Back yet again with another collection of his ephemeral newspaper pieces, turf-kicking, one-gallus humorist Grizzard reverts to his customary populist procedures. Sometimes the soul of political correctness, sometimes sociological troglodyte, Grizzard fires off more random shots than Rambo on a busy day. Unfortunately, not enough hit the mark. It's his advice to women who attend country music concerts to ``keep your undergarments to a minimum'' to avoid long lines at the ladies' room (just the kind of social ill that causes our southern gentleman much concern). Another (and more interesting) question vexing the bard of the know-nothing bon ton: ``Why,'' he wonders, ``are so many of today's young men wearing their ball caps backward?'' Grizzard seems to have selective areas of concern. There is a lot that has to do with hometown Atlanta, the failures of its sports teams and the faults of Mayor Maynard Jackson. There is much ado about the author, his own self, including the failures and faults of his innards. The text, being a compilation of daily off-the-cuff maunderings composed largely of one- or two-sentence paragraphs, tends to be a bit redundant, with a lot about zits, mooning, and other such interesting arcana. Throughout, there's a vein of old-timey country xenophobia. Recent events in the Persian Gulf (where we needed to ``kick butt and take some names'') finally give Grizzard a chance to get ``camel jockey'' triumphantly past the Speech Police. This year's offering is not the best of Grizzard, just a lot of Grizzard: standard smirky humor from a writer who knows better.
Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1991
ISBN: 0-679-40704-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1991
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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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