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RHUBARB

Name: RHUBARB
Author: Clifford M. Foust
ISBN: 0-691-08747-4

THE WONDROUS DRUG

by Clifford M. Foust ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1992

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Perhaps you thought that the great ages of discovery and exploration, circa 1492 and all that, were based on quests for silk and spices, porcelain and gold. True—but the quest was for rhubarb as well. That thesis is convincingly demonstrated in this prodigious work of scholarship by Univ. of Maryland historian Foust. Why rhubarb? And what rhubarb? Well, the ancients knew of the wonderful cathartic powers of the roots of this robust plant rumored to be native to somewhere beyond Greece and Rome (``rhu'' was also ``rha,'' supposedly an old name for the Volga river; ``barb'' meant somewhere beyond the civilized realms of the Mediterranean). It appears that the pulverized roots and rhizomes of rhubarb provided both gentle purgative powers as well as ``binding'' or astringent qualities. But what rhubarb? The true or ``officinal'' medicinal rhubarb is not to be confused with the red- stalked plant served up as stewed fruit or pie, nor with various rhubarbs of inferior medical potency. The very best came from China, introduced into the West through Russian caravans traveling overland in the north or by Arabian trade routes or coastal merchants in the south. Not until the opening of China in the last century was the source officially established. Foust's impeccable account is a feast for scholars, but perhaps too rich for some casual readers. Nevertheless, the text, with its detailed cultural lore, botany, history of medicine, pharmacology, trade and exploration, plus a cast of hundreds, makes an essential point: It was the long domination of the humoral theory of disease that created the market for rhubarb. The need to expel four humors from the body to cure disease drove the quest for the kinder, gentler, ``perfect'' purgative. And it works, too. (Six halftones.)

Pub Date: April 1, 1992

ISBN: 0-691-08747-4

Page Count: 376

Publisher: Princeton Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1992

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.