An entertaining account packed with fascinating facts.
Wide-ranging examination of the human voice, drawing on the fields of anatomy, child development, linguistics, psychology, anthropology and cultural studies.
Karpf (The War After, not reviewed), a British journalist, BBC broadcaster and sociologist, delved into the professional literature on the subject and conducted some 50 interviews with people about their own voices and those of their friends and relatives. In her view, the voice deserves close study because it helps define us as human beings. In her words, “As animals with smell, so are humans with voices.” She explains the evolution of the vocal apparatus and discusses pitch, volume, tempo and modulation. She looks at the impact of the mother’s voice on her unborn child and how different voices are employed in different contexts—e.g., speaking to children, pets, colleagues, members of the opposite sex, et al.—and she explores the impact of culture and gender on the voice, the differences in men’s and women’s voices, how these are changing and what these differences and changes reveal about societies. Her interviews uncover people’s feelings about their own voices, how they use their voices and what they like and dislike about other people’s voices. Especially interesting is her analysis of the voices of political leaders, from Hitler, FDR and Churchill, to Bush, Gore and Kerry; her conclusion: Rhetoric is dead, and success now requires sounding like a buddy.
An entertaining account packed with fascinating facts.Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2006
ISBN: 1-58234-299-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2006
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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