This weighty (that's poundage, not profundity) miscellanea of the comments of WFB, as Buckley signs himself, spans three years of National Review, and Washington Star syndicated columns plus the occasional piece for Esquire or Redbook. Here are Buckley's thoughts on detente ("I, for one, yearn for the days of the Cold War"), the 1972 presidential campaign (the best defense of the Nixon camp was a vicious offense against McGovern), Watergate ("to remove a President is to remove the sovereign"). Buckley also continues his friendly feud with Galbraith and Schlesinger in these pages, initiates a not so friendly libel suit against Gore Vidal, cheers on sister Priscilla for her slap at Ti-Grace Atkinson, ridicules Germaine Greer (who creamed Buckley in an earlier debate) and from time to time jumps on Jack Anderson. His solutions to the Mideast crisis include annexing Israel and raising the tariff on OPEC oil. There's some flapdoodle about "the lash of black nationalism," several polemics on the fights of unborn fetuses and on-going general hostility toward students ("kids")—those pot-smoking, sexually immoral, liberal bigots who supported McGovern. And so on. Mr. Buckley is an arrogant, facile wit and could be considered a very amusing writer indeed if only one could be certain that no one took him seriously.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1975
ISBN: 0399115315
Page Count: 318
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1975
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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