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Dope Deals and Donnybrooks

Name: Dope Deals and Donnybrooks
Author: Douglas L Emery
ISBN: 978-1484103869

JOBSITE TRIBULATIONS OF AN OVER-RETENTIVE CONSTRUCTION INSPECTOR

by Douglas L Emery ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 2, 2013

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Emery’s thorough workplace memoir takes readers inside a world they drive by every day: construction.
For decades, the pseudonymous Emery has served as a construction inspector for civilian and military projects around the world. His job is to make sure that all work is done properly according to the specifications in the project’s contract. At first glance, such activity would seem as dry as the dust that hangs in the air at most work sites. But Emery successfully brings this industry to life with his colorful descriptions of construction workers and his interactions with them. In doing so, the attentive author truly fulfills the description set forth in his book’s subtitle. Take, for example, his picture of Scruffy, a sewer cleaner: “Scruffy donned his Michelin-man coveralls, Sopwith-Camel style goggles, and headphone-type hearing protectors. With a couple of ancient and decrepit brick shipyard tool sheds as a backdrop, we could have filmed a Mad Max movie right there.” Emery writes that he initially planned to create a guidebook for young construction inspectors, and there’s still plenty of instructional content here. But after combing through the anecdotes he’d collected through the years, Emery thankfully realized that he had a lot more to put into his book: “It is the unpredictable nature of busy jobsites along with the human element that inherently makes them fascinating.” After a brief section explaining the various roles on a construction site, the author rolls out profiles of a series of composite characters—such “Jerry, The Stressed-Out Project Manager,” “Chad, the Boastful Senior Construction Inspector” and “Carl, the Mentoring Senior Engineer”—while changing their names to protect the guilty. As he tells his stories, he shows a surprisingly deft writing touch for an engineer, and his gift for narrative will propel readers forward. He admirably succeeds in opening up a little-known realm of tiny specifications, huge construction equipment and colorful characters.
A glance behind the construction curtain that unveils how structures are built all around us.

Pub Date: Nov. 2, 2013

ISBN: 978-1484103869

Page Count: 348

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: July 25, 2014

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.