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THE FACTSHEET FIVE ZINE READER

Name: THE FACTSHEET FIVE ZINE READER
Author: R. Seth Friedman
ISBN: 0-609-80001-9

edited by R. Seth Friedman ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1997

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A useful introduction to, and anthology of, the rude, antic, crowded new world of fanzines (``zines,'' for short), featuring both a terse, informed overview of the field—Friedman, the editor/publisher of Factsheet Five, a zine that reviews other zines, estimates that he has read some 50,000 zines in the past decade. Zines, Friedman explains, are often one-person operations, sporadically issued, devoted to a single topic, and distinguished, at their best, by writing ``more opinionated than newspaper editorials, more personal than magazine articles, more topical than books.'' There's certainly some strong writing on display here (such as a piece by Al Aronowitz from Long Shot on beat poetry and jazz), with an emphasis on the confessional (as in Doug Holland's remarkable ongoing chronicle of his hard, peculiar experiences, published in Pathetic Life). There's also much that's flimsy and obsessive, but that, probably, is part of Friedman's point: Zines aren't so much about creating alternative outlets for fine writing as they are about the simple, essential need to communicate. (75 b&w photos and line drawings)

Pub Date: May 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-609-80001-9

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1997

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.