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APPOINTMENT AT THE ENDS OF THE WORLD

Name: APPOINTMENT AT THE ENDS OF THE WORLD
Author: William B. Karesh
ISBN: 0-446-52371-2

MEMOIRS OF A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN

by William B. Karesh ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 11, 1999

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The life of a globetrotting animal doctor, ungussied and enthusiastic. This is not so much a memoir as a diary of five missions Karesh undertook in aid of rare wildlife. A veterinarian for the Wildlife Conservation Society, Karesh often finds himself in the remotest patches, there to work with indigenous people and the local political structure to determine the overall health of a wildlife population, train biologists, and do research on and minister to the animals. While Karesh obviously loves his work, in principal and in practice, it fast becomes clear that it’s an arduous, risky, and uncomfortable business. Not just because he sleeps most nights on damp ground in strange places with dangerous animals, but because of the humans, the most violently unpredictable of creatures, bureaucratic martinets and teenagers waving AK-47s—far worse than jumped rhinos. Karesh tells his story in an unadorned voice, as much an educator as a veterinarian. He wants readers to get a full picture of the places he goes, and to that end he doesn’t confine himself to conservation matters alone, but saturates the pages with topical sidebars that have an impact on his work. These include the spread of HIV in Africa and the constant low level of terror that comes from simply living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; satellite tracking of elephants and pygmy culture; the role of coca and the evolution of an oxbow lake, and dozens more. Whether he is determining if peccaries maintain the natural architecture of the Bolivian woodlands, gauging the health of macaws in the forest canopy of Peru, or poking his finger in the eye of Birute Galdikas’s orangutan project, Karesh is a humble man, with a respectfully guarded openness. Anyone contemplating the life of a roving veterinarian should commune with these pages. Likely 95 percent will reevaluate their career options. (b&w photos throughout, 16 pages color photos)

Pub Date: June 11, 1999

ISBN: 0-446-52371-2

Page Count: 384

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999

Categories:

NATURE | 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.