A we-have-met-the-enemy-and-he-is-us tract that, for all its evenhanded approach to an obvious dilemma, appears as likely to attract bipartisan opprobrium as to spark a debate on the overburdened state of the union. Drawing mainly on anecdotal evidence gathered in or around his Washington, D.C., base, Rauch (Kindly Inquisitors, 1993, etc.) asserts that demosclerosis is ``the most serious single challenge to the long-term vitality of democratic government.'' In his unsparing lexicon, he defines this condition as the progressive paralysis of the domestic body politic (manifested in an inability to solve new problems, experiment, or even adapt to socioeconomic change). Fiscal arteries clog owing to the successful claims varied interest groups (able to enforce their will with votes and financial support) make upon the US Treasury for benefits or subsidies, most notably, perhaps, tax breaks. While the author does not quarrel with the notion of a federal government responsive to the electorate's needs as well as wishes, he deplores the havoc wrought by trade organizations and single-issue constituencies that have prevailed on the government to transfer or redistribute resources according to the dictates of special-purpose agendas. An equal-opportunity critic, Rauch cites cases in point, ranging from business associations (convinced their industries are pillars of the republic) through advocates of arguably worthy causes, e.g., campaign reform, the elderly, environmental protection, family farms, and even homeless veterans (whose coalition has an annual operating budget that tops $500,000). From an economic standpoint, he cautions, retaining lobbyists to tap the public till is no more productive (albeit no less lucrative) than hiring thieves to steal cars. Conceding the proliferation of entitlement programs is probably not fatal, the author nonetheless offers a full measure of containment proposals. His eventual conclusion: demosclerosis is a systemic disorder that, at best, can be managed, not cured. A savvy reckoning of the cost of the zero-sum games the American people play.
Pub Date: April 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8129-2257-3
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Times/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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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