A witty and erudite study of early American explorers and their sensibilities, by Greenblatt (English Lit./Univ. of Cal. at Berkeley; Sir Walter Raleigh, 1973). The capacity for simple wonder (and whether we have lost it) is the author's stated concern, but there is a strong subtheme here, reminiscent of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle—the inevitable corruption of observation by cultural predisposition: ``We can be certain only that European representations of the New World tell us something about...European representation.'' In looking closely at these explorers' perceptions of foreign lands, Greenblatt time and again tweaks us with wry precision: ``The authors...were liars—few of them steady liars, but frequent and cunning liars.'' Any generalization about a monolithic European sensibility is subjected to common-sense scrutiny. The Calvinist who compares his Roman Catholic expedition leader to local cannibals because ``he wanted to eat the flesh of Jesus Christ raw'' is clearly going to see things very differently from his boss. Readable throughout, Greenblatt never strays from the human basics: ``Marco Polo [is] constantly weighing the possibilities for trade...Columbus imagines he is acquiring for his Sovereigns an outlying corner of the Great Khan's empire, Mandeville acquires nothing.'' The narrative is rich with humanity. In particular, it is difficult to forget the diplomatic gifts of the Indian woman, known as Dona Marina to the Spaniards, who swiftly learns Spanish, transcends her cultural perspective, and becomes not just the translator between Montezuma and CortÇs but ``the figure in whom all communication between the opposing cultures was concentrated.'' Greenblatt's deft handling of intellectual baggage is a special gift, but his clear, quick, pungent re-creation of specific people and events in this context is remarkable. (Sixteen halftones—not seen.)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-226-30651-8
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Univ. of Chicago
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1991
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.
The legendary booze-addled metal rocker turned reality-TV star comes clean in his tell-all autobiography.
Although brought up in the bleak British factory town of Aston, John “Ozzy” Osbourne’s tragicomic rags-to-riches tale is somehow quintessentially American. It’s an epic dream/nightmare that takes him from Winson Green prison in 1966 to a presidential dinner with George W. Bush in 2004. Tracing his adult life from petty thief and slaughterhouse worker to rock star, Osbourne’s first-person slang-and-expletive-driven style comes off like he’s casually relating his story while knocking back pints at the pub. “What you read here,” he writes, “is what dribbled out of the jelly I call my brain when I asked it for my life story.” During the late 1960s his transformation from inept shoplifter to notorious Black Sabbath frontman was unlikely enough. In fact, the band got its first paying gigs by waiting outside concert venues hoping the regularly scheduled act wouldn’t show. After a few years, Osbourne and his bandmates were touring America and becoming millionaires from their riff-heavy doom music. As expected, with success came personal excess and inevitable alienation from the other members of the group. But as a solo performer, Osbourne’s predilection for guns, drink, drugs, near-death experiences, cruelty to animals and relieving himself in public soon became the stuff of legend. His most infamous exploits—biting the head off a bat and accidentally urinating on the Alamo—are addressed, but they seem tame compared to other dark moments of his checkered past: nearly killing his wife Sharon during an alcohol-induced blackout, waking up after a bender in the middle of a busy highway, burning down his backyard, etc. Osbourne is confessional to a fault, jeopardizing his demonic-rocker reputation with glib remarks about his love for Paul McCartney and Robin Williams. The most distinguishing feature of the book is the staggering chapter-by-chapter accumulation of drunken mishaps, bodily dysfunctions and drug-induced mayhem over a 40-plus-year career—a résumé of anti-social atrocities comparable to any of rock ’n’ roll’s most reckless outlaws.
An autobiography as toxic and addictive as any drug its author has ever ingested.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56989-7
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2009
IN THE NEWS
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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