An enlightening peek behind the curtain for Nancy Drew fans.
“There is no Carolyn Keene. There never was.” But as the author of 23 of the first 30 Nancy Drew mysteries, Mildred Wirt Benson came closer than anyone else.
Digging into archives and the memories of surviving acquaintances as well as published histories, Rubini spins an account of Benson’s long and active life that throws a strong light on the source of Nancy Drew’s own admirably intrepid and independent spirit. The author briefly mentions updated editions of the original Nancy Drews and other publication details, but she largely steers clear of retold plotlines and literary analyses to focus on biographical details. These include Benson’s early years in Iowa and first publication at 13 (in St. Nicholas Magazine), two marriages, and twin careers as a local journalist and, under a variety of names, a writer of over 130 children’s titles. Family snapshots, old cover images, and side notes on topics from Nancy Drew trivia to a brownie recipe offer occasional distractions. More significantly, a quick history of the Stratemeyer Syndicate sheds light on the ins and outs of series ghostwriting, highlighted by the dramatic 1980 courtroom denouement (“I thought that you were dead”) that led at last to public recognition of Benson’s achievements.
An enlightening peek behind the curtain for Nancy Drew fans. (timeline, publication list, glossary, endnotes, bibliography) (Biography. 11-14)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8214-2183-3
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Ohio Univ.
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
Bottom line: Stimulating for math geeks and proto–math geeks, more confusing than enlightening for the rest of us.
This breezy look at the tools, techniques, uses and universality of mathematics doesn’t add up to more than a muddle.
Patel begins by nonsensically arguing that since math is dependent on formal proofs and “beauty” (rather than evidence and experiments, which “don’t count for much”; take that, Galileo!), it’s not a science but “more like an art.” The author proceeds, however, to demonstrate the opposite by tracing its development through history as a tool for measurements and calculations that have promoted our understanding of the physical universe. Following opening chapters introducing number systems, primes, sets, zero and infinity, he whirls past types and uses of graphs and tessellations, imaginary numbers, algorithms, chaos theory, Newton’s laws of motion and more in single-topic spreads crowded with cartoon illustrations and boxed passages in high-contrast colors. Along with careless errors, such as twice misspelling Prussia’s capital and equating yards with meters in a measurement, the author delivers minidisquisitions on Menger sponges, Euler’s number and other curiosities that are unhelpfully vague, dizzyingly technical or both. Furthermore, on different pages he offers different etymologies for the term “mathematics,” and one of the several “Try this at home” demonstrations contradicts an adjacent claim that humans are bilaterally symmetrical.
Bottom line: Stimulating for math geeks and proto–math geeks, more confusing than enlightening for the rest of us. (glossary, perfunctory index) (Nonfiction. 11-13)Pub Date: July 30, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7534-7072-5
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2013
Loosely knit but notable both for the journey it commemorates and its view of a time’s parochial attitudes.
Quick, name the first woman to fly solo around the world! Bet you can't.
Spun from interviews with the pilot herself (who died in 2014) and family members, plus a 1970 autobiographical account, this often–hair-raising tale not only rescues a major aeronautical feat from near-total obscurity, but presents an eye-opening picture of another era’s gender roles and expectations. Mock faced hazards including high winds, icing, mental exhaustion, and a dead radio on the monthlong 1964 flight. The (as a local newspaper put it) “petite Bexley housewife and mother” also attended to proper dress and shoes along the way. As Pimm describes it, she also had to put up with a controlling husband, who comes across as a real toad by continually urging her to cut out the sightseeing and unilaterally canceling planned tributes in Hawaii to speed her along; he also wasn’t above emotional blackmail: “no word from you all day after landing in Tripoli,” reads a telegram. “Your mother in tears. Love, Russ.” Tedious minor details and irrelevant sidebars make the flight a rough one, but readers will walk away afterward appreciating the magnitude of Mock’s accomplishment—and, with help from the broad array of snapshots, news photos, and personal documents, of her spirit and character, too.
Loosely knit but notable both for the journey it commemorates and its view of a time’s parochial attitudes. (timeline, endnotes, glossary, reading lists) (Biography. 11-14)Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-8214-2216-8
Page Count: 150
Publisher: Ohio Univ.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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