Book Description
A wonderful spiritual primer for the whole family. Through meditations, games and activities, learn to use basic spiritual gifts and develop awareness through application of the information offered by the angel. This workbook guides the reader through basic meditations, aura reading, balancing chakras, healing fears, listening to inner voice, understanding angels and spirit guides, analyzing dreams and more.
Book Description
Lomba is a young journalist living under military rule in Lagos, Nigeria, the most dangerous city in the world. His mind is full of soul music and girls and the lyric novel he is writing. But his roommate is brutally attacked by soldiers; his first love is forced to marry a wealthy old man; and his neighbors on Poverty Street are planning a demonstration that is bound to incite riot and arrests. Lomba can no longer bury his head in the sand.
Helon Habila's vivid, exciting, and heart-wrenching debut opens a window onto a world in some ways familiar-with its sensuously depicted streets, student life, and vibrant local characters-yet ruled by one of the world's most corrupt and oppressive regimes, a scandal that ultimately drives Lomba to take a risk in the name of something greater than himself. Habila captures the energy, sensitivity, despair, and stubborn hope of a new African generation with a combination of gritty realism and poetic beauty. Winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing 2001. Reading group guide included.
Customer Reviews:
Good condition.......2007-10-01
I bought this product for my sis who is in college, so I cant speak for the content; however, the condition of the book was as described and the service was excellent.
I waited patiently but the angel didnt show up.......2007-02-19
Frankly, I find myself recently biased toward reading literature by contemporary Nigerian writers and I have been hugely blessed and pleasantly surprised by the stories they share, until now...
I had huge expectations for this book. A huge part of it is that I wanted to read something by a non southern writer and I excitedly happened upon Helon Habila's debut novel; Waiting For An Angel. Another part of it is that I read an essay by this same writer " Uncle Ezekiel" and it was a fine and sweet composition.
I read Waiting For an Angel in one sitting: not because it was that engaging or it was a small volume. It was because I was braiding my hair and couldnt move or do anything else but read.
The book starts off really well and is very engaging at first but then it just veers off course and never finds it's way back .
I enjoyed reading about Lomba in prison and his relationship with the Superintendent and Superintendent's fiancee but his life prior to prison which took up the greater part of the book was rather uninteresting, colorless and ordinary.
Anyone who went to a Nigerian university could write the pre-prison part of the book. Nothing sets Lomba apart as different or special or worth rooting for. He is a mediocre, frankly boring character pre-prison. I kept wanting to feel the magnetism of the imprisoned Lomba but it was never there. I had to go back to check if it was indeed the same character because it felt like Helon was writing about two different people. The first Lomba I found charming and felt a dignifying sympathy for, the second Lomba bored me to tears and seemed rather pitiful and pathetic. Both Lombas fighting the same noble cause, both evoking opposite reactions in me.
I also didn't quite find Lomba's relationship with I-forget-her-name believable either. I just saw her as a plot device to get the novel moving. Bola was yet another plot device to fleshen out this tiresome novel. smething else I found slightly irritating was the (semi?) autobiographical slant at the end. It struck me as egotistic.
I waited for the punchline, for something to happen to jar me out of the slowness of this story but this angel just never came for me.
I will read Helon Habila's next book if I find it at my local library and only because as I said before I am biased toward my country men.
Book Annoying.......2005-12-12
I wasn't mad at anyone, but the angel wasn't good. He was so downbeat and sparkling. ROAR. Habila's better write "Doctor Ice Cream," a masterpiece, before I forgive him.
Wow............2005-03-04
At first I was a bit skeptical about reading this book, especially after hearing about the political undertones that defined it. But really, It's a good book worth exploring. Even now, after reading the whole thing, I'm haunted by the situations of the characters and what they go through everyday of their lives. The sex, the drugs, and everything that served as a temporary get-away dwindled in the face of violence and death. I'm Nigerian myself, and have lived during those turbulent times in the Abacha regime. Horrible, let me tell you. The novel depicts this atmosphere in a beautiful way. Please read this if you want a thrilling tale that will leave you thinking and breathless. I would have given this ten stars if possible! Good job Habila!
Highly Recommended Read.......2005-01-31
I was quite skeptical about reading a novel about Nigeria that had been described mostly in terms of politics and prison life. That topic, I thought, had been covered ad nauseam in contemporary Nigerian literature. When would Nigerian authors begin to write about human beings living their lives as normal people? I was only convinced to pick up Helon Habila's novel after reading a short story of his in The Virginia Quarterly Review, entitled "My Uncle Ezekiel," (available online) and liking it tremendously. I thought, even if it is about politics, he writes so well, why not give it a try.
Well, Helon Habila's book is not so much about politics as it is about people caught up in dire political and socio-economic circumstances. Throughout the novel the characters always take precedence over the political matter so that we get more than passing glimpses into their lives. We begin to understand what forces beyond their control shaped their thinking, and appreciate their perseverance even in the face of the most overwhelming odds. It is a testament to Habila's strengths that such a bleak novel can be so enriching, that depictions of poverty (even of Poverty Street) do not come off as over-romanticized pleas of pity, and that in the face of it all his characters breathe, live, speak, act, fall in love, get heartbroken, wear bad wigs, and still have the courage to dream very, very big.
I immensely enjoyed Habila's depictions of Lagos, having lived there for a while in the kind of environment he was conjuring up. I liked the fact that he did not meddle in stereotypes (Prison and Dele Giwa maybe, but to good effect), and did not feel the need to censor himself the way a lot of African writers often do. Those qualities made his book all the more truthful. There were, of course, some weak spots in the novel, but they are so small I would consider them inconsequential to the overall effect of the story being told.
This novel is an ambitious one, especially for a first-timer, and considering the act of will it must have taken to write it in Lagos, with so little hope that it would eventually get published. I give Habila a resounding applause for his effort, and hope that he continues to produce more good works like this one.
Book Description
The adorable Holly Babes are back, and now they are Waiting for Christmas. They want to make sure everything is just right for Christmas, so they trim their tree, sing their carols, and give out gifts. The Holly Babes' simple text and charming illustrations will fill readers with the anticipation of Christmas and the Christmas spirit.
Customer Reviews:
Seductive and Witty Love Story (B+ Grade).......2007-07-30
Adele Ashworth has a way with words that are almost lyrical. Her love scenes are so well written and border line erotic, which after reading them, most would need a fan or even maybe even a tear will come to your eye.
Stolen Charms does have a silly premise but what makes this book so good to read are the two main characters. Jonathon and Natalie are wonderful, humorous and their feelings for each other are beautiful.
When Jonathon finally realizes his feelings for his lady, his demeanor and over impression about women and himself change, which is lovely to see because he is the typical lofty "I'm always right" male. They don't consummate their relationship till almost the end, but when they do, it goes on for over 30 pages of descriptive lovemaking that only a master at this genre can do. This story is more of a character study if anything because the plot is very unbelievable. Natalie is an unmarried English miss who goes with Jonathon to Paris for some mysterious reason of her own. But their interactions and seductive talks which are basically foreplay make it so good!
We are also introduced to one of Ashworth's most incredible characters in that of Madeline. She is heroine in the semi-sequel to this story called the Winter Garden, which to date is Ashworth's masterpiece and one of the best romances written in years.
Stolen Charms is overall witty and very beautifully written. Enjoy the path to love with Jonathon and Natalie. It is well worth the read.
Katiebabs
My Darling Caroline
Winter Garden
Needs a new heroine........2002-08-12
This book just didn't do it for me. I couldn't relate to or like a main character who is convinced that she's in love with and is destined to marry a dashing celebrity that she's never met (she feels that she knows him because she's read about all of his exploits in the tabloids)! It was also pretty unbelievable that Justin (who was definitely more appealing as a character) was in love with Natalie. Not her best work.
Could be better.......2001-09-08
After reading her first book MY DARLING CAROLINE, I find this book disappointing. It has none of the spontaniety or flow as in the other book. I found myself impatiently scanning and skipping pages to get to the end.
She must hide her heart from a man who cannot be faithful........2000-01-31
Natalie knows from her own family's experience of the devastation that can be caused by an unfaithful spouse, so she is determined not to fall for Jonathan's good looks and charming manner. However, she needs him to introduce her to a notorious spy-thief that he is acquainted with, so she persuades him to allow her to accompany him on a forthcoming trip to France.
Jonathan knows she is not telling him everything about her motives, but it suits him to have her around, especially since he has been seriously considering the idea of marrying and settling down...and the two of them HAD shared a rather devastating romantic interlude in a garden five years ago. It piques him that she tries to hold herself aloof from him, although she responds fervishly to his passionate kisses. The surprising truth is that he wants more than passion from her...he yearns for her heart more than anything else.
What I enjoyed most about this book is the wonderful description of the hero's love as he waits for Natalie to confess she loves him. You can feel the hurt he feels when she states that she could never marry him. But through it all, his love never waivers, his patience never fails, his faithfulness endures to the end. Natalie is a very lucky woman!
The ease with which the gently-born Natalie managed to escape the protection of her family was a little hard to believe for the period, but this book was so memorable that I forgive the author for her little inaccuracy. Truth to tell, I'd give this book TEN STARS if I could!
Stolen Charms stole my heart.......2000-01-23
Adele Ashworth has another winner in Stolen Charms. Innocent Natalie asks womanizing Jonathon to take her to the Black Knight, a kind-hearted thief whom she thinks she loves. A wonderful and suspenseful trip to France changes their lives more than they care to admit. The chemistry between Natalie and Jonathon builds and ignites a passionate fire. Only a confession of love to each other and to themselves will help them find their true heart's desires. The characters are lovable and the love scenes are sweet and sensual. To a novice romance reader and aspiring writer like myself, Stolen Charms is a delight to read again and again.
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Stolen Charms
Adele Ashworth
Manufacturer: Jove Pubns
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000P445K2 |
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This Shape We're In
Jonathan Lethem
Manufacturer: McSweeney's
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ASIN: 0970335520 |
Book Description
Lethem, author of the bestselling Motherless Brooklyn , returns in concentrated form - packing twice the adventure into one-eighth the pages. This book could be some kind of allegory book, but it might not be an allegory book at all. It involves people and drinking and people looking for a giant eye. It is among the best things Mr. Lethem has written.
Customer Reviews:
Utterly outstanding!.......2006-11-15
Get ready to be challenged to a strata of thinking rarely encountered. Rabbi Soloveitchik inspired me to live a better life, as well as to quit smoking. However, unless you are extremely well versed in metaphysics as well as wordly and religous philosophy get out your dictionary and keep it close by, you will need it. The frustration of having to look up and determine "what he means by that choice of word" is worth every effort.
It is difficult for me to express how deeply moved at times I was while finding myself lost in his thoughts. The man was a master among us. The book takes a determined effort to read and even though it is rather short by most standards, 137 pages, I found it to be very concise and effective, like a flash of lightening! I believe that this is the type of book that one would profoundly benefit from reading a second time since it is so grand in scope and substance.
It is no wonder to me that this man was so highly regarded by his peers and students. Rarely does a person have the opportunity to encounter such a brilliant mind. The book is a treasure house of uplifting intellectual concepts on how we can better serve God's purpose and actualize ourselves in this world, right here and now.
The brilliance of R' Soloveitchik.......2005-05-18
This work, translated from the Hebrew, "Ish Ha-Halakha" is a masterpiece. It draws from many different wellsprings of knowledge, including everything from the Torah and scriptures to the Talmud. It is presented beautifully; each word is specifically and carefully chosen. For some, this book may be difficult to read, as the prose waxes philisophical and very descriptive, and oftentimes one needs to make connections within one's own mind.
The basic premise of this work, in its simplest form, is to discover and delineate the differences between "homo religiousus" and the "Halakhic man." Whereas homo religiousus, for instance, may be thrown about the tempestuous waves of emotion and transcendental religiousity, Halakhic man is one who discovers the meaning of religion through the laws, the balances, the critiques. Halakhic man seems more analytical, whereas homo religiosus is expressive and emotional. While both serve God, and serve Him properly, they serve Him in different ways. Halakhic man desires to bring God down to this world, the world considered, "Olam Hazeh," whereas homo religiousus desires to transcend the world, so that he may reach up to God in, "Olam Haba" or beyond, the next world.
However, this work also includes specific examples of man's guidelines/purpose/understanding. One of the most fascinating ideas is that of man as a Creator, also echoed, in some ways, in books like The Fountainhead. Even as God is the Creator, we humans emulate Him, and therefore, we, too, are creators. This is a very uplifting view of life and Judaism, for if one makes mistakes, we may self-create. Teshuva, repentance, is regarded as the idea of self-creation.
All in all, R' Soloveitchik expresses himself in ways that cling to the mind and make us thirst for more. This is a fascinating world. If you wish to enter, there is perhaps no better place to begin.
The central statement of a giant of Jewish thought .......2004-11-12
This is from the book- jacket."A profound excursion into religious psychology and phenomenology; a pioneering attempt at a philosophy of Halkhah ; a stringent critique of mysticism and romantic religion-allheld together by the force of the author's highly personal vision. Exuding intellectual sophistication and touching upon issues fundamental to religious life, Rabbi Soloveitchik's exploration, in sum, seeks to explain the inner world of the Talmudist-or as he is referred to typologically,halakhic man in terms drawn from Western culture"
This is as I understand it Rabbi Soloveitchik's defense of the ideal Jew, the Jewish way of life, the kind of Jewish life his family and he himself stood for for generations. I myself reading the work found it quite difficult to understand and its philosophical complexity often beyond me.
But it is the central statement of one of the greatest of all modern Jewish thinkers. And I believe all those interested in the deepest Jewish thought should know this work.
a warning.......2001-04-15
This book (basically a comparison of mainstream Talmudic scholarship and mysticism, and an endorsement of the former) struck me as the kind of book I might get more out of in a few years, when I know a lot more and have read a lot more -- and maybe when I am a grownup I will reread it. But it is not a book for people just beginning to learn about Judaism (unless they happen to have a Ph.D in philosophy). The allusions (to other thinkers), the concepts, and even the vocabulary were often over my head and are probably over the head of most people who do not have an enormous background in philosophical matters. I learned something from it, but not as much as a more learned person would.
An awesome work........2001-03-20
This book is one of the most ambitious works of Jewish theology written in the past few hundred years. It is in many ways a rewrite of "Nefesh HaChayim" which has never been translated into English. The Halakhic Man is a complete coherent vision of Judaism and the world.
Book Description
In 1991 Ruth Reichl, then a Los Angeles Times food writer, observed that much of the style now identified with California cuisine, and with nouvelle cuisine du Mexique, was practiced by Encarnación Pinedo a century earlier. A landmark of American cuisine first published in 1898 as El cocinero español (The Spanish Cook), Encarnación's Kitchen is the first cookbook written by a Hispanic in the United States, as well as the first recording of Californio food--Mexican cuisine prepared by the Spanish-speaking peoples born in California. Pinedo's cookbook offers a fascinating look into the kitchens of a long-ago culture that continues to exert its influence today.
Of some three hundred of Pinedo's recipes included here--a mixture of Basque, Spanish, and Mexican--many are variations on traditional dishes, such as chilaquiles, chiles rellenos, and salsa (for which the cook provides fifteen versions). Whether describing how to prepare cod or ham and eggs (a typical Anglo dish labeled "huevos hipócritas"), Pinedo was imparting invaluable lessons in culinary history and Latino culture along with her piquant directions. In addition to his lively, clear translation, Dan Strehl offers a remarkable view of Pinedo's family history and of the material and literary culture of early California cooking. Prize-winning journalist Victor Valle puts Pinedo's work into the context of Hispanic women's testimonios of the nineteenth century, explaining how the book is a deliberate act of cultural transmission from a traditionally voiceless group.
Customer Reviews:
California Hispanic Women's History .......2007-06-08
Until recent history, women rarely wrote their own stories for the history books, men did. This is especially true of the Hispanic women living in the lands after the Mexican war (1848). The Hispanics living in California and other territories that became the American Southwest were quickly defrauded of their land and civil rights. This cookbook begins with beautifully researched and sensitively written essays describing the social-political context within which Encarnacion penned her recipes. The recipes are as she wrote them in 1898. To cook them accurately presumes adequate knowledge of cooking. Cookbooks are more than a collection of recipes, they transmit culture. This book is necessary for any person deeply interested in the cultural context of California and Southwest cuisine. Before I read this book, I wondered how accurate or true to my experience it would be. My late grandmother, Catalina Maria Ortiz Acosta, was a woman from a prominent Hispanic family, and was born in Los Angeles in 1904. When I read this book I recognized the recipes from the meals and the style of food my grandmother had cooked. The history confirmed the stories she would tell me about the various political elite she knew. (Catalina Pico, the grand daughter of Pio Pico, the last Mexican Governor or Alta California was her godmother.) I highly recommend this book.
Book Description
One hundred years worth of quality Mexican popular art, including pottery, clay figures, marionettes, straw mosaics, Talavera, clay banks, coconut banks, laquerware, wood panels and rugs, from 1850-1950, is covered here with over 370 color photographs illustrating over 675 objects. Collecting hints are included in every chapter. The book concludes with room shots, illustrating many beautiful options for displaying collections. A values reference guide is also included.
Customer Reviews:
Important contribution to the field of Mexican folk art.......1998-12-10
McMenamin's lavishly illustrated tome covers many areas of Mexican folk art, including certain forms specifically created for the American tourist market in the 1920's, 30's and 40's. Folk ceramics, talavera, textiles, furniture, wood carvings, popote or straw mosaics, lacquerware, loteria drawings and carved coconut banks are among the folk art genres included in this well-researched book. As a collector of Mexican folk art, I know only too well how difficult it is to find books in English on this subject; McMenamin offers both the serious scholar and the casual collector precious insight into many folk art forms that have almost completely disappeared or are languishing because of the acculturation that inevitably occurs with foreign contact. Popular Arts of Mexico (1850-1950) is a good, basic overview of areas other than traditional dance masks and Los Dias de Los Muertos-related folk art.
Simply "The Bible" for Mexican folk art lovers.......1998-12-05
Beautiful pictures, informed text! Collectors use this "Bible" as a reference to describe their Mexican folk art.
Most of the information is unavailable in other books.
Plus, the book is gorgeous.
The Bible of Mexican Popular Arts Collecting!.......1998-12-05
I was first told about Donna McMenamin's book "Popular Arts of Mexico" by a fellow collector of Mexicana who thought I might like it. I remember telling him I had too many other interest to get involved in such a broad field of collecting. At that time I was collecting the most basic of Mexican chotzkie, anything with a "Sleeping Mexican" on it seemed appropriate. Then I saw Donna's book. One word...Wow. I was first just blown away with the pictures, such clear and concise images. And the detail! Sadly, I was hooked. I started taking her book with me on jaunts to the antique mall where I would pick up anything that looked remotely similar. Can you say expensive? Eventually, because of the book, I was able to spot things on my own, which was great, and much cheaper. :-) Donna's book has opened up a whole new world of collecting for me. I had never seen a carved wood panel, known as "bas relief." When I saw the chapter in her book I just knew I had to own one. They are incredible and have now become a focal point in our collection of TRUE Mexican Popular Arts. OK, I still like sleeping Mexican things, but I'm crazy! :-) It would be difficult for me to say a collectibles book changed my life, I guess it seems so shallow, however, Donna's book gave me a new awareness of things that are amazingly beautiful. I'd say that's a positive life change. Can you say sappy book review? :-)
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Historic Floral and Animal Designs for Embroiderers and Craftsmen (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Suzanne E. Chapman
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0486235262 |
Book Description
73 designs adapted from textile work, 16th through 19th centuries, depicting flowers, foliage and animals in a variety of settings.
Customer Reviews:
A Little Behind the Times.......2006-03-10
The decorating styles shown in this book are dated. Decorating Den has always included luxurious drapery treatments in their plans, but simpler treatments seem to be the norm now. The pictures are lovely, but I would not recommend purchasing this book when newer, fresher style books are on the market.
Wonderful Book.......2001-05-19
This book was a breath of fresh air. I read it cover to cover, then went through it again. You will get furniture layouts, decorating ideas, and information boxes that tackle everything from townhouses to home offices. A pleasure to read and a wonderful reference book.
Clear and affordable Decorating Advice.......2001-03-18
This was a down to earth decorating book with marvelous pictures. Clearly, the book did not suggest, like many others, that one start from scratch. The colour combinations gave one pause for thought - out of the safe zone on occasions - but marvelous. I have used some of the furniture layout suggestions and the colour combinations of fabrics were especially helpful.
I have a previous book, Dream Rooms for Real People by Carol and it was very good - but this new book is excellent!
Helen Howes
Great Overall Decorating Book!.......2000-03-19
This book covers decorating techniques that can be applied to every lifestyle. With terrific before and after photos, the writer brings you right into the story behind the decorating. I think this book is a must-have for the decorating enthusiast. There just aren't high quality books on decorating out there like this one.
Great Illustrations - Different Styles.......2000-02-24
Very nicely done with before and after pictures. Decorating shown in all decorating styles from provential to rustic. Excellent decorating ideas and suggestions. Add it to my good book list.
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New Design: Tokyo: The Edge of Graphic Design
Edward M Gomez
Manufacturer: Rockport Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1564965619 |
Book Description
The "New Design" series celebrates some of the finest new graphic design talents each featured city has to offer. This city-by-city tour is the insider's guide to dozens of design firms that are making an impact on the industry.
Selected by designers for designers, the work in these pages reveals what makes graphic design tick in the city of Tokyo. Fresh, new, and filled with vitality, this is a valuable collection for all design enthusiasts, from advertising and media aficionados, to artists, educators, student, and all those with a strong interest in contemporary graphic design.
Designers and studios featured in this book include Seiju Toda, Madoka Iwabuchi, Frame Graphics, groovisions, Katsunori Aoki, Ghost Ranch Studio, Higraph Tokyo, King Cay Lab, Axis Design, and many others.
Customer Reviews:
It's Asialicious.......2000-04-26
This book gives a broad insight into contemporary asian design, with a huge spectrum of work samples from 35 different Tokyo-based designers/companies. It showcases many great ideas and would be a valuable resource for students, as well as practicing designers and advertising creatives.
Book Description
Django Reinhardt was arguably the greatest guitarist who ever lived, an important influence on Les Paul, Charlie Christian, B.B. King, Jerry Garcia, Chet Atkins, and many others. Yet there is no major biography of Reinhardt. Now, in Django, Michael Dregni offers a definitive portrait of this great guitarist. Handsome, charismatic, childlike, and unpredictable, Reinhardt was a character out of a picaresque novel. Born in a gypsy caravan at a crossroads in Belgium, he was almost killed in a freak fire that burned half of his body and left his left hand twisted into a claw. But with this maimed left hand flying over the frets and his right hand plucking at dizzying speed, Django became Europe's most famous jazz musician, commanding exorbitant fees--and spending the money as fast as he made it. Dregni not only chronicles this remarkably colorful life--including a fascinating account of gypsy culture--but he also sheds much light on Django's musicianship. He examines his long musical partnership with violinist Stephane Grappelli--the one suave and smooth, the other sharper and more dissonant--and he traces the evolution of their novel string jazz ensemble, Quintette du Hot Club de France. Indeed, the author spotlights Django's amazing musical diversity, describing his swing-styled Nouveau Quintette, his big band Django's Music, and his later bebop ensemble, as well as his many compositions, including symphonic pieces influenced by Ravel and Debussy and his unfinished organ mass inspired by Bach. And along the way, the author offers vivid snapshots of the jazz scene in Paris--colorful portraits of Josephine Baker, Bricktop, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and countless others--and of Django's vagabond wanderings around France, Europe, and the United States, where he toured with Duke Ellington. Capturing the extraordinary life and times of one of the great musicians of the twentieth century, Django is a must-read portrait of a true original.
Customer Reviews:
caveat.......2007-06-03
this biography fills in the gaps between facts so thoroughly with conjecture and fictionalizing that one no longer can quite tell what the known facts are. there's a lot of interesting stuff in this book, but I found the author's approach maddening.
there are so many events depicted with breathless 'you are there' cinematic detail that are based on events that are almost certainly undocumented. Or if they're based on something, no indication is given of what sort of source is being relied on. People's presumed emotions and inner thoughts are described to an improbable and even ridiculous extent. Eventually a pall of suspicion clouds the entire book.
Listen, Read and Listen.......2006-08-17
I read this book on a recent vacation and was kicking myself for not bringing Django Reinhardt CD's with me to listen to while I read. I have been an admirer of Django's music for some time but was unaware of just how much influence his music had on artists of his time. There are three reasons why I liked this book. One, to understand Django's personality the author tells us a little of the history and culture of the gypsies. Two, the backdrop of Django's life story is the Paris music scene during the 1920s, through the Nazi occupation of WWII, and the birth of bebop in the late 40s and early 50s. And three, the amazing life story of what may be the greatest guitarist ever born. All three of these aspect of the book are brought together to create an outstanding biography of Django Reinhardt. But be warned that reading about this incredible talent may cause an insatiable desire to listen to his music.
"Oh ma mere! Ce n'est pas possible!".......2006-05-19
This utterance comes halfway through Michael Dregni's book, and it's one of maybe 50 direct quotes by Django Reinhardt drizzled over 280 pages. Self-conscious about his lack of education, Reinhardt didn't like talking to "gadjé." He is known to have written three letters in his life, and the most extended quote is bogus: an "interview" concocted by an impresario to defame a rival.
It has to be quite a challenge for a biographer to work with so little material. And yet Dregni does an excellent job. While by necessity he has to rely on external testimony and events to make his portrayal, his focus is always on Reinhardt and the extraordinary contradictions of the man: one night dining with royalty, the next night stealing a chicken on a country road; living in a luxury hotel one week, a caravan the next; over-generosity alternating with infuriating pettiness; turning one gig into an all-night jam session, not bothering to show up for the next. You think you know Bohemian? This is Bohemian.
Of course, Django was only verbally reticent. Musically, he is one of the most articulate, expressive players ever. So it's the musical parts of this book that really shine. Partly because of the nationalism of his promoters who wanted to push a French jazz musician, but mostly because of his magical talent (and in spite of a tendency to sleep later than recording session schedules), Reinhardt's output was vast and varied. As I imagine is true for many, I knew the Quintette/Grapelli recordings to the exclusion of almost everything else. So I especially appreciated the discussions of his later career: the weird fact that during the Occupation, when jazz was officially verboten, he achieved his greatest popularity, and his enthusiasm for bebop, which I've always thought he anticipated with his angular, superfast playing.
In the endnotes are many mentions of "interview with author, 2001/2/3..." Aside from the documentary research, Dregni deserves special gratitude for contacting people who knew Reinhardt and who will probably not be around much longer. His efforts have doubtless uncovered facts that, because of the large part of Reinhardt's life that exists only in the oral tradition, would certainly have been lost without them.
Django Reinhardt, one of the more remarkable and mysterious characters of his time, deserves a first-rate biography. This is it.
If your'e into Django.......2005-12-02
then your going to eat up this book. The writing is a little silly and cliched but there is a LOT of info on Django as well as the history of jazz in Europe. The book rolls along nicely and builds up to a climax 2/3s in just before Django's american tour with Ellington. Then the book becomes an extremely dull onslaught of facts rather than a biographical story. I just wanted it to end. then he did this. then he did this. then he did this. and then he did this. Hello... Did the writer just get bored with the material? Alot of research though so we'll have to give him credit for this. and there isn't a whole lot of writing about Django out there so it will have to suffice.
Phenomenal!.......2005-12-01
This is possibly one of the finest music biographies I've ever read (and I've read stacks). Instead of taking the tack of Django-worshipping, Dregni carefully and thoughtfully lays out all of the historical context around Django's life and music. This is a rarity among music biographies, which generally sum up historical context in literally just a few lines ("The Depression was over and times were tough, but the jukes were still swingin'"). Dregni does a fabulous job, and makes it interesting to boot.
He also doesn't cut Django too much slack, although he doesn't villainize him either. Genius is generally accompanied by a bit of madness, and always with a bit of narcissism, and Django had all of this, which doesn't make him a bad person, just a bit of a mad genius. Dregni did well expressing this.
All in all, Django had a phenomenal life and his body of work is practically unmatched in any genre, as far as quality and prolificness. Dregni simply gave us a historical context and a background behind the man who made it.
This book is recommended to jazz fans (whether gypsy jazz is your thing or not), musette fans, guitar players, Francophiles, those interested in gypsy culture, those interested in WWI and WWII, those interested in Paris in the '30s and '40s, history buffs, and so on.
Book Description
Django Reinhardt was perhaps the greatest guitarist to ever live. A Gypsy who made his jazz guitar speak with a human voice, he was dashing, charismatic, childish . . . and doomed to die young after creating a legacy of Gypsy Jazz that remains vibrant today.
Gypsy Jazz is a music both joyous and sad, timeless and modern. It was born from a marriage of Louis Armstrong's trumpet with the anguished sound of Romany violin and the fire of flamenco guitar. Created amidst the glamour of Jazz Age Paris and reaching a peak during the horrors of World War II, Gypsy Jazz gave a voice to a dispossessed people. Today, Gypsy Jazz is more popular than ever. It has a legacy as strong as the Cuban sounds of the Buena Vista Social Club, the blues of B. B. King, or the R&B of Ray Charles.
Django Reinhardt and the Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz is a stylish collection of more than two hundred illustrations telling Django's story and the history of Gypsy jazz. Running through the Paris Jazz Age of the 1920s to the current worldwide renaissance of Gypsy jazz bands (including Django's grandsons, who are playing today), the images include rare archival photographs, modern images, posters, programs, tickets, guitars, memorabilia, paintings, and more.
Customer Reviews:
Great book!!.......2007-03-11
This is very well done, and has some interesting stuff that I haven't seen in other books about Django. I especially like all the pictures and additional work that went into it to make it more visually appealing and interesting to read!!
The lively text entertains as thoroughly as it enlightens.......2006-12-10
Gorgeously illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs and poster representations on almost every page, Django Reinhardt and the Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz is the true story of a legendary figure in Gypsy Jazz, a music style that arose in the Jazz Age of the 1920's by blending the Romany violin and flamenco guitar with the trumpet and other jazz instruments. Django Reinhardt and the Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz traces the style's evolution and the career of the man who embodied it through the horrors of World War II, when the Nazis severely persecuted the Gypsies in Europe, and onward to Gypsy Jazz's rhythm-and-blues legacy for the modern day. The lively text entertains as thoroughly as it enlightens, in this enthusiastically recommended volume for casual readers and music history buffs.
Book Description
A guide to the playing style of the famous Gypsy guitarists, and information on many of the leading exponents of this unique style.
Customer Reviews:
Sketchy, but useful.......2003-07-25
There are a lot of great photos of the various great Jazz Manouche guitarists here, and there's also a fair amount of information. It's not particularly well organized, and there's no theory or explanation; what you get are a few basic licks, a library of chord shapes, and a few tunes rendered in tablature.
This is a good resource for the intermediate or advanced player familiar with the genre who just needs a leg up to get started, but it's not really quite basic enough for the beginner looking to emulate Django. Still, a motivated beginner with a good ear and a good library of Django Reinhardt recordings might find this to be just what he or she needs.
Great intro to learning Django's guitar style........1999-06-15
This book isn't very big but it did help me get a good idea about where I needed to go with my guitar playing. There are about 40 pictures of Django, family and friends playing Selmer, Gibson and Macafferri guitars and rough transcriptions two two or three songs and about 20 solo licks in tablature. There is also a few stories about Django and his life and one paragraph biographies of about 15 gypsy style players. This book made me realize how important triads are to playing this style of music! This book is a gem to read, I guarantee you will enjoy it.
Average customer rating:
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Django's Gypsies: The Mystique of Django Reinhardt and His People
Ian Cruickshank
Manufacturer: Ashley Mark Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Reference
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Songbooks
| Music
| Entertainment
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General
| Music
| Entertainment
| Subjects
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Jazz
| Musical Genres
| Music
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Entertainers
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| Biographies & Memoirs
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General
| Arts & Photography
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General
| Performing Arts
| Arts & Photography
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ASIN: 0872639061 |
Book Description
This beautiful book is a unique collection of photographs, illustrations, memorabilia and quotations. They convey the musical genius of Django Reinhardt and the enormous influence he has had on his people, the Gypsies of Northern and Central Europe, from the early 1930s until the present day, his unique place in the history of jazz, and his impact on the musical development of guitarists all over the world. This book has over 300 photographs and illustrations, many of which have never been published before.
Book Description
Of all the styles of jazz to emerge in the twentieth century, none is more passionate, more exhilaratingly up-tempo, or more steeped in an outsider tradition than Gypsy Jazz. And there is no one more qualified to write about Gypsy Jazz than Michael Dregni, author of the acclaimed biography,
Django.
A vagabond music, Gypsy Jazz is played today in French Gypsy bars, Romany encampments, on religious pilgrimages--and increasingly on the world's greatest concert stages. Yet its story has never been told, in part because much of its history is undocumented, either in written form or often even in
recorded music. Beginning with Django Reinhardt, whose dazzling Gypsy Jazz became the toast of 1930s Paris in the heady days of Josephine Baker, Picasso, and Hemingway, Dregni follows the music as it courses through caravans on the edge of Paris, where today's young French Gypsies learn Gypsy Jazz
as a rite of passage, along the Gypsy pilgrimage route to Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer where the Romany play around their campfires, and finally to the new era of international Gypsy stars such as Bireli Lagrene, Boulou Ferre, Dorado Schmitt, and Django's own grandchildren, David Reinhardt and
Dallas Baumgartner. Interspersed with Dregni's vivid narrative are the words of the musicians themselves, many of whom have never been interviewed for the American press before, as they describe what the music means to them. Gypsy Jazz also includes a chapter devoted entirely to American Gypsy
musicians who remain largely unknown outside their hidden community.
Blending travelogue, detective story, and personal narrative, Gypsy Jazz is music history at its best, capturing the history and culture of this elusive music--and the soul that makes it swing.
Average customer rating:
- Fast-paced adventure with a bit of mystery
- Adveture!
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Jingo Django
Sid Fleischman
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (Juv Pap)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Ages 9-12
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Fleischman, Sid
| ( F )
| Authors & Illustrators, A-Z
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0316285544 |
Customer Reviews:
Fast-paced adventure with a bit of mystery.......1999-02-08
The figurative language is delightful as well as the use of gypsy words such as "hatchi-witchu" and "chavo". Jingo and his companion are in a race for the treasure. Boys and girls alike enjoy this novel. I read it every year with my seventh graders and have my advanced students develop a project that requires higher level thinking skills.
Adveture!.......1999-02-01
What I Say about this book is that once you get into it you probably won't want to put it down just like I did. This book is about an orphan by the name of jingo hawks and his wild adventures with his "friend Mr. Peacok-Hemlock-Jones, As they search for a burried treasure.
Average customer rating:
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Learn to Play Django-style Gypsy Jazz Guitar
Creator-Django Reinhardt
Manufacturer: Homespun
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Guitar
| Instruments & Performers
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General
| Music
| Entertainment
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Instruction & Study
| Theory, Composition & Performance
| Music
| Entertainment
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ASIN: 1932964096 |
Book Description
The founder and leader of the Hot Club of San Francisco teaches and analyzes the styles of Django Reinhardt and other great swing players of the thirties and forties. He carefully explains the variety of rhythms as well as the improvisational leads that get a band to really swing! Video One - Rhythm: 60-MIN. DVD * INCLUDES CHORDS * EARLY INTERMEDIATE LEVEL Video Two - Soloing: 60-MIN. DVD * INCLUDES MUSIC + TAB * EARLY INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
Books:
- A Day Late and a Dollar Short
- A Million Nightingales: A Novel
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- A Very Easy Death (Pantheon Modern Writers Series)
- A Window Across the River
- Affairs at Thrush Green (Miss Read)
- All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers : A Novel
- American Blue Blood: The Challenge of Coming of Age in Upper-Class America
- Angel Scene / Teeth and Tongue Landscape (Eraserhead Double #2)
- Animal Triste
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