Broad in scope, perceptively organized, and enriched with fascinating entries.
An atypically ruminative survey of tall buildings and structures worldwide.
“There are some good reasons for building up, and a few bad ones as well.” Going for a thematic rather than chronological approach, Craigie groups his several dozen examples by common needs or qualities—beginning with “Security” (the tower of Jericho, the lighthouse at Alexandria, and castles from Edinburgh to Osaka) and going on to celebrate architectural expressions of “Beauty,” “Utility,” and even “Spirituality” as well as “Rivalry” and conspicuous “Luxury.” Along with mixing customary monuments, from the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Burj Khalifa, with distinctive but potentially less familiar constructions like the Tokyo Skytree and Djamaâ El Djazaïr in Algiers, the world’s tallest minaret (not to mention some humongous smokestacks and no fewer than three leaning towers in Italy), he tucks in topic-expanding sidebars on, for instance, totem poles, women architects such as South Africa’s Malika Walele, and ways in which those from marginalized groups are impacted by safety issues in public housing. Following a final roundup of environmentally sustainable towers that includes a profile of Harare’s Eastgate Centre, which is modeled after African termite mounds and, he notes, “uses only 10 percent of the electricity of a similar building with air-conditioning,” he closes with select but appropriate resources for budding tourists or architects. Fu’s finely detailed inside and outside views greatly enhance the generous suite of grand, sharply reproduced color photos.
Broad in scope, perceptively organized, and enriched with fascinating entries. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 11-13)Pub Date: Sept. 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-4598-2188-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
The author of The Snake Scientist (not reviewed) takes the reader along on another adventure, this time to the Bay of Bengal, between India and Bangladesh to the Sundarbans Tiger Preserve in search of man-eating tigers. Beware, he cautions, “Your study subject might be trying to eat you!” The first-person narrative is full of helpful warnings: watch out for the estuarine crocodiles, “the most deadly crocodiles in the world” and the nine different kinds of dangerous sharks, and the poisonous sea snakes, more deadly than the cobra. Interspersed are stories of the people who live in and around the tiger preserve, information on the ecology of the mangrove swamp, myths and legends, and true life accounts of man-eating tigers. (Fortunately, these tigers don’t eat women or children.) The author is clearly on the side of the tigers as she states: “Even if you added up all the people that sick tigers were forced to eat, you wouldn’t get close to the number of tigers killed by people.” She introduces ideas as to why Sundarbans tigers eat so many people, including the theory, “When they attack people, perhaps they are trying to protect the land that they own. And maybe, as the ancient legend says, the tiger really is watching over the forest—for everyone’s benefit.” There are color photographs on every page, showing the landscape, people, and a variety of animals encountered, though glimpses of the tigers are fleeting. The author concludes with some statistics on tigers, information on organizations working to protect them, and a brief bibliography and index. The dramatic cover photo of the tiger will attract readers, and the lively prose will keep them engaged. An appealing science adventure. (Nonfiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-618-07704-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In this glossy photo essay, the author briefly recounts the study and exploration of the moon, beginning with Stonehenge and concluding with the 1998–99 unmanned probe, Lunar Prospector. Most of the dramatic photographs come from NASA and will introduce a new generation of space enthusiasts to the past missions of Project Mercury, Gemini, and most especially the moon missions, Apollo 1–17. There are plenty of photographs of various astronauts in space capsules, space suits, and walking on the moon. Sometimes photographs are superimposed one on another, making it difficult to read. For example, one photograph shows the command module Columbia as photographed from the lunar module and an insert shows the 15-layer space suit and gear Neil Armstrong would wear for moonwalking. That’s a lot to process on one page. Still, the awesome images of footprints on the moon, raising the American flag, and earthrise from the moon, cannot help but raise shivers. The author concludes with a timeline of exploration, Web sites, recommended books, and picture credits. For NASA memorabilia collectors, end papers show the Apollo space badges for missions 11–17. Useful for replacing aging space titles. (Nonfiction. 8-11)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-57091-408-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
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