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SHADOWS ON THE WASTELAND

Name: SHADOWS ON THE WASTELAND
Author: Mike Stroud
ISBN: 0-87951-543-0

CROSSING ANTARCTICA WITH RANULPH FIENNES

by Mike Stroud ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 27, 1994

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The story of an unsupported, near-lunatic, two-man trek across the Antarctic wastes becomes an occasion for Stroud (doctor and explorer) to pound his chest as he details the truly revolting putrefaction of his body and mind. Stroud is drawn to extreme environments, lands so awesome and treacherous and relentless in their cruelty, they make the hair stand up on your neck. The North Pole qualifies as such a place, and Stroud, with his companion, the respected explorer Ranulph Fiennes (see Ranulph Fiennes, Mind Over Matter, above), had made three hellacious—not to mention unsuccessful—forays into those parts. Then the South Pole beckoned. Why not a slog across the breadth of the continent with his friend Ran, he thought, pulling all he needed behind him in a sled? This would require a 100-day journey over 1,350 miles, with 500 pounds of provisions in tow, at the mercy of elements that made windchill days of 100 degrees below zero seem balmy. Stroud doesn't waste much breath on his motivations or, once they set down on the edge of the ice shelf, on much other than what happens to a body put under such stress. At the start things weren't too bad: the usual frozen toes and fingers, some minor bickering with his mate. They plodded on. Slowly the picture became less pretty: savage bouts with diarrhea, major weight loss, confusion, bitter fights with Ran. Despite dementia, blindness, and toes described as black bags of pus, they made it. They also paid the tax man: ``We had been crushed by the vastness of our journey, our muscles poisoned by the ice, the stench of rotting flesh added to our already evil body odors.'' More a horror story than an adventure epic. A little more delineation of landscape, or a closer look at previous Antarctic expeditions, would have been a welcome relief from this nonstop tale of woe.

Pub Date: June 27, 1994

ISBN: 0-87951-543-0

Page Count: 192

Publisher: Overlook

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.