Books

Saving Grace

The sad story behind a particular art collection

By:

My father was an inveterate collector, and over the years, he converted our house into a kind of museum. The first floor was literally filled with books, antique furniture, Oriental rugs, paintings and all of the accessories that make a space come alive. My father's taste was wide-ranging and impeccable, and best of all, none of the rooms were off-limits...

Books

Hidden in Plain Sight

The films of Michael Haneke let no one off the hook

By:

Robert Leiter

Several months ago, I began writing what's shaping up to be a series of articles about my reintroduction to the film world through the pleasures of home video technology and the ever-burgeoning field of cinema books. The re-evaluation process started six months ago, when I came to realize that my disillusionment with Hollywood action films and dim-witted comedies had caused...

Books

A Regular Sarah Bernhardt

By:

Robert Leiter

Though she lived well into the 20th century -- till 1923, in fact -- legendary French actress Sarah Bernhardt is these days a creature of the distant past, resting in a comfortable cocoon of myth. Part of her legend stems from the fact that many believe Marcel Proust and Henry James, two of the world's supreme novelists, based important characters...

Books

'Different, but Equally Valuable'

By:

Robert Leiter

Temple University Press has struck up a lovely relationship with our city -- and certain of its institutions -- that has led to the creation of several spiffy books for children (though older readers who are still young at heart can also join in and benefit). The prototype for what's now shaping up to be a series of sorts was...

Books

No Time Outs for Ruth Gruber

By:

Michael Elkin

The book of Ruth has a brio of biblical proportions: A prolific and popularly published author/journalist Ruth Gruber grabbed life at its most newsworthy, covering the Nuremberg Trials and serving as photojournalist witness of the troubled waters bridged by the Exodus in 1947 (a memorable accomplishment in itself, even if Paul Newman wasn't aboard). Gruber was also the Roosevelt administration's...