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A GOOD-NATURED RIOT

Name: A GOOD-NATURED RIOT
Author: Charles K. Wolfe
ISBN: 0-8265-1331-X

THE BIRTH OF THE GRAND OLE OPRY

by Charles K. Wolfe ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

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A highly readable and detailed account of the early years of America’s premiere country and western radio show, The Grand Ole Opry. It’s hard to imagine that a book about the Opry could appeal to a broad audience, because, frankly, how many people have even heard of early Opry stars Uncle Jimmy Thompson, Uncle Dave Macon, or emcee George Hays? However, what makes Wolfe’s book so compelling is that it shows the intersection of the birth of the Opry with so many other important, and often overlooked, cultural moments. First, the Opry comes at the dawn of radio, and Wolfe spells out some of the more interesting features of the pioneering stations. WSM, the Opry’s original station, was actually capable of broadcasting nearly coast-to-coast due to the clarity of the airwaves in those days. And its decision to present a program of what was then called “old time music” was extremely controversial. The city of Nashville, the Opry’s home, prided itself on its high-brow aura, making it the soi-disant “Paris of the South.” Old time music seemed lowbrow, yet its popularity pushed the format forward. It is largely due to the Opry’s location there that today Nashville is known as the home of country music. Wolfe also covers, of course, the issue of race, since the Opry was, in its early days, one of the few venues that featured both black and white musicians. That black musicians fell out of country music is an aspect of the transition from old time to country, and one that Wolfe handles sensitively. On the whole, a surprisingly interesting book that covers not only its putative subject, the first great country music radio show, but also the constellation of musical and cultural issues that swirled around the birth of a new music and a new South. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: May 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-8265-1331-X

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Vanderbilt Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999

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.