The Kikuyu saying that ``when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers'' applies well to the high-profile custody and visitation rights battle of Drs. Morgan and Foretich and its effect on their daughter Hilary, recounted well here by Groner, a former federal prosecutor who's now an editor of Legal Times. The cast of characters is enormous and constantly changing, as lawyers and housekeepers are hired and fired and physicians, psychiatrists, and therapists are consulted and dismissed, and as the scene of battle moves from court to court. What stays the same is the determination of each parent to win the fight. Groner, an advocate for neither side, clearly attaches little credence to Morgan's claim that Hilary was sexually abused by Foretich, and he demonstrates that both parents' actions as they found an out-of-control battle over her constitute a very real form of child abuse. In his view, both parents were guilty of putting their own interests ahead of their daughter's, while the courts, charged with protecting the child's welfare, were unable to do so. Groner's account (in sometimes mind-numbing detail) of the complex legal maneuverings is based on extensive court records and on interviews with many of the parties involved. Although the battle for Hilary has apparently ended, thousands of similar contests are being fought in American courts today. Groner arouses the reader's sympathy for the children who are often the losers in these disputes, but offers no easy solutions. A balanced look at a sensational case that should serve as a warning of the harm that can come to children when parents do battle over them.
Pub Date: May 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-671-69176-1
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1991
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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