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PLAYING OFF THE RAIL

Name: PLAYING OFF THE RAIL
Author: David McCumber
ISBN: 0-679-42374-5

A POOL HUSTLER'S JOURNEY

by David McCumber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1996

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McCumber (X-Rated: The Mitchell Brothers, 1992) hits the road with professional pool player Tony Annigoni, determined to make a killing in the sometimes twilight world of pool hustlers. McCumber found himself with a surplus of cash and time, and few responsibilities after completing his last book. A pool devotee, he decided to live out a lifelong dream to go on the road, from pool hall to pool hall. Needless to say, he was smart enough to know that if he played for himself, he would very quickly be broke, so he hooked up with Annigoni, a world-class player and ``Renaissance hustler,'' a man of wit and erudition who also plays a mean game of nine-ball. Starting at the Q Club, of which Annigoni was part owner, the two traveled back and forth across North America looking for action, sometimes joined by Tony's mentor, Richard Court, better known as Bucktooth. The result is a delightful and affectionate look at one of America's seedier subcultures, currently experiencing a new boom and a yuppified image. McCumber is a good explainer, and as a result, you needn't have grown up around a pool hall to follow the action. He is also amusingly self-effacing where his own skills are concerned and mordant in his assessment of a society that could produce the extensive urban detritus that he and Annigoni are confronted with in such garden spots as Akron, Ohio, and Bellflower, Calif. And readers will learn a wide variety of useful lessons, including why pool balls are a better weapon than a cue stick in a brawl. You have to love a book whose characters include Cornbread Red, Filipino Gene, and Nine-Ball Paul. It gets a little long toward the end, but on the whole, this is a refreshing and very funny look at the world of pool, billiards, and snooker. (Author tour)

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-679-42374-5

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE COWBOY WAY
by David McCumber

- BOOK REVIEW
X-RATED
by David McCumber

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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.