``Born fat to a food-obsessed mother,'' as Clark (former editor of The Journal of Gastronomy) puts it, America's preeminent foodie (1903-85) was an overstuffed child whose acting career was foiled by his enormous bulk—and who eventually turned the catering, cooking lessons, and food-writing he was doing just to get by into a career that made him ``a star in the dwarf constellation'' of the New York food world. That scene, Clark notes, was ``a vortex of resentment and fevered competition over what most of the world would regard as paltry spoils''—and Beard's early career had its share of strained and broken partnerships, petty rivalries, and credit-grabbing on all sides. By the end, when Beard was valued more as a food celebrity than for any of his real contributions, his West 12th Street home (now headquarters for the tony James Beard Foundation) housed a bickering mÇnage of jealous, depressed, withdrawn and/or alcoholic companions and staff—and it often seemed ``a prattling, hysterical ship of fools'' where it was hard to determine who was exploiting whom. Clark views Beard's life in the context of American food and cookbook trends from the 1880's, when Beard's unconventional mother arrived from England; and though these stretches of general background (pages at each stretch) might have been more integrated, they add dimension and perspective. At the same time, Clark keeps close tabs on Beard's intertwined personal and professional lives. Far more forthcoming about Beard's personality, relationships, and gay affairs—and altogether fuller, livelier, and more independent—than Evan Jones's relatively stuffy Epicurean Delight (1990). Clark is also generously appreciative, without fawning, of Beard's real gifts and contributions. (Photos)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-06-016763-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1993
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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