In case the O.J. trial hasn't caused enough embarrassement to members of the bar, here comes The Rodent to finish the job. The Rodentan L.A. (of course) attorney whose identity remains on deepest backgroundgained his reputation among his colleagues with an in-house newsletter. Now he's taking the law poop public. The Rodent will tell you ``everything you ever wanted to know about the legal profession but didn't want to be charged $250 an hour to find out.'' Beginning at the beginning, he informs us that lawyers are born, not made (rather than Cowboys and Indians, they play Plaintiffs and Defendants); he shares the secrets behind those inscrutable bills (a lawyer's hour is longer than 60 minutes); and explains law-firm lingo and ``law fibs.'' The Rodent is not imputing vile and mercenary intentions to all lawyers: He acknowledges the existence of a ``small percentage of attorneys whose purposes in practicing law are other than to become rich and contentious.'' In targeting his colleagues at the bar, The Rodent swings hard and without mercyhe must be one hell of a good lawyer.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-671-52294-9
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Pocket
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1995
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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