With werewolves now a hot fiction item (for instance, Michael Cadnum's St. Peter's Wolf, p. 416, or Dennis Danvers's Wilderness, p. 266), it's no surprise to see a ``true'' account of the hairy beasts. Too bad it's by the Warrens, those professional ``demonologists'' last seen facing down Satan and his minions (and Bigfoot too) in Ghost Hunters (1989). Before the Warrens enter the chronicle at hand (told in narrative, Q&A-interview, and diary forms), though, we're regaled in the alphabet-block prose of their usual coauthor, Chase, with the sad saga of Bill Ramsey, the book's fourth credited author. Ramsey, you see, was the werewolf—well, actually it turns out that he wasn't a werewolf at all but, as the text describes him, a ``wolfman'' like Lon Chaney, Jr., in those 40's horror films—well, actually it turns out that he wasn't a wolfman at all but a young working-class British bloke who thought he was changing into a wolf, which is why he tried to bite all those friends and young ladies and cops and nurses. But it wasn't his fault: The Devil made him do it. Which is where the Warrens come in. In England on a promotional tour (neatly continued in the text: ```The Warrens are the most fascinating people I've ever interviewed,' '' an anonymous TV producer is quoted as saying), they learn of Ramsey's plight and pinpoint it as demonic possession. A bit of persuasion and Ramsey is off with them to the States, where their old colleague Bishop McKenna, also last seen in Ghost Hunters (``He's a very earnest and devout man. You just don't see his kind around a lot anymore,'' says Ed) exorcises the invading ``demon,'' setting Ramsey free. Skeptics, please note the Warrens' assurance that this is ``a carefully documented'' case (they forgot to include the documentation, though). As for us: Grrrrrrrrrr....
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-312-06493-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1991
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
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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