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DENG XIAOPING

Name: DENG XIAOPING
Author: Richard Evans
ISBN: 0-670-84816-6

AND THE MAKING OF MODERN CHINA

by Richard Evans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1994

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From a prominent Sinologist, once British ambassador in Peking: an authoritative if numbingly detailed biography of the aging communist revolutionary and leader. Drawing on such archival material as is available, on personal contacts, and on secondary sources, Evans (Wolfson College, Oxford) pieces together an account of Deng Xiaoping's life from his birth in 1904 (to a modestly prosperous land-owning couple in Sichuan Province) to the present-day. Though in failing health and effectively out of office, Deng remains China's most powerful patriarch—a status he's won not only in countless battles with the Chinese Nationalists, the WW II Japanese, Politburo adversaries, and a host of other foes, but also by dint of a practicable, if flinty, vision for his country's future. Evans provides rather more particulars than most general readers may care to absorb on the archon of Maoist doctrine and survivor of its often deadly infighting; and the same holds true for his profiles of the party careerists Deng passed or surpassed on his long march to eminence. Generally, Evans does a good job of illuminating the Cultural Revolution and other obstacles that delayed Deng's ascent, nor does he shy away from evaluating his subject's performance once he had reached the top. Among other things, Sir Richard accords Deng high marks for setting China on the road to rapid economic development and for bringing it into the international mainstream, although he faults him for underestimating the force of the reform movement he unwittingly unleashed. Even so, Sir Richard concludes that China may become a country with many permitted freedoms, although one where pluralistic democracy is not practiced. Excruciatingly circumstantial, yet as comprehensive a look at the hitherto shadowy leader as we're likely to have any time soon. (Eight pages of photographs—not seen)

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-670-84816-6

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE SWAN CHILDREN
adapted by David Day & illustrated by Richard Evans

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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.