bookshelf

THE FRENCH ROTHSCHILDS

Name: THE FRENCH ROTHSCHILDS
Author: Herbert R. Lottman
ISBN: 0-517-59229-0

THE GREAT BANKING DYNASTY THROUGH TWO TURBULENT CENTURIES

by Herbert R. Lottman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1995

bookshelf

A superficial, unfocused portrait of the Gallic Jewish banking dynasty. Drawing primarily on secondary sources and interviews with contemporary Rothschilds, Lottman (The Fall of Paris, 1992, etc.) traces the family fortunes from their origins in 18th-century Frankfurt, where they became ``bankers of kings...masters of Europe's most efficient transport network for the delivery of money and documents,'' to 20th-century France, where their bank was taken away from them twice, first in the '40s by the Nazis and then in the '80s by Franáois Mitterand's Socialists. The French Rothschilds' glory days were in the 19th century, when they financed the development of railroads, oil fields, and other nascent industries while remaining so closely tied to the French government that unofficial messages from the Rothschilds to family members or officials abroad often served as key means of diplomatic communication. Lottman notes that the family's financial preeminence slowly declined as conservative succeeding generations refused to get involved in the stock market and settled for managing their existing wealth, but he doesn't really examine the implications of this trend for the Rothschilds or the nation. The book suffers badly by comparison with Ron Chernow's recent histories, The House of Morgan and The Warburgs, which cogently traced modern banking's development through the story of a single family or institution; Lottman has neither Chernow's narrative strength nor his ability to capture individuals. Despite references to various family members' love for horse racing, wine bottling, and art collecting, the reader doesn't get a strong sense of any particular Rothschild's personality, with the possible exception of Guy (on whose memoirs the author relies heavily), who got the flagging dynasty back into the financial swing of things in the 1950s and '60s. Even those only mildly well informed about banking will find this a rehash of existing material, although Lottman's readable account is adequately informative for novices. (8 pages b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: April 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-517-59229-0

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
JULES VERNE
by Herbert R. Lottman

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FALL OF PARIS
by Herbert R. Lottman

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.