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FIFTY YEARS OF EUROPE

AN ALBUM

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dramatic changes in Europe have produced a virtual industry of publications. Now comes the book we've been waiting for: master travel writer Morris's (Sydney, 1992; O Canada, 1992, etc.) uncannily astute reflections on how Europe has developed over the past 50 years. It is 51 years exactly since Morris, then named James, a young Anglo-Welsh soldier in Trieste, first took notes on his European experience. Although Morris's 1972 gender change is not discussed directly in these writings, they offer a deeply personal and subjective view of a continent observed by a perceptive eyewitness who, it so happens, has had the added advantage of experiencing it as both man and woman. Morris's is a truly unique voice. The book consists of vignettes loosely structured under five chapter headings. It begins with ``Holy Symptoms,'' characteristically serious but witty responses to the role of paganism and Christianity as ``universal defining factors'' in European history. Morris, an ardent Welsh patriot, brings a singular understanding to the subject of Europe's ethnic and geographic diversity and the bloody business of nation-building in the next two sections. The final chapters cover Europe's increasing homogenization and the six attempts to unify the continent, from the Holy Roman Empire to the European Union. Morris's understanding of both the follies and the dignity of patriotism lie behind her ability to laugh at and delight in others' idiosyncrasies. With the Germans, Morris admits to having a love-hate relationship, and her pieces on Germany's rich cultural legacy set against its Nazi past are among the most moving in the book. The glory of France she finds ``insidiously seductive'' because it strikes her as ``perfectly humorless,'' whereas it is the ``sycophancy of older Austrians'' that she most dislikes. For every nation, for every region or town, from Finland to Greece, Morris delivers a precise, moving, and eloquent reflection. Fifty Years of Europe is a delight.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997

ISBN: 0-679-41610-2

Page Count: 384

Publisher: Villard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1997

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THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

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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NUTCRACKER

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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