Nutcracker Nation : How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World

This entertaining book offers new insights into North America's love affair with The Nutcracker. It traces the ballet's history, describes its many variegated productions and explains its allure as a way for Americans to tell a story about their communal values and themselves. "Fascinating. . . . "Nutcracker" Nation mines the myriad ways that a single artwork can penetrate everyday life and reflect a nation's values. . . . [It] is informative and reflects years of worthy intellectual investigation." Nicholas Fox Weber, New York Times Book Review "One of the first focused examinations of why this particular Russian ballet has enjoyed such success in America . . . [written] engagingly . . . [and] with great feeling."Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post "Engaging and readable."Karen Campbell, Christian Science Monitor "Lively, readable prose. . . . [Fisher's] study might even provide a momentary antidote to the cash-register mentality that infects the holidays."Marcia B. Siegel, Boston Phoenix