Fast claiming his place as one of the country's finest natural history writers, Pyle (Thunder Tree, 1993) takes to the hills in search of Bigfoot in this absorbing, classily written field report. Sasquatch, Dzonoqua, Oman, Bigfootthat short-necked, beetle- browed creature with a bad case of BOhad caught Pyle's fancy when he was in college 25 years ago. Was it a relict species of Gigantopithecus, the huge Pleistocene primate of southeast Asia, or ``just a modern manifestation of the medieval Green Manthe wild counterpart to our domestic selves that all folks seem to need''? Or something else altogether that roams the deep-wooded parts of the Pacific Northwest? Pyle treks through the wilder stretches of that realmthe roadless area along the Dark Divide, the deep woods of the Indian Heaven Wilderness Area, any area with Bigfoot credentialsand though he never meets the beast, he does come across some mighty big footprints and hears eerie, unidentifiable screams in the night. He meets with Bigfoot professionals and eccentrics, quizzes the local and Native populations about their perspectives on the big guy, combs government documents for clues. All along the way, Pyle sings the glories of the land, its birds and butterflies and snails and stones. And there are plenty of times when he comes across environmental desecration: dirt bike gouging of fragile trails, trash strewn about, and the hideous consequences of clear-cutting a forest. By the end of the book, Bigfoot has become for Pyle an indicator specie, a synecdoche: a wild creature, no doubt, but also testimony to the wildness of the place. If the Bigfoot drama is ever laid to rest, cautions Pyle, all the way-backcountry will likely be gone as well. Pyle makes all the right connections. Best of all, he loves a good mystery and is smart enough, open and radical enough, to never say never. (Author tour)
Pub Date: July 27, 1995
ISBN: 0-395-44114-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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