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DON'T TELL DAD

Name: DON'T TELL DAD
Author: Peter Fonda
ISBN: 0-7878-6111-8

A MEMOIR

by Peter Fonda ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 6, 1998

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A tell-all-and-then-some from the original Captain America. Fonda has been up and down the ladder of fame, from B movies with Roger Corman to the massive hit Easy Rider and back to B movies (albeit with filmmakers much less talented than Corman). With the success of last year’s Ulee’s Gold, directed by the talented independent filmmaker Victor Nu§ez, Fonda’s acting career is apparently revivified, which makes the publication of this lengthy autobiography felicitous. If only the book itself were as serendipitous as the timing of its publication (right around Oscar time). Fonda has resolved to spare himself—and his readers—nothing. We learn in copious detail of his strained relationship with his famous father, a cold and disapproving presence in his childhood; the way that his mother drifted away from her offspring, eventually into a suicide that was hidden from Peter for many years; his constant womanizing; and the excesses of his drug and alcohol use. To his credit, Fonda is nothing if not candid, and he has the strength of mind to apologize when he feels an apology is merited. The lengthy section in the middle of the book on the making of Easy Rider is riveting. And Fonda reveals an unexpected talent for writing about the joys of sailing, one of his great passions. But too much of this book is a catalog of dope smoked, repetitious confrontations with authority in which the author always comes out on top, and encomia to his family and friends. Readers who believe that Easy Rider is one of the greatest films ever made will love this book. Others may wish to give it a wide berth. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen) (TV satellite tour)

Pub Date: April 6, 1998

ISBN: 0-7878-6111-8

Page Count: 512

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1998

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.