Simple malarkey, solely for the host of fans.
A ranking functionary of America’s most durable TV game show offers some fleeting peeks backstage for the edification of its apparently indefatigable devotees.
An echt Goodson-Todman production, The Price is Right has been on the air for some 35 years—so far. It remains essentially the same: antiquated and loud. The author has been with the show for 28 years—so far—as music director, writer and “contestant coordinator.” (That’s the guy who selects the jumping, screaming competitors who get the thrilling bid to “come on down” to the stage). Armed with such insider credentials, Blits tells stories about a few contestants and describes the work of the show’s grips, models, writers, producers, announcers and directors. He maintains a respectful distance, however, from long-time host Bob Barker, who retired in 2007, and who, on the basis of this text, must be viewed as some sort of television deity. The rules of the game remain unexplained; the author takes it for granted that readers already know how to score a car, a fridge, a jet ski, a lovely set of fashionable pickle forks, maybe even a combination freezer-hair dryer in designer colors. Blits lavishes upon a cheesy pop-culture program such superlatives as legendary, epic, renowned, brilliant and iconic. Perhaps The Price Is Right is in some way emblematic of an aspect of the American ethos, but this volume is a sophomoric, blatant puff piece. The vocabulary is easy; apparently the author has trouble with big words. Of course, as obviously intended, his offering will do well with all the enthusiasts.
Simple malarkey, solely for the host of fans.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-135011-5
Page Count: 256
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
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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