A disappointing twist on the bestselling 41: A Portrait of My Father (2014). Readers may wish the authors had aimed at...
A sometimes-amusing sendup of Jeb Bush, contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.
In this parody written in the voice of former President George W. Bush, his brother, Jeb, is variously described as a bonehead, a fat dope, a natural-born bumbler, and a heroic blubber-butt in need of guidance on “his journey” to the White House. Who better to show him the way than big brother George, who helped Jeb learn to walk (“Those who cannot walk cannot lead”) and shared his childhood of “Freemason rituals, bloodlettings and animal sacrifices,” with “masked Illuminati sex parties” on weekends? In a slight follow-up to their 2006 parody, Destined for Destiny: The Unauthorized Autobiography of George W. Bush, The Onion founder Dikkers and public radio producer Hilleren recount the facts and foibles, real and imagined, of Jeb’s life and career, from his ineptitude with women (an exception being his marriage to a “pretend” Mexican woman) and his profiting from business failures (a family tradition) to his “great vision of a lower tax on corporations and a ‘choose life’ license plate” as two-time governor of Florida, where he also helped keep alive comatose Terri Schiavo and fought “powerful coral-reef interests” to promote offshore drilling. As it happens, clueless author George often upstages his subject, with ceaseless bragging about his own accomplishments, his penchant for communicating through images (he paints hot dogs and Tater Tots to order them in a restaurant), and his qualifications to serve as a presidential adviser on the Mideast. Jeb, alas, often seems a poor target for parody: “He’s kind of like a marshmallow. Kinda white, puffy, with an unassuming, bland character.”
A disappointing twist on the bestselling 41: A Portrait of My Father (2014). Readers may wish the authors had aimed at bigger game: the flamboyant Donald Trump, say, parodied in the voice of his developer father.Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4555-9285-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 3, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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