A clear and comprehensive guide to a complex locale.
A brief but practical and thorough introduction to Taiwan.
Brooklyn-based writer and counselor Altman visited Taiwan for the first time in 1995 and was immediately enchanted by what he called a “place of extraordinary natural beauty.” He would return many times and developed a deep appreciation for Taiwan’s complex past and rich culture as well as the threatened democracy’s global importance. The author aims to deliver an “educational and entertaining” primer, and he largely succeeds, beginning with a brief but impressively synoptic history that includes the original settlement of the territory by people of Austronesian heritage tens of thousands of years ago. The book is as practical as it is whimsical; one learns practical tips, such as how to navigate the Taiwanese metro and shop for bubble tea, but also about the national dog and the ubiquity of musical garbage trucks. Altman also discusses Taiwan’s fraught political history with great clarity, particularly in relation to China, and concludes his book with an impassioned case for its independence: “As a democratic society, the Taiwanese people should be able to decide their own future in any way that they see fit.” For those with limited knowledge of Taiwan and especially for those planning to visit, this introduction is helpful and easy to digest. Altman’s style is lucidly informal, and he manages not only to prepare the first-time visitor for day-to-day aspects of a trip—for instance, there’s a lengthy discussion of the prevalence of Wi-Fi connections—but he also limns a vivid portrait of Taiwan’s national identity. The author clearly writes out of great personal affection for the area and its inhabitants, and, as such, his accounts can feel a touch rosy; one gets the impression it’s a place that’s rich in virtue and virtually free of vice. This minor quibble aside, it’s an easy, enjoyable and informative read.
A clear and comprehensive guide to a complex locale.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2021
ISBN: 979-8755698757
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Gaupo Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.
The Harvard historian and Texas native demonstrates what the holiday means to her and to the rest of the nation.
Initially celebrated primarily by Black Texans, Juneteenth refers to June 19, 1865, when a Union general arrived in Galveston to proclaim the end of slavery with the defeat of the Confederacy. If only history were that simple. In her latest, Gordon-Reed, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, and numerous other honors, describes how Whites raged and committed violence against celebratory Blacks as racism in Texas and across the country continued to spread through segregation, Jim Crow laws, and separate-but-equal rationalizations. As Gordon-Reed amply shows in this smooth combination of memoir, essay, and history, such racism is by no means a thing of the past, even as Juneteenth has come to be celebrated by all of Texas and throughout the U.S. The Galveston announcement, notes the author, came well after the Emancipation Proclamation but before the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Though Gordon-Reed writes fondly of her native state, especially the strong familial ties and sense of community, she acknowledges her challenges as a woman of color in a state where “the image of Texas has a gender and a race: “Texas is a White man.” The author astutely explores “what that means for everyone who lives in Texas and is not a White man.” With all of its diversity and geographic expanse, Texas also has a singular history—as part of Mexico, as its own republic from 1836 to 1846, and as a place that “has connections to people of African descent that go back centuries.” All of this provides context for the uniqueness of this historical moment, which Gordon-Reed explores with her characteristic rigor and insight.
A concise personal and scholarly history that avoids academic jargon as it illuminates emotional truths.Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63149-883-1
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Liveright/Norton
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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