Oddly imperial prose limns the music of the Fab Four, concentrating on the band rather than individual personalities. Journalist and author Hertsgaard (On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency, 1988, etc.) delivers a narrative focused mostly on the Beatles' music rather than their often outrageous personal lives. He chronicles with vivid color and exacting detail the recording sessions that produced the group's albums, providing considerable insight into the thought processes of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they created. He lets readers in on the arguments, the thrilling moments when they found just the right touch to make a good song great, and the collaboration between Paul McCartney and John Lennon, which generally involved one of them coming up with some words and some music and the other taking it to new heights. Though Hertsgaard draws on his familiarity with the 400 hours of tapes made during the recording sessions at the Abbey Road studios (which ordinary Beatles fans would give anything to hear), footnotes reveal that he also relies heavily on the works of others. His early promise that facts will predominate in his account is repeatedly violated; he almost always tells readers particular songs are masterpieces, rather than simply showing how the process of writing and recording made them great. Most people who would be interested in this book don't need to be convinced that ``Hey Jude'' is a wonderful piece of work. Lots of interesting facts, figures, and anecdotes, though Hertsgaard's insistence on making the Beatles' the musical equivalent of Picasso or Faulkner wears pretty thin. (b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: March 21, 1995
ISBN: 0-385-31377-2
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1995
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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