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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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