Befitting a creature with a heart weighing six tons, freelance writer and biologist Payne brings a lot of love, an encyclopedic knowledge, and an expansive imagination to this exquisitely written study of whales. Smitten by whales since 1967, the author here offers the fruits of his 27-year fascination with the biggest, perhaps most gentle animal ever to live on earth. Although advances in cetacean biology have been great over the past three decades, much of the whale's world remains obscure and rarified. Payne's particular talent is to be at home with both realms: he can sling equations with the best—in fact, he probably is the best—and he can creatively marvel at the unknowns, never too proud to say he hasn't got the answer, never unwilling to venture an explanation or two. A good portion of the book is spent by the waters of Argentina's Peninsula Valdes, an isolated whale hangout on the southern Atlantic, where Payne watches whales with his family, whose story is as beautifully handled as the delineation of the Patagonian landscape. Twined to this narrative are long essays on whale songs, diet, migration, bubble clouds, the impact of pollution, exploding harpoons, factory ships, ecotourism, whaling, and the poverty of imagination behind big-game hunting. Some of the most powerful writing chronicles a time when the author got deeply, sweetly involved with the rarest of large whales, the right. Payne has delivered more than the most dedicated whale enthusiast could ask for: a book of great beauty, integrity, and understanding, pure pleasure even if you can't tell a sperm from a killer.
Pub Date: May 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-02-595245-5
Page Count: 398
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1994
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
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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