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THE NAZI WAR ON CANCER

Name: THE NAZI WAR ON CANCER
Author: Robert N. Proctor
ISBN: 0-691-00196-0

by Robert N. Proctor ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1999

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A fascinating look at German contributions to the study of cancer. Nazi doctors are known for the cruel human experiments they conducted on concentration camp inmates, their euthanasia program, and their willing participation in the selection process at the death camps. Proctor (History of Science/Pennsylvania State Univ.) detailed some of this hideous behavior a decade ago in Racial Hygiene (1988). Here, he makes a major contribution to our knowledge of the other side of Nazi medicine, the study of disease. Proctor’s account is well-researched and richly illustrated, and he delineates carefully documented facts in fluid prose. But the book is marred by an unclear argument exemplified by its deceiving title. Its actual subject is German research surrounding the cause, prevention, and cure of cancer, not just under the Nazis, but from the late 19th century through the early Cold War period. This includes the leading role German scientists played in diagnosing and fighting occupational hazards that caused cancer, in particular the proof they marshaled in the 1940s that smoking cigarettes caused lung cancer. Efforts to improve health through bans on smoking and alcohol were encouraged in the more racially and hygienically conscious circles of the Nazi hierarchy, especially the SS. Yet war shortages and stress led many Germans at home and at the front to booze it up and fill their lungs with smoke; Proctor never explains sufficiently why a health-obsessed totalitarian regime so seemingly effective in policing its citizenry allowed its Volk to indulge in liquor and cigarettes. He only vaguely touches on the complex nature of life under Nazism (explored by many scholars during the past two decades) and ventures onto shaky ground when discussing the relation of medical researchers to the greater society. Despite its shortcomings, an important, instructive book that expands our knowledge of the role medical researchers played in Hitler’s Germany. (39 b&w illustrations)

Pub Date: May 1, 1999

ISBN: 0-691-00196-0

Page Count: 365

Publisher: Princeton Univ.

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1999

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.