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THE COMPLETE CANCER SURVIVAL GUIDE

Name: THE COMPLETE CANCER SURVIVAL GUIDE
Author: Peter Teeley
ISBN: 0-385-48605-7

by Peter Teeley & Philip Bashe ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 4, 2000

First rate help, clearly organized—a way out of the confusion and fear that accompanies a cancer diagnosis.

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A fine, encyclopedic reference to a vast general area, this guide is made infinitely more valuable by providing sound specifics for individual cases. Teeley (press secretary under the Bush administration) and Bashe (You Don’t Have to Die: One Family’s Guide to Surviving Childhood Cancer, not reviewed) begin by describing Teeley’s successful 1981 treatment for Stage III colon cancer. They acknowledge that even as the specifics are being written out here, they are going out of date—therefore, besides laying out what is known about the 25 most common cancers and their treatment, the authors emphasize where to go next to be sure that diagnosis and treatment are state-of-the-art. Teeley and Bashe first describe what cancer is, in detail, with charts describing what is known about the etiology of each of the 25 variants (the five most common are prostate, breast, lung, colorectal, and lymphomas). They then examine at length diagnosis and staging (how far the disease has progressed helps determine treatment) and try to put survival rates into some kind of individual perspective. The various treatment types are exhaustively detailed, both in general and then for the disease type. Emotional health is addressed, and exhaustive resource and reference lists are included. Teeley and Bashe push for an aggressive, expert attack (this is no time to be in a community hospital, no matter how early the disease is caught), and recommend considering experimental treatments.

First rate help, clearly organized—a way out of the confusion and fear that accompanies a cancer diagnosis.

Pub Date: April 4, 2000

ISBN: 0-385-48605-7

Page Count: 992

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2000

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.