In this sturdy collection, men and women removed from society face nature at its most primordial.
An eclectic, at times gripping anthology of adventure writing, featuring mostly Americans and Western Europeans in search of danger and excitement.
Willis (Epic, not reviewed) has culled 13 stories of survival and exploration from a variety of diverse sources, including books, Web sites, and periodicals. From Edward Marriott’s story of shark fishing in Nicaragua with local residents, to A Rumor of War author Philip Caputo’s safari to view the Tsavo lions of The Ghost and the Darkness fame, to renowned adventurer Reinhold Messner’s run-in with the mythical Yeti in Tibet, heart-pounding moments come fast and furious. Admittedly, some pieces fall short; among the particularly disappointing entries are Val Plumwood’s story of surviving a crocodile attack (overshadowed by a rambling diatribe on “ecofeminism”) and Sy Montgomery’s anticlimactic tale of studying dolphins and encountering death in the form of a local boy’s drowning on the Amazon River. However, armchair explorers will revel in accounts such as that of Rolf Potts’s trek by foot into the Libyan Desert or the heroic rescue efforts undertaken in the 1996–97 Vende Globe sailing race, chronicled here by Derek Lundy. Stories of the struggle for survival at sea are further represented by Michael Finkel’s account of a shared passage with Haitians bound by ship for the US, as well as a dramatic recounting by Neil Hanson of the infamous late-19th-century shipwreck of the Mignonette and the horrible choice that its crew made to survive.
In this sturdy collection, men and women removed from society face nature at its most primordial.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 1-56025-299-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2000
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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