In a ponderous final touch to his chapter on the Soviet Union, Mr. Schorr describes visiting the grave of Khrushchev, the man who once threatened to bury capitalist America, and observing, "So, Nikita Sergeyevich, in the end they buried you".
If the title is a touch ponderous, what distinguishes Gorbachev from other statesmen entering their wistful winters is that he never grew complacent.
At times this season it has worked superbly, especially in wins at West Ham United and at home to Newcastle United, while at others it has looked ponderous with a touch of passing for passing's sake, especially in the recent goalless draw at Crystal Palace.
All the Wallabies who looked ponderous and out of touch just one week ago finished here in flying form.
At the Joyce recently, Curran's company performed two related works that navigated this potentially ponderous territory with a fine touch.
Never ponderous, The Cleaner of Chartres touches lightly but knowingly on the seedy side of human nature.
Edwin van der Sar had two important saves to make, not least from Turgay Bahadir, whose first touch was poor and approach to goal ponderous when clean through in the first half.
He is a big man, 6ft 1in and 12st 4lb, and his stooping gait can make him look ponderous, but his greatness lies in the delicacy of his touch and the subtlety of his mind.
Although these programs are called "Big Thinkers," they are a bit more whimsical and less ponderous than the offerings from Microsoft or Edmark, and they touch on most of the basics, including some science and music as well as reading and arithmetic.
