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BOOKS OF THE CENTURY

Name: BOOKS OF THE CENTURY
Author: Charles McGrath
ISBN: 0-8129-2965-9

100 YEARS OF AUTHORS, IDEAS AND LITERATURE

by Charles McGrath ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 1998

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This enhanced version of the centennial issue of the New York Times Book Review offers, in a more permanent form, the pleasures of that retrospective: a broad sampling of pieces drawn from the pages of the section launched in 1897 and thus, given the considerable influence and scope of the weekly journal, a record in microcosm of the evolution of the genre of the book review. The 250 selections include excerpts from essays by influential writers, interviews, and reviews. Some of the reviews seem, inevitably, rather dated. others (such as a review of Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountainin 1927) seem to possess an undimmed freshness and accuracy. As McGrath, the current editor of the Review, points out in his succinct Introduction, reviews remain an ephemeral but necessary form, the first and (sometimes) the best response to new work. Gathering so many of them together offers the browser a rare sense of, in McGrath’s words, “literary immediacy—of what it was like, of initial and immediate reaction, when some of the most important or influential books of the century first came into view.” A lively, often surprising, and entertaining companion for serious readers. (Author tour)

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 1998

ISBN: 0-8129-2965-9

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Times/Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 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.