A would-be Jane Jacobs of the suburbs offers some savvy analysis and worthy advice. ``The suburbs we build are fostering an unhealthy way of life,'' declares Langdon (Urban Excellence, not reviewed), as he expands on his Atlantic Monthly articles on the topic, citing examples from around the country as well as his home community in New Haven, Conn. Thus he critiques the distortions our culture wreaks on houses and neighborhoods and observes that such fragmented communities can't teach kids street smarts. He suggests good streets make connections between people and local institutions. Noting that outdoor life has shifted from social front porches to private backyards, he suggests that zoning changes and limits on mortgage deductibility could hamper the spread of overlarge houses; and he recommends that building-trade publications acquire a more critical ethos. He closely describes the Florida Gulf Coast suburb of Seaside, showing how ``neotraditionalist'' architects Andres Duany and Elizabeth Plater- Zyberk have created a more connected community. A success story in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area shows how city and suburb have reduced competition by tax sharing, and Kirkland, Wash., is an example of suburban renewal, having rebuilt its downtown with offices, housing, and discreet parking. Observing that robust neighborhood life in the past was the product of scarce resources, Langdon tempers his prescriptions with the caution that current surplus wealth fosters waste, but he suggests that a heightened environmental consciousness could presage reform in community design. Langdon's narrative voice sometimes could be smoother as he cobbles together previous writings with new material, but this is a vital contribution to a too-often neglected issue. (104 illustrations, not seen)
Pub Date: June 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-87023-914-7
Page Count: 296
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1994
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
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