Another miraculous prescription for mental and physical health, this time with sex as the cure-all. Clinical psychoneurologist and prolific author Pearsall (Ten Laws of Lasting Love, 1993; Making Miracles, 1991, etc.) has discovered—or perhaps invented would be a more accurate word—a new field of medicine that he dubs psychoneurosexuality, or PNS, which explores the relationship among the brain, the mind, the immune system, and sexuality. He begins by explaining the theory of PNS, arguing that it goes beyond Dr. Bernie Siegel's self- healing approach (Love, Medicine and Miracles, 1986) and Dr. David Spiegel's research on the value of social support for sick people (Living Beyond Limits, 1993) to focus on the healing power of an intimate two-person relationship. Such a relationship, he asserts, can help ameliorate all illnesses, but it is especially useful in dealing with old age, heart disease, and cancer. Next, Pearsall attacks what he calls the domination of the ``sex syndicate,'' self-styled experts in the mechanics of sex who in his view have overlooked the power of intimacy and the meaning of love. He concludes with a how-to section on becoming a sexual healer, which involves identifying one's own sexual style, determining one's sexual fitness, and following a weekly three- part sexual workout that consists of ten minutes of shared laughter (he provides a dozen unfunny sex jokes as ``laughrodisiacs''), ten minutes of weeping, and thirty minutes of ``erotorobics'' with one's partner. Couples are urged to take the Pearsall Psychological Inventory, included in the appendix, to discover their potential capacity for sexual healing. There is a real message here about human relationships, but it's swamped by numerous and repetitious lists, the too-cute made-up expressions, and the pseudoscientific jargon. A clear case of overkill.
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-517-59440-4
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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