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A BREED APART

Name: A BREED APART
Author: Mike Helm
ISBN: 0-8050-1326-1

THE HORSES AND THE PLAYERS

by Mike Helm ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 21, 1991

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A dandy, in-depth look at the Sport of Kings, the $10- billion-a-year horse-racing business, and the ``weekend recreational gamblers,'' jockeys, trainers, grooms, and officials who work on the ``backside,'' behind the scenes. The appeal, according to Helm, a San Francisco journalist and publisher, ``is that it is the most complex and interesting form of gambling.'' But there are also the fabled traditions of the sport, the entertainment factor, and the camaraderie that draws a varied audience. Helm's trackside cronies include a chef, a blues critic, a ``street artist/grant hustler.'' a mail marrier, a retired black woman, and a wine salesman. It's the grandstand kibitzing, the arguing over horses and jockeys and odds, as much as their occasional winnings, that brings them back to the track. Helm became interested in the daily operations of Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows and gained access to the morning workouts on the backside, a world he learned was like a ``small medieval city'' with its own language and traditions. His lengthy interview with jockey ``Cowboy'' Jack Kaenel, who won the 1982 Preakness on Aloma's Ruler, reveals the finer points of a demanding profession. Helm delves into the arcane mechanics of horse-racing, such as the difference between ``claiming'' races, derbies, stakes, and allowances, and the weight and equipment requirements. But at the heart of the book are his profiles of trainers like Chuck Jenda, whose mounts have won an astounding 20% of their races; of the track superintendents, who attempt to maintain consistent conditions in all sorts of weather; of the veterinarian whose individual judgment decides ``racing soundness''; of the ``powerful, but largely anonymous'' stewards who are the arbiters charged with ensuring the ``integrity of racing''; and of the racing superintendent, the ``matchmaker'' who is like the ``director of a theatrical event.'' A sure thing for novices, but there's enough intelligently presented information and inside dope to attract even the most jaded track veteran.

Pub Date: May 21, 1991

ISBN: 0-8050-1326-1

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1991

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.