Effusive, admiring bio of Alma Sullivan Reed, a San Franciscan who fashioned a unique career—as reporter, archaeologist, deep-sea diver, p.r. writer—in an unlikely age. Born in 1889, Reed bluffed her way into her first job (as ``Mrs. Goodfellow'' for the Call) and most of the ones thereafter. She led the fight to forestall the hanging of an underaged immigrant; created the San Quentin beat; and covered the Fatty Arbuckle trial before sending her conventional parents the usual promises as, in 1923, she left for Mexico for The New York Times. There, she enjoyed a passion for archaeology and met married governor Felipe Carrillo Puerto. Theirs was an ``amor calido,'' a ``romance of the steam,'' according to May (Witness to War, 1983)- -an intense attachment severed by Puerto's death by firing-squad several years later. Writing with an enterprising enthusiasm, May tracks Reed around the world, blending personal details with the facts and findings of her subject's work, whether unraveling the secrets of the Cumaean sibyl, rescuing the contents of Mayan tombs, or overcoming the early problems of undersea photography. May never fails to note that Reed's own life, real and embellished, was her best story, the true facts along with those she upgraded (e.g., by granting herself a doctorate). It's too bad that this rich and varied life is burdened by the use of imagined dialogue, a device common to YA biographies. A woman who hung out with Kahlil Gibran, promoted the career of muralist Jose Orozco, and broke the story of the Peabody Museum's stolen treasures could benefit from a more sophisticated approach.
Pub Date: April 26, 1993
ISBN: 1-55778-371-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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