bookshelf

THE EAGLE BIRD

Name: THE EAGLE BIRD
Author: Charles F. Wilkinson
ISBN: 0-679-40895-9

MAPPING A NEW WEST

by Charles F. Wilkinson ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 1992

bookshelf

In 12 pithy essays, an environmental lawyer debunks romantic myths of ranchers, miners, and foresters as ``heroes of the West,'' and denounces ``extreme laissez-faire'' government policies that have allowed these ``heroes'' to devastate the land, water, and air for their private profit. Instead, Wilkinson calls for an ``ethic of place'' to balance human and natural values in ways that can be sustained over time. The author portrays the often-bitter confrontations between loggers, miners, or hunters and environmentalists as reflections of our society's shifting values governing human relationships with the land. We now value biology, aesthetics, and justice for indigenous people more than the short-term economic worth of extractive industries, he says. Wilkinson's ``ethic of place'' would replace confrontational politics with a shared sense of love and responsibility for the land, and he gives several examples of how westerners might build on their already shared reverence for the land to develop this set of values. All of the examples require compromise and adjustment by both resource managers and environmentalists—e.g., ranch-consultant Allan Savori's plan to increase the number of cattle grazing on public land, having them take over the ecological niche once filled by the buffalo, while ranchers carefully monitor and control the animals' effect on the ecology. Engaging if not particularly well-integrated, Wilkinson's essays exemplify the land-based ethical systems now developing among progressive western thinkers and honorably maintain the nature-upholding tradition of John Muir and Aldo Leopold.

Pub Date: March 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-679-40895-9

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Pantheon

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1992

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.