Book Description
For more than sixty years, the imagination of Ray Bradbury has opened doors into remarkable places, ushering us across unexplored territories of the heart and mind while leading us inexorably toward a profound understanding of ourselves and the universe we inhabit. In this landmark volume, America's preeminent storyteller offers us one hundred treasures from a lifetime of words and ideas. The stories within these pages were chosen by Bradbury himself, and span a career that blossomed in the pulp magazines of the early 1940s and continues to flourish in the new millennium. Here are representatives of the legendary author's finest works of short fiction, including many that have not been republished for decades, all forever fresh and vital, evocative and immensely entertaining.
Customer Reviews:
Not Free SF Reader.......2007-08-04
A large collection of quite short stories, published first in all sorts of places, some of them of the mundane variety, which I have taken out. A lot of these in past I have found dated and a bit twee, and it hasn't changed too much now. (3.34 average overall for around 70 of 'em, so not too bad).
Bradbury Stories : The Whole Town's Sleeping - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Rocket ["Outcast of the Stars"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Season of Disbelief - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : And the Rock Cried Out ["The Millionth Murder"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Drummer Boy of Shiloh - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Beggar on O'Connell Bridge ["The Beggar on Dublin Bridge"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Flying Machine - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Heavy-Set - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The First Night of Lent - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Lafayette Farewell - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Remember Sascha? - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Junior - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : That Woman on the Lawn - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : February 1999: Ylla ["I'll Not Look for Wine"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Banshee - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : One for His Lordship, and One for the Road! - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Unterderseaboat Doktor ["Unterseeboot Doktor"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Another Fine Mess - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Dwarf - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : A Wild Night in Galway - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Wind - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : No News or What Killed the Dog? - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : A Little Journey - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Any Friend of Nicholas Nickleby's Is a Friend of Mine ["The Best of Times"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Garbage Collector - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Visitor - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Man - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Henry the Ninth ["A Final Sceptre, a Lasting Crown"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Messiah - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Bang! You're Dead! [Johnny Choir] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Darling Adolf - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Beautiful Shave - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Colonel Stonesteel's Genuine Home-Made Truly Egyptian Mummy - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : I See You Never - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Exiles ["The Mad Wizards of Mars"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : At Midnight, In the Month of June - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Witch Door - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Watchers - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : 2004-05: The Naming of Names - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Hopscotch - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Dead Man - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : June 2001: And the Moon Be Still as Bright - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Burning Man - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : G.B.S.-Mark V - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : A Blade of Grass - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Sound of Summer Running ["Summer in the Air"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : And the Sailor Home from the Sea ["Forever Voyage"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Lonely Ones - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Finnegan - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : On the Orient, North - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Smiling People - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl ["Touch and Go"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Bug - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Downwind from Gettysburg - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Time in Thy Flight - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Changeling - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Dragon - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Let's Play "Poison" - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Cold Wind and the Warm - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Meadow - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Kilimanjaro Device ["The Kilimanjaro Machine"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Man in the Rorschach Shirt - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Bless Me Father for I Have Sinned - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Pedestrian - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Trapdoor - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Swan - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Sea Shell - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Once More, Legato - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : June 2003: Way in the Middle of the Air - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : By the Numbers! - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : April 2005: Usher II ["Carnival of Madness"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Square Pegs - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Trolley - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Smile - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Miracles of Jamie - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : A Far-Away Guitar ["Miss Bidwell"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Cistern - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Machineries of Joy - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Bright Phoenix - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Wish - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Life Work of Juan Diaz - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Time Intervening ["Interim"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Almost the End of the World - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Great Collision of Monday Last - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Poems - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The April 2006: Long Years - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Icarus Montgolfier Wright - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Death and the Maiden - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Zero Hour - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Toynbee Convector - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Forever and the Earth - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Handler - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Getting Through Sunday Somehow ["Tread Lightly to the Music"] - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Pumpernickel - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : Last Rites - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury Stories : All on a Summer's Night - Ray Bradbury
Killer surprise.
3.5 out of 5
Nifty ride for the kids.
3 out of 5
Resigned to their new world.
3 out of 5
Grass ghost girl.
3.5 out of 5
Noisy dead woman waits for the obnoxious.
4 out of 5
Kaleidoscope periscope.
2.5 out of 5
Ghost return.
2.5 out of 5
Scary little dude.
3.5 out of 5
Unexpected airy visitor.
3.5 out of 5
Losing a dog in the science fiction age.
4 out of 5
Old women spaced.
2.5 out of 5
Nuke 'em, the garbos will clean it up.
3 out of 5
Hypnotist victim of Martian isolated projectile overenthusiasm.
3.5 out of 5
Locals not too impressed by space travellers.
3.5 out of 5
No longer have any use for that royalty rubbish or the country.
3.5 out of 5
Conversion of Martians a tall order.
3 out of 5
Midwestern Egypt.
3 out of 5
Old horror men on the red planet.
3.5 out of 5
Suspect woman.
3.5 out of 5
Insect phobia.
4 out of 5
Martian boot hill.
3 out of 5
Fat man's scary tattoos.
3.5 out of 5
Alive, maybe not, but definitely smelly.
3 out of 5
Chicken pox, and murder.
3 out of 5
Robot play dude.
3 out of 5
Organic life a no-no.
3.5 out of 5
Two hard up guys on Mars, smell woman, start shooting.
3 out of 5
Big spider, it seems.
3.5 out of 5
Ghost on train prefers English tastes.
4 out of 5
Cutthroat dinner.
3.5 out of 5
Dead art and little spiders.
3 out of 5
Dead president possibilities.
3.5 out of 5
Time kids.
2.5 out of 5
Replacement people.
3 out of 5
Iron monster.
3.5 out of 5
Defenestrating death kids.
3.5 out of 5
Complaining about the weather is for the sidhe.
3 out of 5
Time travel timing.
3.5 out of 5
Sensory stunning.
3.5 out of 5
2053 is pretty crime free.
3.5 out of 5
Vertical luggage overload, or really, really big rodents.
4 out of 5
Life tour with deadline.
3.5 out of 5
Sick kid's swimming disappearance.
3 out of 5
Beautiful bird noises.
4 out of 5
Mars trip not popular with all.
2.5 out of 5
Retirement, with a bullet.
3.5 out of 5
Book and ball people.
3.5 out of 5
Ship off the crazy people.
3.5 out of 5
Healing and leading can get you down.
3 out of 5
Well dead.
3.5 out of 5
Priests in space.
3.5 out of 5
Wanted: undead dad.
3.5 out of 5
Unexpected exhumation.
3.5 out of 5
Bad colors.
3 out of 5
Dead cyclist sightings.
3 out of 5
Good writing can be bad for reality.
3 out of 5
Electric people simulation.
4 out of 5
Get lost, Reaper.
3 out of 5
Martian kid games.
3.5 out of 5
Time traveler paradox interview fib pep talk function.
4 out of 5
Futurist writing is tricky.
4 out of 5
Undertaking revenge.
3.5 out of 5
Harping.
3 out of 5
Time travel benediction.
3 out of 5
Bradbury at his best.......2006-05-15
This is a wonderful collection of Bradbury's tales. There are stories here such as Trapdoor which I had read years ago and haven't been able to find since. It is clear that Bradbury loves his work. His stories have a certain characteristic about them that sets them apart from all other works. I would say it is hard to call Bradbury a science-fiction, drama, horror, or fantasy writer though because in truth he is all of these. In a lot of ways his work makes me think of Owen Crawfrod's work. His book The Death of Sara could be the sister of Bradbury's The October Country.
For any fans of Bradbury's work I would highly recomend Bradbury Stories. These truly are 100 of his most celebrated tales and will be around for a long long time.
Prepare To Enter Another Dimension.......2005-11-08
Some may complain about the stories that were left out, and considering the author has penned a story a week for most of the last sixty years, there are sure to be many fine tales that didn't make the final cut. That said, this is an immensely satisfying collection of Bradbury's fiction, some of it recent, other pieces pre-dating the space age. Most of the best is here and whether this is someone's first introduction to Ray Bradbury, or this is bought by a longtime fan, this anthology is sure to provide hours of enjoyment for an imaginative reader.
Guy de Maupassant, the English Version.......2005-04-01
It may very well have been a novel by Ray Bradbury, though it could have been one by Zenna Henderson, Isaac Asimov, or any one of a dozen other authors, that I was holding that summer, long ago, when I heard my father mutter as he stomped out the door with the hoe in his hand, "You read too much!" Suffice it to say that I am no stranger to Ray Bradbury's longer works, but this was my first exposure to a collection of his short stories, and I was not disappointed.
When we describe this collection as one of short stories, we do mean short. Most of the stories here run from two to six pages in length, and it is to Bradbury's credit that he packs almost every one with significance and meaning far beyond the scope of the story itself. Here, the reader will find profound observations on the human condition, on the thin veneer of civilization that can be easily ripped asunder, on the human need for approbation, on the human need for love, on the human need for belief and spirituality, and on every other characteristic that makes one human. Do not misconstrue my comments: this not a book of essays preaching and pontificating on any of these profound things; this is a book filled with fascinating characters and wondrous interactions. Bradbury never beats his reader over the head with profundity; it is the reader himself who adds that to Bradbury's intriguing tales.
Tales-that's the word I've been searching for. This is a book of tales. Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer" is a short story. Ray Bradbury's "The Man in the Rorschach Shirt" is a tale. In fact, let us use the French word "conte" as we would to describe the little slices of the world that we see in the contes of Guy de Maupassant. Bradbury is the English de Maupassant as de Maupassant is the French Bradbury.
I used to picture Bradbury as purely a writer of science fiction, but I was wrong to limit him to a specific genre. This collection of one hundred tales is proof irrefutable of Bradbury's broad range and scope. The book should take one quite a while to read, by the way. True, one could blast through it with all those remarkable speed reading techniques, but what a shame to do so. These tales need to be read one at a time and then pondered and mulled over as one would savor the taste of fine food and good wine. To gulp them down in a feeding frenzy is to forgo the pleasure of remembering them and of adding their implicit lessons to one's own repertoire of knowledge. In fact, the three months I spent on this book was too brief a period. I shall keep it at hand and reread these tales, perhaps one a week for the next one hundred weeks. This feast is incredible, and I would not have it fade from memory too quickly. Please join me at the table and dine on Bradbury's joyously creative wit and wisdom.
Wistful, Melancholic, Whimsical, Articulate.......2004-01-24
This is a great collection of Ray Bradbury's short stories, with 100 stories totaling 888 pages (gives you an idea of just how short they are). Some of these short stories are part of "The Martian Chronicles", some are set in the past, some are set in the future, and some are set in our-past-but-Bradbury's-future. While there is definitely a datedness to some of the details of the stories, it seldom interferes with enjoying them.
When one reads a collection like this, one gets a flavor for the writer's likes, dislikes, and beliefs, through repetitive themes. Ray Bradbury wanted to bridge the gap between the old and the young, and he saw children and the elderly, at times, as being more in touch with each other than non-elderly adults were in touch with anyone but themselves. Bradbury loved writing and reading, and believed in the power of imagination. He appears to have been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe, of Thomas Wolfe, and of Laurel and Hardy. Time travel intrigued Bradbury, as well. Ireland and the Irish were important to Bradbury and, not surprisingly, many of these short stories are melancholy and wistful. As much as Bradbury loved books, that's how much he seemed to loath television.
This is an excellent collection to have around, to read a bit at a time. If you read it straight through, though, watch out for overdoses of wistfulness, whimsy, and melancholy.
Product Description
True first edition, limited to 1000 numbered copies, signed by the author.
Book Description
West Coast newspaper readers had begun to dread the headlines. One by one, the missing Hollywood young women were discovered brutally strangled after being sexually violated time after time. There seemed to be no end to the killing—and no clues to the killer. Certainly Ken Bianchi was not a suspect. Ken was handsome, gentle, friendly, married, a doting father and a member of the Sheriff's Reserve. No one suspected the truth about Ken Bianchi— not even Ken Bianchi himself. For two years, while the infamous Hillside Strangler terrorized the West Coast, Ken Bianchi watched protectively over the woman he loved, fearing she would become the killer's next target. But it was Ken himself who was to be the Hillside Strangler's most tragic victim. This book is the dramatic psychological study of a brutal killer, whose crimes of rape and murder were gruesome secrets he kept even from himself. Victim of a multiple personality disorder, Ken Bianchi led a strange and terrible triple life. He worked hard to support Kelli and their infant son, Sean. But as the shadowy, amoral Billy, he watched a third personality, the vicious, vengeful Steve strangle well over a dozen young women after sexually assaulting them. Bianchi seemed absolutely sincere in his claims of innocence when the police finally traced the crimes to him. But months of psychiatric examinations and hypnosis revealed to his shock and horror that, although he had no recollection of the murders, the evidence against him was so overwhelming, he could no longer deny his involvement. Written with exclusive information gleaned from countless conversations with Bianchi, his girlfriend, his psychiatrists, as well as policemen and journalists involved with the case. The Hillside Strangler is the inside story of one of the most elusive and bizarre mass-murders in American history. New 2004 edition, updated by the author. A feature movie, The Hillside Strangler produced by Chris Phillips ("Nightstalker") and starring Clifton Collins, Jr, is currently being filmed.
Customer Reviews:
Schwarz was NOT duped.......2001-11-14
Firstly, there is a new paperback version of this book, which I have been very impressed with, good quality and nice cover. (Get that one!) Now to review: This guy HAS done his homework, has NOT been "duped" and was in fact on an E! special all about the Hillside Strangler. This is an excellent book about Ken Bianchi, and regarding the so called "faking" Schwarz explained that Bianchi could indeed have been a multiple when first arrested, but throughout all the interviews, multiple psychological testing, it was likely that these multiple personalities became self-aware.
Schwarz was duped.......1999-10-27
This book was written before the police psychologists realizedthat Ken Bianchi was faking multiple personality disorder. For the real story of the Hillside Stranglers (there were two of them, Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono), read Darcy O'Brian's "Two of a Kind: the Hillside Stranglers" instead.
Schwarz did his homework.......1999-10-25
I am a big serial killer buff and have a fairly large collection of books and videos about mass murderers. This is easily one of the best I've ever read:it places you inside Bianchi's warped mind and discusses possibilities for why Bianchi killed. Ranks up there with The Only Living Witness, Buried Dreams, Confessions of Son of Sam, and Silent Rage.
Customer Reviews:
Way to End the Series.......2007-03-09
Sheriff Gavin O'neal has been interested in waitress Valerie Raines since she came to town a few months ago and when she finds herself without a place to live he gladly offers her a room in his house in the meantime. Valerie is attracted to the sheriff but a shameful secret keeps her from getting involved with anyone. She has a letter in her possession revealing she is the great great granddaughter of town legend Jessamine Golden and clues to where the gold and answers to her families questions are buried. When their attraction proves overwhelming, Valerie and Gavin are soon involved but she knows she has to reveal her past if there is any chance for them at all. When circumstances point to the unknown murderer being a woman, Gavin's collegues in the Texas Cattleman's Club question whether Valerie can be involved.
This was a sweet passionate ending to the series not quite as edgy as a couple of the other books but very good indeed.
Product Description
This is a VHS tape in a hard plastic case. The upc code was causing an error so I could not list it under videos. Therefore I listed by the ISBN which put it in the book department. My apologies! Now, about the video:Pope John Paul II has taken the mark of the Hindu god Shiva in his forehead. He has allowed the Dalai Lama of Tibet to place a statue of Buddha on the altar of a Catholic Basilica. He has accepted Allah as the same as the God of the Jews and Christians. Watch this video for actual footage of many claims.
Book Description
For millennia, ceremonies and initiation rites have helped societies survive and thrive by marking life transitions. In contemporary America, except for bar mitzvahs, graduations, and weddings, these rituals are conspicuous by their absence. Written for people in search of their true selves –– particularly those on the verge of adulthood and those at a major crossroads such as divorce or career change –– Soulcraft restores the ritual to its rightful place as a crucial part of personal growth and self-empowerment. Exercises and insightful stories explain how to discover one’s unique gift, or "soul purpose," to be shared with others through a ceremonial event. Drawing on ancient traditions, this vision quest serves as a modern rite of initiation that helps people find their life purpose.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2007-04-19
If you've never been on a wilderness rite-of-passage before this book offers insight into the practice. Plotkin blends psychospiritual insight on every page. This book is a primer for the ancient practice of the Vision Quest and within this rubric offers a detailed account of the process.
Like Plotkin notes, a wilderness journey into the mysteries of the soul is not a place for the weak of heart. You need to be put together pretty well before answering this call. But the rewards are life-changing.
As metaphor, in the middle ages, gold merchents used a touchstone to determine the value of any gold brought to them by rubbing the gold onto the stone which then produced a certain color to validate the worth of the gold.
A wilderness quest for the purpose of seeking a vision is a touchstone experience. It takes one deep into the raw and untamed soul before its conditioning, conformity, and domestication by culture. In western society, we have forgotten and lost meaningful rites of passage and this loss has created a social fabric of fear based individuals.
Plotkin is well versed in the process of depth psychology and the underworld passage such an undertaking opens in the psyche of those who embrak off from familar shores. Seeking depth, change, and transformation in one's life is difficult and filled with danager. The passage of the threshold expereince is an invitation to risk all for the sake of authenticity and peronal transformation that can lead to a new way of being-in-the-wolrd.
If you think you can sit in a wild place, alone, without food and little water for four days and nights, for the sake of spirit bringing a vision into your life, this book is a necessary guide. Be warned that you may come back (re-incorporation) a different person then the one you left behind at your quest circle. But, for those who pass this threshold, life may also take on a new and profound awareness...
Soulcraft is just what i was looking for.......2006-09-01
This book is well written and easy to understand. it addresses specific issues which confront people in modern society who feel the need to reconnect with their inmost self, as well as offering methods for doing so. i highly recommend it.
Moving Forward.......2006-09-01
This is an excellent book for moving forward in your life and finding your true self. I have felt stuck and confused for many years about the direction my life should take and this book has helped me to change that. The activities the author recommends open your everyday mind to your subconscious or soul as the author calls it. This has been a life changing book for me and is helping me to finally understand what it really means to grow up. If you feel stuck and as though your story has gotten too small for you then it is time to read this book.
Immense.......2006-06-14
I was drawn to Bill Plotkin's book the week it was released. Over time I have gone back to this profound message and taken more to use in my life as I work toward life purpose, life intention. The 'coincidences' of his story are nothing less than the spiritual power of life itself that we all experience every day, if we only take time to decide to be open for them. Powerful truths for heart and soul in these trying years of an old and tortured world. There is peace and hope.
wish I could demand a refund!.......2006-05-27
This book is nothing more than a bunch of nonsense. It contains endless statements making no sense. I was truly looking forward to a book that would be a refreshing alternative to most pop-psychology that's on the market. Instead I got a text that was written by someone who couldn't think. It was full of illogical, unsupported statements and arguments. If I could, I would demand my money back I'm that upset with my purchase.I definitely would not recommend this book to anyone who has any ability to think whatsoever!
Book Description
Super Salads can boost your mood, help cleanse the impurities in your body, and taste divine. From organic vegetables to exotic fruits, there are more than enough ingredients available year-round to create a variety of nutritious and tasty salads. The salad recipes in this book provide added health benefits such as a brain boost, anti-oxidants, extra vitamins and minerals.
Amazon.com
"Nature is a good guide; it teaches us everything," says master floral designer Christian Tortu. It is the perfect summation of his work. Unpretentious yet stunningly beautiful, Tortu's arrangements have drawn inspiration directly from his childhood treks through the countryside of his native town of Anjou, France.
Sensational Bouquets by Christian Tortu is at once an intimate profile of the artist--who has designed floral arrangements for Dior and Chanel, as well as for the Cannes Film Festival--and a useful guide to how he creates his exciting and unique bouquets.
Tortu always looks to nature for inspiration. There, he finds freedom: of form, of color, of scent, all mixed together flawlessly, without artifice or ostentation. Paying homage to nature's inherent sense of design, Tortu creates stunning arrangements while bending all the rules of traditional flower arranging. Unexpected plants join in clever, surprising combinations to celebrate the drama of nature--of birth and death, and everything in between. Garden roses nestle in a tangle of blackberry branches much as they would in an overgrown garden. Wild thistles poke their prickly blossoms out of a bunch of softer, rounder bred thistles and speak of a miraculous harmony between wild and cultivated plants. Green almonds, lotus fruit, and poppy capsules come together in an enthralling play of yellow against green.
As if Sylvain Thomas's sumptuous photographs of Tortu's arrangements weren't inspiration enough, the text of Sensational Bouquets reads like poetry. This book will both motivate and guide readers to toss out what they've learned about flower arranging and let nature and their own unbridled intuition dictate how they assemble their next gathering of wild and/or cultivated plants. --Robin Donovan
Book Description
This gorgeous volume celebrates the floral designs of Christian Tortu, who has dazzled followers the world over with his ability to create novel compositions that show off the shapes, colors, textures, and singular beauty of individual flowers to their ultimate advantage. He has designed flowers for the great fashion houses of Dior and Chanel as well as for the Cannes Film Festival. From a simple yet striking circular bouquet of tulips tied in raffia to glorious bursts of dahlias in wax vases, from delicate rose petals and orchids floating in silver shells to an enchanting mix of water lilies and hyacinths in transparent glass, more than 100 color photographs taken exclusively for this book bring to life the astonishing still-life arrangements of this internationally heralded French floral designer. This lavishly illustrated volume will be a treasured gift for all plant and flower lovers.
Customer Reviews:
Christian Tortu book.......2007-05-15
I got hooked on his designs while in Paris. If you are ever there you MUST visit his shop(s)!!
Indulge your Eye and Insight.......2003-12-30
SENSATIONAL BOUQUETS BY CHRISTIAN TORTU is a visual treat as well as a learning inspiration for approaching that most personal craft of bringing the garden into the home - gathering and arranging flowers. Christian Tortu apparently has a following in Paris where he has a florist shop which has emphasized his creed of "All plants are born free and created equal." Having learned his craft and his passion for the natural garden from his parents as he matured in the Anjou gardens, gathering flowers from nature to place at the disposal of clients who yearn for the beauty of the garden to enter their home in ways other than window views, Tortu doesn't believe in the traditional 'sprays' of flowers place in an expensive family heirloom vase on a sterile table. Instead he combines fruit, vines, all phases of a flower's life ( bud, blossom, denuded vestige ) with grasses and all the elements found in the natural setting of his flowers. The results are lush, compact, original thoughts that are startlingly beautiful.
This is writer Corine Delahaze's first outing and she shows promise of a fine observor and poet. The photography is by Sylvain Thomas and emphasizes the closeup details as well as the free-standing wonders of Tortu's designs. The combination of text and photographs balances well with Tortu's creations. There is much more to learn about nature than just an ordinary treatise on flower arranging here. In Tortu's words "Nature is a place of total freedom. All plant life is accepted as equal." And from this humble belief Tortu lifts the spirit as well as the imagination with his artist's gift.
Intriguing New Ways to Look at Flowers!.......2001-04-12
I enjoyed this book very much. Sensational Bouquets is rich in new thoughts about what flowers and plants represent, filled with novel arrangements, and is enriched by outstanding photography of those arrangements. After reading and viewing this book, you will never think about nature and natural beauty in quite the same way. You will be the richer for the experience, because your sense of beauty will expand as a result.
Christian Tortu grew up on a truck farm in Anjou, and is proud of his agricultural roots. Now he designs backdrops for fashion shows and the Cannes Film Festival. He operates floral shops in major cities around the world.
Let me share a little of his philosophy, as described in the many sections he wrote for the book. "Each plant is a fragment of a landscape . . . ." In his arrangements, he creates that sense of landscape in a way that I have never seen before in flower arrangements. Nature is palpable in them.
"If man were to stop rushing around for one moment, he might take a look at flowers -- and then take a closer look." I remember having that experience in the orchid garden in Honolulu. I was enthralled with the beautiful blossoms in my 20 minute self-guided tour. As I was about to leave, an elderly gentleman asked me if I would like to have some help in looking around. I agreed, and spent the next three hours going over the same ground with him. Except I saw about 100 times as much with his help. I was astonished at how many delightful orchids I had totally missed in my haste (and I had thought I was being leisurely).
"In time, his convictions would crumble, and he would realize classification is fruitless even beyond flowers." People love to judge, and that judgment gets in the way of really seeing and experiencing life. So these arrangements are a metaphor for breaking down our closed mental sets.
The basic premise is that "all flowers are created equal." Weeds and shrubbery get as much attention as rare orchids. And the moment of perfection is not all that is explored. " . . . [E]very stage of the flower is a moment that deserves attention." One bouquet even captures burned foliage and flowers after a fire. Seeing these images makes one realize the truth of these observations. " . . . [I]n the name of harmony, each one [arrangement] has its own touch of anarchy."
Mr. Tortu changes things in terms of color, type of composition, and form. I was especially fascinated by his many monochromatic arrangements, especially the green bouquets.
The book is done in sections: Genesis; Revolution(s); Crossroads; and the Chronicle of a Black Bouquet. Using these themes makes it easier to appreciate the statements his designs make.
Here are my favorites in the book:
Agave foliage with euchasis in gray wax vases
Green tomatoes and basil, tomato flowers, dog rose fruit and vine foliate
Green arum lilies, tea grass, viburnum, and narcissus buds
Garlic flower and nasturtium
Nasturtium, wild strawberries, and blackberries
Privet berries and King Arthur orchids
Lime tree branches and iris
Violets
White hyacinth, and catmint
Osage orange, pears and chayote, quince, eggplant, and begonia
After you enjoy this delightful book, I suggest that you take some other element of nature and see how arranging it differently changes your perceptions. Now that it is spring, you could start by taking fresh shoots and making arrangements of them in new combinations, new shapes, and in different types of containers.
Open your mind to the potential of new combinations, expressed in new ways!
Book Description
Inspired by her passion for gardens around the world, Kumiko creates real and imaginary flowers using colors, fabrics, and needlework techniques drawn from her childhood. Reminiscent of antique kimonos, her vivid quilt blocks will encourage quilters to express personal themes in their own quilts through their own combinations of color and patterns. Includes 30 original block designs and six full quilt designs.
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Cool Shops Paris (Cool Shops)
Manufacturer: Te Neues Publishing Company
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Cool Shops New York (Cool Shops)
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Inspired Retail Space: Attract Customers, Build Branding, Increase Volume
ASIN: 3832790373 |
Book Description
One of a new series of authoritative guides teNeues is introducing this season, Cool Shops Paris takes the reader on a tour of the best stores and boutiques in one of the world's most beautiful and romantic cities. Each shop included is distinguished by more than the products it sells although those by big name designers (Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Chanel) are among those featured. The editors also highlight exemplary architecture and interior design with lavish color photographs and emphasize as well the appeal of smaller, one-of-a-kind shops. Attractively designed to fit into any handbag, backpack, or briefcase, this book includes a site map for easy use and is sure to be a must-have for shopaholics everywhere!
Customer Reviews:
All one might want about M. C. Escher.......2007-05-14
This is a major compilation of the work of the intriguing graphic artist, M. C. Escher. Remember seeing depictions of events that seem plausible but, under closer analysis, involve impossibilities? That describes some of Escher's most interesting works.
The book provides just about everything Escher produced (appearing in the "Catalog" section of the book), including his earliest works compiled during his teens. Among the most well known (and fascinating) include "The Waterfall," "Ascending and Descending March," "Convex and Concave," "Liberation," "Synthesis," "House of Stairs," and so on. The catalog section is fun, for one thing, simply to trace the evolution of his art.
But there is more to this volume than the works themselves. The volume provides context, with a brief description of his father's life as well as a more detailed analysis of Escher's life, from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1972.
There is also a most useful chapter labeled "The Vision of a Mathematician" (featuring the thoughts of mathematics teacher Bruno Ernst). It begins by noting two periods in the work of Escher--(page 135): ". . .pre 1935, in which landscapes predominate, and post 1937, which is characterized by a marked mathematical tendency." Ernst describes the mathematical principles in some detail (for those interested in this, a fascinating discussion). The textual portion of the book concludes with an essay by Escher himself on "The Regular Division of the Plane," including his reflections on his art.
This book has been around a while, but it is a valuable backdrop to getting a sense of the art of M. C. Escher.
Wonderful With Great Explanations.......2007-05-13
I love everything Escher. I have several books, numerous calendars, as well as large jigsaw puzzles, T-shirts, magnets and mini jigsaw puzzles. Because of the detail in this book, I will never need to add another book to my collection. I especially appreciate the explanations. I am nowhere near smart enough to figure out what Escher was doing in each of his artworks. The detailed lesson on what each piece means is much appreciated by an art fan who is not an art scholar. I think this book would be great for any Escher fan, but I feel the need to tell you it is very large. Make sure you have room for it.
Essential for the Escher fan.......2006-08-13
And c'mon - if you've seen his work, you're a fan.
The great thing about this book is not just the extensive and readable biography, but the complete (so they say) catalog of his graphic works. Even people very familiar with Escher's ouvre will be surprised by some of the entries here. They go back to work he did at ages 18 and 19, and show the devleopment of the Escher that has become so famous. It's just a little disappointing that the catalog is printed only in black and white, when so many of his works used color. The catalog reproductions are just that - a listing of his work, not a gallery, so the quarter-page size of most pieces is adequate for recognizing a piece, if not for appreciating it fully.
It is fascinating to see Escher's style develop though his (and the twentieth century's) twenties. Various influences early on suggest Beardsley (cat. 49, 67), Picasso (cat. 51, 58), or the pervasive Art Deco of his time (cat.34). Even then, some of Escher's later fascinations begin to emerge, including hands and reflective balls (cat. 88 and 80), symmetries and tilings (cat. 61, 65), and complex interactions of many figures in a repeating structure (cat. 90). The lesser-known parts of his work also start to emerge by the time he's 30, including delicate lithographs (cat. 129, 132). As much as I love his visual paradoxes and flirtation with the infinite, the lithos and mezzotints are the pieces that truly move me. "Snow" and "Blowball" (cat. 278 and 330) have an eloquent simplicity. "Eye" and "Drop" (cat. 344 and 356) demonstrate his classical sense and his perseverance with the demanding medium of mezzotint.
The text is also thorough and enjoyable - a good thing, since it takes up half of this heavy book, including its own set of illustrations. I admit that I have only skipped around this section, which starts by describing Escher's father. It's small wonder that his father was an engineer and that his son Arthur studied geology. Although an artist to the core, Escher had fruitful contact with mathematicians and crystallographers. He is one of very few artists that have successfully incorporated hard science into their artistic vision at such a visceral level, and the scientists appreciated that as much as anyone.
Although out of print, this book is available inexpensively on the used market. It's one of the best bargains around; if you've read this far, you'll probably find it well worth having.
//wiredweird
M.C. Escher.......2003-10-31
Definitely the first book every Escher fan should purchase. It's helpful in getting to know about the man himself as well as his brilliant artwork. It may seem pricey, but it's totally worth it, being hardcover (at least the one I got), and high quality photos of his work. It also shows his lesser known works (ones never released apparently), as well as photos of himself and his family. A very informative read and a quality edition.
A Complete look!.......2003-05-20
I haven't even had a chance to go through all of this remarkable book yet, but I am so impressed with it so far I cannot burble enough about how delighted I am with my purchase. This is a beautifully produced, designed, and wonderfully complete book. Many tales of the personal life an vision of the artist, countless, cleanly reproduced graphics, many works I have never seen or heard of before. Terrific! Can't recommend enough!!!
Customer Reviews:
The most beautiful way to see the impossible becoming realý.......2000-08-03
I really have no words to describe the feelings that the work of Escher awakes in me. It's like watching your dreams printed in a paper. This is what this book is about. 76 dreams put into paper. I can really spend hours watching every detail in the drawings. Then you can let some time pass and watch it again and find something different. It's great also to know Escher's thoughts on his work. You can then understand more that little reptile crawling out of the paper. I recommend this book if you want to know what is Escher's work about and also have the chance to admire his work in full page.
Great book, really worth the money.
Amazing!!!!!.......2000-04-19
This book was amazing- I was just dying to know more about this wondersul artist. The book illustrates the workings of a genius's mind.
Customer Reviews:
The definitive book on Escher's repeating pattern work........1999-08-28
As a child, Maurits Cornelis Escher fitted together irregular pieces of cheese in his sandwiches so that they would completely fill the space between the slices of bread. From the very beginnings of his career as an artist, in 1921, he devised ways of interlocking images so as to leave no empty space, and then of making these images repeat infinitely in increasingly complex ways. Professor Schattschneider's magnificently illustrated volume analyses this critical aspect of Escher's work, focussing on a series of 137 symmetry drawings and watercolors created from 1926 to 1971, which the artist kept in five folders throughout his lifetime and which he used as references for his continuing work on the regular division of the plane. Included are analogies from each of these works (which now sell for tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars each) to his original prints and projects. As owner of and dealer in the main body of Escher's original prints, drawings and watercolors, which were previously on loan to the Hague Museum, I make extensive use of this book and commend it to all. Some of the text is written for the layman; other portions of the writing are technical and will be of interest to mathematicians and crystallographers. In addition, the quantity and quality of the full-page color illustrations, few of which are to be found in any other publication in print, contribute to making this book, which serves as a catalogue raisonné of the symmetry drawings and watercolors, eminently collectable.
The other key books on Escher are M.C. ESCHER: HIS LIFE AND COMPLETE GRAPHIC WORK; THE MAGIC MIRROR OF M.C. ESCHER; THE GRAPHIC WORK OF M.C. ESCHER; and ESCHER ON ESCHER. Persons technically inclined may also be interested in ART AND SCIENCE, which constitutes the proceedings of the 1985 Escher conference in Rome.
A must for Escher fans interested in the maths of his work.......1999-07-02
This book answered a lot of questions I had about Escher's regular division of the plane. It has highly enlarged my understanding of his work, and thus made me enjoy it even more. My initial interest was deepening my mathematical knowledge on tessallations, and I can tell I did.
An excellent example of the method to the genius.......1999-03-17
This book has beautiful full color reproductions of Escher's notebooks, along with erxplainations and diagrams showing how Escher accomplished such a volume of work. It also includes anecdotes told by his friends, and reproductions of all three of the metamorphosis. Truly Brilliant! You can't go wrong with this book, be you mathemetitian, or artist
A good look at Escher's tessellation research........1999-02-16
Doris Schattschneider's book takes a look at Escher's research on the regular division of the plane.
1/8 on an iceberg is visible while 7/8 is hidden. Escher's prints are like this. The visible image is only a small part of the thought and preparation that lies beneath the surface. Schattschneider takes us beneath the surface and shines a light on this hidden behemoth.
This volume is more demanding and difficult than other Escher books. But it is rewarding to delve into.
Meticulous, tenacious, thorough, playful. My adjectives for Escher are driven home even more forcefully by this book.
Ms Schattschneider did a fine job putting this book together.
Average customer rating:
- The Graphic Work of a one of kind artist.
|
The Graphic Work of M. C. Escher
Rh Value Publishing
Manufacturer: Gramercy
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Magic Mirror of M.C. Escher (Taschen 25th Anniversary Series)
ASIN: 0517385732
Release Date: 1984-09-12 |
Customer Reviews:
The Graphic Work of a one of kind artist........2000-03-25
M.C. Escher, make many contributions to the art and math-related sciences. This awesome book, a must-have relic, shows, the graphic work of this artist, showing us, the complexity and mistery of many of his works, from his popular "Metamorphosis" series to it's "impossible paintings", like "Waterfalls" or "Concave and Convex". The quallity of the illsutrations and content is excellent. This is, a must-have book, for any artist, graphic designer, scientist, or people, interested on contemporary, and impressive art.
Customer Reviews:
Some of the most amazing images ever created.......2006-11-08
To me, Escher's work is incredible. Every time I look at one of his convoluted drawings, I see something new. It is amazing how he was able to alter the perspective so that it appears that the steps are simultaneously going up and down. Animals are slowly transformed from one type into another. Different kinds of birds are bound together to tile a surface. Topologists will recognize many of their concepts, for example there is the single file of ants traversing a Mobius strip. Escher was a true artistic genius, taking simple ideas and expressing them in ways that sometimes cause you to lose track of where you are in the figure.
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M. C. Escher: The Graphic Work (Art Basic Series)
TASCHEN
Manufacturer: Taschen America Llc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 3822863173 |
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The First Book in Any Collection.......2001-01-19
I have been a fan of Escher for a long time, and own several books relating to him, but for the serious student in art this is the book to own. There is an well done biography about his productive life. But lets face it , it's the pictures and there are hundred's, some you may be familliar with but most will be a pleasant surprise.
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THE GRAPHIC WORK
M.C. ESCHER
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JI7LG4 |
Average customer rating:
- An excellent scholarly piece
- Oh how dull!
- Excellent work
|
The Formative Dylan: Transmission and Stylistic Influences, 1961-1963 (American Folk Music and Musicians, No. 7.)
Todd Harvey
Manufacturer: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0810841150 |
Book Description
The Formative Dylan examines the roots of Bob Dylan's acoustic period. Through short articles that detail the histories of 70 songs, this book describes the influences upon Dylan's earliest recordings.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent scholarly piece.......2005-07-15
Todd Harvey's book is not only thoughful and well written, but it also contributes greatly to scholarship on Dylan by approaching his work musicologically. This is not to say that the work is inaccessible to those who aren't musicologists (I am not a musicologist myself, and found the book most user friendly). Harvey's book is most useful in that it presents a factual case describing Dylan's myriad influences, and doesn't fall foul of the "Is he or isn't he 'folk'?"/"Did he or didn't he sell out?" debates that have been to the detriment of some cultural histories of Dylan. Nor does Harvey attempt to situate Dylan's work in the context of 20th century American poetry as some scholars have tried to do (a fruitless task, to be sure). Most of all, Harvey helps to situate Dylan in the wider context of American traditional music, daring to look back even to the medieval ballads of Europe, rather than myopically locating Dylan and his work in the 1960s. This book is a must.
Oh how dull!.......2003-04-26
It's an excellent idea, but what grindingly dull work Todd Harvey makes of it all. Each of the 70 analyses follow the same pattern, so each contains a paragraph which says something like "I have heard 11 versions of Don't Think Twice, It's All Right : the [10/?/62a] 2nd Gaslight performance, the [11/14/62] Freewheelin' session VI recording, subsequently released on that lp, the [3/?/63a] Witmark session V recording..." etc etc through all 11 performances. (All the sessions are listed in an appendix at the back of the book, so why he couldn't asterisk those he'd heard and save 70 tedious paragraphs, I don't know.) Then later, we get a musical analysis of each song, like this : "Lay Down Your Waery Tune has a verse-chorus form with five verses (verse four has no chorus). In duple time it has an ABCA/ABCA phrase structure. Like Paths of Victory and Walkin' Down the Line the melody is the same in both the verse and chorus sections". Well, not much enlightenment there. I give credit for the author's doggedness in trying to chase down the sources for all these songs - there's lots of stuff I didn't know in here - but ignoring the appendices this book is only 127 pages long... (I believe that might be because it's aiming for educational establishments and not fans - maybe. Anyway, it tries hard to be "scholarly".) There are also odd lapses. Harvey credits John Bauldie's notes to the "Bootleg Series" box set then does not mention that Dylan's "Cough Song" is probably based on Jimmie Tarlton's (1930) "Mexican Rag" as Bauldie says. He omits the connection between "When the Ship Comes In" and the Carter family's "Gospel Ship"; and he doesn't explore the rather obvious thematic similarity between Dylan's "John Brown" and the Irish trad song "Johnny I Hardly Knew You". I might have forgiven the author for those omissions, but I can't forgive him for writing such a very dull and boring book about such an interesting subject. All in all, this is a real missed opportunity.
Excellent work.......2002-04-28
This is a fascinating book. Harvey examines 70 early Dylan songs for their musical and lyrical influences. He doesn't stop when he finds an earlier song with a similar melody. He finds a song that influenced the melody of *that* song, and then he finds yet an earlier song that had a similar tune, and so on.
Dylan has sometimes been criticized for ripping off the songs of this or that performer. Dominic Behan, for a famous example, claimed Dylan copied his 1957 "Patriot Game" in "With God On Our Side." Harvey's research shows what Behan conveniently did not mention: The "Patriot Game" melody had been used by Burl Ives in his versions of "The Nightingale," released on two different records in 1952 and 1956, before Behan wrote his song. Then Harvey traces the melody back to a recording made by Jo Stafford in 1948, released on a 78 rpm album. Harvey also reports that Liam Clancy said a very similar melody ("The Merry Month of May") came from the Appalachian Mountains.
Dylan *had* heard "The Patriot Game" and was influenced by it, as the lyrics indicate. The point is that, when folk songs and their melodies are the issue, no one person can usually be determined to be the author. Someone may copyright various songs, as A. P. Carter did with many Carter Family recordings, but that doesn't mean he wrote them. It is more a matter of receiving royalties that would otherwise be lost to Anonymous.
Harvey's book is fascinating reading, well written, and original. In this time when so many Dylan books are rehashes of the same old stories, it is a pleasant surprise to read a volume that is written from independent research.
The Formative Dylan is also a rare Dylan book in that its subject is Dylan's music, not his private life. Highest recommendation.
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