Asimov's approach to population education is to lead readers step by painstaking step through a series of demographic figures showing world population in toro and per square kilometer. . . comparative density and present and projected growth rates in different parts of the world. . .how man has multiplied since the time of pre-human hominids and how long it will take to reach various estimated maximums. . .how "jumps" in available energy lead to population explosions and how we will soon use up our fossil fuels, landing a newly nonindustrial world with a population it can't support. . .finally, how "we simply will not avoid disaster within a few decades if population keeps going up and up." What to do? Asimov hopes to avoid the "natural way" of population control — that is, an increase in the death rate — by educating the nonindustrial world to limit its birth rate (though you can't stop people from "mating," something we suspect Asimov regrets) and the developed countries to "give up some of their wealth and share some of their energy." Well, if there's nothing but straws to dutch we night as well grab them, and Asimov's argument is worth trying on those cerebrally-oriented kids who are most easily convinced by figures and reason.
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 1974
ISBN: 0200722794
Page Count: -
Publisher: John Day
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1974
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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