As in his other How Did We Find Out books, Asimov begins with the beliefs of primitives and ancients; later come summaries of other theories that "didn't work out" either, plus a synopsis of landmarks in the development and application of the seismograph. As earthquakes can't be considered today without reference to plate tectonics, Asimov starts that story with Wegener's continental drift theory, touches on the evidence from the seafloor, and—with a diagram showing where the plates line up today—concludes that most earthquakes take place on the cracks between them. With a stretched-out discussion of whether people should "leave" (evacuate) on the mere possibility of a quake, this is one of the flimsier entries in Asimov's history-oriented series. Readers will come away from Fodor's Earth in Motion (p. 638, J-154), about plate tectonics, with a better understanding of earthquakes than they get here; for a fuller all-around discussion of the subject, see Lauber's Earthquakes (1972).
Pub Date: Sept. 30, 1978
ISBN: 0380534622
Page Count: -
Publisher: Walker
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 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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