Even the most ardent equestrian will have a hard time slogging through this trite collection. (24 b&w illustrations)
From the authors of several animal anthologies (Cats of Myth, 2000, etc.), a feeble ode to equines. Hoping to get at the heart of the “secret sharers of our soul,” the Hausmans collect legends and lore from around the world that contemplate the relationship between humans and horses. Some of the tales are engaging (“The Horse of Antar” pays spirited tribute to an Arabian), and some of the anecdotes are interesting (Jimmy Stewart rode the same horse in every Western), but the prose is poor and filled with stereotypes. The Arabian horse is hot-blooded like “her master”; the vaquero’s blood “held centuries of wisdom”; and an American mustang, Comanche, “presents an ancient paradigm—one that is as old as the sharpened point of steel.” So . . . about 200 years old? While the volume is billed as folklore, the authors clearly aren’t folklorists; among other mistakes, they erroneously conflate a Greek and a Navajo myth simply because both contain a horse motif. They do better when they focus on an individual animal or specific tale, such as the Thoroughbred, with a mouth so soft she could unscrew the lightbulb above her stall and drop it into her water bucket.
Even the most ardent equestrian will have a hard time slogging through this trite collection. (24 b&w illustrations)Pub Date: April 1, 2003
ISBN: 0-609-80846-X
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Three Rivers/Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2003
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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