bookshelf

MY LIFE IN POLITICS

Name: MY LIFE IN POLITICS
Author: Willy Brandt
ISBN: 0-670-84435-7

by Willy Brandt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1992

bookshelf

In a rambling but informative memoir, the former chancellor of West Germany and ex-mayor of Berlin details his substantial role in the politics of postwar Europe. With its original German edition published in 1989, just prior to reunification, Brandt's account—though more comprehensive than his People and Politics (1978)—loses force given the subsequent transformation of his homeland, even though a preface and postscript have been added to acknowledge the changes. After working tirelessly for the Social Democrats as an observer and journalist while exiled in Scandinavia during the Nazi period, Brandt returned to West Berlin in 1948, rising steadily through the political ranks to become mayor in 1957, foreign minister in 1966, and, ultimately, West Germany's chancellor in 1969. Brandt also remained chairman of the Social Democrats until 1987—despite being forced to resign as head of state in a 1974 spy scandal. That scandal and other historical highlights, such as the building of the Berlin Wall, are discussed at length here, with special attention paid to Brandt's extensive dealings with world leaders, and to his development of a pragmatic politics that enabled his country to find its own voice in East-West affairs and to normalize relations with Soviet-controlled East Germany. Covering a broad spectrum of political events in the postwar period, Brandt's perspective as conveyed through anecdotes and analyses is that of a quintessential insider, but it's also that of a man keenly interested in the future of both his divided nation and the whole of Europe. An ambitious, sometimes lively appraisal of foreign policy and postwar politics. (Thirty-two pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-670-84435-7

Page Count: 528

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.