Good reading for politics junkies and aspiring officeholders alike.
A veteran of the Marines recounts combat in the jungle—and on the floor of the Senate.
Robb, well known for his marriage to Lyndon Johnson’s daughter Lynda Bird, recalls an earnest childhood in which his seriousness in both school and his pursuit of hobbies earned him the sobriquet “the little judge.” After marrying Lynda, he was posted to Vietnam, where he soon witnessed death: “Pale and still in an unzipped black rubber bag, Terry Hale was laid out for identification. It is not something one forgets. The astringent smell stayed in my nostrils long after I left the tent.” Returning stateside, he entered politics, quickly becoming a presence in the Democratic Party in Virginia and, later, on the national stage. He lands somewhat on the blue-dog side of things, to judge by the moderate-to-conservative approach he outlines at several points. At one point, he bucks against politically powerful teachers unions, approving of raising teacher pay while insisting on saying no “to practices that reward mediocrity and ignore the performance of our best” as well as to advancing students through unearned social promotions; he approves of a strong military but decries crony contracts and substandard weapons systems. Robb identifies two tendencies in the party that are consistently in friction: the activists, who sometimes lend the air of true believers whose primary allegiance is to special interests, and the elected, who are constantly seeking reelection. The author tells some sanguinary tales of life in the political trenches, as when he enlisted the help of Jim Webb in a run against fellow Marine Oliver North, which Webb offered only to later endorse opponent George Allen for reasons of political calculus. Robb’s memoir is valuable for partisans today for his clear view of the challenges ahead. “The tribalism that is pulling our democracy apart doesn’t have to prevail,” he writes. “For our democracy to hold together, its citizens must share a commitment to the common good.”
Good reading for politics junkies and aspiring officeholders alike.Pub Date: April 19, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-8139-4611-5
Page Count: 386
Publisher: Univ. of Virginia
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
While the author may attempt to mirror this ideal, the result is less than satisfying and more than a little irritating.
A disjointed debut memoir about how competitive swimming shaped the personal and artistic sensibilities of a respected illustrator.
Through a series of vignettes, paintings and photographs that often have no sequential relationship to each other, Shapton (The Native Trees of Canada, 2010, etc.) depicts her intense relationship to all aspects of swimming: pools, water, races and even bathing suits. The author trained competitively throughout her adolescence, yet however much she loved racing, “the idea of fastest, of number one, of the Olympics, didn’t motivate me.” In 1988 and again in 1992, she qualified for the Olympic trials but never went further. Soon afterward, Shapton gave up competition, but she never quite ended her relationship to swimming. Almost 20 years later, she writes, “I dream about swimming at least three nights a week.” Her recollections are equally saturated with stories that somehow involve the act of swimming. When she speaks of her family, it is less in terms of who they are as individuals and more in context of how they were involved in her life as a competitive swimmer. When she describes her adult life—which she often reveals in disconnected fragments—it is in ways that sometimes seem totally random. If she remembers the day before her wedding, for example, it is because she couldn't find a bathing suit to wear in her hotel pool. Her watery obsession also defines her view of her chosen profession, art. At one point, Shapton recalls a documentary about Olympian Michael Phelps and draws the parallel that art, like great athleticism, is as “serene in aspect” as it is “incomprehensible.”
While the author may attempt to mirror this ideal, the result is less than satisfying and more than a little irritating.Pub Date: July 5, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-399-15817-9
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Blue Rider Press
Review Posted Online: May 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This is a man who has seen it all, and he sure does know how to tell a story.
Fighting back against a nearly fatal health crisis, a renowned foreign correspondent reviews his career.
New York Times journalist Nordland, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has reported from more than 150 countries. Working in Delhi on July 4, 2019, he had a seizure and lost consciousness. At that point, he began his “second life,” one defined by a glioblastoma multiforme tumor. “From 3 to 6 percent of glioblastoma patients are cured; one of them will bear my name,” writes the author, while claiming that the disease “has proved to be the best thing that ever happened to me.” From the perspective of his second life, which marked the end of his estrangement from his adult children, he reflects on his first, which began with a difficult childhood in Philadelphia. His abusive father was a “predatory pedophile.” His mother, fortunately, was “astonishingly patient and saintly,” and Nordland and his younger siblings stuck close together. After a brief phase of youthful criminality, the author began his career in journalism at the Penn State campus newspaper. Interspersing numerous landmark articles—some less interesting than others, but the best are wonderful—Nordland shows how he carried out the burden of being his father’s son: “Whether in Bosnia or Kabul, Cambodia or Nigeria, Philadelphia or Baghdad, I always seemed to gravitate toward stories about vulnerable people, especially women and children—since they will always be the most vulnerable in any society—being exploited or mistreated by powerful men or powerful social norms.” Indeed, some of the stories reveal the worst in human nature. A final section, detailing his life since his diagnosis in chapters such as “I Forget the Name of This Chapter: On Memory,” wraps up the narrative with humor, candor, and reflection.
This is a man who has seen it all, and he sure does know how to tell a story.Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780063096226
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Mariner Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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