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THE BLUE DEATH

Name: THE BLUE DEATH
Author: Robert D. Morris
ISBN: 978-0-06-073089-5

DISEASE, DISASTER, AND THE WATER WE DRINK

by Robert D. Morris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 1, 2007

Makes a convincing case that more attention must be paid to our water supply.

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Cholera, whose victims’ blood is so viscous from dehydration that oxygen-deprived tissues turn blue, is just one of the scourges of contaminated drinking water vividly described in this collection of cautionary tales.

Morris, a Seattle-based M.D. with a Ph.D. in environmental engineering, approaches water systems like an engineer, disease outbreaks like an epidemiologist, and the people and events behind waterborne disasters like an investigative reporter. This occasionally leads to florid writing of the “little did he know...” variety, but more often the effect is riveting. The author begins with the story of pioneering doctor John Snow, who persuaded Victorian authorities to remove the handle of London’s Broad Street pump to stem a cholera epidemic. They did, but cholera returned again and again because the so-called “sanitarians” didn’t believe water carried invisible organisms and were sure their new sewer systems guaranteed the public’s health. Not until Robert Koch isolated and identified the comma-shaped bacillus that caused cholera would filtering systems and later chlorination become standard means of safeguarding drinking water. Neverending vigilance is a must, declares Morris, offering accounts of more recent disasters such as a 1993 outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee and a Canadian irruption of E. coli 0157:H7 in 2000. Only massive shipments of bottled water, he remarks, spared New Orleans from a post-Katrina waterborne plague. Cholera continues to be a threat in the developing world, especially when natural or manmade disasters trigger massive movements of people. The author highlights other disturbing portents: the prospect of climate change disrupting global water supplies; the fact that most cities are served by century-old rusting and leaking pipes; evidence of chlorine-resistant bacteria; turf warfare between water companies and public-health agencies; and reluctance on the part of regulators like the EPA to impose stiffer standards.

Makes a convincing case that more attention must be paid to our water supply.

Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-06-073089-5

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007

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.