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THE PLAYMAKERS

Name: THE PLAYMAKERS
Author: Tim Walsh
ISBN: 0-9646973-4-3

AMAZING ORIGINS OF TIMELESS TOYS

by Tim Walsh ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 1936

A worthy, fascinating, and overdue tip of the hat to toymakers who have made so many so happy.

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Journalist and game inventor Walsh presents a lovely tribute to the unsung heroes who brought us the classic toys that have enchanted millions.

This large-format, colorful book on the genesis of particularly successful toys fuses the captivating weirdness of the Guinness Book of World Records with the fine explication of The Way Things Work. First, Walsh lays out a few parameters: the toys had to be over ten years old, they had to sell in the tens of millions and up, they had to be developed outside the mega-toy companies—this is a salute to the entrepreneur—and the inventor had to be known (thus no tops or jacks). Walsh's house of marvels starts with the dawn of the 20th century and the Flexible Flyer, continuing on to the Beanie Babies. This is human-interest territory, for the inventors were often misfits who worked in their garage or had a sudden inspiration that would be their one-and-only contribution to toyland. The enthusiastic text complements the handsome photography, and Walsh isn't afraid to traipse into the psychology of toys—the vulnerability of Raggedy Andy, the scent of a Crayola—or explore the radical politics that led to the Landlord's Game (a precursor of Monopoly): "a practical example of the immorality of rent gouging, land monopolies and other corporate monopolies." He offers the goods on the inventor of the Slinky, who ran away from his family to join a Bolivian religious cult; the bawdy roots of Barbie; and the first Super Ball, which surprised even the inventor, Norm Stingley: "as soon as I opened the mold this stuff immediately tried to get out and tore itself to pieces." When it comes to the enigmatic Rubik's Cube, Walsh gives no solutions away—but then maybe he couldn't, since it's the purlieu of abstract group theory and presents 43 quintillion wrong combinations. So don't feel bad.

A worthy, fascinating, and overdue tip of the hat to toymakers who have made so many so happy.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1936

ISBN: 0-9646973-4-3

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.