by Howard R. Greene ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1998
This unsurprising, number-crunching survey of almost 4,000 students at America’s best colleges recalls that dullest of freshman classes: Statistics 101. Leading educational counselor and former Princeton admissions officer Greene’s (Scaling the Ivy Wall in the ’90s, with Robert Minton, not reviewed, etc.) concept of the “Select” includes just 20 schools: all the Ivies; top private schools like Stanford and Duke; and three top public schools, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of California, Berkeley; and University of Wisconsin, Madison. Together, he reports, these schools account for just 5 percent of all college students, and competition to get in is intense. But the real challenge is funding a “select” education. The average cost of tuition, room, and board at private universities now hovers at around $30,000 a year. These costs have forced increasing numbers of students to work part- or even full-time. This, combined with demanding course loads, has made college for many an unremitting grind, with little time left for those fond foundations of alumni reminiscences, socializing and extracurriculars. This is why Greene touts the leading public universities for cash-strapped students. Of course, as he well knows, this will take many of the private select schools back to their roots as havens for the rich and privileged. Surveying everything from academics to diversity to drugs and alcohol on campus, Greene finds little that is surprising. There are the usual complaints about minimal faculty contact, overwork, and stress. Students are also concerned about safety, think that political correctness may have gone too far, and worry about their futures. But the most frequent complaints are about food and climate. Interestingly, only 61 percent are satisfied they are getting good value for their money, indicating that more than a little collegiate laurel-resting is going on. There is the core of a good idea here, but it’s absolutely buried under mounds of tedious, blandly presented data.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-06-017815-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1998
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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