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DELIVER US FROM TEMPTATION

Name: DELIVER US FROM TEMPTATION
Author: Tony Turner
ISBN: 1-56025-034-8

THE TRAGIC AND SHOCKING STORY OF THE TEMPTATIONS AND MOTOWN

by Tony Turner with Barbara Aria ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 1992

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Turner (All that Glittered, 1990) again turns a nasty eye on Motown's seamy flip side, this time on the chaotic careers of Temptations singers Eddie Kendrick, Dennis Edwards, and the late David Ruffin. Befriended in 1966 at age 12 by Flo Ballard of the Supremes, Turner served as dresser, makeup man, and errand boy for Mary Wilson and her ``fake Supremes'' in the early 1980's and, later, as road manager and gofer for the myriad combinations of former Temptations as they tried, often pathetically, to regain their lost glory. Admitting that ruthless Motown founder Berry Gordy, ``one of the biggest legit pimps in the world,'' used him to spy on some of the performers, Turner also doesn't dismiss rumors of his affairs with both Gordy and Eddie Kendrick. The author tells (and, in some cases, retells) all, from the early days of Diana Ross and her now legendary ambition to Paul Williams's 1973 suicide; from Gordy's alleged confrontation with the mob to the sad post-Motown stories of Mary Wells, Martha Reeves, and Marvin Gaye—whom Turner claims to have helped ``dress in drag,'' complete with wigs and female underwear. The infighting, backstabbing, carousing, and profligacy of the Motown stars receive a lot of attention here, highlighted by David Ruffin's drug problems and his death by apparent overdose in June 1991. Ruffin's funeral, presided over by Louis Farrakhan and paid for by Michael Jackson (Turner takes time to critique the floral arrangements), became a macabre circus as Kendrick was arrested for failing to pay child support and the corpse's patent- leather-and-rhinestone shoes were removed for enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Turner does lots of dirty laundry, little of it coming clean- -and he pays no serious attention either to Motown's music or to its role in the history of the American entertainment business. (Photographs—not seen.)

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 1992

ISBN: 1-56025-034-8

Page Count: 288

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992

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.