An engaging and offbeat exploration of the tea trade by English travel-writer Goodwin, whose two grandmothers—Granny Eileen with her tea caddy from India, filled with Keemun and Lapsang Souchong; Granny Goodwin with her tea caddy from China, filled with Assam and Darjeeling—gave him an early introduction to the ritual and romance of tea. Goodwin's journey around the tea trade, which has left its ``scattered trail across the atlases and the history books,'' begins in Hong Kong, where he tracks down the elusive and eccentric ``Professor Tea.'' Then it's on to mainland China for stops in the once-busy tea-trading ports of Canton, Amoy, and Fuzhou; in the Wuyi Mountains, home of the first tea known in Europe; and in Hangzhou, capital of the green tea province. Goodwin carries with him a small library on tea, dipping into it from time to time to share stories, facts, and other choice bits with the reader. A skilled traveler as well as a talented writer, he develops contacts and picks their brains everywhere he goes— no small feat in China. Then he heads for Calcutta (detouring briefly in the Boston of 1773—for Goodwin journeys through both space and time), where the world's biggest tea auctions are held. He visits the tea gardens of Darjeeling and the Dooars for a fascinating look at how tea is grown and processed in postimperial India. Finally, the journey ends in London, giving Goodwin the opportunity for a brief but delightful sketch of the social history of tea in Great Britain. Entertaining and elegant—perhaps not everyone's cup of tea, but boasting far more flavor than the average travel book.
Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1991
ISBN: 0-394-57941-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1991
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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