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Link to original content: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/a-j-liebling2/chicago-second-city/
A blast- at the windy city, as a New Yorker correspondent (where these pieces had their original appearance) offers an outlander's insights on some of her institutions, attitudes, and overstated claims to fame. From the dinginess of her appearance, to the civic self-approbation of her gestures, from the purely quantitative approach and the "first or nothing" psychology which discolors her thinking habits, this goes on to her leading citizens- Insull and Capone and the "miasmic influence" of Colonel McCormick; her saloons and her race tracks; her social life- "round-robbinical"-limited and exhausting; her theatres and stores which reflect a certain distrust of native produce; her press and industry; the disgraceful housing conditions- and the racial feeling it helps to stimulate; the University of Chicago and the easy way to an I.B.M. tabulated degree; etc., etc. An anatomy, with precision instruments and more than a little wicked humor, this in its remorseless revelations should amuse where it does not insult.
Pub Date: June 23, 1952
ISBN: 0803280351
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1952
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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