A heartwarming delight.
A celebrated long-distance open-water swimmer recounts the amazing water-rescue canines at an Italian training school.
When Cox—a dog lover and author of Swimming to Antarctica, among other books—happened across a video of a Newfoundland fearlessly leaping from a rescue helicopter into a lake to save a drowning man, she was intrigued. Most canines “are terrified of loud noises,” and the large, shambling Newfoundlands she had known had never struck her as especially agile. Noting that the dog was part of the Sculoa Italiana Cani Salvataggio, the Italian School of Rescue Dogs, Cox decided to investigate. She flew to Milan to meet the school’s vice president, Donatella Pasquale, and her 2-year-old Newfoundland, Al. Pasquale had trained many dogs, including Alyssha, another Newfoundland that had become a lifesaving legend. Al, however, confounded Pasquale due to the slowness of her progress as well as the way she was distracted by everything from insects and ducks to swimmers. In the weeks that followed, Cox shadowed the SICS members to learn how the dogs became water rescuers and swam with the canines to get a sense of what she discovered was an endurance swimmer–like relationship to the water. She also witnessed as a nervous Pasquale took the sometimes-willful Al to be certified by the Italian Coast Guard as a rescue dog. It was only after Al passed that Pasquale realized her dog’s distractedness was actually a manifestation of her extreme sensitivity to signals, such as raised wings and arms. She believed other living beings were telling her that they needed to be rescued. Engagingly told in simple yet eloquent language, this unique story about the human-canine bond—and, in particular, one woman’s belief in an apparently difficult but ultimately exceptional dog—is a treat for animal lovers of all ages.
A heartwarming delight.Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-31937-6
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.
Documenting perilous times.
In his most recent behind-the-scenes account of political power and how it is wielded, Woodward synthesizes several narrative strands, from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the 2024 presidential campaign. Woodward’s clear, gripping storytelling benefits from his legendary access to prominent figures and a structure of propulsive chapters. The run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is tense (if occasionally repetitive), as a cast of geopolitical insiders try to divine Vladimir Putin’s intent: “Doubt among allies, the public and among Ukrainians meant valuable time and space for Putin to maneuver.” Against this backdrop, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham implores Donald Trump to run again, notwithstanding the former president’s denial of his 2020 defeat. This provides unwelcome distraction for President Biden, portrayed as a thoughtful, compassionate lifetime politico who could not outrace time, as demonstrated in the June 2024 debate. Throughout, Trump’s prevarications and his supporters’ cynicism provide an unsettling counterpoint to warnings provided by everyone from former Joint Chief of Staff Mark Milley to Vice President Kamala Harris, who calls a second Trump term a likely “death knell for American democracy.” The author’s ambitious scope shows him at the top of his capabilities. He concludes with these unsettling words: “Based on my reporting, Trump’s language and conduct has at times presented risks to national security—both during his presidency and afterward.”
An engrossing and ominous chronicle, told by a master of the form.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2024
ISBN: 9781668052273
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2024
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