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SHAPING THE CITY

NEW YORK AND THE MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY

A rich study of the role of the Municipal Art Society in the urban planning and development of New York City throughout the 20th century. Commissioned by the Municipal Art Society to tell its tale, Gilmartin (co-author, New York 1930, not reviewed) documents its many trials and tribulations throughout its 100-year history. While sometimes poking gentle fun at his subject for its stodginess, the author traces the evolution of the MAS from its idealistic beginnings (when its goal was to provide ``adequate sculptural and pictorial decoration'' for public spaces and buildings and to further the cause of Beaux-Arts architecture and ``civic virtue'') to its emergence in the 1960s as one of the leading forces behind the architectural preservation movement. After the birth of Greater New York in 1898 (the incorporation of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island into the city), there was concern about issues that continue to plague the city today: congestion, noise, pollution, and traffic. The MAS was involved in numerous civic debates regarding, among other things, the development of a subway system that would be accessible to the outer boroughs; the rise of bridges; tunnels that would link New York and New Jersey; the eventual establishment of the Port Authority; and zoning laws. Gilmartin examines the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing and introduces the leading players—philanthropists, artists, architects, scholars, Tammany Hall politicos, and the long-reigning urban czar Robert Moses. What emerges in this account is the MAS's instinct for survival, its ability to adjust to the changing demands of urban society while at the same time navigating a complicated system where art, politics, and government collide. Gilmartin, to his credit, moves quickly from topic to topic—no minor feat in a long volume so crammed with information and anecdotal detail. Lacking cohesiveness and closure, this good-natured account doesn't quite add up to the sum of its fascinating parts. (100 b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: March 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-517-58574-X

Page Count: 464

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1995

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NUTCRACKER

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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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

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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