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ESTROGEN AND BREAST CANCER

Name: ESTROGEN AND BREAST CANCER
Author: Carol Ann Rinzler
ISBN: 0-02-603491-3

A WARNING TO WOMEN

by Carol Ann Rinzler ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 26, 1993

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A statistics-laden, fact-filled chronicle linking the increasing use of estrogen with the growing incidence of breast cancer, plus some solid ideas about remedying the situation. Medical writer Rinzler (Cosmetics, 1977, etc.) adeptly wends her way through a host of scientific studies, translating them into lay language and sorting out their implications. Her take- home message: The estrogen in oral contraceptives, used by millions of young women, and in hormone-replacement therapy, used by millions of older women, promotes the growth of existing tumors and may initiate cancers in susceptible women. Rinzler's story essentially begins with legal approval of the Pill in 1960, but there's also a brief look at how female medical problems were treated in earlier days, including some fascinating medical lore- -e.g., that in 1934, the Merck Manual, a standard reference book of current medical opinion, listed cannabis as a treatment for the symptoms of menopause. Rinzler generally lets the facts speak for themselves, offering no shrill diatribe against pharmaceutical companies or physicians, no easy indictment of the medical establishment. The picture she creates is more complex, since powerful medications such as estrogen are never risk-free, and the benefits always must be weighed against the dangers. Overall, Rinzler's criticisms are validated and her recommendations restrained: Women must be told the truth about estrogen, and those at risk for cancer must be identified; the rules for prescribing estrogen must be tightened; safer alternatives must be found. If the author meets her aim, women won't abandon the Pill or hormone-replacement therapy, but will ask critical questions of their physicians and make informed decisions about the risks they're willing to take. Straight talk—informative and accessible—about a health issue of concern to millions.

Pub Date: July 26, 1993

ISBN: 0-02-603491-3

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1993

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.