YOU CAN'T PUT NO BOOGIE WOOGIE ON THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL

Name: YOU CAN'T PUT NO BOOGIE WOOGIE ON THE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL
Author: Lewis Grizzard
ISBN: 0-679-40704-9

by Lewis Grizzard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 15, 1991

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Back yet again with another collection of his ephemeral newspaper pieces, turf-kicking, one-gallus humorist Grizzard reverts to his customary populist procedures. Sometimes the soul of political correctness, sometimes sociological troglodyte, Grizzard fires off more random shots than Rambo on a busy day. Unfortunately, not enough hit the mark. It's his advice to women who attend country music concerts to ``keep your undergarments to a minimum'' to avoid long lines at the ladies' room (just the kind of social ill that causes our southern gentleman much concern). Another (and more interesting) question vexing the bard of the know-nothing bon ton: ``Why,'' he wonders, ``are so many of today's young men wearing their ball caps backward?'' Grizzard seems to have selective areas of concern. There is a lot that has to do with hometown Atlanta, the failures of its sports teams and the faults of Mayor Maynard Jackson. There is much ado about the author, his own self, including the failures and faults of his innards. The text, being a compilation of daily off-the-cuff maunderings composed largely of one- or two-sentence paragraphs, tends to be a bit redundant, with a lot about zits, mooning, and other such interesting arcana. Throughout, there's a vein of old-timey country xenophobia. Recent events in the Persian Gulf (where we needed to ``kick butt and take some names'') finally give Grizzard a chance to get ``camel jockey'' triumphantly past the Speech Police. This year's offering is not the best of Grizzard, just a lot of Grizzard: standard smirky humor from a writer who knows better.

Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1991

ISBN: 0-679-40704-9

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Villard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
I TOOK A LICKIN' AND KEPT ON TICKIN'
by Lewis Grizzard

- BOOK REVIEW
I HAVEN'T UNDERSTOOD ANYTHING SINCE 1962
by Lewis Grizzard

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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.