A poignant reconstruction of the events of a memorable life.
A debut biography that tells the eventful story of a Canadian veteran of World War II.
Bill King’s father was an officer in the British Army and died as a result of injuries sustained in World War I. Bill’s mother had relatives in Canada so she moved him and his older brother, Jim, to Cadillac, a small prairie town in Saskatchewan. Bill was a mischievous prankster as a young man but also a hard worker, and he was always hunting for odd jobs to contribute to the family. But in 1930, the area was hit by a long-lasting drought that decimated the local economy. Jim joined the Royal Canadian Navy and was stationed in Victoria, British Columbia; he later helped Bill and his mother move out there after they lost their home. Then Bill’s mother suddenly died, and he became a teenage orphan scrounging to make a dollar. His prospects didn’t improve when Canada declared war against Germany in 1939. To find work, he applied for a national employment card; he falsified his age, as he needed to be 16 years old and was still only 14. As a result, he was drafted early for the war effort and deployed to Europe to serve as an infantryman. He returned from the war largely intact—although he lost a finger—and successfully pursued his lifelong dream to become a forest ranger. Debut author Forbes-King, Bill’s widow, wrote this biography in the form of a first-person account, mostly basing it on anecdotes she heard from her husband. She evocatively depicts the natural grandeur of Canada’s Saskatchewan territory, as well as her husband’s deep connection to it. Her prose is steady and cogent, sure-footed and charmingly unpretentious. Even when she depicts the horrors of war, she displays an irrepressible optimism that readers are sure to find endearing. For example, when discussing a temporary truce, designed to allow the Canadian forces to shuttle supplies to starving Dutch civilians, she has Bill opine that “Humane things did happen even in an inhumane war.” This is a touching account, written with the love and cheer that typifies it.
A poignant reconstruction of the events of a memorable life.Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4602-9133-7
Page Count: -
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
