A remarkably comprehensive manual written, unfortunately, in turgid prose.
An exhaustive guide to the management, suppression, and ecological significance of forest fires.
Debut author Gboloo begins the first installment in his four volume series by outlining the destructiveness of global warming as attested by the most recent scientific findings. The link between climate change and forest fires is important: hotter temperatures can contribute to more fires, and the forests play a crucial role in rejuvenating ecologically embattled microclimates and absorbing carbon dioxide. Also, the devastation wrought by forest fires is considerable, measurable in the loss not only of trees, but economic resources and human life. Moreover, more than 80 percent of the world’s woodlands are vulnerable to fires. In some countries that lack of preparedness is a function of poverty, but in others, it’s the result of ignorance regarding forest-fire management. The author covers an extraordinary array of topics, including strategies for the prevention and suppression of wildfires, the causes of desertification, the salaries of fire wardens, and campfire safety. There is also a discussion of the evolution of forest-management theory in the United States as well as a study of the kinds of tree species that are the most fire resistant (paloverde, Chilean mesquite, willow acacia). The study uses charts, graphs, and photographs to illustrate the author’s points and opens with four forewords from prominent professionals from the forestry- and emergency-management industries. Gboloo’s knowledge of the subject is impressively encyclopedic—at one point, he provides an analysis of the management resources used in the most fire-prone states. Wildfire management is a multidisciplinary affair, and the author expertly discusses the scientific, ecological, and economic components of it. The prose, however, is both congested and meandering, and paragraphlong sentences defy easy interpretation. Also, the writing is almost mechanically academic and plodding: “Academic institutions are the champions on knowledge acquisition and application by graduating students who leave and apply their knowledge on the field.” This still remains a valuable resource for forestry professionals.
A remarkably comprehensive manual written, unfortunately, in turgid prose.Pub Date: March 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9983183-4-9
Page Count: 382
Publisher: Mindstir Media
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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