This, the text of the 1978 Harvard commencement address, falls under the heading of what Gunter Grass recently called "one of those strange antifreedom speeches" Solzhenitsyn has been giving since he came to live in the United States—but it is not merely a jeremiad denouncing Western materialism, moral laxity, loss of nerve: "the calamity of an autonomous, irreligious humanistic consciousness." For, however unreasonable Solzhenltsyn may be—however extreme, dogmatic, retardataire—he serves as a goad by his very ardor; and his vision of courage under stress—the basis of his claim for Eastern Europe's spiritual superiority—is attested to no less by the example (among others) of Sakharov, who otherwise disagrees with Solzhenitsyn in virtually every respect. Westerners meanwhile can rejoice that our degenerate, debilitated society at least gives Solzhenitsyn a free hearing.
Pub Date: Jan. 17, 1978
ISBN: 006132079X
Page Count: -
Publisher: Harper & Row
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1978
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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
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