The Sterns (Way Out West, 1993, etc.), pop culture's Boswells, turn their attentions to more blue-blooded purlieus in this deeply satisfying chronicle of a year spent on the dog-show circuit. Some time back the Sterns owned a purebred dog, a flatulent bulldog, Richard by name. Richard was entered in a local show. Richard savaged the judge's trouser cuff. So much for Richard's championship season. No matter, the Sterns retained their fascination with the show ring, and this book is the result. Attaching themselves to Mimi Einstein, breeder and shower of bullmastiffs, they sought maximum immersion in the dog show ``subculture with its own rules, lingo, and codes of behavior.'' The Sterns tour with Einstein from small venues to large, from the early season Eastern shows, then the grueling summer show in Texas, to the apex of the circuit at the Westminster Dog Show in New York City, with many a stop in between. They detail the competitive maneuverings of the owners and handlers, breed trends, the search for bodily perfection according to the American Kennel Club standard. They delve deep, exploring the ``original intent'' of the breed (bullmastiffs have no white in their coat, for they were bred to be guardians of the night at country estates, where a splash of white might give them away) and how show dogs ``express the soul of the culture at large,'' a Stern specialty for any topic they tackle. There are forays into poodleland (how about a Royal Dutch clip and high-teased topknot?) and Canary Island Gripping Dog turf (they'd as soon be at your throat as look at you), but mostly the Sterns lavish their attentions on Einstein's dogs. Readers will emerge with a real feeling of kinship with Sam and Rusty and Mugsy Malone. Droll, warm, and impeccably researched—another Stern treasure. (Author tour)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-684-82253-9
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1996
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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