A century and a half after they were written, as Hyde notes, the power of these essays comes “quickly back to life for any...
The 13 essays gathered here are among Thoreau’s best writing: crackingly sharp, like a bright winter morning after a snowfall. Such favorites as “Walking,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “Natural History of Massachusetts,” as well as “Wild Apples” and “Autumnal Tints” distill his customary preoccupations with nature and how to live in the world. Given that these pieces are reprinted regularly, what makes this collection special is the thoughtful introduction from Hyde (Creative Writing/Kenyon Coll.; Trickster Makes the World, 1998, etc.). He offers access to the essays by way of Thoreau's prophetic voice speaking “of things that will be true in the future because they are true in all time.” Hyde notes the declarative, redemptive, spontaneous, imaginative, and intuitive nature of Thoreau's words. “My genius makes distinctions which my understanding cannot,” the naturalist once wrote. Yet he is no unworldly sage; two essays defending abolitionist John Brown show that Thoreau can get down in the political trenches as well.
A century and a half after they were written, as Hyde notes, the power of these essays comes “quickly back to life for any reader with ears to hear the many registers of their author's voice.”Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-86547-585-7
Page Count: 512
Publisher: North Point/Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
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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