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THE WAY BACK TO AMERICA

Name: THE WAY BACK TO AMERICA
Author: Howell Woltz
ISBN: 978-1491042533

A 10-STEP PLAN TO RESTORE THE UNITED STATES TO CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

by Howell Woltz ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2014

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A call for restraining U.S. government and restoring it to its original, constitutional principles.
Woltz’s (Justice Denied, 2010) second turn at political analysis repeatedly invokes the concept of returning to the nation’s founding ideas. His assessment of what ails the country is familiar territory: the aggrandizement of the federal government at the expense of individual liberty; the rise of an entrenched political class fueled by special-interest money; and the abrogation of the “strict limits” that once defined the Constitution. The book covers what the author sees as a broad swath of governmental dysfunctions ripe for reform, such as the expansion of judicial and executive power, the federal government’s power to collect income taxes, campaign finance, and the ever-swelling power of the Federal Reserve. The argument’s basic connective tissue is that all these problems could be solved by rolling the government back to its “original” form: “Our design of government was basically perfect. We don’t have to reinvent it, we just have to go back to it. All that is required to bring us back from the brink of disaster is to return to that design, get back on the path, and force the federal government to live by our contract.” Not content to merely diagnose the nation’s troubles, Woltz offers 10 specific, multistep action plans to revive its health. Sometimes those prescriptions are too well-trodden and politically implausible to stir readers’ attention; for example, it’s unlikely that the direct election of senators will be repealed anytime soon, or that the gold standard will be reinstated. Also, in place of a concrete plan to achieve legislative reforms, he offers overly general calls to organize grass-roots campaigns. However, Woltz manages to combine his concept of constitutional fidelity with a powerful critique of corporate interests—a brand of libertarianism that’s not often represented in public discourse today.
An ambitious book that valorizes small government principles without kowtowing to big business, but sometimes lacks political practicability.

Pub Date: March 10, 2014

ISBN: 978-1491042533

Page Count: 202

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2014

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.