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SMALL DECENCIES

Name: SMALL DECENCIES
Author: John Cowan
ISBN: 0-88730-559-8

REFLECTIONS AND MEDITATIONS ON BEING HUMAN AT WORK

by John Cowan ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 1992

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Cowan, once a working priest, now a management guru, presents more than two score sermonettes advocating general probity in the world of mammon. Doffing his Roman collar to join the suits, the quondam cleric successively joined the Ordinance Division of Honeywell, a consulting firm, and then Control Data before finally becoming a self-employed ``facilitator'' and consultant on leadership, teamwork, and goodness in commerce. Rather than a punchy action program, Cowan offers easy philosophy, often wrapped in platitudes, rarely in attitudes. He is to fierce self-promotion what Barry Manilow is to M.C. Hammer, with a smooth, folksy style, digestible if not taken in one gulp. Unfortunately, the text is more about the author and his Deep Thoughts than an organized guide for the perplexed about their niche in the marketplace. ``Give me the tiller every time,'' he proclaims from the deck of his beloved boat. ``I want to steer.'' Too many of Cowan's little homilies are tied to his evident love of sailing. (The book jacket might well bear a warning to those prone to mal de mer.) The morality of these pieces is unimpeachable, naturally, and salted with the merest hint of malarkey. This is a self-helper that teaches unperturbed cooperation and ``nurturing'' as organizational skills. A small, well-written work, decent enough, that gives no real prescriptions: It's simply a sentimental get-well card for those suffering from corporate malaise.

Pub Date: July 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-88730-559-8

Page Count: 144

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992

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.