Easy-to-read, balanced introduction to American civics.
Cupples (co-author: Grammar, Punctuation, and Style, 2013) provides a straightforward, user-friendly guide to the American political system with an emphasis on how the average citizen can get involved.
Cupples’ guide comprises three sections. First, the author focuses on the source of citizens’ rights and duties, namely the Constitution and the laws that are enacted by federal, state, and local governments. Second, she explores the three branches of federal government (executive, legislative, and judicial), how they interact, and how they affect American citizens. Third, she explores outside influences on government, such as lobbying and the media, and covers ways citizens can participate in the lawmaking process. Cupples eschews stodgy descriptions of the governing process. In discussing the overall maturity of the Senate compared with the House, she notes, “That doesn’t mean the Senate is always like the Dalai Lama or Yoda.” She goes on to refer to the speaker of the House as its “head honcho.” She also finds ways to make certain her text does not become boring, inserting theoretical situations that may surprise the casual reader (in discussing the Sixth Amendment and problems with state-appointed counsel, she asks, “What about a lawyer who slams vodka shots before trial?”) Cupples’ work is also very much geared toward the modern world of connectivity. Throughout, she suggests websites (such as for each executive branch department) and internet search terms for seeking out answers to policy questions or the validity of news stories (e.g., “To find your county election office, search online for ‘election office’ + your county + your state”). She is admirably nonpartisan throughout her work, focusing instead on the facts of American government with little regard for party.
Easy-to-read, balanced introduction to American civics.Pub Date: Dec. 7, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9996777-0-4
Page Count: 186
Publisher: Delfinium, LLC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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