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COWBOY AND SURGEON

Name: COWBOY AND SURGEON
Author: Bill Howland
ISBN: 978-1-4809-4358-2

A BIOGRAPHY OF BILL MAGLADRY, M.D.

by Bill Howland ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 17, 2017

A reverent but uneven effort of biographical portraiture.

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In a brief, debut biography, Howland presents the history of lifelong Californian Bill Magladry, a doctor, outdoorsman, horse rider, and skeet shooter.

The author traces the Magladry line all the way back to Scotland, but his subject was born on a ranch in Modesto, California, in 1923. The bank repossessed that land during the Great Depression, but Magladry’s father had employment as a fish planter for the Department of Patrol. A long “monograph about fish planting” follows, which the younger Magladry wrote later. Howland mentions that Magladry helped develop photos for photographer Ansel Adams, and also frequently brings up John Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist and pioneer of American environmentalism who was Magladry’s idol. Some stories demonstrate Magladry’s pursuit of sportsman activities, as when he became a member of the Fort Ord Skeet Team, but others are less flattering; for instance, on a trip to Scotland, he took over a tour guide’s lecture on John Muir to regale the group with tales of Muir in California. Howland assures readers that “Both the guide and the crowd were quite impressed with Bill’s knowledge,” but who actually enjoys a know-it-all stranger on a guided tour? At times, the information in this book is rich and intriguing. But despite its extensive accounts of Magladry’s wide-ranging life, it often squanders readers’ interest. It aims to be both a biography and an interview, but it simply feels inconsistent, as the biographer often cedes the floor to Magladry for long, quoted stretches. This back-and-forth leads to some confusion between first- and third-person perspectives, and between present and past tense. This could have been a sweeping, panoramic account, but instead it’s a disjointed and shallow grab bag of anecdotes, quotes, and genealogy.

A reverent but uneven effort of biographical portraiture.

Pub Date: Aug. 17, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-4809-4358-2

Page Count: 68

Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.

Review Posted Online: April 29, 2019

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.