by Betsy L. Howell ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 25, 2007
Graceful and memorable.
To better understand her father and great-great-grandfather, a daughter unravels their lives as soldiers.
“Acoustic shadows” refers to a phenomenon in which, due to geographic anomalies, an observer cannot hear sounds, such as those of battle, even though they are taking place a short distance away. Similarly, Howell spent her entire childhood living under the same roof as her father but felt she hardly knew him. To the world, her father was a handsome, good-natured veteran, but to his family, he was a hopeless alcoholic, often withdrawn and extremely reticent about his experiences during World War II and the Korean War. To understand and eventually accept her father and his weaknesses, the author set out to learn everything she could about his life during war. Howell contacted surviving members of his unit and pieced together a chronology of his experiences through the memories of others. Simultaneously, through her great-great-grandfather’s Civil War journals, she gained insight into his soldiering experiences. She even donned facial hair and engaged in Civil War re-enactments, retracing her ancestor’s route with the 72nd Illinois, a unit that took part in the Battle of Franklin and the Siege of Vicksburg. During these sections, Howell’s writing is at its most expressive. She has an eye and ear for nature, readily conjuring the wildlife surrounding her as she travels down the Mississippi River and through the South. She writes beautifully about the Civil War as well, using her ancestor’s eyewitness accounts to frame vivid evocations of a Civil War campaign. However, readers may lose interest during the more introspective sections of her personal journey.
Graceful and memorable.Pub Date: April 25, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-979-27160-1
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
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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