Henderson, who holds baseball's major-league record for most stolen bases, won't steal into many hearts with this superficial and self-congratulatory autobiography co-written by a baseball writer for the Gannett News Service. When Henderson broke Lou Brock's base-stealing record last year, he promptly grabbed a microphone and crowed, ``I am the greatest of all time.'' The subsequent public backlash did nothing to temper his pride, although it clearly stung, judging by the flood of defensive self-promotion on view here. For example: ``I don't think I'm greedy. If number one means stolen bases, hits, and runs, it also means dollars. Number one in all categories. That's not being greedy. That's being deserving. That's being number one. That's America.'' Sad to say, there's little in Henderson's retelling of his life to compensate for all the grandstanding. While some memories grip (the 1982 theft of 130 bases, a childhood friendship with M.C. Hammer) and genuine feeling sometimes seeps through (above all, in Henderson's deep love for manager Billy Martin), by and large this is autobiography by the book. A young man proves himself, paeans to motherhood powder the page, and Henderson's ego constantly gets in the way: Do we really need to listen to him tell Mark McGwire how to hit home runs? Unquestionably, Henderson is a baseball genius, the greatest lead-off hitter and base-stealer ever. But his mouth moves as fast as his legs, and the reader is left holding the bag. (B&w photo insert—not seen.)
Pub Date: June 24, 1992
ISBN: 0-06-017975-9
Page Count: 224
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
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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