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Better Together
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
"Every silver lining has its cloud... Does running five miles a day prevent or cause heart attacks, and what are the odds of getting hit by a car, and will its driver be saved or killed by the air bag?" In this pointed but lighthearted series of ruminations on the downside of progress, Holland elaborates on the theme she explored in her previous collection, Endangered Pleasures. In 33 brief essays, she nostalgically ponders such extinct pleasures as sitting on the front porchAa practice that has gradually disappered because of indoor air-conditioningAwhich served not only as a way to cool off, but also as a way for lovers to meet or for neighbors to enjoy communal gossip. Holland has fond memories of New York City as a mecca for sin and sophistication and laments the efforts by the current mayor to launder the city into a theme park that's almost as boring as the suburbs. A major culprit in these modern changes are new worries: Holland points out that dire fears of hunger or dying in wartime have given way, in today's relatively secure United States, to an obsessive concern with personal health and safety. Her ruminations on such topics as the loss of leisure time in today's overscheduled childhoods or the decline of the neighborhood tavern as a congenial gathering place will delight fans, as well as those who share the author's reminiscences.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In short essays reminiscent of Bailey White's, Holland (Bingo Night at the Fire Hall: The Case for Cows, Orchards, Bake Sales & Fairs, LJ 8/97) considers what modern society has bulldozed along its path to progress. Things like porches, which are definitely not the same as decksAfront porches make socializing with neighbors possible, and sometimes even necessary, while decks grace the back of the house and protect privacy. Things like poetry, which somehow lost the common touch when rhyme went out of style. Or heroes: Holland suggests the possibility of replacing real and therefore fallible ones with an interactive "virtual hero" whose visage will adjust constantly to the vagaries of online opinion polls. The essays are both humorous and serious. Holland does not so much advocate a return to the "good old days" as take a good look at where we are now and seriously contemplate whether or not we truly want to be there. Recommended for all public libraries.AKatherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
"Every silver lining has its cloud... Does running five miles a day prevent or cause heart attacks, and what are the odds of getting hit by a car, and will its driver be saved or killed by the air bag?" In this pointed but lighthearted series of ruminations on the downside of progress, Holland elaborates on the theme she explored in her previous collection, Endangered Pleasures. In 33 brief essays, she nostalgically ponders such extinct pleasures as sitting on the front porchAa practice that has gradually disappered because of indoor air-conditioningAwhich served not only as a way to cool off, but also as a way for lovers to meet or for neighbors to enjoy communal gossip. Holland has fond memories of New York City as a mecca for sin and sophistication and laments the efforts by the current mayor to launder the city into a theme park that's almost as boring as the suburbs. A major culprit in these modern changes are new worries: Holland points out that dire fears of hunger or dying in wartime have given way, in today's relatively secure United States, to an obsessive concern with personal health and safety. Her ruminations on such topics as the loss of leisure time in today's overscheduled childhoods or the decline of the neighborhood tavern as a congenial gathering place will delight fans, as well as those who share the author's reminiscences.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
In short essays reminiscent of Bailey White's, Holland (Bingo Night at the Fire Hall: The Case for Cows, Orchards, Bake Sales & Fairs, LJ 8/97) considers what modern society has bulldozed along its path to progress. Things like porches, which are definitely not the same as decksAfront porches make socializing with neighbors possible, and sometimes even necessary, while decks grace the back of the house and protect privacy. Things like poetry, which somehow lost the common touch when rhyme went out of style. Or heroes: Holland suggests the possibility of replacing real and therefore fallible ones with an interactive "virtual hero" whose visage will adjust constantly to the vagaries of online opinion polls. The essays are both humorous and serious. Holland does not so much advocate a return to the "good old days" as take a good look at where we are now and seriously contemplate whether or not we truly want to be there. Recommended for all public libraries.AKatherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Pittsburgh
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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