Eighty-five short poems by women, many of them British but including such American luminaries as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Nikki Giovanni, mostly on facets of women's experiences as daughters, students, lovers, workers, wives, and mothers (relationships are absent from very few of these poems). Many of the entries are extremely personal, even confessional (60+ are in the first person); they tend to be politically correct and to probe negative experiences (the whine of victimization is audible in several), and are mostly quotidian and vernacular. Still, there are a few gems: ``The Way We Live'' by Kathleen Jamie is a Whitmanesque celebration of the world's random splendor and squalor; Maura Dooley's ``The Women of Mumbles Head'' is hypnotically musical; ``Anno Wreck Sick'' by Magi Gibson offers a stunning description of anorexia as a defense against unwanted sex. Duffy's clever, angular little line drawings match the dominant aesthetic exactly. (Poetry. 14+)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8050-2756-4
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1994
Another in this excellent series that shows every sign of becoming a standard, essential book. Confronted with the USSR's staggering diversity, Andrews bravely wades in to survey history, physical and cultural geography, economics, religion, and daily life, plus modern cultural and scientific accomplishments, in meaty—but not numbing—detail. He binds an often colorful narrative (``Stalin's wretched childhood left his heart and soul as twisted and broken as his withered limb'') with recurring themes, most notably that of a continual ``corrosive combination of ideological obsession and inadequate leadership'' that has shown signs of easing, at last, under Gorbachev. His protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, Andrews comes down very hard on the Soviet brand of communism, but he carefully documents what he has to say. Readable, comprehensive, and eminently useful. Frequent boxed asides (not just charts and anecdotes but also jokes, poetry, and song lyrics) add both information and atmosphere; a list of films and pop recordings supplements the fine bibliographical essay. To include 60 b&w photos, maps, and index (not seen). (Nonfiction. 14+)
Pub Date: May 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-020034-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991
Few geography books compare and contrast their subjects with the US as well as this one does. In sophisticated terms, Malcolm (a dual citizen of Canada and the US) describes how Canadians feel about themselves, each other, and their sometimes overbearing neighbor. The geographic, social, and cultural facts usually presented in the ``Portraits of the Nations'' series are all here, but the author's greatest achievement is giving Canada's problems meaning and interest for ``Americans.'' ``First Canadians'' rate their own chapter; and although Canadian political history is less violent than ours, the conflicts will be no less interesting to those concerned with surviving our own racial and ethnic divisions. Though Malcolm describes Canadians as very different from the US population, especially in their effacing self-image, many similarities are also apparent. The style's lively, with the information presented clearly, but chapters seem to have been written independently: facts will be reintroduced as if for the first time, without cross- referencing. Many ``boxes'' list brief facts (number of farms in the Yukon: 0); there are also longer boxed accounts of important topics (how ice affects northern life), and stories about both well-known and obscure individuals. An excellent resource. Maps and b&w photos not seen. Extensively annotated bibliography and filmography; index. (Nonfiction. 14+)
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1991
ISBN: 0-06-022494-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1991
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