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The Youngest Son of a Millionaire

Name: The Youngest Son of a Millionaire
Author: Paul Ventura
ISBN: 978-0615664842

by Paul Ventura ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 15, 2012

A ruminative but sometimes-confusing memoir.

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A debut chronicle of one man’s outrage about the American justice system.

“Is the difference in this country between ‘moral’ and ‘legal’ something with which you are comfortable?” Ventura asks. In this memoir, he makes it clear that he’s not comfortable with it, and that he seeks to “bring justice to the Ventura family.” His hardworking father, Joseph Ventura, with the aid of his children, crafted his own version of the American Dream, turning his rental properties, construction skills and ability to see a bargain into a thriving business enterprise. “I stood high upon the top step, the ladder my father built, with my family by my side,” the author writes. After Joseph died, however, it all came crashing down. The author asserts that his alcoholic mother began to drink even more, and fell into a series of relationships with men who manipulated her finances. The court system then failed to uphold a trust that the author’s father intended to leave the family. In the end, Ventura says, the only ones who benefited from the resulting family split were lawyers and con men. But the author’s problems with the establishment don’t end there, as he contends that his efforts to do the right thing were misunderstood, and he cites lawyers and federal and state agencies that he believes have denied him justice over the past 30 years. “I have done all I can to show people that what they did and how they responded to my pleas for help was wrong,” he writes. Readers may be disturbed by his accounts of being physically escorted out of offices and courtrooms, and of orders of protection taken out against him during divorce and custody struggles. This memoir has an earnest, conversational prose style. Overall, however, readers may find this rambling account hard to follow. The author discusses his former drug addiction and arrests, but it’s not clear whether they happened when he was working at his towing or construction jobs, pursuing court cases, contacting the FBI, fighting for his marriage or negotiating custody. Although the book occasionally mentions dates, legal cases and letters, the chronological sequence of its events often seems muddled.

A ruminative but sometimes-confusing memoir.

Pub Date: Dec. 15, 2012

ISBN: 978-0615664842

Page Count: 214

Publisher: Paul Ventura

Review Posted Online: March 19, 2014

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.