A superb pictorial and video meditation on the life of cities.
A great city is a tiny organism writ large, according to Vitale’s debut multimedia e-book.
Vitale is taken with the idea that the form and function of a metropolis look uncannily similar, from a distance, to those of biological entities. He elaborates the analogy in a series of remarkable photos and embedded video sequences that compare aerial and satellite views of cities with studies of microscopic life-forms. The juxtapositions are striking: a Slovakian town sprawling over the landscape is pictorially paired with an amoeba; twisty, suburban cul-de-sacs are set against a cellular endoplasmic reticulum; the flow of street traffic becomes a “corpuscular circulation system” for the automobiles (blood cells) coursing through it; a video montage of satellite pictures shows Las Vegas swelling through the decades like a burgeoning culture in a desert petri dish. The text also insists that the notion of a city as an organism is literal truth rather than metaphor. Humans, Vitale contends, should give up their anthropocentric belief that they are creators of the urban realm. Instead, humans should adopt the objective viewpoint of a “Scientific Observer” looking down from on high, for whom people would appear as just one of many “unremarkable organelle[s]” servicing the urban superorganism. Visually, Vitale’s CD-ROM e-book is a triumph chock-full of stunning images, on scales both intimate and grand: pretty suburban streetscapes; the awesome high-rise fortress of Kowloon, China’s Walled City; and the wispy Norwegian town of Baerum Akershus, “lacy and fragile, cling[ing] to the earth like a delicate slime net.” Raptly evocative prose crackling with ideas makes a stimulating accompaniment to the visual content. Philosophically, his treatise can be a bit muddled and overstated: Readers know for a scientific certainty that cities are intentionally planned and built by humans; cities aren’t autonomous life-forms that have simply “germinated,” as Vitale would have it. Still, his conceit is a fruitful, fascinating one that yields rich insights into the urban ecology.
A superb pictorial and video meditation on the life of cities.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2011
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Longtail Distribution Network
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An excellent primer for gaining a better understanding of the U.S. health care system.
Reed—a neurologist—provides a passionate and detailed look at the American health care system.
The health care crisis in the United States has inspired a number of publicly expressed opinions, particularly in recent years, but rarely does the public hear from a vital component of the health care system: physicians. Beginning with her personal interests that led her into the field, Reed outlines her particular history and experiences in order to establish her authority as a medical doctor and to explain the differences between the historical system used in the U.S. and its present incarnation. Along the way, she highlights aspects of medicine that aren’t commonly discussed in public venues: the peculiar liability requirements physicians face, their lack of control over certain aspects of business most entrepreneurs take for granted, and the specific barriers to market entry for doctors. Dr. Reed winds up her explanations with a concise analysis of the modern U.S. health care system and her suggestions for its improvement. This insider’s view of health care—not the actual practice of medicine, but the nuts and bolts of how care providers, insurance and patient responsibility intertwine—clearly portrays complex concepts and the workings of the overall system. Although Reed clearly has opinions regarding the politics of health care, which she makes clear in an afterword, she explains her reasoning in evenhanded terms and takes care to avoid egregiously biased rhetoric. Despite the repetition of certain key words and lines, which creates a fleeting impression of heavy-handedness early in the text, the book educates readers about one of the thorniest issues in modern U.S. political discourse.
An excellent primer for gaining a better understanding of the U.S. health care system.Pub Date: March 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-1468544114
Page Count: 196
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A cut above other, more by-the-numbers thrillers.
In DeBernardo’s first thriller, a psychologist works with the police to thwart a serial killer who may be stalking her.
It’s been two years since the brutal murder of Dr. Sara Chioti’s partner, the star country singer Anna Belle. The doctor is a psychological consultant for the FBI, typically paired with Special Agent Scott Steele. Her latest case, however, can’t distract her from recurring nightmares and her persistent, vibrant memories of Anna. Women are being tortured, killed and left on grotesque display, but it’s the notes the killer leaves behind that are most disturbing—especially as they come to resemble the messages being left for Sara by an unknown antagonist. DeBernardo’s novel highlights the procedural aspect of law enforcement; there are many sequences involving discussions of the ongoing investigation. These are the book’s sturdiest points, as well as the characterization of Sara and Steele; they’re intelligent, meticulous and endlessly fascinating. There’s also an imposing expression of Sara’s love for Anna. A pager code that only Anna knew and a familiar book lead the doctor to believe that perhaps her love is haunting her, or even still alive; incessant reminiscences of Anna are both endearing and heartbreaking. The serial killer, meanwhile, writes letters (appearing as chapters) addressed to “Lovely,” vividly describing his childhood with an abusive mother and his perverse reflections. He has plenty to offer to maintain tension: an M.O. that’s altered as frequently as his victims and a trail of disfigured Barbie dolls left at the cops’ front doors. Sara’s friend Kris is intended as a lighthearted reprieve from the more apprehensive moments, but she sometimes hits a sour note; her hectic behavior—such as concerning herself more with seducing the doctor’s female bodyguard than Sara’s state of mind—occasionally makes her seem more dissonant than funny. The novel is rounded out with lurid descriptions—sidestepping brain matter and pools of blood at the morgue—and a copious amount of people in peril, clever surprises and red herrings.
A cut above other, more by-the-numbers thrillers.Pub Date: June 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1469941141
Page Count: 606
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 20, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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