A disjointed tale of medical detection and scientific research that begins with personal disaster for six drug addicts and ends with new hope for countless sufferers from Parkinson's disease. In 1982 Dr. Langston, then head of the neurology department at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in California, examined the first of six strangely mute and paralyzed addicts. Investigation eventually revealed that all had injected themselves with synthetic heroin and that a toxin in the drug had destroyed a portion of their brains; they had, in effect, given themselves instant Parkinson's, ordinarily a progressive disease afflicting the elderly. Their bad luck, however, was Langston's good fortune. Finding a substance that could induce Parkinson's was a scientific breakthrough; the ability to induce the disease in laboratory animals created an opportunity to study it and test new forms of treatment. The story, a third-person narrative by Langston (now director of Parkinson's research programs at the California Institute for Medical Research) and Palfreman (a writer and producer of television documentaries), gets sidetracked from time to time by intrusive technical explanations and extraneous details—the scientist appears to be struggling with the writer for control of the material. Nevertheless, there's plenty of drama: police drug busts, critically ill patients, intense professional rivalries, and political infighting. Even the White House became involved when research indicated that fetal tissue obtained from abortions might provide the long-sought cure for Parkinson's. Meanwhile, in 1989, two of Langston's addicts were flown to Sweden for experimental treatment. The results of revolutionary surgery that implanted fetal tissue into their damaged brains were highly promising, and the tale ends with a glimmer of hope. Contains all the elements for a fascinating story, but the telling does not do it justice. (illustrations, not seen).
Pub Date: May 24, 1995
ISBN: 0-679-42465-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1995
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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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