Classic Returns: Reprints, Updates, and Bargains
By Mike Rogers Aug 31, 2010This column has always been a smorgasbord: a little Philip K. Dick here, a little Simone Beck there. Yet that's never resulted in a bad lineup. Going forward, we'll include guest reveiws to add even more richness. Let's get busy.
Fiction
Cobb, Humphrey. Paths of Glory. Penguin Group (USA). (Classics). 2010. 190p. ISBN 9780143106111. pap. $15. F
Released in 1935, Cobb's anti-war story is probably better known now for the 1957 film version (just look at the cover above), which helped build Stanley Kubrick's reputation as a director. It tells the story of three World War I French soldiers executed to assuage the egos of their officers and to keep one commander from disgrace and a court martial. This is powerful, powerful stuff that hasn't lost any of its edge. This edition has an appendix featuring selections from Cobb's own diary as a soldier in the Great War. Match this with the Kubrick flick, and you'll have the makings of a good book/film discussion group.
Dick, Philip K. The King of the Elves: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick; Vol. 1, 1947-1952. Subteranean. Dec. 2010. 485p. ISBN 9781596063402. $40. SF
This first of five volumes of the late Dick's works sports 28 shorts and novellas, including his very first published story, "Beyond Lies the Wub." Extra to this edition are the author's notes on all the stories. Dick still commands a pretty loyal following and is one of those writers that all science fiction readers, both newbs and veterans, not to mention Blade Runner heads, eventually gravitate toward, so this is worth strong consideration.
Mantel, Hilary. Every Day Is Mother's Day. 225p. ISBN 9780312668037.
Mantel, Hilary. Vacant Possession. 242p. ISBN 9780312668044.
ea. vol: Picador. 2010. pap. $14. F
Released in 1985 and 1986, respectively, these are the Man Booker Prize winner's first two novels. Both follow Evelyn Axon, her wacko daughter Muriel, and their inept social worker, Isabel Field. Muriel is locked up at the end of the first novel and exacts her revenge on those that put her away in the second. Mantel's writing is an unusual but quite effective mix of the horrific and the comedic. With ten books to her credit, Mantel has a following, so check your catalog to see if you still have these.
Nonfiction
Beck, Simone. Food & Friends: Recipes and Memories from Simca's Kitchen. Penguin Group (USA). Nov. 2010. c.528p. illus. index. ISBN 9780140178173. pap. $18. COOKERY
Beck, or Simca to her acquaintances, met Julia Child in Paris in 1949. Their friendship lead to the writing of Child's monumental Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Beck released her own volume combining her memoires with recipes in 1991. With current health concerns about eggs, butter, etc., many of these recipes are cholesterol festivals, but substitute the bad with the healthy stuff, and they'll probably still taste pretty good. The recipes aside, the book has value because of Beck's remembrances, which will always be a feast for Child's many fans.
Compton, Neil. The Battle for the Buffalo River. Univ. of Arkansas. 2010. 481p. photogs. maps. index. ISBN 9781557289353. pap. $29.95. HIST
Empowered by the 1938 Flood Control Act, the U.S. Corps of Engineers launched a dam-building project across the country that was applauded by locals. When they set their sights on Arkansas's Buffalo River, however, a grassroots conservation movement lead by Compton aligned to stop them. The decade-long "battle" eventually drew in political heavyweights including Supreme Court justices and, eventually, President Nixon. Compton chronicled the struggle in this 1992 volume. This edition has a new foreword by Kenneth L. Smith , author of the Buffalo River Handbook. This would do equal duty in history and conservation collections.
Matthiessen, Peter. The Tree Where Man Was Born. Pengion Group (USA). (Classics). 2010. 276p. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780143106241. pap. $17. NATURE
A National Book Award finalist upon its initial release in 1972, this work chronicles several of Matthiessen's trips throughout East Africa. Using a part natural history, part travelog format, he chronicles the range of people he met (from native tribespeople to field biologists), the wildlife encountered, and the dramatic landscape of the countryside. Matthiessen is a graceful writer; the text sports an intro by Jane Goodall.
Guest Spot
Hobbs, Robert. Milton Avery. Hudson Hills. 2010. 263p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780933920958. $85. ART
Beginning with an insightful introduction by well-known art critic Hilton Kramer, Hobbs's volume is just as exquisite to behold as it is to read. The catalog both visually and textually introduces its audience to Avery's art and life. It includes a detailed account of his career, the importance of his relationship with wife Sally Michel, and his dealings with his Abstract Expressionist friends such as Mark Rothko, Adolph Gottlieb, and others. At the time of this reprint, Hobbs was an associate professor at Florida State University and has authored books on American artists Robert Smithson and Edward Hopper. The book is capped with a carefully considered chronology, bibliography, exhibition history, and index.
VERDICT From its smart 12"x 12" square format and 120 high-quality color plates to its well-researched content, this reprint of the original 1982 Whitney Museum of American Art retrospective on Avery (1885-1965) is an essential read for both art scholars and art lovers.-Jennifer H. Pollock, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib.
Kisluk-Grosheide, Daniëlle & Jeffrey Munger. The Wrightsman Galleries for French Decorative Arts, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art, dist. by Yale Univ. 2010. 272p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780300155204. $40. DEC ARTS
Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) curators Kisluk-Grosheide and Munger present a thorough reworking of their 1979 guide to the Wrightsman galleries. Dealing with the most outstanding grouping of 17th- and 18th-century French decorative arts outside of France, the book in hand eschews the room-by-room order of its predecessor and is instead organized by medium-wood paneling and furniture, bronze and mounted porcelain, chimney pieces, textiles and leather, porcelain, silver, and gold boxes. This arrangement shows stylistic developments within media and forms. An opening essay describes the history of French period room display at the Met and makes clear that these installations are evocative collections of objects in reconstructed paneled rooms, assembled one by one from many sources, not an actual historical collection.
VERDICT Beautifully done, with excellent photography and frequent details; the entries are models of accessibility backed with substantial scholarship and bibliography. For all arts collections.-Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Libs.
