bookshelf

THE DAY THE PHONES STOPPED

Name: THE DAY THE PHONES STOPPED
Author: Leonard Lee
ISBN: 1-55611-264-5

THE COMPUTER CRISIS--THE WHAT AND WHY OF IT, AND HOW WE CAN BEAT IT

by Leonard Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 1991

bookshelf

Cautionary tales by Minneapolis cable-TV news anchor Lee on how recent computer-system failures in business, government, and medicine have wrought death and chaos. As the world moves blithely toward a near-total dependence on computers, few realize the inherent danger that arises when these systems become so complex that designers cannot anticipate every combination of circumstances that a system must reliably handle. Going behind the headlines of several tragedies and scandals, Lee finds that the common culprit in computer lapses is often inadequate software. For instance, when AT&T (the world standard for computer reliability) suffered a complete nine-hour collapse of its long-distance network on January 15, 1990, the cause was an obscure software bug buried in a new multimillion-line software program. An Iranian commercial jet was shot down by the U.S.S. Vincennes partly because of design errors in a $500 million weapons system. Several patients were burned to death during routine radiation therapy and a new airliner (the Airbus) crashed because the machines involved used designs overreliant on computer controls, Lee asserts. He also explores the federal government's failures to develop adequate computer systems for air-traffic control, fiscal management, and IRS operations. Overall, the author's description of the brewing crisis in computerization is far stronger than his prescriptions for correction (such as support for pending legislation to fund software development research). Lee's lively style delivers potentially dry material in a form accessible to people concerned about social and management problems and to computer professionals seeking an overview on a potential nightmare.

Pub Date: July 31, 1991

ISBN: 1-55611-264-5

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Donald Fine

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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

bookshelf

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.