A fairly lucid attempt at charting the twists and turns of everyday conversation for those who haven't mastered the art. Alan Garner (Interpersonal Communications, Santa Aha College) directs a workshop network in the subject, so he knows enough to include both simple and complex exchanges. Topics range from getting a conversation started via open-ended questions (rather than those that promote one-line answers), to discouraging the persistent manipulator by repeating your reason for saying "no" over and over again (the "broken record" technique). Readers are encouraged to be as positive as possible, wherever possible (in some cases we can even help another person accept our genuine compliments graciously). The communications-course staples are included—"active listening" by paraphrasing the other person's statement, the rudiments of body language—but the chief attraction is the step-by-step guidance for those who truly have trouble initiating or sustaining a conversation, issuing invitations, and the like. A handy little primer for the terminally tongue-tied.
Pub Date: Oct. 18, 1981
ISBN: 1565656296
Page Count: 230
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1981
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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