Engaging eyewitness pieces—often very oddly grouped together—that nonetheless elicit admiration, wonder and gasps of...
Three journalists present a sequel to their Deadline Artists: America’s Greatest Newspaper Columns (2011) with a motley collection of pieces dating back to the 19th century.
Avlon, Angelo and Louis divide their collection into three major topics (see subtitle), each of which they arrange chronologically. The editorial apparatus is light—some introductions, a bit of information about the background of some of the stories—but for the most part, the stories stand on their own. In the “Scandals” section are pieces about long-ago murders and other depravities (the execution of Mata Hari makes for grim reading), including the liberation of Dachau, the Zodiac killer, Watergate and Bernhard Goetz. Included with these tales are pieces about Dennis Rodman, Monica Lewinsky and Bernie Madoff. The “Tragedies” range from the death of Lincoln to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (reported here by Jack London), Franco’s atrocities, the RFK assassination and a George Will piece about the difficulty of being a Cubs’ fan. Among the “Triumphs” are numerous sports pieces—victories by Joe Louis and young Cassius Clay, a perfect game by Don Larson, the maturation of Joe Namath, a key home run by Kirk Gibson—along with the bombing of Nagasaki, the anniversary of the Normandy invasion and pieces about a favorite teacher, a battle with cancer and 9/11. If the pieces seem incongruously chosen and juxtaposed (a baseball game, the atom bomb—both triumphs?), it’s because they are. Moreover, columnists from New York and Washington, D.C., are heavily represented, and the definition of “column” itself seems generous—a number of the pieces are clearly feature articles.
Engaging eyewitness pieces—often very oddly grouped together—that nonetheless elicit admiration, wonder and gasps of surprise.Pub Date: Dec. 4, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59020-429-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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