by Allan Glass ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
This account features an important perspective on a volatile moment of American history, but fails to showcase some of its...
In this debut memoir, a writer narrates his last summer before being drafted and the staggering choice he soon faced.
During the summer of 1967, all that Glass and his best friend, Keith, cared about were plans to travel up the East Coast while surfing beaches from Miami to New York. The Vietnam War was nothing more than a topic to be avoided around parents and certain friends. After buying an antique hearse, the two became temporary local celebrities before eventually setting off in a VW that Keith stole in a momentary act of teenage rebellion. They made their way through parties, diners, and girls across the mid-Atlantic, before meeting the beautiful Barbara, who ended up becoming Glass’ girlfriend. Then he received news that due to slipping grades and skipped classed, he would be drafted. Suddenly without a future, Glass headed into basic training in South Carolina and then to a base on the West Coast, but with no surfing in the sun as he had often dreamed. At this point, more than halfway through the account, the memoir finally reveals itself to be the exciting recollections of a deserter. For months, he slipped in and out of the Army bureaucracy and jail as he struggled with the idea of abandoning the base for the counterculture of San Francisco before making a final, life-changing decision. Glass skillfully captures the tense mood among forced recruits, watching those who resisted get dragged away. He also explores abuse at the Presidio with great care, narrating a near uprising among soldiers. Unfortunately, the work’s first half weighs down this intriguing material. Details of beaches and cars and stiff dialogue take up far too much space. (Most exchanges do not advance plot or character development: “I can’t believe we are finally going!” “This car really has a lot more power than my old one.”) By the thrilling, but far too abrupt conclusion, it is clear that the book has left some great opportunities on the side of the road.
This account features an important perspective on a volatile moment of American history, but fails to showcase some of its best moments.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-5255-2733-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by William Strunk & E.B. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1972
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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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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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