Splendid popular history. (Illustrated throughout)
A spirited, stimulating account of how the cure for the feared disease was found, lost, and found again.
Scurvy can strike anyone whose diet lacks vitamin C, writes naval historian Bown (Sightseers and Scholars, not reviewed), but it became a scourge during the Age of Sail, when perhaps two million seafarers died from its effects. The author pursues the disease’s history on two fronts: how scurvy’s treatment hinged on the slow evolution of medical science, and the pivotal role played by the social and political connections of those proposing remedies for the disease. In fleet prose, Bown introduces both drama and incredulity into the mix. Lemon juice was used to defeat scurvy as early as 1593, and mariners of the Dutch East India Company drank it routinely into the 1630s. By the end of the 17th century, however, “the notion that scurvy was caused by foul vapors or an imbalance in the bodily humours had replaced the practical, commonsensical observations of seamen, much to the detriment of mariners.” James Lind, a ship’s surgeon who conducted controlled experiments, identified citrus juice as the cure for scurvy in 1753, but his work was contradicted by other respected, influential physicians who had the ear of men with the power to do something about the conditions that caused the disease . . . and did the wrong thing. Although the explorer James Cook, who had an instinctive regard for hygiene and diet, led scurvy-free voyages in the 1760s and ’70s, he was unsure about the most effective antiscorbutic. Not until 1795, when fashionable and well-connected physician Gilbert Blane persuaded naval authorities to issue daily rations of lemon juice to all sailors was scurvy conquered once and for all. Bown also describes how the disease played a significant role in international affairs, particularly in the outcomes of the American Revolution and the defeat of the French navy by the British in the late 18th century.
Splendid popular history. (Illustrated throughout)Pub Date: March 17, 2004
ISBN: 0-312-31391-8
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2004
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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