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WHITEOUT

Name: WHITEOUT
Author: Ted Conover
ISBN: 0-394-57469-9

LOST IN ASPEN

by Ted Conover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 2, 1991

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Conover, who wrote so well about the low life in Rolling Nowhere (1983: railroad tramps) and Coyotes (1987: migrant workers), now spiritedly chronicles the high life—8000 feet above sea level and worlds above plebeian reality in the glittering ``paradise'' of Aspen. Neither well-known like Jack Nicholson, George Hamilton, Goldie Hawn, or the many other celebs he brushes shoulders with in his roughly chronological (late 1980's) account, nor wealthy like the CEOs and scions who have made tiny Aspen into a resort town with ``more million-dollar houses than Denver,'' Conover chooses the perch of an ``official voyeur'' from which to spy on Aspen life—as a cabdriver. His details of cabbie procedures (e.g., notes on cabbie lingo) drag a bit, but what he sees from his driver's seat, often acting as a delivery boy, shines—from the movie mogul who calls up in the middle of the night for some chocolate-chip cookies to Hunter Thompson calling up for some booze (``his rarefied appearance, virtual unintelligiblilty, and jerking manner made you wonder whether he was an imbecile or a genius''). As Conover makes his good-humored, wide-eyed way around town, partying (crashing a star-studded bash hosted by Don Johnson), soaking up Aspen history (neatly nutshelled here), interviewing the famous (including an over-the-hill John Denver), eventually changing jobs (to a post on The Aspen Times), he touches on Aspen's darker side, particularly in a grim account of the recovery of the body of a skier killed by an avalanche. It's the moneyed excess of Aspen life, though, that tugs at his soul, until, by book's end, he finds himself judging a beloved old Denver restaurant as ``very grey and middle-class. There was no glamour around for miles.'' A bit scattered and not as smooth as Coyotes—as Conover hops and comments here, there, everywhere—but full of flashes of insight and plenty of fun to read for the many enticing tales of the rich and famous.

Pub Date: Dec. 2, 1991

ISBN: 0-394-57469-9

Page Count: 280

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
CHEAP LAND COLORADO
by Ted Conover

- BOOK REVIEW
THE ROUTES OF MAN
by Ted Conover

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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.