by Hugh Howard ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 8, 2001
Equally fascinating for its exploration of both the physical complexities of housebuilding and the theory and history that...
An absorbing account of amateur builder Howard’s construction of his family home.
A latter-day embodiment of that quintessential American, the homesteader, Howard (The Preservationist’s Progress, 1991) is determined to build his family a home in the little town of Red Rock, two hours and a world away from New York City. A writer, Howard is as taken with the intellectual aspects of the project as he is with the physical; he traces his design influences back to 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, his heating system is one conceived by a Victorian building reformer, and the layout of his grounds finds its roots in 18th-century England. No effete intellectual, however, the author spends his days hoisting beams and driving nails with his one hired helper. But his most remarkable attribute is his fundamental belief in his totally untried abilities, his unshakeable assumption that he can actually build his own house from the foundation up. For the specialized needs of the building process—the heating system, the landscaping—he employs skilled workmen, and each of them in turn becomes a character in story (from the practical stonemason to the landscaper whose vision requires that the garden look as if “an old lady lost control of it”). Yet despite the new friends and day-to-day gratification, all does not run entirely smooth. Howard makes no effort to cover his mistakes, which run from budget miscalculations to serious accidents averted only by luck; the very first vignette has him misjudging the depth of the house’s foundation by two feet. These setbacks don’t stop the inevitable forward motion of the project or the author’s pleasure in the work, however, and Howard’s assertion that “one of the joys of building is that it is at once work and leisure” is entirely convincing.
Equally fascinating for its exploration of both the physical complexities of housebuilding and the theory and history that lie behind the ways homes are made.Pub Date: June 8, 2001
ISBN: 1-56512-293-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2001
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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