WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON REALLY THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY?

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WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON REALLY THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY?

Name: WAS GEORGE WASHINGTON REALLY THE FATHER OF OUR COUNTRY?
Author: Robert Marion
ISBN: 0-201-62255-6

A CLINICAL GENETICIST LOOKS AT WORLD HISTORY

by Robert Marion ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1994

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Intriguing speculations about the possible effects on world events of the genetic abnormalities of certain well-known figures. Geneticist Marion (Learning to Play God, 1991, etc.) poses such questions as: Did George III of England suffer from porphyria, and if so, how did this affect his handling of unrest in the American colonies? Was George Washington rendered sterile by XYY syndrome, and would the US have become a monarchy if he had had a son? Similarly, questions are raised about the effects on history of abnormal genes in Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, the Romanov family, and John F. Kennedy. Some of Marion's musings are on firmer ground than others: That the heir to the Russian throne had hemophilia is historical fact; it has not been established, however, that Napoleon had 17-ketosteroid reductase deficiency, a condition that compromises masculinity. Marion rejects the theory that Lincoln had Marfan syndrome, but posits the notion that he suffered from mitral valve prolapse syndrome, which gave him an awkward, gangly appearance, and that the ridicule he suffered because of his looks sensitized him to discrimination and thus shaped his views on slavery. The author asserts that Kennedy's triumph over Addison's disease spurred him on to seek high office and may have given him a sense of invincibility that led him to expose himself to an assassin's bullets. Focus occasionally wavers; the Romanov chapter wanders off into a discussion of the Anastasia story, and the Kennedy section gets sidetracked into an account of how JFK's parents dealt with the problem of their retarded daughter. Entertaining mix of fact and fancy, along with solid information about genetic disorders.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0-201-62255-6

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Addison-Wesley

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 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.