A lighthearted, boiled-down approach to looking back at French military history.
New author Palafox’s illustrated, sardonic sketch of the French and their unavailing military.
In this romp through French military history, Palafox sets the tone early with a comical illustration of Oscar Wilde smoking a long cigarette and musing aloud: “They could save a lot of money if they stopped paying people to surrender.” The author begins his survey of military history with the Battle of Tours in A.D. 732, where Charles Martel routed the Muslim invaders and earned the humorous nickname, Charles the Hammer. “So, let us all start out by freely acknowledging that we owe the French a big one on this,” Palafox says, tongue in cheek. “Without them, perhaps, all our women would be in burkas and all our men in turbans. And this’ll, hopefully, be the last positive thing said about the French in this book.” Next, the author reviews the major conflicts fought by the French, with witty accounts of each. Comically titled chapters—e.g., “How to be a Great French Military Commander,” “Famous French Fighting Songs” (intentionally left blank)—feature the Hundred Years’ War, the Religious Wars, World War I, World War II and others. Palafox combines just enough sugar with vinegar to produce a caricature of the French people and their military that’s funny and informative, without being bitter or overbearing. For example, his comparison of the Montreal Expos’ winning percentage to the French military’s win-loss record is amusing and educational. Hilarious, well-placed quotes—some biting, some benign—along with amusing black-and-white cartoon illustrations by Martel and historical summary charts, combine to create a breezy text that’s hard to put down.
A lighthearted, boiled-down approach to looking back at French military history.Pub Date: April 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-1493602100
Page Count: 234
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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