The copy on Buchwald's latest column collection describes him as ``a syndicated columnist, a lecturer, a Pulitzer Prize winner and a plaintiff.'' None of the 157 columns (1989-91) reprinted here goes into the popular pundit's celebrated court case against Eddie Murphy and the Coming to America profits, but Buchwald covers just about every other timely topic (most broached, as usual, in a short fantasy scenario)—from the hidden benefits of smoking (``Nonsmokers...live too long, and to this day they are a tremendous drain on the country's resources'') to Soviet food shortages (a scenario in which Gorbachev gives up USSR conventional forces in Europe in exchange for ten thousand Dairy Queens and ``every Dunkin' Donuts east of the Mississippi'') and the S&L scandal (which finds Buchwald using an oxygen mask to climb a mountain of junk bonds—but ``you can never say that you have reached the summit of an S&L debt, because tomorrow it's bound to be higher''). So: more bright whimsy, bound to please; and for those concerned about the ill-effects of Buchwald's barbs, please note his promise that ``if anyone objects to the material in this book, I will happily retract it.''
Pub Date: Nov. 7, 1991
ISBN: 0-399-13667-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
