This is not a story of Harry Truman but the honest and good- humored autobiography of his grandson, a privileged young man who got into trouble and found his way out. Eldest son of Margaret Truman (daughter of Harry and Bess) and New York Times executive Clifton Daniel, the author grew up in a world of entitlement enhanced by his grandfather's preeminence. Although his parents tried to protect him from the spotlight—Clifton only found out that his grandfather was president when he started school—childhood memories include attending the inauguration of Lyndon Johnson and seeing the Johnsons in their pajamas at the White House the next morning. The boy and his grandparents were not close. Truman died when Clifton was 15 and more concerned with sneaking a cigarette than with the funeral. He ultimately flunked out of the University of North Carolina and moved to New York City, first attempting a career as an actor, then living with his parents and staying out nightly in search of drink and drugs. A series of small incidents turned him around, and Daniel left New York for an intern's job on a small North Carolina paper (owned by the New York Times), a stint at a rehabilitation center, and finally a wife, children, and stability. His parents have written a gracious foreword, although he criticizes them mildly but frequently for coldness and inattention through his childhood and suggests—without rancor—that being the grandson of a man like Harry Truman gave him more to live up to then he could handle. Packed with family anecdotes, most having no direct connection with President Truman, this book promises a lot more history—and insight—than it delivers. (24 pages photos, not seen)
Pub Date: June 1, 1995
ISBN: 1-55971-286-X
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Birch Lane Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1995
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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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