Fresh from a 12-year engagement in the pages of The Atlantic--65 wonderfully witty "first encounters" of the great and near great, the famous and infamous, throughout history. Brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed--with superb full-color drawings. A book to give as a gift and to enjoy and treasure as one's own.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This collaborative effort, which began as a feature in the Atlantic, brings together 65 short essays that describe first meetings between two well-known people. Nancy Sorel's engaging text is illustrated by her husband Edward's witty and stylish color drawings. We learn that when FDR told French wartime leader Charles de Gaulle he could not support him because he hadn't been elected, the touchy French officer replied that Joan of Arc had not been elected either. The Sorels have selected from diverse fields for their duos, including politics (Richard Nixon and Madame Mao), literature (Henry James and Rupert Brooke), theater (Paul Robeson and Peggy Ashcroft) and philosophy (Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir). Many couples were chosen tongue-in-cheek, for instance, the accidental encounter in an elevator between filmmaker Orson Welles and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, on whom Welles based his unflattering portrait in Citizen Kane. A browser's delight.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
These full-color drawings by Edward coupled with brief narrative texts by Nancy have been culled from the Atlantic. Among the most entertaining encounters is the chance meeting in an elevator between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst around the time Citizen Kane was released. After Hearst turns down Welles's chutzpah-laden invitation to the premiere, the director taunts him: ``Charles Foster Kane would have accepted.'' In another scenario, some of Al Capone's mugs kidnap musician Fats Waller at gunpoint and make him play for Scarface at a birthday bash. It's the Prohibition era, and the party lasts three days, after which ``Fats has acquired several thousand dollars in cash and a decided taste for vintage champagne.'' Other encounters, like that between Jean-Paul Marat and Charlotte Corday, don't end so happily. There are 65 encounters, and the Sorels make each one entertaining--and a few of them quite moving. (Book-of-the-Month Club selection) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Witty, Informative Resource for Culture Vultures,
By Eric H. Roth "ESL specialist" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: First Encounters: A Book of Memorable Meetings (Hardcover)
A delightful, informative, and witty collection of single page accounts of historic meetings between famous (and sometimes infamous) people. The illustrations, by New Yorker illustrator Edward Sorel, literally adds color and perspective. I've also found it helpful in throwing in some fun trivia in several conversations. I strongly recommend this beautiful book for culture vultures.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful,
By Anonymous (New Orleans) - See all my reviews
This review is from: First Encounters: A Book of Memorable Meetings (Hardcover)
I found this book a delight. The illustrations are truly splendid. I disagree with one of the previous reviewers: The text is not so much "lite" as simply light-hearted. Most of the persons mentioned are sufficiently familiar to be of considerable interest.
When I first looked at this book I thought it reminded me of the "Impossible Interviews" feature in the book "Vanity Fair: A Cavalcade of the 1920s and 1930s" (An anthology of that magazine when it was the wittiest, smartest, most entertaining thing ever.) Sure enough, when I read the introduction to "First Encounters", it turns out the authors were inspired by the "Impossible Interviews". (The "First Encounters" are people who really did meet and talk; among them are such interesting combinations as Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman, Sarah Bernhardt and Thomas Edison, Isak Denison and Marilyn Monroe). The "Impossible Interviews" were people who couldn't possibly have anything to say to each other; the funniest one was Greta "I vant to be alone" Garbo vs. Calvin "Cool Cal" Coolidge.) Anybody who loves the Vanity Fair collection will love First Encounters, and vice versa.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marvellous wit!,
By A Customer
This review is from: First Encounters: A Book of Memorable Meetings (Hardcover)
edward sorel has one of the best drawings on the newpapers, and nancy caldwell, text is wonderfully wit! A high level humour.
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