The world's smartest person—or at least the one with the highest IQ (228), according to the Guinness Book of Records—tells you everything you wanted to know about everything. Drawn mostly from vos Savant's popular ``Ask Marilyn'' column in Parade magazine, the author's succinct yet eloquent answers to letters on myriad subjects—grouped here into topics ranging from ``morals and ethics'' to ``war and peace'' to ``computers'' to ``philosophy''- -show a quicksilver mind at work, and are a delight. Not surprisingly, given her reliance on logic (Q: ``Isn't it possible that some things cannot be explained by pure logic?'' A: ``Yes, but I'd say that's because language fails us rather than logic''), vos Savant's strong suit lies in mathematical and logical challenges (one of which, based on the ``which-door?'' conundrum of TV's Let's Make a Deal, made national headlines), but her talent for aphorism helps her grope her way through more ambiguous subjects (Q: ``Can you differentiate wisdom from knowledge?'' A: ``Knowledge tells you when you're on a one-way street; wisdom tells you to look both ways before you cross it''), and she scatters enough knowledge-trivia (Q: ``Why is the speed of the earth's rotation constant?'' A: ``It isn't—it's slowing down gradually. I just hope that when it finally comes to a stop, it's on a Saturday'') to ensure that readers learn something while they're having fun—as they assuredly will. (Thirty-seven illustrations—not seen.)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-312-08136-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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