It's hard to imagine an artist better qualified to explore the maze of pipes, piles, and tunnels that lies Underground beneath a big city, and if this recreation lacks the utopian clarity of Macaulay's imaginary Cathedral (1973) and City (1974), there are compensating flashes of humor and playful solutions to the problem of illustrating what can't be seen. Explanations of the four major kinds of foundations for large buildings, the layout of sewer systems and underground cables, and the building of a subway tunnel require a more substantial and more challenging text than previous volumes, but the visual experience can stand by itself. In addition to the predictable surface views, diagrams and cutaway cross sections, Macaulay strips away pavement and soil to show us how the superstructure of a city street would look if we could stand on bedrock, below. The perspective is mind boggling, and though we've seen parts of the picture elsewhere—in Kelly and Park's Tunnel Builders (p. 328, J-108), for example—Macaulay gives us a breathtaking and entirely original insight.
Pub Date: Sept. 29, 1976
ISBN: 0395340659
Page Count: 116
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1976
A delightfully captivating swatch of autobiography from the author of Kiss. Kiss, Switch Bitch and many others. Schoolboy Dahl wanted adventure. Classes bored him, there was work to be had in Africa, and war clouds loomed on the world's horizons. He finds himself with a trainee's job with Shell Oil of East Africa and winds up in what is now Tanzania. Then war comes in 1939 and Dahl's adventures truly begin. At the war's outbreak, Dahl volunteers for the RAF, signing on to be a fighter pilot. Wounded in the Libyan desert, he spends six months recuperating in a military hospital, then rejoins his unit in Greece, only to be driven back by the advancing Germans. On April 20, 1941, he goes head on against the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Athens. On-target bio installment with, one hopes, lots more of this engrossing life to come.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0142413836
Page Count: 209
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A festive invitation to creative liberation.
A pleasingly tactile exploration of the possibilities inherent in mistakes.
"A torn piece of paper... / is just the beginning!" Spills, folded paper, drips of paint, smudges and smears—they "all can make magic appear." An increasingly complex series of scenarios celebrates random accidents, encouraging artistic experimentation rather than discouragement. The folded-over paper can be a penguin's head; a torn piece of newsprint can turn into a smiling dog with a little application of paint; a hot-chocolate stain can become a bog for a frog. Thanks to a telescoping pop-up, a hole is filled with nearly limitless possibilities. The interactive elements work beautifully with the photo-collaged "mistakes," never overwhelming the intent with showiness. Saltzberg's trademark cartoon animals provide a sweetly childlike counterpoint to the artful scribbles and smears of gloppy paint.
A festive invitation to creative liberation. (Pop-up. 4-12)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7611-5728-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Workman
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2010
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
