Well-organized and edited, this intriguing volume should serve as an excellent resource to those thoroughly interested in...
A collection of articles and editorials from the Russian press focuses on President Donald Trump.
Given the flood of coverage in America concerning Trump’s connections to Russia, that country’s effect on the 2016 election, and U.S.–Russian relations under the new administration, debut editor Bogoslaw does a great service in providing a compilation of Russian pieces concerning the leader and his presidency. The well-structured book goes far toward addressing the often myopic view of U.S. readers by challenging the American public to see Trump from an international perspective. The editor begins with selections regarding Trump as a businessman and entertainment figure from the days before his foray into politics. The work then moves on to coverage of the Trump campaign. These pieces, though differing in opinions, point to the wide support that he had in Russia as he campaigned against Hillary Clinton. “It is sad,” notes one article, but a recent “Gallup poll clearly shows that Trump and his American admirers have now become a mirror image of today’s Russian mass consciousness.” The book moves on to coverage of Trump’s election victory, asking “How did this happen?” and “What next?” Moving forward, the volume presents pieces regarding the administration’s “Russia ties” and his first months in office from the perspective of foreign policy. Bogoslaw points out a number of captivating aspects of Russian coverage as the work moves along, such as this insight: “Even when Russian commentators are most confused, disappointed and even outraged by Trump’s decisions, they do not impugn his character, honesty or intelligence—unlike their counterparts in the West, particularly in the US.” Editorial comments also clarify a number of finer points for American readers, such as an explanation of “yarky,” an adjective Vladimir Putin once use to describe Trump. While the U.S. press largely translated the term as “brilliant,” it is explained that the word more properly means “colorful.” Opinions of the writers quoted range from excitedly pro-Trump to vehemently anti-Trump and almost every shade in between.
Well-organized and edited, this intriguing volume should serve as an excellent resource to those thoroughly interested in Trump’s position on the world stage.Pub Date: May 7, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-879944-89-3
Page Count: 402
Publisher: East View Press
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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