An informative account of 1960s stateside military life by a man who lived it.
A debut memoir about a student with learning disabilities who, through guidance, luck, and a stint in the U.S. military, got accepted to Northwestern University’s medical school.
Turner says in an introduction that he’d originally intended to write down his memories only for his children, but then he thought that some of his stories might have wider appeal—and, in this, he’s right. His account provides a close-up view of his late-1960s studies to become a medic; most of his colleagues were later shipped off to Vietnam, where they faced grave danger. Turner’s own two-year stint in the Army is at the heart of the book, but he began his journey in a small Southern Illinois farming community. He writes that his dyslexia and attention deficit disorder resulted in academic challenges throughout his life and that he chose to enlist after he almost failed out of his first year at Blackburn College. He was assigned to a medical dispensary at the Pentagon after medic training, and his descriptions of the Pentagon as a city unto itself, before the existence of cellphones or the internet, are compelling. Turner’s prose is clear and informative, as when he describes the Pentagon internal phone system: “this network included one hundred thousand miles of telephone wire…enough to encircle the globe four times at the equator.” Turner remembers being on duty in Washington in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, and this historical material is often compelling. He also highlights how his grandparents and good teachers helped him during his life, during which he eventually found success as a doctor. That said, the book might have been improved by a stronger edit, particularly when the author tells other people’s war stories. However, readers who are interested in this memoir’s setting—primarily the ’60s, in a predominately male domain—will find this book of interest.
An informative account of 1960s stateside military life by a man who lived it.Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73272-891-2
Page Count: 426
Publisher: Burning Barn Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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