Presented with undisguised condemnation and passion, the incredible story of Stalin's treacherous rise to power, moral degeneration, and miserable end. Otfinoski uses testimony from Khrushchev and other Soviet public figures, as well as from Western diplomats, to illuminate Stalin's methods and successes- -and their brutalizing effects on Soviet society. Particularly curious is the contrast between Stalin's vicious treatment of enemies, real and imagined, and his tender letters to his daughter. Though he quotes numerous secondary sources, Otfinoski attributes to Stalin thoughts and feelings that seem speculative, especially since he notes that Stalin erased the records of many details of his early life. Still, gripping. B&w photos; source notes; chronology; annotated bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 12+)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 1-56294-240-9
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1993
A somewhat simplified overview of Wharton's life: a biography of a wealthy, lonely little girl who used her imagination to make up stories that made her happy and also made her, in 1921, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, for The Age of Innocence. In recapping the plot of that novel and providing an abbreviated context for its mores, Turk aptly portrays a real conflict in Wharton's life and in the lives of most YAs: following one's heart vs. doing what is expected by others. Readers may wonder at a time in which people rejected their innermost feelings in the name of duty, but they will see how decisive were the roles of wealth and prestige at the turn of the century. This is biography-lite; fortunately, Turk's bibliography points readers to other studies of Wharton's life, including R.W.B. Lewis's essential work. (b&w photos, chronology, bibliography, index) (Biography. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-936389-45-1
Page Count: 83
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Muckenhoupt gives a balanced account of Freud's life, work, and times, describing his childhood, studies, mentors, experiments, theories, family life, publications, and feuds, and, in an epilogue, provides some historical perspective. This title in the Oxford Portraits of Science series is a readable biography, but what readers will find memorable is the time in which Freud lived. The author explains that scientific method was in its infancy. Treatments included hypnosis, hydrotherapy (water therapy), cocaine therapy, and faradization (electric shock). Freud struggled to gain fame for his treatment of female ``hysterics,'' an illness that has ceased to exist; he practiced medicine at a time when a friend and mentor postulated the ``nasal-genital theory.'' Muckenhoupt recounts some of Freud's famous cases and methods, notably, allowing patients to use free association. Black-and-white photographs are used throughout this good introduction to a still-controversial figure. (chronology, further reading, index) (Biography. 12-14)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-19-509933-8
Page Count: 157
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1997
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