Fascinating stuff. A boon for students of military history and naval warfare.
A stirring reconstruction of one of history’s great—and least-known—naval battles.
On May 14 and 15, 1905, a Japanese fleet destroyed much of Russia’s navy in a pitched battle in the Tsushima Straits, between Japan and Korea. It was the last of many indignities for the Russian fleet, writes Russian historian Pleshakov (The Flight of the Romanovs, 1999), which had traveled halfway around the world to find safe anchorage at Vladivostok but had been dogged by bad luck and misadventure, including an attack on a group of British fishing boats off the coast of Spain; moreover, the Russian ships, though commanded by the renowned Admiral Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky, were badly equipped and antiquated, staffed by ineffective line officers and rebellious sailors, and backed by incomplete and sometimes erroneous intelligence. The Japanese fleet that awaited them in the straits made short work of the Russians, who struggled vainly “to shake off the pursuers like a hunted bear shakes off hounds.” Of 38 Russian ships, only 3 made it to Vladivostok. Imprisoned for a time in Japan, Rozhestvensky and other survivors faced court-martial on their return home; four captains were given death sentences (later reduced to imprisonment), while Rozhestvensky was allowed to resign his commission. Pleshakov does a fine job of explaining the military and political complexities of the conflict and of introducing small-scale but telling details into the big picture of history. He notes, for example, that at least some of Tsar Nicholas II’s animosity toward Japan, which led to the Russo-Japanese War, could be traced back to an incident whereupon the then-prince, visiting the city of Otsu in 1891, was attacked by an insane samurai. Pleshakov also vividly describes the battle itself, which, understandably, does not figure widely in many Russian textbooks.
Fascinating stuff. A boon for students of military history and naval warfare.Pub Date: April 15, 2002
ISBN: 0-465-05791-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Basic Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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