It was Benjamin Franklin's kite, to be sure. The argument goes this way: because Franklin explored the mysteries of newly discovered electricity to its natural sources, the American colonies stepped into the world of science; subsequently, Franklin was in a position to pull the proper strings as our representative abroad and to persuade the French to back our Revolution. Thus, the kite won the Revolution. The route through the story becomes rather involved as reader attention is shifted from first steps in science to the significance of the Revolution and the establishment of representative democracy in relation to the Age of Reason. The author's erudition is present as is usual. The approach, while original, has the overall effect of bits and pieces, rather than an integrated whole.
Pub Date: Sept. 19, 1963
ISBN: 0395065607
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1963
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
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
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