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OUR CHANGING WHITE HOUSE

Name: OUR CHANGING WHITE HOUSE
Author: Wendell Garrett
ISBN: 1-55553-222-5

edited by Wendell Garrett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 1995

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This collection of papers on historical aspects of the White House suffers from both a surplus and a deficit of information. These papers were originally presented at a 1992 symposium celebrating the 200th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone for the White House. Dedicating the book to the late Jacqueline Onassis, Garrett, senior vice president of Sotheby's in New York City, could also have used the help of her disciplined editor's hand. While there is material of interest here both for the lay reader and the scholar, we are introduced too many times to George Washington's active interest in the design of the ``President's House,'' architect James Hoban's inspiration for the design (Leinster House in Dublin), Louis Comfort Tiffany's redecoration under President Chester Arthur, and Charles McKim's role in renovating the White House in 1902 under President Theodore Roosevelt. On the other hand, there is a dearth of adequate schematics that would help the reader follow the changes as greenhouses came and went and offices moved from first floor to second floor to West Wing. Compensation comes in the form of stories about how the stone for the original White Housesandstone of nearby Aquia Creekwas quarried and cut and how the ``imperialistic'' look of the McKim renovation coincided with a more ``imperial America.'' The color and black-and-white photographs and drawings, many familiar, arouse as much curiosity as they satisfy about what the White House looked like over the course of its history. A cheerful but essentially insubstantial chapter confirms that White House employees are closemouthed about First Families. A pleasant volume that does perhaps all it needs to do, which is pique curiosity about the dignified building that symbolizes so much to the American peopleand that, with growing security concerns, may become less and less accessible.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 1995

ISBN: 1-55553-222-5

Page Count: 256

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995

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.