A poorly written, ostentatiously scathing, and utterly dispensable log of an airline's slow-motion crackup. On the inside (as the twentysomething VP of corporate development) only during Eastern's last days, Robinson has had to rely on secondary sources to provide background on the forces and factors that propelled the faltering carrier into Chapter 11, and he adds little to a sorry tale that was widely and competently covered by the media from the time Frank Borman was obliged to sell the deficit-ridden airline to Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air until the last departure gate slammed shut on January 19, 1991. The self- serving subtitle notwithstanding, Robinson concludes that Eastern had not earned the right to survive in commercial aviation's competitive, deregulated skies. He rounds up the usual suspects identified in the press as responsible for Eastern's terminal plight, as well as a couple of apparent villains who largely escaped censure by the fourth estate: labor's Charley Bryan (portrayed as a leader of immense personal appeal to journalists, albeit an almost mindless intransigent at the bargaining table) and Burton R. Lifland of the US Bankruptcy Court (whose judgments cost creditors dearly). Otherwise, Robinson heaps scorn upon avaricious attorneys and their fellow professionals who collected over $100 million for dancing attendance on Eastern's death throes. Noted in passing is Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which boosted fuel prices and kept many travelers close to home. Among the few heroes of the piece is Martin Shugrue (something of a mentor to Robinson), the trustee who made a high-profile, last-ditch effort to keep Eastern flying. An axe-grinding account of a failed enterprise that deserved, if not a better fate, at least a more accomplished Boswell. (Sixteen pages of b&w photographs—not seen.)
Pub Date: June 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-88730-556-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1992
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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