Spending a year in Germany to write another monograph on the 18th century, Darnton (The Kiss of Lamourette, 1989, etc.; European History/Princeton) encountered history in the raw: the fall of the Berlin Wall and the movement toward German unification. Here, in describing these events, he proves himself a far lesser journalist than historian. The first chapter presents Darnton's ``Confessions of a Germanophobe'' and contains the irony of showing a scholar of the Enlightenment under long-term siege by the forces of his own prejudice and unreason. The text then rumbles along to cover developments that led up to the dancing on the Berlin Wall. Darnton is at his best when he forgets himself, listens to people, and tells the story—as he does increasingly in the second half of the book, which gives accounts of his travels, talks, and research in East Germany. Several reports are fresh and lively. And yet, in Darnton's own words, ``my greatest handicap was my ignorance. I have never spent much time studying German politics or culture. But at least I knew that I knew nothing, which is an advantage in a way.'' Perhaps—but not when language barriers or cultural misreadings hinder understanding. Darnton misses much of the heartbeat in Germany's gentle revolution. In Berlin, for instance, he has trouble catching on to the city's paradoxical brand of wit, which delights in proudly self-deprecating humor. Lacking cohesion, this reads frequently like an afterthought, with the additional flaw of placing the historian in conflict with the journalist.
Pub Date: June 3, 1991
ISBN: 0-393-02970-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Norton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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