With the help of (i.e. based on) letters from 4000 irate owners of a shiny new buggy which is bugged, the authors (Mr. Nader, one of his associates and a lawyer) have itemized what a car should have, raised taillights, or be, white or yellow rather than red or black. And for about the first quarter of the manual they explain various features and parts and why they are inadequate (interestingly enough these gentlemen are against air-conditioning for what it does to the car, rather than for the driver — cf. Fales' Book of Expert Driving — p. 1068). The second part consists of what to do after the trouble starts which consists of beginning with your dealer and ending up writing to the President of the U.S. ("You should not fear that your letter to the President will distract him or his staff from more important concerns") plus all kinds of attention-getting devices. The third section deals with suggested reforms for the industry, and there is a quarter of the book devoted to notes and additional apparatus. All together, there is relatively little material on the car itself and one gets the impression that it's assembled in not too sturdy a fashion, but then the Nader name and consumer-directed good intentions assure a certain market where it will do well.
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1970
ISBN: 0686365526
Page Count: -
Publisher: Grossman
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1970
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
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