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20TH CENTURY JOURNEY

Name: 20TH CENTURY JOURNEY
Author: William L. Shirer
ISBN: 0517076152

A NATIVE'S RETURN--1945-1988

by William L. Shirer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 26, 1989

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This third and final installment of the author/broadcaster's memoirs examines in human terms the forces that shaped the history of the past five decades. Included in Shirer's well-wrought narrative are such little-known events as the trials of American broadcasters who propagandized for the Third Reich during WW II, as well as such more familiar matters as the McCarthyism of the 1950's. The author's comments are refreshingly unfettered by self-consciousness (e.g., when he recounts his own extramarital affairs and the end of his 37-year marriage), and they are also resonant in implication—he speculates, for instance, on the reasons for Edward R. Murrow's buckling under to the witch-hunting of the "Red Channels" years. After a brief recap of his experiences during the Second World War, Shirer writes of his return to America, a country that in large measure was unfamiliar to him after years abroad. He tells of the circumstances surrounding the publication of his best-selling Berlin Diary—Alfred Knopf felt it had "no beginning, middle or end" and was sure to be a flop. Shirer then describes the events that led up to his "resignation" (read "firing") from CBS as a result of unsubstantiated accusations of being Red-tinged. The memories obviously still rankle. It was his inability to obtain work that resulted in the creation of his monumental Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Shirer's personal life is also examined: his affairs with dancer Tilly Losch and TV personality Virgilia Peterson. Included as well are charming vignettes of a visit to Tolstoy's home and of a hilarious French TV interview show that was disrupted by a pair of insistent panhandlers and an impenetrable fogbank. A fine, fitting conclusion to an important work of autobiography.

Pub Date: Jan. 26, 1989

ISBN: 0517076152

Page Count: 484

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1989

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
'THIS IS BERLIN'
by William L. Shirer

- BOOK REVIEW
LOVE AND HATRED
by William L. Shirer

- BOOK REVIEW
20TH CENTURY JOURNEY
by William L. Shirer

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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.