Johnson, a contributing editor to New Woman, examines a question that many often answer with skepticism if not outright cynicism: Can a marriage be truly happy and remain so for a lifetime? Johnson claims to have been skeptical herself at first, though as a wife and new mother she wanted to be convinced. The 60 happy couples she found (out of 100 respondents) persuaded her that the dream was attainable. Here, she presents general characteristics common to most of these ``vital couples'' (``Happy couples establish and follow productive daily routines''; ``It is essential not to take any major action that you will have to keep secret from your mate''), which she then illustrates with examples from her interviews. These brief observations form a helpful checklist that readers can use to monitor the vital signs of their own relationships or to define goals for improvement. There are few real surprises in Johnson's findings; perhaps the most unexpected is the extent to which children, even wanted and loved children, can strain a marriage. Other revelations may, in the author's opinion, cause chagrin among feminists: that thriving romances seem to be built on a sense of the man's being ``superior,'' strong, and dominating—but only in the realms of sexuality and fantasy—and that, in a good marriage, distinctions between spouses blur as, in important ways, husband and wife meld into one entity. Fighting, sex and fidelity, work and finances, and coping with tragedy are other subjects on which Johnson sounded out her respondents. Anecdotal rather than scientific, and based on a limited sample of mostly white, middle-class, conventional people. Nonetheless, many should find this heartening.
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-670-84354-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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