by Ron Coury ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 20, 2018
An often captivating remembrance that’s brimming with intrigue.
Awards & Accolades
Our Verdict
GET IT
Google Rating
In this debut memoir, a native New Yorker recollects a life of entrepreneurial success and perseverance in the face of daunting adversity.
Coury came of age on the streets of Brooklyn in the 1960s, the descendant of grandparents who emigrated from the Middle East. Always attuned to the possibility of business opportunity, he started a rock band in 1970 and made considerable sums of money selling soda and beer (despite being underage himself) at his own concerts. The author was drafted in 1972 and chose to enlist in the Marines, and in the last six months of his service, he worked—as part of a job transition program—as a blackjack dealer at a minor casino. Coury was always looking for ways to advance, though, and he landed a coveted gig at the Tropicana on the Las Vegas Strip shortly thereafter. A restless entrepreneur, he bought his first bar in 1979 when he was only 27 years old, and by the age of 35, he’d either bought or founded seven other businesses. Coury’s account of commerce in Las Vegas focuses on its seedier side; he tells of confronting corrupt union reps who squeezed him for money, fraudulent regulatory commissions, and unscrupulous law enforcement officers. The culmination of the author’s tale comes in 1989, when, he says, a thieving waiter falsely accused him of torture. In this remembrance of his life and times, Coury provides an account that’s both dramatic and cinematic. The author’s story, as the title suggests, focuses on his indefatigable refusal to surrender, and readers won’t be able to help finding this to be an impressive virtue. The prose doesn’t offer many literary flourishes, but Coury does show himself to be a naturally gifted storyteller with a clear, informally charming style. Although the narrative largely focuses on his business exploits, he candidly discusses his childhood, his bout with esophageal cancer in the mid-2000s, and his happy marriage, as well.
An often captivating remembrance that’s brimming with intrigue.Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-73272-100-5
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Las Vegas Publishing Group, LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Share your opinion of this book
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by E.T.A. Hoffmann
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
BOOK REVIEW
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Ludwig Bemelmans
BOOK REVIEW
developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
BOOK REVIEW
by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.