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BATTLEGROUND

Name: BATTLEGROUND
Author: Stephen Bates
ISBN: 0-671-79358-6

ONE MOTHER'S CRUSADE, THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL OF OUR CLASSROOMS

by Stephen Bates ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1993

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A balanced, well-documented account of a battle recently fought by a handful of Tennessee fundamentalist parents against high-school textbooks. Bates (If No News, Send Rumors, 1989, etc.—not reviewed) traces the course of the controversial censorship debate that came to be known as ``Scopes II''—a debate that pitted the powerful Christian organization of Concerned Women for America against Norman Lear's People for the American Way. Bates also provides intimate glimpses into the lives and minds of the leading combatants. Though clearly uncomfortable with parents who detect sacrilege in Macbeth, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Wizard of Oz, and even ``Goldilocks,'' he refuses to dismiss these men and women as mere lunatics of the religious right. Rather, he contends that, in this case, the fundamentalists were treated condescendingly by the media, who often distorted the facts—and he raises some of the questions that the media allegedly chose to ignore: ``How should a secular, tolerant society cope with devout but intolerant citizens in both the public school and the public square? How much control should parents wield over their children's education? How should the public handle religious topics and religious students?'' While never encumbering his text with ponderous arguments about constitutionality or educational theory, Bates strikes with range and depth at the heart of these issues, crucial for educators and all concerned Americans.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1993

ISBN: 0-671-79358-6

Page Count: 496

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
AN ARISTOCRACY OF CRITICS
by Stephen Bates

- BOOK REVIEW
THE POISONER
by Stephen Bates

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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.