Quaker activist Borton (Fat Chance, 1993, etc.), in a vivid and eloquent memoir of her life in three Vietnamese communities from 1987 to 1993, allows Vietnamese peasants, mostly women, to talk about their roles in the ``American War'' of 196573. ``After war,'' Borton quotes Nguyen Trai, a 15th-century Vietnamese poet, ``the people you meet differ so much from former times.'' Borton, who worked in a Quaker hospital in North Vietnam form 1969 to 1971, shows the truth of this old adage in her interviews with friendly peasants who played ferocious, sometimes heroic, roles as guerrillas in Vietnam's wars. Borton stayed in three very different communities: Ban Long, a former Viet Cong base in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam; Khanh Phu, a village of rice farmers in the less fertile Red River Delta of northern Vietnam; and Hanoi, ``Vietnam's largest village.'' In all three, Borton meets women with lovely names like Beautiful, Autumn, Second Harvest, and Flower who fought for the Viet Cong and the army of North Vietnam against French and then American troops. Now these women are trying to rebuild their lives in towns that still bear many scars: Bomb craters have been transformed into fish ponds, while peasants tilling fields are still often injured by long-dormant ``baby bombs,'' American anti-personnel weapons. Borton collects chilling stories of the devastation and terror wrought on tiny farming villages by American bombings and defoliants, and the horrifying long-term effects of Agent Orange. She reminds American readers that, like them, Vietnamese families mourn for ``wandering souls,'' persons missing in action from the war—except that in Vietnam, the missing number in the hundreds of thousands. Amid the plethora of literature about the Vietnam war, Borton's book is rare for its honest, straightforward look at the ordinary people we fought and their accomplishments and sufferings, and for its avoidance of overt polemic, moralizing, or recrimination.
Pub Date: May 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-670-84332-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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