An intriguing guide that might comfort readers who seek to fit social definitions of beauty.
A compelling theory about the chemistry of skin color that includes step-by-step advice for those who want to lighten their skin.
While the belief that one skin color is superior to another is unthinkable for many, Vietnamese author Ho reiterates a powerful social reality: In many parts of the world, including the United States, fair skin is equated with beauty. Part autobiography, part instruction manual, the book describes how she experienced shame as a child because of her complexion, which was darker than other members of her family. Ho’s experiences drove her to develop a method to alter skin color while pursing her doctorate in nutrition at San Francisco State University. The author claims great success–the cover shows before and after pictures of her transformation from olive to nearly ivory-white. Ho devotes much of her book to proving her theory that complexion has little to do with genes but instead is a product of diet and atmospheric toxins. She contends that some countries are likelier to produce darker-skinned people because of poverty, malnutrition and geographical elements like volcanoes. To her credit, Ho offers sound nutritional advice–avoid smoking and excessive antibiotics, stick to whole foods and hormone-free dairy products. However, readers may wish that in choosing to study the science of skin care, Ho might have also discovered her unique beauty and focused her expertise on well being rather than the struggle to conform. Even so, her method is more realistic than most of the claims that come with many anti-aging products, which promise that we can transcend time itself–provided we buy the right cream.
An intriguing guide that might comfort readers who seek to fit social definitions of beauty.Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-9792103-0-3
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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