The widely admired John McPhee is a modern journalist whose personal travelogs avoid the obtrusive presence or confessional tone common to many of his contemporaries. From his first New Yorker profile, "A Sense of Where You Are," to his most recent book, The Survival of the Bark Canoe, his work has been graced by a spare, resonant prose, immersing readers in places like Philomath, Georgia 30659 or the fleabag streets of Atlantic City named on the Monopoly game board. Collected here, and briefly introduced by William Howarth, are selections from each of his twelve books. Probably best know are The Pine Barrens, a long, involving visit with some New Jersey "Pineys" resisting encroachment, and Levels of the Game, in which the sharply contrasting personalities of Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner are played out against their tennis styles during a match. And in Pieces of the Frame, there's a morning spent with Jimmy Carter, canoeing down the Chattahoochee River with two unforgettable ecologists, before a grilled-cheese lunch in the Governor's Mansion. Choice excerpts from a master craftsman.
Pub Date: Nov. 29, 1976
ISBN: 0374517193
Page Count: -
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1976
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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