by Nancy J. Altman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 14, 2018
An analytically challenging but breathlessly partisan political tract.
A spirited and historically panoramic defense of the U.S. Social Security program.
Social Security has been a lightning rod of contentious political debate since its enactment by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1935; 80 years later, the vigor with which it’s debated has not diminished at all. Altman (co-author: Social Security Works!, 2015, etc.) essentially forwards three provocative claims: Social Security has been a marvelously effective and well-managed program; it’s grotesquely and often opportunistically misunderstood; and instead of being curtailed or eliminated, it should be expanded. The author’s argument aims to debunk the long-standing, and in her opinion either ignorant or disingenuous, arguments against the program. For example, it was never intended as either welfare or a retirement savings plan but as wage insurance. And it’s not bankrupt nor just a pile of unredeemed IOU’s or a drain on the federal budget. In fact, it is scrupulously managed, self-financing, and adds absolutely nothing to the deficit since it’s entirely separate from the federal government’s general fund. Altman’s approach is uniquely historical—she looks at the speeches and writings of those who originally designed the program, like Roosevelt, and those who subsequently defended it, like Eisenhower. She also discusses Social Security as a consummation of fundamental American ideals like individualism and self-sufficiency, situating her defense within an overarching political philosophy. Altman’s expertise is extraordinary. Her credentials are excellent (Altman was on the faculty of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and taught courses on the subject of Social Security at Harvard Law School), and this is almost certainly the most wide-ranging documentary history of Social Security available. Also, she ably draws attention to issues often neglected in debates over the program’s viability; for example, she highlights the ways it has been one of the most potent legislative antidotes to poverty ever devised. Unfortunately, the tone of the study is consistently peremptory—any and all criticisms of Social Security are dismissed as “zombie lies,” “propaganda,” and “straw man arguments,” and she likes to claim her very complex arguments are “painfully simple.”
An analytically challenging but breathlessly partisan political tract.Pub Date: Aug. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-947492-12-7
Page Count: 402
Publisher: Strong Arm Press
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
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
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis
by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
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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developed by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ; illustrated by Steven Salerno
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