author: Jerry Ellis
ISBN: 0-385-31182-6

MY WALK WITH SHERMAN

by Jerry Ellis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 13, 1995

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In his third book Ellis (Bareback!, 1993; Walking the Trail, 1991) sticks with his by now familiar conceit: trekking an arduous path across historical territory to find out the truth about history and himself. His latest hike is unusual, however, in that he chooses to march in the footsteps of the Union general William Tecumseh Shermana ``Yankee devil,'' as five-year-old Alabama-born Ellis was taught, and the general doesn't appear to have reformed much in the author's eyes. He calls him ``firebug'' and describes the Union soldiers as marauding animals and the freed slaves who joined them as a traveling minstrel show/bordello. Ellis's purpose is to discover the South, what it was and what it has become. But his journey across Georgia, from Decatur to Savannah, seems to be more an exercise in self-indulgence and personal vanity than a soul-searching of the South. The people he meets are standard hicks, southern belles, or stock colorful types, like the randy old Goat Man Ellis has admired his whole life for his wandering spirit. The insights Ellis gleans are also generic: Old people bemoan ``the difference between our generation and these new ones coming along''; teenagers are confused. They are also sex objectsthe girls anywaywhom the middle-aged Ellis ogles lecherously. No wonder his much-younger girlfriend, Debi, was worried about his fidelity. He talks about her a lot, too. A little about her voice and figure; mostly about her laudable habit of not wearing underwear, describing intimate moments with all the detailand literary flairof a dime-store romance. What is most disturbing, however, is that for all of Ellis's seeming lack of racial prejudice, he never addresses the question of slavery at all. As far as the reader can tell, Ellis sees nothing positive as having arisen from the war between the states. A long schlepp with a pompous and unenlightening guide.

Pub Date: Oct. 13, 1995

ISBN: 0-385-31182-6

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
WALKING TO CANTERBURY
by Jerry Ellis

- BOOK REVIEW
BAREBACK!
by Jerry Ellis

- BOOK REVIEW
WALKING THE TRAIL
by Jerry Ellis

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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.