A vivid photo essay revealing in words and pictures the heritage and modern social and political currents of the Sioux Nation. Photographer Doll (Fine Arts/Creighton Univ.) has recorded the faces and personal stories of 60 members of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota tribes living on the tribal lands of South Dakota. Doll's book portrays individuals—lawyers, doctors, ranchers, artisans, tribal council leaders, medicine men, political activists—each uniquely contributing to the preservation and furtherance of his or her culture. Several recurrent themes emerge: the problems of alcoholism, the nascent ambitions for economic development, the pressing need for young people to find their cultural roots, and the insistent demand that the federal government return the sacred lands of the Black Hills. Not overly edited, the words of these people convey a range of feelings from patience to anger, and the tribespeople place varying degrees of emphasis on spiritual and economic problems, but this is befitting a people who are not monolithic in their thoughts or their talents. Doll's photographs show Indian people in traditional pow-wow garb, in suits and ties, on horseback amid the splendor of the Black Hills, surrounded by craftwork in their studios or seated in front of television sets. A much-decorated Vietnam War veteran crouches next to his small son in a field, his khaki shirt emblazoned with an ``Airborne'' insignia. An official of a tribal gaming organization stands backlit by the garish neon of a casino sign: ``Tribal gaming is the new buffalo,'' he says. A writer sits contemplatively on a small hill in some woodlands: ``There seems to be a contemporary reliance upon the ritual life which is...as much a crutch as the bottle was,'' she deplores. Some very striking pictures of sacred sites open this book; one wishes that Doll had included more. He has thoughtfully added a chart of tribes of the Sioux Nation. A rich and rewarding panoply of words and images of this resurgent people. (75 color photos; map; glossary)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-517-59049-X
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1994
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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