A meticulously researched guide to one of the world’s most famous cities.
Sweeping history of Rio de Janeiro that captures both its uniqueness and tumult.
Debut author Morton handily captures the allure Rio holds for those who visit—its natural and cultural beauty, the great food and drink, the beaches, the people, etc. “For those seeking more than a beach and a view,” he says, “Rio has many attractions: a major game in Maracanã, a candomblé ritual, a performance in the Teatro Municipal.” If you’d like to do more than people watch, “Rio is said to have more museums than Paris.” And, of course, “Rio’s reputation for an easy-going sexual culture should not be forgotten.” However, from the very beginning Rio has always been a volatile brew, uneasily juxtaposing wealth and poverty, religion and secularism, modernity and tradition. Often, Rio’s identity crisis has expressed itself as a pendulum swing between stubborn resistance to Europeanizing and an enthusiastic embrace of it. While this panoramic account will largely interest those with a personal attachment to the city, the author deftly connects the history of Rio to Brazil as well as Latin America as a whole. This painstakingly researched account of Rio’s history is amazing in scope; Morton even discusses the first human inhabitants in the area some 12,000 years ago. He charts Rio’s trajectory from a lesser-known city essentially run by Jesuits to the cosmopolitan center now known for its revelry. Along the way, he also discusses its persistent class conflict, the birth of the notorious favelas, culture and geography so colorful they inspire poetry, and the racial fallout of its earlier dependence upon slavery. The work is speckled with illustrative photos and art, which help convey the flavor of the city. Readers might sometimes get bogged down in the avalanche of detail, but the drama of the city’s evolution, and the skill with which it’s reported, more than makes up for it.
A meticulously researched guide to one of the world’s most famous cities.Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-1460254561
Page Count: 408
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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