The analogy to a military history is well fulfilled by this literate, compendious chronicle of the marketing of aspirin and its analgesic rivals, starting with the drug's final formulation in the late 1800's and ending with its current ``repositioning'' as a heart-attack preventive. According to Mann (a contributing editor to Science and The Atlantic) and Plummer, here we have a perfect history of medical hype: Aspirin's pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory effects are verifiable and even miraculous, but because its sole constituent, acetylsalicylic acid, had been known and therefore unpatentable in Germany, it became (along with heroin) one of the first drugs sold not by its chemical name but by its ``brand'': Aspirin. The company that sold it was Bayer of Elberfeld, later to become the monolith I.G. Farben. After WW I, when Germany could no longer transact business in many western nations, the brand name became a free-for- all. Among other things, the battle over market share gave rise to such institutions as the roadside billboard and the FDA. Then along came acetaminophen (Tylenol) and ibuprofen (Advil)—and the plot continues to thicken. A well-told tale of greed, business acumen, and ongoing marketing genius that's also a microcosmic history of law, politics, and medical progress in the 20th century.
Pub Date: Nov. 6, 1991
ISBN: 0-394-57894-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1991
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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