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CIVIL WARRIORS

Name: CIVIL WARRIORS
Author: Dan Zegart
ISBN: 0-385-31935-5

THE LEGAL SIEGE ON THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY

by Dan Zegart ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2000

An interesting story of a victory for justice led by a hero lawyer and gritty, never-say-die crusaders who worked around the...

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An account of the 30-year war waged by lawyers, scientists, whistle blowers, and health crusaders against the tobacco companies. Investigative journalist Zegart spent five years researching a complicated story of dying lung cancer victims who sued tobacco companies (such as Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, and Brown & Williamson) through the efforts of Ron Motley, a southern lawyer who won many product liability cases involving asbestos. Motley could not forget the memory of his mother, a heavy smoker, dying painfully of lung cancer, and he gradually built up a file of research scientists (who proved that the biochemistry of human cells was changed by the addictive nature of nicotine) and whistle blowers (who provided the evidence that tobacco companies suppressed public knowledge of the addictive qualities of nicotine). He also discovered evidence that at least one company spiked extra nicotine into the cigarettes to create permanently addicted customers. When many state attorneys-general combined their efforts to defeat Big Tobacco in court, it was found that companies had known for years from their own research that cigarette smoking was a leading cause of lung cancer but had lied about it.

An interesting story of a victory for justice led by a hero lawyer and gritty, never-say-die crusaders who worked around the clock for years. A glossary of the numerous characters coming in and out of the book could have aided the reader, however.

Pub Date: June 20, 2000

ISBN: 0-385-31935-5

Page Count: 480

Publisher: Delacorte

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2000

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
YOUR FATHER’S VOICE
by Lyz Glick & Dan Zegart

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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.