T.E. LAWRENCE TO HIS BIOGRAPHERS, ROBERT GRAVES AND LIDDELL HART

Name: T.E. LAWRENCE TO HIS BIOGRAPHERS, ROBERT GRAVES AND LIDDELL HART
Author: Thomas E. Lawrence
ISBN: 0837190061

by Thomas E. Lawrence Robert Graves Liddell Hart ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A

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More merchandise from the booming Lawrence of Arabia industry, this is actually a one-volume re-edition of two books publishedmore than 20 years ago. Poet Robert Graves and historian Liddell Hart were Lawrence's only official biographers; they were also his buddies. Thus the letters from him to them concern both private matters and question-and-answer aspects about Lawrence's Middle East campaign and his mammoth survey of the subject, the famous Seven Pillars. The Graves book attempts as far as possible- and it isn't always very far- to comment on Lawrence's "chameleon-like character". Lawrence himself offers, in many playfully profound passages, a sometimes stunning self-analysis, but generally he seems to "love" his legend- and he was a legend then just as much as he is now. He says: "I'd wish every man to be an everlasting question mark". The Hart book is more stiff-upper- lip and factual, brimming with blueprint recapitulations of the battles and machinations, both political and military, behind the Arab Revolt. No, neither book solves the enigma of the Mystery Man of Mecca, but almost every page offers entertaining and endless "clues". Definitely a dream for the Lawrence addicts.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: 0837190061

Page Count: 447

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: May 17, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1963

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.