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TRANSPORT LOGISTICS

Name: TRANSPORT LOGISTICS
Author: Issa Baluch
ISBN: 994803139-3

PAST, PRESENT AND PREDICTIONS

by Issa Baluch ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 20, 2005

Well researched, authoritative and accessible, but a wide reach makes for some tantalizingly brief sketches.

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Baluch, founder of Dubai-based Swift Freight International, draws on decades of freight-forwarding experience in an ambitious work that emphasizes the importance of logistics in the movement of goods and people.

As the subtitle hints, Baluch combines three books in one. Part I summarizes historical logistical challenges, including the construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza, Hannibal’s crossing of the Alps, construction of the Panama Canal and the D-Day invasion. Balancing these marvels of logistics are accounts of failures, notably the German fiasco at the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II and the more recent burst of the dot-com bubble. The brevity of these well researched and documented descriptions will frustrate curious readers. The discussion of the Great Wall of China, which the author says is â€œunrivalled by any other structure in the world,” takes up fewer than five pages of text. Understandably, Baluch has more to say when he discusses the present state of trade-logistics systems. He spotlights the transport logistics climate in five developing countries: Egypt, China, India, South Africa and Dubai. He focuses on the transport infrastructures of each country while highlighting distinctive issues such as the high tolls for China’s truckers and the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Given the author’s origin, it’s not surprising that the portions of the text devoted to Dubai are the most thorough. Baluch’s predictions for the future include a familiar discussion of alternative energy sources and reasonable recommendations concerning the expansion of railways in the Middle East and Africa. He also predicts the expanded use of magnetic levitation (Maglev) for transportation, and the use of underground pipelines that move cargo with pneumatic pressure. He ominously forecasts a coming age of neurotechnology, â€œthe ultimate business weapon and competitive resource,” but quickly drops the subject in favor of more pressing needs, such as an increase in efficiency in container ships.

Well researched, authoritative and accessible, but a wide reach makes for some tantalizingly brief sketches.

Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2005

ISBN: 994803139-3

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010

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.