by Joseph Q. Jarvis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 2, 2018
An effectively damning indictment that’s tempered by a glimmer of hope.
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A medical doctor disparages the American health care system and proposes an intriguing alternative in his debut book.
As a former private-practice family-medicine physician and public health official at the U.S. Department of Labor, the Nevada Division of Health, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Jarvis has broad experience that allows him to view the health care system from multiple perspectives. His assessment of the American health care system is bluntly and uniformly negative, and throughout the book, he rails against politicians on both sides of the aisle, public officials, and insurance companies. He sees them as all contributing to “a wasteful system that is least able (among first-world countries) to prevent deaths that should be amenable to health-care interventions.” American voters also share blame for not insisting on health care reform, writes Jarvis: “If you want this to stop, you must do the necessary political heavy lifting—you must repeatedly throw people out of office until they get the message.” To illustrate some of the deficiencies of the current system, Jarvis includes anecdotes from his own work in the public sector. His insider’s point of view of state-level public-health challenges provides some of the most compelling moments. Particularly harsh are his observations about Nevada, which he calls “a caricature of the American free-enterprise concept.” Jarvis goes on to offer a comparison of that state’s legalized sex work, of which he disapproves for many reasons, to the nation’s health care system. However, the book is not merely a series of complaints; in fact, it concludes on a positive note, as the author lobbies for more “purple,” or bipartisan, thinking when it comes to health care. He proposes to reform health care with a “State-Based Universal Healthcare Act” that would empower states to craft their own system of “comprehensive, publicly financed health benefits,” such as one he specifically presents for the state of Utah. Whether this provocative idea is feasible remains an open question, but Jarvis does deserve credit for thinking boldly.
An effectively damning indictment that’s tempered by a glimmer of hope.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9986254-8-5
Page Count: 196
Publisher: Scrivener Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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