James Hilton meets the Karate Kid in this self-congratulatory account of an arduous trek across the roof of the world in search of a fabled warrior caste. A third-degree black belt in karate and an aerospace scientist, Logan is an able, if self-conscious, diarist who apparently never met a physical challenge she did not embrace. In an epic meander, Logan bicycles, hikes, and hitches rides throughout western China and eastern Tibet in pursuit of the fearsome yet elusive Khampas, formidable bandits who for many years harassed Communist Chinese troops along the Tibetan-Nepalese borders. Alas, happening upon only facsimiles of the real thing, Logan must content herself with the alternate goal of a pilgrimage to the holy city of Lhasa. Here, too, Logan's plans are repeatedly foiled by Chinese-dominated Tibetan officials. Her doomed attempts to outfox the authorities are ultimately exhausting to both writer and reader, as well as to various traveling companions lacking Logan's fierce singlemindedness. Tiring also is a literary contrivance inserted at indefinable intervals in which Logan recalls various karate drills replete with ``plunging punches'' and ``devastating counters.'' Yet Logan is undeniably an intrepid traveler, crossing cold, high, rugged terrain, frequently alone, sometimes in the company of Buddhist pilgrims and, later, Nepalese sherpas, encountering holy men, artists, ubiquitous and troublesome police, and occasional Western tourists who mostly elicit her scorn. Her depiction of this closed and remote region, while not unrivaled, is perceptive and convincing. Likeminded readers may find satisfaction in reading about Logan's mountain adventures, but for many, scaling her self- indulgent prose may prove to be hard work. (16 color photos, 5 maps, not seen) (Author tour)
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 1996
ISBN: 0-87951-643-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Overlook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1996
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
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