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WHEN THERE IS NO WIND, ROW

Name: WHEN THERE IS NO WIND, ROW
Author: Paula N. Singer
ISBN: 978-0-9976598-0-1

ONE WOMAN'S RETROSPECTIVE ON THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGES OVER THE PAST 50 YEARS

by Paula N. Singer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 28, 2016

A worthy review of sexism during the second half of the 20th century, although readers may find some sections on tax law and...

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Singer (A Simple, More Efficient Tax Collection System for America, 2005, etc.) offers a memoir that intertwines the story of her career with the battle for gender equality.

Born in 1944 and raised in Kennebunk, Maine, Singer grew up with little money but plenty of determination. An excellent student, she had hopes of entering the law profession, but she found no law school financial aid available to women. So in 1968, Singer found her place as a COBOL programmer at the Portland, Maine–based Union Mutual insurance company. She made small but steady cracks in the glass ceiling, she says, as she became more and more valuable to the company, and she was eventually promoted to the position of senior systems analyst in 1974. At that point, she decided to fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer. She worked for the Peat Marwick accounting firm part time while studying for her degree. She discovered a passion for tax law, especially as it related to American expatriates working abroad and foreign expats working in the United States, and she became an expert in this field. Ultimately, she and her second husband formed their own business, Massachusetts-based Windstar Technologies, in which they combined their programming and legal skills to develop and sell proprietary software. The author devotes long sections to details of computer programming and specifics of tax law cases. Fortunately, she breaks these up with short, vivid vignettes that illustrate different types of sexist discrimination that she personally experienced. For example, she says that at an annual get-together for Peat Marwick employees, held at the men-only Portland Club, the women attendees were told: “We’re pleased you ladies will join the party, but you’ll have to enter the club through the back door.” Singer also slips in numerous tributes, in the form of one-paragraph biographies, to dozens of well-known women who inspired her, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and astronaut Sally Ride.

A worthy review of sexism during the second half of the 20th century, although readers may find some sections on tax law and computer programming to be too technical.

Pub Date: Sept. 28, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-9976598-0-1

Page Count: 378

Publisher: Swallow Lane Publishing

Review Posted Online: May 8, 2017

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

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.