A verbivore, according to this well-known author of fanciful and brainy books on language (Crazy English, Play of Words, etc.), makes a daily diet of words, taking delight in analyzing, tracing, defining, collecting, and playing with language. For Lederer, the fun of language and new experiences with it are everywhere: a Wonderful World of Words Weekend at Mohonk Mountain House; his son's poker tournament in Las Vegas; the ``oys and joys'' of Yiddish; the mysteries of ``Britspeak''; the ``slanguage'' of prep-school; or in the argot of ``Ghettoberg'' (Lederer taught for a year in a black inner-city school). The author shows the derivations of some words and invents others, as well as slogans, headlines, and puns, and he serves as a consultant in the wording of laws and regulations. His book on puns, Get thee to a Punnery, won the ``Punster of the Year Award'' from the International Save the Pun Association, dedicated to preserving this endangered species of expression. Lederer loves book tours, radio shows, dialects, and dictionaries. A selection of queries here (What is one flake called in a box of Wheaties?) addressed to him as the Grammar Grappler for Writer's Digest elicits his most resourceful and good-natured observations. With clever examples, quizzes, brain-teasers, grammatical problems (all answers included), Lederer's latest makes reading an interactive experience. It concludes with 50 memorable rules on ``writing good,'' each breaking the rule it describes: ``Who needs rhetorical questions?'' or ``Don't verb nouns.'' For anyone who savors language, enjoys puzzles and word games, is frustrated with learning vocabulary and grammar—or is in danger of forgetting the joy or just the simple fun of language.
Pub Date: March 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-671-70941-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
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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