Gail Pool's Blog, page 5

Review: Land's End: A Walk Through Provincetown

Land’s End: A Walk Through Provincetown
By Michael Cunningham. Crown Journeys, Crown, 2002, 175 pp.

Provincetown, situated at the tip of Cape Cod, is “the lands’ end; it is not en route to anywhere else,” says Michael Cunningham in his guide to the town. “One of its charms is the fact that those who go there have made some effort to do so.”

Many people do make that effort. Every summer, thousands of tourists swarm this beach town. Commercial Street, lined with shops and with some of the more fla...

Review: Land's End: A Walk Through Provincetown

Land�s End: A Walk Through Provincetown By Michael Cunningham. Crown Journeys, Crown, 2002, 175 pp. Provincetown, situated at the tip of Cape Cod, is �the lands� end; it is not en route to anywhere else,� says Michael Cunningham in his guide to the town. �One of its charms is the fact that those who go there have made some effort to do so.� Many people do make that effort. Every summer, thousands of tourists swarm this beach town. Commercial Street, lined with shops and with some of the more...

Review: Time & Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket

Time & Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket
By Frank Conroy. Crown Journeys, Crown, 2004, 139 pp.

"Nantucket is drenched with memories of the whaling days and the nineteenth century,” writes Frank Conroy in Time & Tide, an entry in the Crown Journeys series which takes readers on brief “walks” through various places. Having lived in Nantucket either as a year-rounder or summer resident since the '50s, Conroy knows the island well and proves an engaging guide to its geography, culture and evol...

Review: Time & Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket

Time & Tide: A Walk Through Nantucket By Frank Conroy. Crown Journeys, Crown, 2004, 139 pp. "Nantucket is drenched with memories of the whaling days and the nineteenth century,� writes Frank Conroy in Time & Tide, an entry in the Crown Journeys series which takes readers on brief �walks� through various places. Having lived in Nantucket either as a year-rounder or summer resident since the '50s, Conroy knows the island well and proves an engaging guide to its geography, culture and evolution...

Review: My Family and Other Animals

My Family and Other Animals (The Corfu Trilogy Book 1)
By Gerald Durrell. Kindle Edition.

It is easy to see why this book was popular when it was published in 1956 and has never been out of print. The story, somewhat fictionalized, of the four Durrell siblings and their mother in Corfu, where they lived from 1935 to 1939, is a delight. If Gerald is the centerpiece of the tale, all members of the eccentric family get their due, along with a cast of affectionately drawn oddball characters, some h...

Review: My Family and Other Animals

My Family and Other Animals (The Corfu Trilogy Book 1) By Gerald Durrell. Kindle Edition. It is easy to see why this book was popular when it was published in 1956 and has never been out of print. The story, somewhat fictionalized, of the four Durrell siblings and their mother in Corfu, where they lived from 1935 to 1939, is a delight. If Gerald is the centerpiece of the tale, all members of the eccentric family get their due, along with a cast of affectionately drawn oddball characters, some...

Review: Himalaya Bound

Himalaya Bound: One Family’s Quest to Save Their Animals and an Ancient Way of Life
By Michael Benanav. Pegasus, 2018, 230 pp.

As we confront the damage humans have done to the planet, I’m always impressed when countries establish environmental policies to protect the natural world and wildlife. But as Michael Benanav shows in this excellent book, these policies can have a dire impact on people’s lives and are sometimes misconceived and unnecessary.

For generations, the nomadic Van Gujjars of In...

Review: Himalaya Bound

Himalaya Bound: One Family�s Quest to Save Their Animals and an Ancient Way of Life By Michael Benanav. Pegasus, 2018, 230 pp. As we confront the damage humans have done to the planet, I�m always impressed when countries establish environmental policies to protect the natural world and wildlife. But as Michael Benanav shows in this excellent book, these policies can have a dire impact on people�s lives and are sometimes misconceived and unnecessary. For generations, the nomadic Van Gujjars of...

Review: Once Upon a Yugoslavia

Once Upon a Yugoslavia: When the American Way Met Tito’s Third Way: A Personal Journey.
By Surya Green. Foreword by Dr. Henry Breitrose. New Europe Books, 2015, 291pp.

In 1968, Surya Green, a graduate student in communications at Stanford, traveled to Yugoslavia to work at Zagreb Film, which had won acclaim for its animated features and documentaries. In Once Upon a Yugoslavia, she explores the cultural differences she encountered and how they influenced her life, and she does this effectively—...

Review: Once Upon a Yugoslavia

Once Upon a Yugoslavia: When the American Way Met Tito�s Third Way: A Personal Journey. By Surya Green. Foreword by Dr. Henry Breitrose. New Europe Books, 2015, 291pp. In 1968, Surya Green, a graduate student in communications at Stanford, traveled to Yugoslavia to work at Zagreb Film, which had won acclaim for its animated features and documentaries. In Once Upon a Yugoslavia, she explores the cultural differences she encountered and how they influenced her life, and she does this effectivel...