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DEPRESSION, WAR, DISABILITY BE DAMNED

Name: DEPRESSION, WAR, DISABILITY BE DAMNED
Author: Thomas Jay Lee
ISBN: 978-1-4392-1835-8

: PRAISE GOD

by Thomas Jay Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 5, 2009

A well-crafted account of the 20th-century American experience.

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An inspirational autobiography that chronicles the life and times of a World War II veteran.

Amid the many softball profiles of America’s Greatest Generation, Lee’s no-nonsense memoir offers a less-idealized account of being drafted from Main Street U.S.A. and thrown into the European theater. Written with hard-boiled elegance, Lee’s narrative is humorous and wistful, despite its grittiness. Though a veteran, the author doesn’t entirely keep a stiff upper lip–the passages recounting his childhood spent on an Indiana farm are ripe with bucolic flourishes, spiritual meditation and ironic character detail. He portrays his community and family as idyllic, though undoubtedly quirky. Lee’s father, an amateur trombonist who never quite reached his full potential, is perhaps the most interesting of the book’s â€œcharacters.” An intelligent, uneducated and thoughtful man, he remedies his son’s ailments with alchemical cures based on turpentine and kerosene. These eccentric details engage the reader and increase the anxiety leading to Lee’s war experience–sympathetic readers will find it difficult to get through the author’s account of his dreadful time in the hospital, suffering from war-related injuries. He organizes the narrative of his recovery by the letters he wrote home during his three-year convalescence. Lee only â€œblows his top” a few times despite exceptional frustrations–in a crushing postscript, readers learn that he eventually lost a leg. The book subsequently chronicles his struggle to reconnect with his dreams and sense of destiny. The author skillfully mitigates an autobiographer’s instincts toward self-aggrandizement and pity. He makes no apologies and asks for none in return. The book has a proud Christian message and will please the devotional with its insistent humility. Lee is inspirational though; as his narrative moves from strength to struggle to peaceful senescence, he unconsciously weaves a vision of the best version of the American people.

A well-crafted account of the 20th-century American experience.

Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4392-1835-8

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.