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KAYAKING THE VERMILION SEA

Name: KAYAKING THE VERMILION SEA
Author: Jonathan Waterman
ISBN: 0-684-80242-2

EIGHT HUNDRED MILES DOWN THE BAJA

by Jonathan Waterman ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1995

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The uneasy but well-crafted story of a long paddle down the Sea of Cortes, from Waterman (In the Shadow of Denali, 1994). At home in Colorado, Waterman feels the moss growing in him. What he and his wife need, he reckons, is some high adventure, out there in a wilderness that still has its fangs. They choose a long kayak sea voyage, the length of the Vermilion Sea, that slender gulf of water between Baja California and mainland Mexico better known as the Sea of Cortes. For fangs, there is a complete gallery of horrors: neurotoxic sea snakes, scorpions, rattlesnakes, giant manta rays, sharks, tarantulas, whirlpools, gales. Also thorny is the relationship he has with his wife, a high-octane affair fired by a competitiveness that doesn't lend itself to smooth sailing. Waterman recounts their two-month voyage in brief chapters, almost like journal entries, the writing unadorned, often coming in small bites: ``Water is churning; an osprey whistles sharply; my face is cold.'' The narrative is larded with pleasant nuggets of natural history arcana concerning both sea life and shore life, and there are deep forays into the unhappy political history of the peninsula (Waterman works a good selection of 16th- to 18th-century writings, culled from Jesuit and Spanish journals, into the book). Perhaps most disturbing of all for Waterman is the environmental degradation of the sea: overfishing, refuse dumping, and denying the Colorado River's freshwater input have trashed this once bounteous gulf, so rich with shrimp, it appeared red—it wasn't called Vermilion Sea for nothing. Full of gloom and doom, but never ponderous. For each downbeat there's an upbeat: an explosion of phosphorescence in the surf, an uncorrupted slice of shoreline, even the occasional relaxed day with his wife. (b&w photos, not seen)

Pub Date: June 1, 1995

ISBN: 0-684-80242-2

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1995

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
ARCTIC CROSSING
by Jonathan Waterman

- BOOK REVIEW
A MOST HOSTILE MOUNTAIN
by Jonathan Waterman

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE SHADOW OF DENALI
by Jonathan Waterman

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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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

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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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.