bookshelf

FREEFALL

Name: FREEFALL
Author: Jack E. Robinson
ISBN: 0-88730-556-3

THE STORY OF THE NEEDLESS DESTRUCTION OF EASTERN AIRLINES AND THOSE WHO VALIANTLY STRUGGLED TO SAVE IT

by Jack E. Robinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1992

bookshelf

A poorly written, ostentatiously scathing, and utterly dispensable log of an airline's slow-motion crackup. On the inside (as the twentysomething VP of corporate development) only during Eastern's last days, Robinson has had to rely on secondary sources to provide background on the forces and factors that propelled the faltering carrier into Chapter 11, and he adds little to a sorry tale that was widely and competently covered by the media from the time Frank Borman was obliged to sell the deficit-ridden airline to Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air until the last departure gate slammed shut on January 19, 1991. The self- serving subtitle notwithstanding, Robinson concludes that Eastern had not earned the right to survive in commercial aviation's competitive, deregulated skies. He rounds up the usual suspects identified in the press as responsible for Eastern's terminal plight, as well as a couple of apparent villains who largely escaped censure by the fourth estate: labor's Charley Bryan (portrayed as a leader of immense personal appeal to journalists, albeit an almost mindless intransigent at the bargaining table) and Burton R. Lifland of the US Bankruptcy Court (whose judgments cost creditors dearly). Otherwise, Robinson heaps scorn upon avaricious attorneys and their fellow professionals who collected over $100 million for dancing attendance on Eastern's death throes. Noted in passing is Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which boosted fuel prices and kept many travelers close to home. Among the few heroes of the piece is Martin Shugrue (something of a mentor to Robinson), the trustee who made a high-profile, last-ditch effort to keep Eastern flying. An axe-grinding account of a failed enterprise that deserved, if not a better fate, at least a more accomplished Boswell. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)

Pub Date: June 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-88730-556-3

Page Count: 288

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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.