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FIRE IN THE BONES

Name: FIRE IN THE BONES
Author: James Raffan
ISBN: 0-00-255395-3

BILL MASON AND THE CANADIAN CANOEING TRADITION

by James Raffan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1997

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An admiring, rather placid biography of the Canadian filmmaker and wilderness proponent Bill Mason. Mason is best known for his films: Paddle to the Sea, adapted from a children's book about a little carved Indian canoeing and adventuring from Lake Superior to the Atlantic, and Cry of the Wild, his short feature in praise of wolves. He was also the author of several bestselling books on canoeing techniques and history (Path of the Paddle and Song of the Paddle). He brought to all of his various labors both knowledge and love of the great outdoors, as well as doses of Christian sermonizing. It didn't hurt that just as Mason was refining his artistry, during the 1960s and '70s, a great wave of environmental appreciation and concern broke across North America and Europe, giving his material additional currency and power. Raffan's (Outdoor and Experiential Education/Queens Univ., Ontario) biography is a linear model, starting at the beginning—Mason's early days in Winnipeg, his schooling, with much consideration given to his short stature—on through his start in commercial art and photography, his marriage and family life, his breakthrough into directing films, his abandonment of filmmaking and retreat into painting (no critical success there, nor much self-satisfaction), to his death at 59, in 1988, of cancer. There are plenty of excerpts from his journals and letters, but a clear picture of the man never emerges. Perhaps this has to do with Mason's religious bent, with which Raffan seems uncomfortable; you can almost feel him cringe when Mason talks of nature as ``God's creation'' and refers to the outdoors as ``this blessed wilderness.'' Raffan is much happier with Mason the environmental advocate, the canoeist, the guy who should have been a voyageur but was born 200 years too late. Lots of facts, background, and stories, but Mason never gets the breath of life from Raffan.

Pub Date: March 29, 1997

ISBN: 0-00-255395-3

Page Count: 288

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1997

Categories:

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.