A detailed, compassionate call for greater motorist responsibility in Oman.
A heartfelt, enthusiastic series of instructions and warnings about road safety.
Al Suleimany, a columnist for the Oman Daily Observer, observes that the Sultanate of Oman has one of the highest motorist casualty rates in the world, and he sets out in this book (not actually a novel, but rather a collection of dramatic real-life incidents) to raise Omani awareness of the causes—and results—of carelessness on the country’s roadways. Road Safety Awareness campaigns in Oman have even been endorsed by HM Sultan Qaboos, The Grand Mufti, The Royal Oman Police and others - from NGOs to High Profile Individuals. Al Suleimany stresses that the dangers involved are communal: “There can be no Omani in the Sultanate who has not been touched closely by a road death and yet we see dangerous driving every time we travel the roads.” As a newspaperman, Al Suleimany highlights printed accident reports: “Every week we see also in the newspapers about road casualty figures in the newspapers—but as usual in the coming story we never imagine or visualize that it could be someone we know well or related to.” The work shows examples of motorists making bad or careless choices (it’s also full of accident photos and emotional reminders of the loved ones left behind when a driver dies or kills someone). The author points out several underlying causes of all this tragedy: Oman as a culture is new to driving; it has been “thrust into the 21st century in a matter of a few decades”; and Oman has newly prosperous youth who prize fast cars over safety. The author attempts to prevent new-driver heedlessness by underscoring the personal tragedies that can result from reckless driving. Al Suleimany issues stern warnings about the high cost of irresponsibility, and although a good deal of the book is Oman-specific, many of those warnings have global applications.
A detailed, compassionate call for greater motorist responsibility in Oman.Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2013
ISBN: 978-1481843034
Page Count: 448
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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