Partly to keep up with the vocabulary explosion that has occurred since Asimov's Words of Science (1959), a sequel with the same alphabetical arrangement and rather discursive style, with no more reference or basic educational value than its predecessor but the same irresistible browsability. The new words range from the obvious astronaut and laser to chillers like clone and the disreputable polywater. There are old words newly come to household status (ecology, eutrophication, greenhouse effect), a few pushovers to boost your confidence (photosynthesis, robot, jet plane), some you've heard and really should know (black hole, red shift, holography) — and if you've kept up so far how about bremsstrahlung, carbonaceous chondrites, scotophobin, vasopressin? The mix makes no sense at all but you'll upset your circadian rhythm and cut into your rem sleep turning just one more page and then another to the final zinjanthropus and zpg.
Pub Date: April 26, 1972
ISBN: 0395137225
Page Count: -
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 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
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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