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SERIOUS FUN

Name: SERIOUS FUN
Author: Robert Edelman
ISBN: 0-19-507948-5

A HISTORY OF SPECTATOR SPORTS IN THE USSR

by Robert Edelman ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1993

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An agreeable and enlightening overview of spectator sports in the Soviet Union from the 1917 revolution through Communism's collapse. Drawing on personal experience gained during frequent visits to the erstwhile USSR since the 1960's and on contemporary press accounts, Edelman (Russian History/UC at San Diego) focuses on the in-country emergence of soccer, men's basketball, and ice hockey as crowd-pleasing diversions. By contrast, he points out, the more image-conscious Kremlin turned its post-WW II efforts to developing world-class athletes who could win medals in Olympic events and bring glory to Communism. Among other outcomes, the author argues, this diversion of talent cost the national soccer team dearly when it began to compete at the international level. As measured by attendance or attention (via TV), Edelman concludes, showcase sports had little appeal for the Soviet working classes. But although the government disdained any entertainment that diluted the masses' interest in politics, it tolerated the organization of local clubs and leagues in the name of physical culture—and eventually its worst fears were confirmed as corruption, thuggish behavior by fans, and a black market in tickets for major contests became familiar aspects of popular spectator sports. In the meantime, Moscow's so-called ``ice militia'' began beating Canada at its own game, and the USSR earned a disputed triumph over the US in basketball at the 1972 Olympics. With the advent of perestroika and the subsequent breakup of the Russian empire, there's been a brawn drain, with professional Soviet athletes now playing for capitalist franchises in Europe, North America, and elsewhere. An informed and informative appraisal of what the Western sports community once viewed as the Big Red Machine. (Twenty halftones—some seen)

Pub Date: April 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-19-507948-5

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Oxford Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1993

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.