Amis disclaims all responsibility for dipsomaniacs (a special case) but this should be everyone else's indispensable guide to alcoholic bliss. Amis feels that the smallest detail is worth bothering with; infinite pains must be taken. In a tone that goes from reverential hush to lecture-podium pomp he unfolds his "treatise," footnoted with commentaries from Isaiah, Shakespeare, Byron and others who've held strong opinions — "Freedom and Whisky gang thegither!" (Robert Burns). Equipment, stock on hand, recipes, etiquette, etc. are discussed at some length with Amis making no effort to repress his prejudices ("The Wine-Resenter's Short Handy Guide" — wine unlike hard booze is just too damn much trouble and there's no snob like a wine snob). As for the morning-after ravages: "A few writers can be taken as metaphorically illuminating the world of the hangover while ostensibly dealing with something else. Parts of Dostoevsky can be read in this way." But he tenders advice on "countermeasures" bravely, both for the P.H. (Physical Hangover) and the "incomparably more dreadful" M.H. (Metaphysical Hangover). All in all, a great comfort. Cheers! Mr. Amis.
Pub Date: Oct. 24, 1973
ISBN: 0151689954
Page Count: 109
Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1973
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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