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GAMES WE USED TO PLAY

Name: GAMES WE USED TO PLAY
Author: Roger Kahn
ISBN: 0-395-59351-4

FOUR DECADES OF SPORTS WRITING

by Roger Kahn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1992

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Even his fans may be surprised at the very high quality of the work Kahn (The Boys of Summer, Joe & Marilyn, etc.) has done over the years. In the anthology at hand, the author collects more than two dozen of the sports pieces he wrote from the early 1950's through 1990—and virtually all stand the taxing test of time. Among other impressive inclusions, there are standout profiles of boxing's George Foreman (then an ex-heavyweight champ in pursuit of a rematch with his conqueror, Muhammad Ali), hockey's Glenn Hall, football's Frank Ryan (a world-class mathematician as well as a winning quarterback), baseball's Stan Musial (in the twilight of a Hall-of-Fame career), and basketball's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at the start of two-decade reign in the NBA). Covered as well are Carl Furillo, Ingemar Johansson, Don King, Tommy Lasorda (``Sinatra's Friend''), Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, the young Willie Mays, Merlin Olsen, Walter O'Malley, and Sugar Ray Robinson. About the only weak links in the lineup are a few self-consciously weighty essays—e.g., a mannered meditation on professional athletes who, though chronologically young, are old by the standards of their demanding trades; an inane attempt to establish enduring linkages between intellectuals and the national pastime; and a churlish put- down of Joe Namath on the occasion of his run-in with NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle over the ownership of a Manhattan bar. Kahn does not neglect his colleagues, paying graceful tributes to, among others, Jerome Holtzman, John Lardner, and Red Smith. Equally welcome is the author's parting shot on his literary collaboration with Pete Rose after the superstar had been banned from baseball for gambling and sentenced to a federal penitentiary on tax charges. A decidedly agreeable trip down memory lane with one of the more perceptive tour guides still in the game.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-395-59351-4

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
RICKEY & ROBINSON
by Roger Kahn

- BOOK REVIEW
OCTOBER MEN
by Roger Kahn

- BOOK REVIEW
THE HEAD GAME
by Roger Kahn

- SEEN & HEARD
Boys of Summer Author Roger Kahn Has Died

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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.