A definitive guide and then some to what seems to be every mile of the more than 5,000 traveled by Blocksma (Naming Nature, not reviewed) along the US side of the Great Lakes. The author's comprehensive narration of her three-month solo expedition is not in the least restricted to one unifying theme. Camping enthusiasts will discover which state parks have open sites and which are wooded (mosquitoes are ubiquitous at all of them); geology buffs can read about sand dunes, rip currents, glaciers, and the five types of wetlands; the reader learns that the lakes saw some 50 shipwrecks a day in the late 19th century and that Sandusky, Ohio, once had the largest roller coaster in the Midwest. The indefatigably curious Blocksma tours a sewage treatment plant on Lake Erie and a nuclear power facility on Lake Michigan; is warned away by guards at the gate of an exclusive resort in Harbor Springs, Mich.; visits the birthplace of the dune buggy; and parasails over Grand Traverse Bay. At a lunch counter near Green Bay, Wis., she discovers that more than 12,000 people are on the Packers season-ticket waiting list. At times, Blocksma's encyclopedic prose threatens to overwhelm the casual reader. She is fond of nautical measurements and a compulsive maker of lists, noting everything from fish species to park fees. Yet there is something agreeable about her wide-eyed excitement over this abundance of minutiae and arcane detail; her attention to statistics and description at times echoes John McPhee. Even more praiseworthy is her tenacity, as she camps alone and interviews a dizzying number of park rangers, fishermen, sailors, historians, nuclear-plant workers, hoteliers, and seemingly anyone else within reach—though some of the conversations are amazingly mundane. Blocksma contributes mightily to our understanding of a vital section of the continent.
Pub Date: March 14, 1995
ISBN: 0-14-017881-3
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Penguin
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
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
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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