An Asimov miscellany: 17 erratic pieces reprinted from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, 1979-80, on over-familiar topics ranging from astronomy and physics to medieval weaponry, biology, and human nature. Some of the essays are passable enough, if superficial: sunspots and the "Maunder minimum"; solar neutrinos and Davis' experiments; the English longbow; Leo Szilard, neutrons, and nuclear bombs; Cyril Burt and scientific self-delusion. Others are unfocused and largely inane (moon, tides, and angular momentum; clones as sources of surgical spare parts)—or Asimov at his rambling and self-indulgent worst: a retort to a "itpicking critic," an (already dated) update on the planets, discussions on urban population growth and on human nature. A very mixed, often noisy bunch, with little appeal to any but ardent Asimov admirers.
Pub Date: Oct. 9, 1981
ISBN: 0246120436
Page Count: -
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1981
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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