A collection of columns from 198695 by Kinsley, picking up where an earlier collection, Curse of the Giant Muffins (1987), left off. Kinsley has earned a reputation from his frequent television appearances and columns in the New Republic, Time, and the New Yorker as one of the few Washington liberals still proud to wear that label. Indeed, some of the best columns in this collection are those attacking Republicans, especially for their campaign tactics in the 1988 and 1992 presidential campaigns (see especially ``Rally Round the Flag, Boys,'' which recalls attempts to portray Michael Dukakis as unpatriotic, and ``128 Skiddoo,'' charging the Bush campaign with lying about Bill Clinton's record as governor of Arkansas). But Kinsley has a more serious target in mind than conservatives: the American people, the ``big babies'' of the book's title. Kinsley writes in the introduction that the people ``make flagrantly incompatible demandscut my taxes, preserve my benefits, balance the budgetthen explode in self-righteous outrage when the politicians fail to deliver.'' Anger at Americans for their hypocrisyand at politicians, especially of conservative bent, who cynically exploit itis the common theme that runs through these columns. The anger, however, is muted, and that is this book's shortcoming. Kinsley is witty, clever, and incisive but also cool and controlled, and the absence of passion ultimately leaves the reader more impressed than moved. Kinsley's columns convey much interesting opinion but little sense of drama on the cataclysmic events of the past decade, from Irangate to the fall of the Soviet Union to electoral upheavals. Kinsley makes his case well if a bit too dispassionately: The American people want solutions without having to pay for them, and politicians will promise all the free rides it takes to get elected.
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-688-12452-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1995
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
