Every week, from Oct. 3, 1964 to Oct. 2, 1965, John O'Hara wrote a syndicated column. His contract ran for one year and was not renewed; he wouldn't take a pay cut and the syndicate wasn't making enough money out of him. Reading the collected columns explains why. O'Hara is not about to adopt any Dale Carnegie stance to woo agreement. He warned his readership of this right from the start and proved it in the second column, in which he said that the anti-cigarette advertising was getting as ridiculous as the hard sell tobacco commercials had been. Later, he looked into the Community Chest and didn't like what he found. He does admire de Gaulle, but the Kennedy family not at all. Prince Philip's occupational grousing annoyed him. He laughed at Lady Bird's trial flight as a literary critic. He didn't care for either Edward R. Murrow or Adlai Stevenson in life and saw no reason to change his mind when they died. He felt that on at least one occasion, Martin Luther King got way out of line. O'Hara squabbled vigorously and personally all over a full range of irritations. Some of his critics found him arrogant and captious in roughing up other brand name authors. He needles Liberals unmercifully and thumps the Republican tub. But he did have a readership some delighted, and others who read him to feel their blood pressure rise it hasn't since Westbrook Pegler stopped ranting, and this is The Compleat Curmudgeon in print.
Pub Date: April 14, 1966
ISBN: 0451031962
Page Count: 130
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1966
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
