Stimulating, artful medical history.
Eloquent pathologist González-Crussi (On Seeing, 2006, etc.) delivers another literature-infused treatise, this time expounding on the human body’s vital organs.
This slim yet robust volume is divided into five sections: Digestive, Scatology, Respiratory, Reproductive and Cardiovascular. As usual, the author avoids staid medical analysis and instead uses historical anecdote and literary allusion to form the basis of discussion for each organ. Enemas at Versailles, gastric experimentation in the early 1800s, the mystery of Chopin’s respiratory failure and Camille Paglia’s imaginative writing on menstruation are just a few of the varied and fascinating threads that tie together the story of our internal anatomy. Also presented are recent technological advances and their effects on life span and quality, a reminder of the author’s significant contribution to modern-day medicine. These scientific miracles often come with ethical quandaries that present unique challenges to both patient and doctor. For example, identity issues often arise after a patient has received a heart transplant, an unsurprising result given the emotion traditionally attributed to the heart. Throughout these narratives, González-Crussi presents a unifying theme of life-giving symbiosis, drawing from Chuang tzu’s theory of “the human body as compendium or epitome of the macrocosm.” As many a poet has encapsulated in verse, breath is representative of the life/death cycle, one that manifests itself constantly within our anatomical infrastructure. In his chapter on the lungs, the author is moved to wax poetic: “Attention: mark this caressing zephyr, this mild breeze; it is the gaze of death constantly watching us, entranced from afar—a premonition of the strong gale that is to follow, and which will bear us away in its bosom, like motes in the wind.” It’s this attention to language that makes the book so enjoyable—rarely are academics so stirring in their writing.
Stimulating, artful medical history.Pub Date: June 2, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-60714-072-1
Page Count: 294
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2009
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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