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POWER TO HURT

Name: POWER TO HURT
Author: Darcy O’Brien
ISBN: 0-06-017959-7

JUSTICE SERVED AND DEFEATED

by Darcy O’Brien ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1996

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A horrific tale of rape and sexual abuse committed in a judge's chambers, recounted with plenty of tears and barbecue sauce by journalist/novelist O'Brien (A Dark and Bloody Ground, 1993, etc.). There's a sinisterness to small-town corruption that's even more frightening than the out-and-out bedlam of big-city violence. In his latest true-crime tale, O'Brien investigates the dystopia overseen in Dyersville, Tenn., by brothers David and James Lanier, respectively the town's only judge and district attorney. Incompetent on the bench, Judge Lanier wielded his real power from his soundproof and windowless private chambers. There he assaulted or raped at least a dozen women, then threatened them with dire consequences (loss of custody of their children being his favorite) should they tell anyone. When one humiliated staffer finally complained to the FBI, agent Bill Castleberry meticulously reconstructed the sordid goings-on. Fearing an acquittal on the rape charges—several of the victims were reluctant to testify about acts they considered unmentionable—Lanier was prosecuted under a statute that prevents criminal acts under the ``color of law.'' Initially, the novel strategy succeeded, leading to a 25- year prison sentence. But the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the conviction in 1995, ruling that the color of law statute had been misapplied. O'Brien paints heroic portraits of the women involved, who seem to spend most of their time in a state of Southern-inflected hysteria, but he neglects fully to analyze Lanier (who did not respond to requests for an interview). The judge must surely be more riveting in his peculiar pathology than the run-of-the-mill tyrant O'Brien displays here. What does emerge is a charged insight into the abuse of sex and power in the years between Anita Hill and Bob Packwood. At times melodramatic, this is nonetheless an extremely readable account of the creepy world behind one small town's picket fences.

Pub Date: March 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-06-017959-7

Page Count: 384

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HIDDEN POPE
by Darcy O’Brien

- BOOK REVIEW
A DARK AND BLOODY GROUND
by Darcy O’Brien

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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.