by Amy Gutmann & Jonathan D. Moreno ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 27, 2019
An academic, illuminating assessment of the past, present, and future forms of responsible public health care.
An analysis of how bioethics continue to affect modern American medicine.
“All stages of our lives are caught up in challenging ethical questions raised by modern medicine, health care, public health, and life science research,” write University of Pennsylvania president Gutmann (Identity in Democracy, 2003, etc.) and Moreno (Ethics/Univ. of Pennsylvania; Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans, 2016, etc.) in this astute examination of bioethics as it applies to America’s collective health. As a primer to their insightful discussion, the authors share relevant personal stories. Gutmann discusses her beloved grandmother’s conundrum involving a crucial medical decision, and Moreno discusses the blatant lack of clinical truth telling and “therapeutic privilege” at work during his mother’s ordeal with cancer. These poignant memories illuminate the greater problem of ethics in medicine. The authors’ three-part study begins with a comprehensive history of patient care as it progressed from an atmosphere of unquestioned physician opinion to more current viewpoints, where second opinions and collaborative clinical evaluations are more the norm. Gutmann and Moreno lucidly outline the differences between earlier eras in medicine, when a doctor’s “implicit permission to mislead, if not to lie outright” was openly accepted, and contemporary medicine, where healthier food “choice architecture” and mental health system reforms are just two examples of the radical shift in perception and patient self-empowerment. The authors are unafraid to address more disputable, “slippery slope” issues, many of which remain targeted by polarized political systems. They also respectfully discuss the idea of universal health care, organ donor matching and transplantation, physician-assisted suicide, the surging interest in genetic manipulation, and the deep ethical issues surrounding the neuroscience field. While the authors agree that great strides have been made through more focused attention on ethical clinical care, America falls critically short on achieving a system that is both affordable and accessible.
An academic, illuminating assessment of the past, present, and future forms of responsible public health care.Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-87140-446-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: May 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
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BOOK REVIEW
by Elijah Wald ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 25, 2015
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
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by Elijah Wald
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by Elijah Wald
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by Elijah Wald
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BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
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