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MY LIFE--IN SPITE OF MYSELF!

Name: MY LIFE--IN SPITE OF MYSELF!
Author: Roy Clark
ISBN: 0-671-86434-3

by Roy Clark with Marc Eliot ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 1994

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Roy Clark, the genial multi-instrumentalist and longtime host of TV's Hee Haw, tells the story of his rags-to-riches climb to stardom. Born in a small Virginia town, Clark grew up in Washington, D.C. His father, a laborer who moonlighted as a semi-pro guitarist, encouraged young Roy's playing and brought him along to weekend square dances as soon as he'd learned a few chords. Soon the boy was playing guitar several nights a week, and his school work suffered accordingly; eventually he dropped out to become a full-time musician. The next few years were a string of appearances with bands playing a variety of musical styles at bars, at dances, and on local radio and TV. Not quite confident of his own ability as a guitarist, Clark added a line of comic patter to his act as a way to cover up his feeling of inadequacy. His craftsmanship, versatility, and ability to make an audience laugh earned him sideman spots with better-known country stars like Jimmy Dean and Wanda Jackson. Finally, all the scuffling paid off in hit records (notably ``Yesterday When I Was Young), Tonight Show appearances, a star spot on Hee Haw, and getting his own theater in Branson, Missouri. Clark's story is heartening, if a bit humdrum—the performer comes across as salt of the earth, a man one would welcome as a neighbor, the farthest thing imaginable from headline material. For juicy gossip and inside dirt, one can look elsewhere. A reader is left feeling that one of the good guys has found success, but with little insight into what, beyond talent and hard work, might have raised him to the top. (B&w photos—32 pages—not seen)

Pub Date: March 10, 1994

ISBN: 0-671-86434-3

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1994

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.