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SEDUCED BY DEATH

Name: SEDUCED BY DEATH
Author: Herbert Hendin
ISBN: 0-393-04003-8

DOCTORS, PATIENTS, AND THE DUTCH CURE

by Herbert Hendin ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 1, 1996

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Should the US follow the Dutch model of legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide? An American psychiatrist specializing in treating the suicidal answers this question with a vehement ``No.'' A founder and executive director of the research-oriented American Suicide Foundation, Hendin (Suicide in America, 1982, etc.) examined the Dutch experience by visiting the Netherlands, studying court cases, interviewing Dutch physicans, and analyzing the historical and cultural factors that led to the country's acceptance of euthanasia and assisted suicides. He asserts that Dutch doctors conceded to him privately that euthanasia is out of control—a 1991 government report revealed that in over 1,000 cases physicians actively hastened or caused death without any request from the patient—but publicly they continue to promote it, and the Dutch courts continue to support their decisions. He concludes that a system that was ostensibly created to foster patient autonomy and self- determination has actually increased the paternalistic power of the medical profession. What we can learn from the Netherlands, says Hendin, is not to follow their lead. In the US, he argues, legalized euthanasia and assisted suicide would become a forced choice for large numbers of the poor, minorities, and the elderly. Instead, what's needed is a shift away from the medicalization of death to an acceptance of death as the inevitable end of life, better physican education in recognizing depression and in care of the dying, and better palliative care for the terminally ill. Two passages in the book are especially memorable: Hendin's bleak description of a Dutch film on euthanasia, Death on Request, which reveals medical abuses, and his account of his mother's death, which demonstrates that easy answers are hard to come by. Hendin's own arguments against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not new, but his revelations about the Dutch experience are a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate.

Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-393-04003-8

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Norton

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.