by William Shawcross ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1974
Shawcross, a London Sunday Times correspondent uses Kadar essentially as the basis for an anti-Communist treatise, although the book contains valuable material about the pre-World War II Hungarian Party. By 1948 Communism, Shawcross thinks, was worse than Fascism, going downhill since the Red Army arrived along with the Muscovites of whom a "fat vulgar Jew," Zoltan Vas, was the first. About Kadar himself, an "anonymous apparatchik, a gray man in a gray suit," a quite detestable type whom no one dared befriend, Shawcross seems ambivalent yet sympathetic, alibiing his most flagrant Stalin-period crimes and subsequent lesser nastinesses. There are bits about his humility (Kadar was the bastard son of a kulak and a chambermaid), his dislike of airplanes, his chess-playing, his knowledge of the national temperament — the image of a relatively decent fellow. Rakosi, "all things to all men" and Stalin's postwar head-of-state puppet, is the bad guy, along with "the fat vulgar Jew." However, Shawcross spares no details of Kadar's role in convincing his best friend Rajk to "confess" during the 1948 purges; Rajk was hanged, and Kadar continued to climb. He had spent the Depression infiltrating the Social Democrats, who themselves were collaborating with the local fascists. It's material like this — despite a "this would never happen in England" tone and a clutter of cafe stories — that makes this a useful and critical political biography.
Pub Date: April 1, 1974
ISBN: 0297767984
Page Count: -
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1974
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by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother edited by William Shawcross
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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More by E.T.A. Hoffmann
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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More by Ludwig Bemelmans
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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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