An offbeat bowling manual that makes for compelling reading.
A comprehensive and surprisingly philosophical guide to the sport of bowling.
“We play games to fill the time, to take the pressure off, and to find ways to enjoy and smell the roses all at once,” writes Dilyard (Ian and the Great Silver Dragon: A Friendship Begins, 2019, etc.) in this nonfiction work. “Can we learn how to play these games with more fulfillment, and elevate our consciousness at the same time?” It may seem like an overreaching question, but such queries have resulted in successful books in the past, such as Eugen Herrigel’s classic Zen in the Art of Archery (1948) or even Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons (1957) by Ben Hogan with Herbert Warren Wind, which both reached wide audiences by blending sports instruction with advice for living. Dilyard, a self-described bowling obsessive, never loses sight of the practical elements of his discussion; indeed, his book is filled with engaging insights into the physical components of the sport: “Tossing a bowling ball puts the body in an unbalanced state and therefore it will attempt to find balance,” he explains in terms that will bring some comfort to students of bowling who thought that they were merely uncoordinated. “Training the body to not do a reflex movement takes time.” Indeed, time is a pervasive theme throughout the book; Dilyard is very good at explaining the physical subtleties of the game, but he stresses that time and practice are essential: “It may not take a lifetime to solidify being good,” he writes, “but it will take much more than five minutes.” However, alongside this expert advice about how to perfect one’s bowling game, there are deeper observations about the “search for perfection,” which Dilyard sees the sport as embodying. The game, he insists, is ultimately about honing one’s inner self by making key decisions: “It is and always will be about making choices, and thereby creating different outcomes.” He manages to combine the philosophical and the practical with seamless skill, and even readers who have no immediate plans to visit a bowling alley will find his book to be enlightening.
An offbeat bowling manual that makes for compelling reading.Pub Date: April 29, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-09-624556-8
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Sept. 10, 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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