Goodrich, a journalist growing restless with his life, fell upon the idea of building a car from a kit as a “visceral declaration of independence” from the everyday. He settled on the Caterham Super Seven, “based on a 1957 Lotus design.” His quest required a not inconsiderable commitment: the kit and the various necessary additions to it (including, for instance, a motor) added up to an investment of some $27,000. Even knowing that “kit-car builders are shadowed by error and calamity,” he plunged in. And in a discursive and generally charming narrative, he describes how, through an excited process of trial and error (and the advice of an experienced hand with the Seven), he eventually succeeded not only in building the car but in racing it, and learning “through my hands, in my marrow, that the journey, made rich by attentiveness and appreciation, matters far more than the destination.” Automotive fans are likely to find the tale engrossing; those interested in the origins of the do-it-yourself spirit may find Goodrich’s musings and the subject intriguing, and his frequent detours into everything from automotive history to philosophy are refreshingly frank and iconoclastic. (illustrated)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-06-019193-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1998
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
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
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