Observant, spiriting writing that conveys the author’s infectious enthusiasm for railroads.
A train enthusiast recalls a lifetime of rail journeys in this evocative memoir.
After teaching biology for 41 years, Heppner (Emeritus, Biological Sciences/Univ. of Rhode Island; Railroads of Rhode Island, 2012, etc.) decided to fill his retirement time by writing about his lifelong passion: trains. At the age of 3, he received his first toy engine, named “Big Red,” and not long afterward, his first train book, Smokey the Lively Locomotive. So began his fascination. In this endearing book, he charts his most memorable rail journeys, although his first, he concedes, occurred prenatally—when his mother traveled from San Francisco to Auburn, California (“I must have been a passenger in the ‘baggage car’ ”). Born in 1940, Heppner counts himself fortunate to have experienced an exciting period in railroad history, having witnessed “cab-forward steam locomotives” and ridden high speed trains such as the French TGV. Among countless other journeys, Heppner recalls the severe grades of the Raton Pass in New Mexico and Colorado, the ugliness of the Italian Settebello, and the efficiency of the Japanese bullet train. Heppner admits to being “a certifiable nerd” and gives enough attention to railway minutiae to satisfy other train geeks—a photograph of the train to Tenom, Malaysia, bears the caption: “Japanese equipment, but note the American style knuckle coupler.” However, it is Heppner’s attention to detail that beguiles the reader. An early train journey took place when he was 10 years old—an overnight from San Francisco to Salt Lake City. He recalls lying in his bunk: “It was a moonlit night on the Nevada desert. I could see in the distance the shadowy outline of the Great Basin mountain ranges, and there was a hint of sage smell through the vent.” Heppner’s sensory descriptions transport the reader to the very carriage in which he traveled. On occasion, the author digresses, making the memoir read more like generalized travel memoir as he discusses air and sea travel. All but the most hardcore rail fans will forgive these meanderings. Illustrated with the author’s accomplished photography, this is a treat for anyone with a love of trains.
Observant, spiriting writing that conveys the author’s infectious enthusiasm for railroads.Pub Date: March 18, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-7989-2553-9
Page Count: 254
Publisher: Ornis Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 23, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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