The wonder continues in the fact that, regardless of subject, each story takes its place in the collection proudly and...
The latest installment of the travel-writing series upholds the tradition of world-expanding excellence.
Series editor Jason Wilson begins this collection with a tale of overcoming adversity. After years, he found volume editor Gilbert’s (Committed: A Love Story, 2010, etc.) schedule finally jibed with his, and thus, the 2013 collection was born. This is not a book full of traditional travel stories. Instead, under Gilbert's stewardship, the articles are tidbits from another place, time or culture, and one from the mind of a man who contemplated travel but never got around to it. Readers won’t find any pieces to help them plan a trip, but they will be inspired to travel somewhere. “Some of these stories find their authors flinging themselves into mad acts of danger and some do not,” writes Gilbert, “but every piece contains awe in strong enough doses to render the reader enchanted, delighted, compelled, or forever unsettled.” The stories range from typical subjects with atypical treatments—e.g., Kevin Chroust’s recounting of running with the bulls in which he examines not the thrill of the terror, but the sheer stupidity of it—to the completely unexpected—e.g., Sarah A. Topol’s “Tea and Kidnapping,” in which an event that should be terrifying is surprisingly giggle-inducing. “Travel should be just as much about light delights as about dark daring,” writes Gilbert, and both are represented here, well-balanced. So Grant Stoddard’s article about making up his own Manhattan tours and David Sedaris’ piece about his dentist in Paris slide into the collection seamlessly while offering a needed comedic break. Other contributors include Ian Frazier, John Jeremiah Sullivan and Christopher de Bellaigue.
The wonder continues in the fact that, regardless of subject, each story takes its place in the collection proudly and deservedly.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-547-80898-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Mariner/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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
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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