In this sturdy collection, men and women removed from society face nature at its most primordial.
An eclectic, at times gripping anthology of adventure writing, featuring mostly Americans and Western Europeans in search of danger and excitement.
Willis (Epic, not reviewed) has culled 13 stories of survival and exploration from a variety of diverse sources, including books, Web sites, and periodicals. From Edward Marriott’s story of shark fishing in Nicaragua with local residents, to A Rumor of War author Philip Caputo’s safari to view the Tsavo lions of The Ghost and the Darkness fame, to renowned adventurer Reinhold Messner’s run-in with the mythical Yeti in Tibet, heart-pounding moments come fast and furious. Admittedly, some pieces fall short; among the particularly disappointing entries are Val Plumwood’s story of surviving a crocodile attack (overshadowed by a rambling diatribe on “ecofeminism”) and Sy Montgomery’s anticlimactic tale of studying dolphins and encountering death in the form of a local boy’s drowning on the Amazon River. However, armchair explorers will revel in accounts such as that of Rolf Potts’s trek by foot into the Libyan Desert or the heroic rescue efforts undertaken in the 1996–97 Vende Globe sailing race, chronicled here by Derek Lundy. Stories of the struggle for survival at sea are further represented by Michael Finkel’s account of a shared passage with Haitians bound by ship for the US, as well as a dramatic recounting by Neil Hanson of the infamous late-19th-century shipwreck of the Mignonette and the horrible choice that its crew made to survive.
In this sturdy collection, men and women removed from society face nature at its most primordial.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56025-299-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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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