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DRIVING LIKE CRAZY

Name: DRIVING LIKE CRAZY
Author: P.J. O’Rourke
ISBN: 978-0-8021-1883-7

THIRTY YEARS OF VEHICULAR HELL-BENDING, CELEBRATING AMERICA THE WAY IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE--WITH AN OIL WELL IN EVERY BACKYARD, A CADILLAC ESCALADE IN EVERY CARPORT, AND THE CHAIRMAN OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK MOWING OUR LAWN

by P.J. O’Rourke ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2009

A joy ride for those who crave a Corvette Stingray or care about torque; others may want to get out at the next light.

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Hard-edged humorist O’Rourke (On the Wealth of Nations: Books That Changed the World, 2007, etc.) certifies his American manliness with a gathering of automotive reveries, most of them originally published in Esquire, Rolling Stone and Car and Driver.

Certainly the funniest guy on the right side of the political road, the author begins with a youthful essay about “How to Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed and Not Spill Your Drink.” That piece predates “Taking My Baby for a Ride,” which regards the safe transportation of his children—in anything other than the cursed minivan, of course. O’Rourke also includes the requisite recollections of road trips, including a cross-country journey in a ’56 Buick, already two decades old and cursed with vapor lock; and a few expeditions to Mexico likely to appeal only to like-minded car enthusiasts. The author presents an appreciation of Jeeps in everyday life in the Philippines; writes fondly about his discovery of NASCAR; and provides the obligatory fond memories of jalopies of yesteryear. For the most part, the waggish reporter eases up on his accustomed libertarian fun as he happily tools along in his Roadmaster, coasting along and sometimes going a little too light on the brakes. Ultimately, he proudly declares that his is a car guys’ book.

A joy ride for those who crave a Corvette Stingray or care about torque; others may want to get out at the next light.

Pub Date: June 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8021-1883-7

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2009

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
A CRY FROM THE FAR MIDDLE
by P.J. O’Rourke

- BOOK REVIEW
NONE OF MY BUSINESS
by P.J. O’Rourke

- BOOK REVIEW
HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?
by P.J. O’Rourke

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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.