An attempt to determine the extent to which TV has contributed to the manipulation of political campaigns—and what can be done about it; by Jamieson (Communication/Univ. of Penn.; Eloquence in an Electronic Age, 1988, etc.). Jamieson proceeds from an analysis of attack-campaigning (she finds, unsurprisingly, that sloganeering has characterized politics since the days of the Founding Fathers, but that TV heightens its visual appeal) through a consideration of the relationship between news and ads (Jamieson argues that the difference between the two is becoming blurred) to a discussion of news coverage in general (she illustrates the critical role that coverage has played in shaping campaigns). Her lengthiest case study is of the Willie Horton affair, where she subtly demonstrates that ``what is shown is not necessarily what is seen and what is said is not always what is heard.'' Thus, much was made in the 1988 campaign of 268 convicts who jumped furlough during Governor Dukakis's first two terms, with the suggestion implicit that all were murderers—but in fact only four were first-degree murderers not eligible for parole, and only one, Horton himself, went on to kidnap and rape. Jamieson describes the techniques of the attack-ad: quick cuts; black-and- white or darkly colored images; shadowed lighting; the voice of a seemingly ``neutral'' announcer; ominous music; a rapid sequence of images that reduces ability to scrutinize information. But the ways in which attack-ads are dealt with—counterattack; prior warning to alert viewers that attack-ads may be expected; the use of humor to defuse them; the willingness to call campaigners personally to account for ads' errors—are, she says, still in the early stages. Familiar examples and few new insights, but, still, a cogent and evenhanded summary of generally available information about the influence of TV on politicking. (Forty halftones, ten graphs—not seen.)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-19-507854-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1992
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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