A personal but choppy overview of Boxer's 1992 fight for the US Senate—and of the races of other women who preceded or joined her there. Probably better subtitled ``So You Want to be a Woman Senator,'' Boxer's short account (written with her daughter's help) hip-hops around from her entrance into politics to brief but admiring profiles of other female senators. These legislators range from Rebecca Felton of Georgia, appointed in 1922 to serve one day of a man's unfinished term, to Maryland's Barbara Mikulski, reelected to a second term in 1992 with the new wave of women senators that included Dianne Feinstein, Carol Moseley-Braun, Patty Murray, and Boxer herself. Reviewing how the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas confrontation galvanized women's support for women candidates, Boxer describes the march of seven women, including herself, from the House of Representatives to the Senate to ask members of the all-male Judiciary Committee to back off and investigate Hills's charges further. They were refused admittance: ``We don't allow strangers here'' was the explanation. There's a brief look at Boxer's debut in California politics by way of a run for country supervisor; at her Senate campaign (when she considered dropping out, her children convinced her to stay the course by reading her Dr. Seuss); and at issues and goals that she believes women senators should address—from abortion rights and gun control to aid to children from conception (via prenatal care) through adolescence (via school reform and mentoring programs). Some amusing anecdotes and much generous praise for her colleagues—but unfocused and meandering. (Includes a succinct, inspirational foreword by Hillary Rodham Clinton) (Thirty-two pages of b&w photographs—not seen)
Pub Date: Dec. 6, 1993
ISBN: 1-882605-06-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1993
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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