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A GOOD YEAR TO DIE

Name: A GOOD YEAR TO DIE
Author: III Robinson
ISBN: 0-679-43025-3

THE STORY OF THE GREAT SIOUX WAR

by III Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1995

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This overview of a tragic war soon reveals itself to be an extremely biased account of a pivotal time in US-Indian relations. Old West historian Robinson begins with the events leading up to the final war between the Lakota and the US Army in 187677, a war mostly remembered for the Army's humiliating defeats, such as Custer's Last Stand at Little Bighorn. As Robinson points out, the campaign left the Lakota and northern Cheyenne nations decimated and confined to government-controlled reservations. The misconception of history is not difficult to understand: Whites have tended to exaggerate their losses at the hands of Indians in order to justify taking Indian land. Robinson's agenda is a little more complex: He seems to want to glorify whites rather than set the record straight. He uses the testimonies of almost exclusively white witnesses, writing that Indians' accounts are not reliable because ``their fear of government reprisal, while unfounded, was very real.'' (Perhaps Robinson doesn't consider over 200 years of hostilities and broken treaties to constitute a foundation for fear.) The author often presents the statements of whites with little commentary, suggesting that they are accurate (even calling one derogatory comment about Indians a ``candid appraisal''). When he does offer comment, it is to condone shocking utterances, such as Gen. William T. Sherman's remark, ``The more I see of these Indians the more convinced I am that they all have to be killed or be maintained as a species of paupers''which Robinson kindly terms ``the most extreme expression of a profound dilemma.'' And while Indians attack settlers with ``appalling ferocity,'' no comment is offered as the US Army attacks village after village filled with Indian women and children. An outrageous whitewash. (16 pages b&w photos, 3 maps, not seen)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-679-43025-3

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1995

Categories:

HISTORICAL FICTION | GENERAL NONFICTION

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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.