Beans certainly deserve to be appreciated, but this small (five by seven and a quarter inches) volume will turn more people off legumes than it will turn on. To start with, Chasuk is nothing short of obnoxious throughout. His response to the problem of flatulence sometimes caused by bean-eating: ``Quite frankly, I'm single, I live alone, I don't care!'' Then this hyperkinetic television producer (who has appeared on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee as the ``Bean Gourmet'') steers readers away from soaking dried beans, mistakenly insisting that it neither saves cooking time nor makes them more digestible. This misinformation is paired with recipes that range from the merely dull to the truly repulsive, each one with a corny header. Sure, pizza is ``easy to make'' when the ingredient list includes canned tomato sauce and a ready-made pizza crust. Bland bean burgers with pinto beans had all the visual appeal of Alpo and fell apart when grilled; Chasuk claims that these are ``herb-packed'' when they contain only ¨ cup chopped parsley. Mint fudge with mashed garbanzo beans never gelled into squares that could be cut neatly, but a layer of butter did congeal across the top. A few dips and soups are more workable, but don't come close to making this worth its price. It may be little, but it's not the greatest.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-13765-2
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1995
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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