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BEHIND THE WALL

Name: BEHIND THE WALL
Author: Richard M. Huff
ISBN: 0-929387-66-X

A SEASON ON THE NASCAR CIRCUIT

by Richard M. Huff ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1992

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The high-octane world of stock-car racing and the planning, preparation, and mechanical wizardry that go on behind the scenes are given a rather bland and repetitious treatment here by Daily Variety correspondent Huff. Huff follows owner Billy Hagan's team, including driver Terry Labonte, on the 1991 National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) tour. The circuit includes 30 races at speedways across the country as big-name drivers like Richard Perry, Darrell Waltrip, and Davey Allison vie for the Winston Cup in a season-long quest decided by total points won at individual races. Sponsored by Sunoco, Hagan's once-successful team experienced personnel and technical problems from the season-opening Daytona 500 (the ``Super Bowl'' of NASCAR) to the frustrating finale at the Hardee's 500 in Atlanta. As Huff repeatedly shows, Labonte, the 1984 Winston Cup champion, had little use for his crew or management. He complained at race after race that Hagan's cars were either ``loose...like the rear end...would lose contact with the track,'' too tight, too old and outmoded, or simply not ``set up'' properly to keep pace. With the almost weekly rule changes regarding the timing of pit stops and tire changes, and the usual problems of mechanics and accidents, the Hagan crew faced bitter dissension plus numerous equipment and design failures. Everyone from tire-changers to Sunoco's president had an opinion as to where to lay the blame for the team's mediocre performance (Labonte captured only one pole position all year and finished in the top five but once), culminating in crew chief Steve Loyd's replacement. While that change helped a little, it came too late, as Labonte, who found every excuse simply to park the car, finished 18th in the Winston Cup rankings. Stock-car racing would seem rich in dramatic possibilities, but Huff never gets this entry out of first gear. (Illustrations- -not seen.)

Pub Date: June 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-929387-66-X

Page Count: 240

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992

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.