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THE DINOSAUR MAN

Name: THE DINOSAUR MAN
Author: Susan Baur
ISBN: 0-06-016538-3

TALES OF MADNESS AND ENCHANTMENT FROM THE BACK WARD

by Susan Baur ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 31, 1991

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Like Oliver Sacks, psychologist Baur (Hypochondria: Woeful Imaginings, 1988) writes with clear empathy for those afflicted with mental illness. The Dinosaur Man of the title has been a schizophrenic patient in the chronic, or ``back,'' ward of a mental hospital for 37 years; not mentioned in the title or subtitle is the other category of patients the author writes about—outpatients with less debilitating disorders who live their troubled lives outside institutional walls but inside their private hells. While other members of the hospital's professional staff direct their efforts to getting the back ward patients to behave in an acceptable manner, usually with medications, Baur focuses on understanding and valuing, even loving, them. She listens carefully to the Dinosaur Man's fantastic delusions, initially to try to interpret them but soon abandoning that goal in favor of becoming a participant—or, in her words, an accomplice, a cameraman. She stores and sorts various fragmented memories, trying to help him- -and other patients—reconstruct their pasts so that they may live with their presents. No miracles, no sudden ``awakenings'' are reported here. The Dinosaur Man remains a chronic schizophrenic; there are changes, however, in Baur's perceptions of schizophrenia, and doubtless one goal of her book is to change others' perceptions as well. Comes close to being a voyeuristic trip through a sideshow but is saved by the author's genuine concern for those whose afflictions she describes.

Pub Date: July 31, 1991

ISBN: 0-06-016538-3

Page Count: 256

Publisher: HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1991

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE INTIMATE HOUR
by Susan Baur

- BOOK REVIEW
CONFIDING
by Susan Baur

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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.