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
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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