The British author of The Decision Makers (1989) and other wry commentaries on big business now offers a tattered appreciation of the managerial talents required to prevail in the three-way battle for world economic dominion. Heller bases his wide-ranging (albeit essentially sketchy) canvass on an elegant conceit—that the US-led coalition's victory in the Persian Gulf War was a model enterprise. He even comes up with a Desert Storm Decalogue that is apparently designed to show that, if corporate America but heeds the executive-suite lessons to be learned from a notable military triumph, it can compete effectively against EC and Pacific Basin rivals in world markets. Heller divides his text into ten putatively illustrative sections- -investing in leadership; adding power to responsibility; mastering new modes; achieving prime performance; etc. But the author's messages are largely lost in a litter of short-take yarns (most of which have been recycled from secondary sources) and banal pronouncements on commercial wins and losses. For example, he supplies once-over-lightly briefings on how the folks running Apple Computer, Campbell Soup, GE, General Foods, Merck, Nintendo, Phillips Electric, Xerox, and a host of other multinationals have measured up (or failed to) in recent years. Included as well are obligatory swipes at bureaucratic leviathans (like GM); the complaisance of rubber-stamp boards; the risks involved in ceding the low end of almost any outlet to Japanese vendors; and other well-worn targets. In cautionary, if not always consistent, fashion, Heller also debits and credits the accounts of John Akers (IBM), Robert Calvin (Motorola), Roberto Goizueta (Coca-Cola), Katherine Graham (the Washington Post), Lee Iacocca (Ford as well as Chrysler), Steven Ross (Time Warner), Donald Trump, and a flock of less celebrated CEOs. Armchair reportage that adds up to little more than an anecdotal patchwork, conspicuously deficient in unifying threads.
Pub Date: Nov. 10, 1992
ISBN: 0-525-93548-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1992
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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