``They sure do, although they are discreetly hidden underneath their feathers,'' answers Feldman in this latest addition to his best-selling ``Imponderables'' series (Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?, etc.). ``What causes the green-tinged potato chips we sometimes find?''; ``How do they fork split English muffins''?; ``What happens to your Social Security number when you die?''— these and 141 other brain-itching questions are expertly scratched by the author in lighthearted short-take responses, usually informed by expert advice from a manufacturer, scientist, sociologist, etc. And as in previous volumes, this congenial work, as addictive as a box of bon-bons, ends with a flurry of ``Frustables''—that is, possible unanswerables, e.g., ``Why do you so often see one shoe lying on the side of the road?'' (For those who can't wait until pub date: the green in potato chips is caused by chlorophyll; English muffins are split by being passed through two spinning wheels with Roman spear forks; and when you die, your Social Security number goes with you.)
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-016294-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 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
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