A sobering attempt to present a more ``balanced'' view of the dangers to life on Earth than environmentalists' accounts: Langone recognizes the seriousness of problems but presents basically industrial-oriented perspectives and partial solutions. His central argument is that ``economic needs and a country's best interests must be balanced with the need to protect the environment.'' He covers most of the big issues: chemicals, noise, air and water pollution, solid waste, nuclear waste, heat pollution, deforestation, threatened wildlife, poverty and overpopulation, energy. In most cases he fairly represents the conflict between economic interests and environmental protection (aside from a few red herrings like environmentalist ``violence''). But the problem here is lack of vision: the suggested solutions derive from the policies that got us where we are, and, given the magnitude of the problems, most of them seem like grasping at straws; few of Langone's proposals involve people living differently in the future. He does recognize vital concepts like the ``web of life'' that makes a forest more than the sum of its parts; reflecting on these may lead readers to come up with more imaginative and effective solutions. The ``Opposing Viewpoints'' series presents the debates better, but this does give an overall view in digestible form. Just be sure to provide more stimulating viewpoints for those who want to know more. Detailed source notes; glossary; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-316-51415-2
Page Count: 197
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1991
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brought together in what novelist Hansen (Which Way Freedom?, 1986) calls a ``great experiment,'' black troops in the Civil War faced not only enemy armies but their own side's vicious racism while proving their ability. They had already fought in every previous American war, but never in permanent units; faced with a manpower shortage, Lincoln overcame his reluctance and allowed black companies to form—though some had to assemble and march in secret to avoid civilian riots. Quoting frequently from contemporary sources, Hansen describes their recruitment, their struggle for proper pay, supplies, and training, and their heroic performance in dozens of actions. She contends that, for them, the war had no complex causes: first, last and always, it was a crusade against slavery. Her methodical, well-documented study is ranges wider than Cox's Undying Glory (about the Massachusetts 54th Regiment). Murky b&w photos and reproductions; notes; substantial bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: April 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-531-11151-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1993
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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A low-wattage collection of original stories and poems, as unmemorable as it is unappealingly titled.
The collection was inspired by a perceived paucity of short science fiction for teen readers, and its production costs were covered by a Kickstarter campaign. The editors gather a dozen poems and 21 stories from a stable of contributors who, after headliners Jack McDevitt and Nancy Holder, will be largely unknown even to widely read fans of the genre. The tales place their characters aboard spacecraft or space stations, on other worlds or in future dystopias, but only rarely do the writers capture a credibly adolescent voice or sensibility. Standouts in this department are the Heinlein-esque “The Stars Beneath Our Feet,” by Stephen D. Covey & Sandra McDonald, about a first date/joyride in space gone wrong, and Camille Alexa’s portrait of a teen traumatized by a cyberspace assault (“Over It”). Along with a few attempts to craft futuristic slang, only Lavie Tidhar’s fragmentary tale of Tel Aviv invaded by successive waves of aliens, doppelgangers, zombies and carnivorous plants (“The Myriad Dangers”) effectively lightens the overall earnest tone. Aside from fictional aliens and modified humans, occasional references to dark skin (“Out of the Silent Sea,” Dale Lucas) are the only signs of ethnic diversity. Most of the free-verse poetry makes only oblique, at best, references to science-fictional themes.
A change of pace from the teeming swarms of fantasy and paranormal romance but too underpowered to achieve escape velocity. (author bios) (Science fiction/short stories. 12-14)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9847824-0-8
Page Count: 290
Publisher: Underwords
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
Categories: CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S
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