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BATTLE NOTES

Name: BATTLE NOTES
Author: Lee Andresen
ISBN: 1-886028-60-5

MUSIC OF THE VIETNAM WAR

by Lee Andresen ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003

An original idea well executed by an expert who writes with engaging, accessible prose.

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A delightful study on how to understand a war by listening to the music of the era.

Andresen, a history professor at Lake Superior College, has obsessively collected vinyl records, tapes and CDs for decades. Part of his collection is focused on music about war, supplemented by music not directly about war but played frequently on radio stations during wartime and thus psychologically associated with victory and defeat on the battlefield. Because of his age and personal interest, the Vietnam War became his specific focus. Eventually, he designed a college course centered on Vietnam War music, playing and explicating songs in the classroom. Andresen divides the songs creatively into music of protest, music of patriotism, African-American music (which includes examples of protest, patriotism and in-between), music of combat and music about the war's aftermath. All wars involving the United States have been defined to some extent by music, he says, but music played an especially significant role in Vietnam, partly because of technological considerations such as portable tape players and far-reaching broadcast signals. Andresen subscribes to the belief that Vietnam became the nation's first rock-and-roll war. Throughout this well-organized book, he makes intriguing connections, such as Stephen King's Vietnam novel Hearts in Atlantis being inspired by a Donovan song, or the names of Allied gun ships being derived from Peter, Paul and Mary's seemingly innocuous children's tune "Puff the Magic Dragon." Especially useful is the Discography, listing Vietnam-era songs of overweening importance, organized alphabetically by singer. Though marred somewhat by the author's inclusion of a chapter titled "Travels With Battle Notes"–in which he recounts his travels promoting the book–Andresen redeems himself with an Afterword discussing the controversies surrounding his idiosyncratic song selections.

An original idea well executed by an expert who writes with engaging, accessible prose.

Pub Date: May 1, 2003

ISBN: 1-886028-60-5

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.