by Douglas M. Fryer ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 16, 2016
An outstandingly methodical commentary on the American legal system and its political components.
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An exhaustive account focuses on one of the most contentious court cases in U.S. history.
A federal class-action suit was filed in 1974—Wards Cove Packing Company v. Atonio—which complained that racial discrimination was pervasive in the Alaskan salmon canning industry. That suit turned out to be one of the longest running ever, spanning 27 years until a final appellate decision was issued in 2001. Debut author Fryer served as the lead counsel for Wards Cove and its partner, Bumble Bee Seafoods, for the entire duration of the litigation and recounts the various details. The principal facts themselves were never in dispute—there was a considerable number of minorities in low-paying positions, while whites largely dominated the ones that promised more impressive compensation. Thus, the case became the ring for an extended fight over how precisely to classify job discrimination and what the role of the federal government is in combating it. Once the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant in 1989, the battle shifted to the other two branches of government, providing a historical exemplar of the separation of powers at work. A significant piece of new civil rights legislation in 1991 was largely a response to that Supreme Court result: “The major impetus behind the movement to pass the legislation stemmed from unhappiness with the Supreme Court’s decision in Wards Cove dealing with the burden of proof, causation, and the defense of a reasonable business justification.” The author cites the specifics of the case with extraordinary clarity and precision. Fryer’s work is both brisk and panoramic—he explores the history of the canning industry in Alaska, examines the unfurling of civil rights legislation in the U.S., and finds a pertinent place for a minibiography of Justice John Paul Stevens, to name a small representative sample of his delightfully germane detours. The author is never shy about recording his own opinions—unavoidable given that he was not only a participant, but also a partisan in the legal war—but he always issues them with a heavy dose of humble circumspection. The legalistic technicalities will likely turn off some readers, but the book is still, in the main, a reasonably accessible one.
An outstandingly methodical commentary on the American legal system and its political components.Pub Date: July 16, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5144-7709-0
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Jan. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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