Amazon.com
What a marvelous writer Charles Baxter is. His prose is luminous, his imagery surprising, and the stories he tells are bottomless in their depth. Readers who have not already had the good fortune to make this writer's acquaintance in earlier works of fiction such as Shadow Play, Harmony of the World, and others have a rare treat in store for them in his latest collection of short stories, Believers. Here, in "The Cures for Love," Ovid returns from the dead to offer advice to a young woman whose lover has left her, while in "Kiss Away" an urban genie grants another young woman a wish for her boyfriend's love--a wish that proves double- edged. The collection's title novella, "Believers," is a son's account of his father, a former priest who "was vacated of his faith" when he met the woman he would one day marry.
As this novella and the eponymous collection suggest, faith is at the crux of all these stories--lost faith, lack of faith, transient faith. Belief in God or in one's lover or in oneself, whatever shape it assumes, is the essential quality Baxter's characters seek, and sometimes find. These stories demand more than one reading, and they will, with each revisiting, yield some new and telling insight that makes you wonder that you never noticed it before.
Book Description
With his five previous books of fiction, Charles Baxter established himself as a contemporary literary master, in the traditions of Raymond Carver, William Maxwell, and Alice Munro. This radiant new collection confirms Baxter's ability to revel in the surfaces of seemingly ordinary lives while uncovering their bedrock of passion, madness, levity and grief.
Customer Reviews:
Not his strongest.......2006-05-31
Charles Baxter has been called "the writer's writer", and for good reason. I think all struggling writers trying to hone their craft envy the literary songs that Baxter sings, including myself. He always has a knack for bringing to life characters that in real life I would care nothing about. This observation is more evident in his novel "The Feast of Love."
"Believers", however, doesn't suffer from this. I actually liked some of the characters, and I would even want to be friends with a few of them. However, these focused characters are in stories that lack focus, and it would have been nice to see them in situations that really test their mettle. The book's namesake, the novella "Believers", seems unbelievable, as the one of the main characters appears to act, in my opinion, out of character. They don't understand their world, and they try to understand in irrational ways. The entire book seems to lack focus, and the stories, although they do fit together, seem to have the least coherency out of all Baxter's story collections. Please don't get me wrong, as the stories were enjoyable, but it is clear that this is Baxter's weakest work. The adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest is not true in Baxter's case, as I wish that my own strongest writing was as good as Baxter's weakest.
Great prose but missing heart.......2002-09-28
This book of seven short stories and one novella by Charles Baxter was difficult to rate because on one side the prose is so exceptional as to merit a 5 but as another reviewer noted, it is difficult to care about the lifeless characters that he has created and what appears to be a lack of some type of conclusion or redemption. As an example of his writing skill, from the novella Believers, the narator characterizes his father as follows.
"...his moods were almost weightless, and the shifts in his emotions were often so quick that watching him was like being stationed in a field over which clouds were rapidly passing, creating patterned successions of shadow and light.
I was the child in that field, over which the clouds passed."
Is there a better picture that could be painted describing the effect of the father's moods on his son!
The reader should bear in mind that the title is not meant to just echo the name of the novella, but applies to every story in the book. In most of the short stories an incident occurs which triggers a change from a comfortable existence to one of questioning of beliefs. Every story is really about a loss of belief. We've all lost belief in something sometime in our life and Baxter is exploring this concept with his different stories. Overall, the novella, Believers, is the best of the book. The story, told from the perspective of the son of a former priest, discusses the downfall of his father caused by his association with a rich and devious couple. We follow the son's descriptions of the events leading to his father's downfall and his attempt to learn more. Of the short stories I enjoyed Flood Show the most and on the other side could find little value to Reincarnation.
In summary, I enjoyed his prose but was wishing for more from the story. However, I will still try another of his books.
I'm a Believer.......2002-04-09
This collection of seven stories and one novella landed in my hands as a gift, knowing that I have an interest in authors residing in my geographical area (lower Michigan)... but after reading the collection, I plan to read more Baxter, regardless of where he lives, regardless whether the books arrive in my hands as gifts or as my own purchases. I will plunk down my hard-earned dollars for a bit more Baxter, because he knows how to tell a story, and he knows how to write one.
No, that is not one and the same thing. I have found that some authors can weave a yarn very well, peaking suspense, captivating intrigue, taking the reader from beginning to middle to climactic conclusion, but not necessarily with words that are breathtakingly new. These are the storytellers. Others, I find, may not be the best at keeping the varied and many strings of a storyline teasingly tangled yet taut, but they are wonderful writers. They are word artists. They have a talent for choosing fresh phrases that amaze, painting colorful images, bringing about those special a-ha moments for the reader by framing something in words never quite framed that way before. I love that. Maybe even more than a taut storyline.
But oh, the pleasure when finding a word-artist who can also tell a good story! Baxter can do this. Granted, not always in equal measure. "Saul and Patsy Are in Labor" leaves me unconvinced, even wincing a bit. In theory, I believe it is possible for a male writer to write as if with the voice of a woman, for a female writer to write as if with the voice of a man - and convincingly so. But it's hard, it is tricky. For a male writer to write as if a pregnant woman.... well, let's just say, it didn't break my water. The story lost me, a female reader, in its first pages of Patsy feeling as if she were "reeking with reproduction." Um, no. "Cures For Love" perhaps has a similar problem, again with a female as main character, suffering the pangs of a broken relationship by wearing her ex's cap backwards as she bathes, as she cooks. Instead of feeling her anguish in these images, I end up grinning. The image was amusing more than painful. I did not feel her pain. This woman just doesn't hurt like a woman to me. I wish, instead, Baxter had enlightened me on the male perspective of this break-up. Surely men feel pain worthy of a storyline, too, and I suspect it would have been more authentic.
In this very same story, however, I can point to what makes me now officially a Baxter fan:
"She was not a romantic and did not like the word romance. They hadn't had a romance, the two of them. Nothing soft or tender, like that. They had just, well, driven into each other like reckless drivers at an intersection, neither one wanting to yield the right-of-way."
Now, that I like! Baxter writes often (too often?) about the ups and downs, ins and outs, of love in its many forms, always a difficult topic to address in fresh words, and this is just one of many examples of how well he accomplishes just that. Love can indeed be at times like a head-on collision, all parties injured and whiplashed, tires left spinning, engines smoking. Hurrah! I have my a-ha moment.
Indeed, I have moments that Baxter reminds me of other authors whose work in the short story genre I admire very much: Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike. He can evoke a certain mystery, even eeriness, tinge of evil intention, as Oates does. He can amuse with human antics as Updike does. In this collection, he does it best in the novella, "Believers."
"We cannot imagine the soul without its clothing of flesh," he writes in his novella. Simple words, written with artistry.
By the time I had finished reading this introduction to Baxter, I had already visited the bookstore to purchase his "Feast of Love." I'll be back for more.
Surprising! Fresh and Real.......2002-04-05
Charles Baxter's characters lure you into their real worlds with memories, familiar problems, and sudden laughter. Be prepared to think about it, because you will not forget the people you meet in Baxter's stories.Wonderful!
5 Stars for the Novella, 4 for the Rest.......2001-11-22
Charles Baxter is a great storyteller and this collection of seven short stories and one novella is no exception. For the most part, Baxter produces empathic characters and manages to transport the reader into the story with his clear and occasionally insightful prose.
This collection begins with "Kiss Away", the story of a young woman looking for love who's granted three wishes by an unlikely genie in a bar (as opposed to a likely genie in a jar). Not surprisingly, she doubts the barfly's veracity and is somewhat hasty with her wishes. This is a curious story of love and relationships (past and present), and the reader is left without any real sense of conclusion. Nevertheless, the story is a good start to this fine collection.
"Reincarnation" is next, and is the one story that could've been skipped. It's the story of three annoying couples' incessant banter about death and reincarnation. Few (if any) insights are proffered and the characters in this story could be reincarnated as mutes as far as this reader was concerned. Fortunately, the collection redeems itself from this point.
"The Next Building I Plan to Bomb" is a story with no resolution about an unendearing bank employee's inner turmoil invoked by the discovery of a mysterious piece of paper. Somewhat disturbing but well-rendered.
"Time Exposure" is a whirlwind of a story about a drunken confession and a neighbor's obsession and possible retaliation.
"Saul and Patsy are in Labor" provides a glimpse into a couples' struggle with the change parenthood brings into life and its implications.
"Flood Show" is a fascinating story of love on several levels and perhaps the best of the short stories in this collection.
"Cures for Love" documents the thoughts of a young woman recovering from a love gone bad and the role an old copy of Ovid's "Remedia Amoris" plays in her effort to move on with life. Both humorous and insightful, this was a story that could've made the genesis of an interesting novel.
Lastly, this collection ends with the brilliant novella and title story, "Believers". This is the story of an ex-pastor's childhood, years in the priesthood, and life as a father to the narrator of this insightful story. Reminiscent of some of the great Russian literature of the last century, this story brings the collection to a worthy conclusion.
A good collection of stories with an excellent novella at the end. Recommended.
Average customer rating:
- A fitting matured continuation of the Weetzie Bat series: magical, vivid, meaningful, and a delight to read. Highly recommended
- A Grown Up Oz
- i love weetzie.
- Welcome back, Weetzie!
- I've missed you, Weetzie!
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Necklace of Kisses
Francesca Lia Block
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Contemporary | Romance | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0060777516
Release Date: 2005-08-02 |
Download Description
"
Where were the kisses? Weetzie Bat wondered. And so begins a magical journey of discovery. As she turns forty and the relationship with her secret-agent lover-man Max falls apart, Weetzie packs up her lime green and bright orange bikini, orange suede sneakers, and Pucci tunic, jumps in her '65 mint green Thunderbird, and leaves.
Weetzie finds herself at the enchanted pink hotel in sparkling Los Angeles, where she once shied away from a kiss that may have led her to the love of her life. Now she returns, perhaps in search of her lost passion, and meets an otherworldy cast of characters, among them a blue-skinned receptionist, an invisible cleaning lady, a seductive fawn, and a sushi-eating mermaid who gives her a kiss that sets the wheel of self-discovery in motion.
Block invests every scene with equal shots of magic and realism, rendering her heroine and supporting players in vivid, poetic detail. In
Necklace of Kisses the fans that have grown up with Weetzie Bat will be able to meet her in adulthood and find that life is still no less trying and no less full of wonder.
"
Customer Reviews:
A fitting matured continuation of the Weetzie Bat series: magical, vivid, meaningful, and a delight to read. Highly recommended.......2007-10-10
Weetzie Bat is an adult now--just turned forty, with her children in college, and her relationship with her secret agent lover man Max falling apart, Weetzie packs a suitcase, leaves her cottage, and moves to a hotel--an unusual hotel, where she meets a blue receptionist, a room-service faun, and an invisible cleaning lady, among all of the equally unusual guests. She plans to stay there until she rediscovers kisses: the passion, goodness, and love in her life. Continuing the wonderful YA series of Weetzie Bat books in a new adult text, Block writes in her usual style, creating a magical, authentic, and truly approachable, enjoyable text. The setting is fantastic, the writing is at the same time straightforward and quirky, and the characters are vivid and their lessons learned are meaningful. This is a fitting sequel to the Weetzie Bat series but aptly modified for a more mature audience, and a wonderful, meaningful, and ultimately uplifting read. I highly recommend it.
The Weetzie Bat books are young adult classics--magical, enchanting, and in many ways uniquely realistic. To my great pleasure, I found Necklace of Kisses to be an apt adult continuation of the series--it preserves both the magic and the enchanting atmosphere of the YA books, and (while many of the issues in the YA books are mature), deals with more adult topics in a similarly honest, respectful fashion. The original Weetzie Bat series may be YA fiction, but it is a worthwhile read for all age groups; I'm pleased that this novel continues the series in a way that is authentic to the original texts yet still modified to speak and appeal to a more mature audience. In fewer words: if you loved the original Weetzie Bat books and are interested in reading a more mature version, then you will enjoy Necklace of Kisses.
Beyond anything, Block's writing style is magical, transporting both characters and readers to a world that is increasingly delightful and vivid. Don't let the unusual cast of characters fool you: the story is actually all the more realistic and meaningful for for its fantastic elements. Block's visual writing style and fantastic setting and characters make the experiences and messages in the book magical (and so more engrossing and more enjoyable to read) and also more vivid (and so stronger and more meaningful). The otherworldliness gives Weetzie's journey an ethereal, universal sense without ever becoming obvious or preachy. This is a delightful book and easy to get lost in, and Weetzie's journey and the conclusions she comes to are satisfying and meaningful. It is an intensely original coming-of-middle-age novel, and Block storytelling and writing is exceptional.
There are a few minor issues with this book (I found some of the characters unappealing, some of the plot points are predictable, not all of the life lessons are meaningful to all readers), but those issues are minor in comparison to the greatness of the overall text. It may not be perfect, but Necklace of Kisses is wonderful. It's a respectful and authentic continuation of the series, it is well adapted to an increasingly mature audience, and Block's writing style excels here, engrossing the reader in Weetzie's magical world and bringing her new knowledge to life. I was delighted by this book, truly glad to have picked it up, and I highly recommend it. It is wonderful.
A Grown Up Oz.......2007-06-23
It looked like chick lit, so I picked it up last week. I have been drawn to lighter fare since losing Nat. My mind is wrapped around so many other things, that it is harder to attach myself emotionally to a story. However, this book wasn't exactly chick lit. I had never read the Weetzie Bat books, or anything else by this author for that matter, so I went in blind. It was a fabulous trip. Block's story winds through reality but includes magic at every turn. This book has a captured mermaid, changlings, floating brides, magic spider weavings... It was like a grown up Oz. And, from me, that is high praise. I was so sad to read the last page and close the book. I picked up the first of the Weetzie Bat books from the library and am reading that now. I will let you know what I think when I have finished reading.
i love weetzie........2007-05-17
i fell in love with weetzie bat about 8 years ago. i was searching for books and i ran across this one and bought it instantly. i was taken back to weetzie's beautiful world but this time filled with mermaids and drag queens. i finished it in a few days and needless to say i totally fell in love with it. i'd always felt a little incomplete at the end of dangerous angels and this finished it perfectly.
all in all...it was amazing. i HIGHLY recommend it.
Welcome back, Weetzie!.......2006-12-28
A friend gave me a copy of "Weetzie Bat" in the late 90's and told me I must read it because I was very much Weetzie. Unsure what she meant, I took the book and devoured it in one brief sitting. Since then, I've read all the books in the "Dangerous Angels" series, as well as other non-Weetzie titles, and go back to them often. Block's word pictures and fantasy scapes thrill me to no end. Her imagery moves me.
I recently purchased "Necklace of Kisses" and was totally blown away by this book. After recently turning 40 myself, I found I could relate to Weetzie's search for self at the beginning of midlife. This book reinforced the truth that life doesn't end at 40...in some ways, it begins anew.
To anyone contemplating this book (especially those hip New Wave/punk grrls from the 80's who are turning 40 soon) please take a chance on it. It will show you that you can still be you as you are, no matter what age you may be.
Here's to the Weetzie in us all!
I've missed you, Weetzie!.......2006-06-25
How comforting to know how Weetzie and her family are doing! I thought this book was excellent. I read it quickly, telling my husband to shut up when he tried to interupt.
Some of the reviews mentioned the 9/11 thing was a little heavy but I didn't get that, it was mentioned once- and Max always was a little intense.
God, I hope there's more!
I loved Weetzie before, but now... Wow!
Average customer rating:
|
Necklace of Kisses
Manufacturer: Harper Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0060797339 |
Book Description
Story collaborations between cult figure Howard Waldrop and numerous other celebrated science fiction and fantasy writers are collected for the first time in this unique volume. "One Horse Town" breathes fresh life into an ancient tale, combining elements from the sack of Troy, Homer's early days, the last day in the life of a Trojan warrior, and the archeological dig at Troy. In "Custer's Last Jump!" the legendary Crazy Horse uses Confederate monoplanes in his famous battle against General Custer. "A Voice and Bitter Weeping" paints a grim postnuclear age where Israeli mercenaries fight Texans in a never-ending, hopeless war. Mystery, intrigue, and treachery abound in the Heian Japan setting of "The Latter Days of the Law," where a clever man must find a lost prince. Each story features a riotously funny introduction by Waldrop and an afterword by the coauthor.
Customer Reviews:
Idea (...) from the galactic fringe.......2004-08-27
The stories in this collection are great, of course. Some are recently published, some have been sprung from the prison of time, and one, the long-rumored collaboration between Howard Waldrop and Bruce Sterling, has never been published previously. The title story is the one that changed the ground rules for writing alternate history. These are stories of ideas -- of complete profligacy with ideas -- of inventing forms, pushing their envelopes, and making the rest of the world sit up and take notice.
Howard's collaborators are among the people who made Austin a free-fire zone of SF ideas and original stories in the Seventies and Eighties: Bruce Sterling, Steven Utley, George R. R. Martin, Leigh Kennedy, Buddy Saunders, and astrophysicist Al Jackson. Howard says it's "thirty years of the True History of SF." Since he and Saunders were in the 7th grade together, and he and Martin first started corresponding in 1963, so I'd say Howard is shorting himself a decade there, but really, who's counting?
Excellent read!.......2004-02-23
As always, Waldrop comes through, here in collborations with some of science fiction's brightest lights. Offbeat, well-researched and thought provoking. Well worth your time.
A dazzling display of literary imagination.......2003-06-13
Compiled by Howard Waldrop (a renowned writer of deftly researched alternate-history stories and winner of both the Nebula and World Fantasy awards), Custer's Last Jump And Other Collaborations is an enthralling anthology of original short stories in which Howard Waldrop combined his talent with other skilled wordweavers such as George R. R. Martin, Bruce Sterling, and others. From a unique perspective on the saga of Troy; to a distant future in which Mankind is nearly extinct; to an alternate history when Crazy Horse uses Confederate monoplanes against Custer; Custer's Last Jump And Other Collaborations is a dazzling display of literary imagination, and a very strongly recommended read for science fiction fans enthusiasts everywhere.
Book Description
This volume is an encyclopedic introduction to movements of religious reaction in the twentieth century. The fourteen chapters are thematically linked by a common set of concerns: the social, political, cultural, and religious contexts in which these movements were born; the particular world-views, systems of thought, and beliefs that govern each movement; the ways in which leaders and group members make sense of and respond to the challenges of the modern, postcolonial era in world history.
The contributors include sociologists, cultural anthropologists, and historians, some of whom have been participant-observers in the groups under consideration. As an analysis of the global resurgence of religion, Fundamentalisms Observed sheds new light on current religious movements and cultures from North America to the Far East.
Customer Reviews:
Dense readings but of definite impact.......2007-07-14
This is the first of five volumes by The Fundamentalism Project. It is the only volume I have read to date. This volume begins with North American Protestant Fundamentalism, for which the term "fundamentalism" was coined and then studies in 15 more sections, each with a different author, (across 13 chapters) other religious movements around the world that have reacted to modernity in a way that might be described as "fundamentalistic" ... even if in quite a different form than North American Protestant Fundamentalism. The book may (almost) be worthwhile for its chapter on North American Protestantism alone but there is a huge amount more. The concluding chapter then tries to determine what might be "fundamentalistic" about all the religions presented thus far. This is just a beginning and it appears that study of the remaining four volumes might be needed to integrate all the material covered in this introductory volume alone.
What impressed me most was how many people worldwide are far from the kind of "intellectual" religion expressed, say, by Unitarian Universalism or the Society of Friends, let alone from secular humanism and atheism. I suppose I should have known this but until I read through here I had not been mindful of it. Try explaining the appeal of Gnostic Christian mythology to any of the believers of these fundamentalisms and I think you will find a gap too wide to cross.
I had not even paid attention to the issues found in Roman Catholic Traditionalism in the U.S., Roman Catholic Activist Conversation in the U.S., or Protestant Fundamentalism in Latin America. As section after section moved away from the Protestant Fundamentalism I was familar with, I began to feel overwhelmed by the varieties of what seem to be emotionally dominated belief systems. Moving through Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, and Japanese forms, in a survey, text book form but nonetheless considerable detail told me I was "not in Kansas anymore".
The five volumes may be too much for me and best suited for scholars or students of religion. I plan to go on next to Volume 5 (Fundamentalisms Comprehended) and see if it provides an appropriate summary for a lay reader such as myself. The conclusion of this book ("Fundamentalisms Observed"), "An Interim Report on a Hypothetical Family" does provide some summary information but it is brief and much of the details from the early sections seem not digested yet here into summary form. It seems what may emerge is an understanding of fundamentalisms that is not rooted in North American Protestant Fundamentalism, but has abstracted key elements of what seem like quite different ways of reacting to modernity with some aims of preservation.
The major value of this volume, for me, as a lay reader, is to realize that there is an enormous amount and variety of religious activity in the world which is resisting modernity and which seems irrational. Given my liberal U.S. Protestant background, I'd never seen in such detail what much of the rest of the world apparently believes and it is quite disconcerting to find out. What makes it more disconcerting is seeing how readily many of these movements seem organized so as to mobilize their followers politically.
Exhaustive Study of a Menacing Global Religious Phenomenon.......2000-05-23
*Fundamentalisms Observed* (the 1st volume of 5) is perhaps the most prestigious contribution yet to the ever expanding literature on the subject. Covering this global phenomenon in several traditions, and with a tight typology, this volume brings together a high-powered team of academics from a dozen disciplines and countries to cover such fundamentalisms as North American Protestantism (Chp. 1), Roman Catholicism (Chp. 2), Protestant fundamentalism in Latin America (Chp. 3), Haredim Jewish fundamentalism (Chp. 4), Zionist Jewish fundamentalism (Chp. 5), Sunni Arab fundamentalism (Chp. 6), Shi'ite fundamentalism (Chp. 7), Islamic fundamentalism in South Asia, (Chp. 8), Hindu fundamentalism (Chp. 9), Fundamentalism in the Sikh tradition (Chp. 10), Buddhist fundamentalism in the Theravadin tradition (Chp. 11), Islamic resurgence in Malaysia and Indonesia (Chp. 12), Confucian revivalism in East Asia (Chp. 13) and Fundamamentalism in Japan (Chp. 14). What is particularly illuminating is the analytical conclusion (Chp. 15) where 9 points are layed out baring on the similarities in the fundamentalisms observed. Thus far, the definitive study on the subject (surpassing Lawrence's *Defenders of God*) and an important reference on the subject for scholar and layman alike
Exhaustive Study of a Menacing Global Religious Phenomenon.......2000-05-23
*Fundamentalisms Observed* (the 1st volume of 5) is perhaps the most prestigious contribution yet to the ever expanding literature on the subject. Covering this global phenomenon in several traditions, and with a tight typology, this volume brings together a high-powered team of academics from a dozen disciplines and countries to cover such fundamentalisms as North American Protestantism (Chp. 1), Roman Catholicism (Chp. 2), Protestant fundamentalism in Latin America (Chp. 3), Haredim Jewish fundamentalism (Chp. 4), Zionist Jewish fundamentalism (Chp. 5), Sunni Arab fundamentalism (Chp. 6), Shi'ite fundamentalism (Chp. 7), Islamic fundamentalism in South Asia, (Chp. 8), Hindu fundamentalism (Chp. 9), Fundamentalism in the Sikh tradition (Chp. 10), Buddhist fundamentalism in the Theravadin tradition (Chp. 11), Islamic resurgence in Malaysia and Indonesia (Chp. 12), Confucian revivalism in East Asia (Chp. 13) and Fundamamentalism in Japan (Chp. 14). What is particularly illuminating is the analytical conclusion (Chp. 15) where 9 points are layed out baring on the similarities in the fundamentalisms observed. Thus far, the definitive study on the subject (surpassing Lawrence's *Defenders of God*) and an important reference on the subject for scholar and layman alike
Book Description
Cheers! A crisp gin drink is a delightful thing, and these recipes present a tempting variety of cocktails, from the classic to the exotic, from coolers and fizzers to high spirits. Of course, there's a basic Dry Martini, but there's also a version from New Orleans with Pernod. The Opera glints golden with gin, Dubonnet, and Curaçao. Travel to Paradise on a combination of gin, apricot brandy, fresh orange juice, and a dash of lemon juice. Mix up a John Collins or Lime Gin Fizz. If you dare, go for the Knockout: it includes vermouth, Crème de Menthe, and Pernod with the gin, and it's strong stuff. Plus: the Luigi, which looks like a beautiful sunset; the Burnisides; and the Red Kiss.
Book Description
Don't let the small size fool you each volume in the Mini Bar series is filled with more than 50 traditional and original recipes that pack a punch. Gin aficionados will toast concoctions like the Tasmanian Twister. Each title in this series describes the history and distinct characteristics of its particular alcohol. Small enough to carry on a tropical vacation or stash next to the blender, these little cocktail books are a must-have for the weekend bartender.
Book Description
The ultimate dream book about the ultimate dream doll. Trace the history of Barbie from her beginning in 1959 through her meteoric rise in popularity during the "60s" to her place on the world stage as a jet-setting multicultural fashion icon. Beautifully illustrated, this book follows Barbie through five decades of changing styles. Special sections take a close look at Barbie's friends, as well as her many accessories and how they changed to reflect the times. Specially-commissioned set designs are stunningly photographed and offer a wide variety of detailed scenes of Barbie's fun-loving world. From the Swinging Sixties through the disco years and into the next millennium, Barbie epitomizes style and glamour.
Customer Reviews:
On our 3rd copy!.......2005-03-04
My daughter loves this book, and we are on our 3rd copy because she has worn it out taking it on trips, in the car, etc. Her favorite part is the international dolls section, where she enjoys looking at national costumes from around the world. The layout and photos are very well-done, and it brings me back to my childhood as well!
Wonderful!.......2004-12-27
This beautiful book is a must-have for any girl who loves Barbies. It is a children's book and is a visual delight...not a dry guide for adult collectors. The pictures are crisp and labeled, as the other DK books are; "corduroy hat" and "red patent leather pumps," etc. A huge hit with my 9-year old niece.
For Fun, not Collections.......2002-04-04
My kids like it. It's got excellent layout, clear crisp pics, but isn't comprehensive. Great to look through, and point to - look, I had that one when I was a kid..... (YOU were a KID?) I don't use it with my collection, but I am glad I bought it - it makes a pleasent just for fun.
Beautiful book! Nice pictures!.......2001-10-24
This book is really nice, the pictures are gorgeous, and it has some index on Barbie dolls by year, also Barbie's friends. Not so much on collectible dolls, but there are some dolls with gorgeous pics, some are different from the publish pics and a few are the same. Nice information for dolls and furniture. Great book! The cover is stunning!!!!
The Best Book in the World.......2000-12-22
I love this book. This is the neatest book in the world. It has almost every Barbie I have in there. My favorite Barbie was the Olympic P.J. I use it to help me surf on Ebay. If you like Barbies, get this book now!
Product Description
A facinating guide to the history of Barbie, celebrating the glamorous life and times of the world's most enduring fashion doll.
Customer Reviews:
Happier the Second Time Around!.......2007-07-17
I owned this book for 30 years, but sold it because it did NOT teach how to start with your own measurements to make slopers. Instead, it taught how to buy a basic commercial fitting pattern & then fit it to your own body. Since my body is SO non-standard, that didn't work for me.
I've since found several good books that explain how to make slopers from your own body measurements, but NONE of those books are as good as this one for how to make any style you want using your basic slopers.
This is the very BEST book I've ever found to explain how to duplicate just about any clothing style, collar, or sleeve design you see or can dream up for yourself! The book shows how to take basic bodice, sleeve, skirt, & pants slopers to design ANYTHING else you want to wear.
So I bought it for the second time, & I'll never be without it again!
BOOKS on how to make basic slopers from your own measurements:
Make Your Own Patterns, by Rene Bergh
How to Make Sewing Patterns, by Donald McCunn
How to Draft Basic Patterns, by Lee Gross
Pattern Making By the Flat-Pattern Method, by Norma Hollen (expensive, but worth it!)
Excellent intro to pattern alterations for womenswear.......2007-05-30
I've only been sewing for a year, and I was frustrated with the mounting cost of commercial patterns. I stumbled upon this book in my library and was succefully altering my first pattern (a blouse) after a few days. This book is well suited for beginners, my only gripe with it is that it doesn't cover men's and children's clothing alterations, only women's.
But it's rather complete at that: you'll learn to alter the five basic slopers (A line dress, bodice, blouse, skirt and pants), how to select and work with fabrics, how to make most collars and neckline, countless sleeves variations, a very useful and easy to understand chapter on moving darts and turning darts into seams, working with yokes, all kinds of skirts, catsuits and overalls etc... The drawings are very clear, all the styles are pictured, I feel I could make anything I want with this book and probably could copy most commercial patterns designs.
As other reviewers said, this book doesn't teach you how to draft the slopers but smallscale patterns are given on p5 and 6, you can blow them up at a copy shop and then alter them to your measurement.
Good basic book on how to work with slopers.......2006-01-18
I disagree with the previous review. The basis of pattern design starts out with using basic sloper patterns. This is exactly what this book takes you through. Once you have mastered the basic slopers (base patterns), then you are shown how to modify the basics and create your own styles. For myself, after I read this book, I have been able to look at almost any commercial pattern and understand how to make the pattern myself without purchasing the pattern. I also understand how to create my own patterns with new designs.
The drawings are out of date, the the basic information is very usable and the slopers themselves are still the same.
TITLE IS MISLEADING.......2005-06-29
I was disappointed in this book. It is really a big book on how to modify commercial patterns. It does NOT show you how to take measurements and make your own patterns or slopers.
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The French Room: Simple French Style for Your Home
Elizabeth Wilhide
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Terence Conran
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- Just your type
- A Great Book on the Graphics Arts
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Typographic Communications Today
Edward Gottschall
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ASIN: 0262071142 |
Book Description
Suddenly, the universe of people making typographical decisions has expanded. Effective visual communication through the informed manipulation of the size and style of type, its placement on a two dimensional surface, its integration with graphic material, and the quality of its reproduction is within reach of anyone who has a computer. Typographic Communications Today places this phenomenon in historical perspective, covering the whole of 20th century graphic design.
With over 900 illustrations, more than 500 in color, it is an essential reference book for graphic artists and designers and for those who, regardless of profession are involved in design choices. It clarifies the options available in this new era of print while at the same time examining the new technologies in the context of art history. The numerous quotations by first rate designers make this a treasury of good thinking about the hows and whys of typographic design.
Types are displayed and grid systems employed as they are being discussed. Gottschall's lively commentary examines the many typographic solutions designers have evolved for communication problems, beginning with the creative solutions devised by artists, painters, architects, poets and concluding with the new opportunities and challenges posed by computers and laser technology
Several chapters focus on how these technologies have changed the ways typefaces are being designed and used. Gottschall explains how terminals, output devices, networks, scanners, and software have revolutionized the world of typesetting and given graphic designers a whole new set of tools, freedoms, and restrictions. The chapter "Bits, Bytes, and Typographic Design," for example, offers a state of the art review of keyboarding on terminals, image scanning, electronic filing, and networking. Not only does Gottschall discuss the role of personal computers and word processing software, he also reviews the packages and languages available from all of the major corporate players Apple, Xerox, Wang, IBM AT&T, Interleaf, and many others and evaluates the future of such possibilities as X-ray chip etching.
Edward M. Gottschall is Vice Chairman of International Typeface Corporation and Editor of U&lc magazine.
Customer Reviews:
Just your type.......2007-08-26
In the early eighties Aaron Burns, boss of the International Typeface Corporation suggested to Ed Gottschall the idea for this book. It was published in 1989 which will give you an idea of how long this monumental type study took to produce. To sum up twentieth century typography in one book would seem a project too far but I think Ed Gottschall has succeeded. He has managed to capture the typographic feel of Europe in the early years of the last century and then brought it up to date (least to the mid-eighties) with typography in America, Europe and the Far East. Incidentally the early years include the inputs of European fine arts and the Bauhaus.
The book is actually in three parts, the history of typographic design to Seventies then there is a long section dealing with actual typefaces and the beginnings of computer setting followed by the final section on typographic design from 1970. It is basically a visual book, handsomely designed by Mo Lebowitz, with hundreds of color and black and white illustrations. I think it is worth saying that this is not a design problem solving book in the practical sense but a stimulating history of type and how designers used letterforms to communicate ideas.
If you work in the creative design areas of print this book will certainly interest you. Incidentally it's worth searching around the web for some inexpensive copies of the book.
***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.
A Great Book on the Graphics Arts.......1998-02-22
This book is a hodge-podge of graphic arts and typography. It has little bit of everything: modern and historical examples of the uses of typefaces in advertising, business and the graphic arts. It is published by the International Typeface Corporation and is printed on a very dense glossy paper by Nai Nippon Printing Co. Japan. The quality of the printing is suberb; the colors and details are stunning. It is expensive and worth every cent.
Book Description
When FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reported to the Nixon White House in 1972 about the Bureau's surveillance of John Lennon, he began by explaining that Lennon was a "former member of the Beatles singing group." When a copy of this letter arrived in response to Jon Wiener's 1981 Freedom of Information request, the entire text was withheld--along with almost 200 other pages--on the grounds that releasing it would endanger national security. This book tells the story of the author's remarkable fourteen-year court battle to win release of the Lennon files under the Freedom of Information Act in a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. With the publication of Gimme Some Truth, 100 key pages of the Lennon FBI file are available--complete and unexpurgated, fully annotated and presented in a "before and after" format.
Lennon's file was compiled in 1972, when the war in Vietnam was at its peak, when Nixon was facing reelection, and when the "clever Beatle" was living in New York and joining up with the New Left and the anti-war movement. The Nixon administration's efforts to "neutralize" Lennon are the subject of Lennon's file. The documents are reproduced in facsimile so that readers can see all the classification stamps, marginal notes, blacked out passages and--in some cases--the initials of J. Edgar Hoover. The file includes lengthy reports by confidential informants detailing the daily lives of anti-war activists, memos to the White House, transcripts of TV shows on which Lennon appeared, and a proposal that Lennon be arrested by local police on drug charges.
Fascinating, engrossing, at points hilarious and absurd, Gimme Some Truth documents an era when rock music seemed to have real political force and when youth culture challenged the status quo in Washington. It also delineates the ways the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations fought to preserve government secrecy, and highlights the legal strategies adopted by those who have challenged it.
Customer Reviews:
I'm curious... What do you think?.......2005-10-23
Did the government have something to do with the assassination of John Lennon? Click yes if you think so or no if you don't.
The Woodstock Nation revisited.......2003-10-18
It did bring me back "...to those thrilling day's of yesteryear." I was 18 and in the Army in 1972. I have forgoten most of the events unfolding that year, and this book brought back those scene's, as well as the THEN famous people who are just "faded memories" now. John and Yoko, Abby and Jerry, The other Chicago seven members, all of them are here and live again in these declassified FBI files. You would think some of the printed report's on the coming's and going's of the counter-culture leaders were written by old busy-bodies. Most documents are just plain nonsense and gossip. Why the Government tried to supress these for so long is a wonder. I would like to know what the British sent over to the FBI in the way of documents. These are shown to the reader as still being blacked out, and some dated beyond the date the FBI stopped watching Lennon's movements. A well done book by the Prof. and well worth the time if you like to read book's of a more political theme. Not for the four mop top's type of Beatle's fan. If you lived through the Day's of rage and wish to take a walk down those paranoid paths of the Hippie era then buy this book (I did not say "Steal This Book.")
Better than Elvis's sleeping pills.......2001-07-28
Well I just woke up from a long nap after trying yet again to *yawn* read a chapter of this *yawn* book. Definitely not nearly enough bananas or geese in it for me. If you want to hear long drawn-out stories about getting files from government agencies....well all I'm saying is I guess my primary interest in Lennon has always been his music and I just don't give a hoot about this stuff-- not enough entertainment value. I thought the book "The day Elvis Met Nixon" was much better. Oh go ahead write me a negative response.
A Legal Mystery Tour.......2000-06-04
First a simple test. To whom was FBI Director, J. Edgar Hoover referring when he wrote to President Nixon's Chief of Staff, H.R. Haldeman, "[He is]...a paradox because he is difficult to judge by the normal standards of civilized life....His main reason for being is to destroy, blindly and indiscriminately, to tear down and provoke chaos...."? Adolf Hitler maybe, or some seminal Osama bin-Laden? Of course not, as you already know it was none other than our friendly, pudgy-faced, mop-headed, evil genius, that heinous John Lennon, composer of such bellicose anthems as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance." Reason enough to warrant the FBI's surveillance of the man for 24 hours a day, for years on end? Well, not really, but they did it anyway. This book details the efforts by the author, Jon Wiener, and two ACLU attorneys, Mark Rosenbaum and Dan Marmalefsky, to obtain the 200 odd pages of documents held by the FBI on Mr. Lennon, that the agency had refused to release, (typically on grounds of either national security or ostensibly to protect confidential sources). To this end the attorneys employed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as their basis to obtain these documents. The run-around that they were given by the government should be nothing new to students of previous such encounters, and the fact that it took 15 years to achieve it should not prove too surprising either. But without doubt the central point of this book, and one that cannot be overemphasized, is that it was the FBI (acting outside of its own charter and the explicit instructions contained in the FOIA) that violated the law, while finding no criminal activity on the part of Mr. Lennon. Possibly I'm too old, too jaded or just plain too cynical to be surprised to find out that the government, or its representatives, are capable of lying, placing illegal wire-taps, harassment, obfuscation and underhandedness. Certainly all of that happened here, and it is hats off to Rosenbaum and Marmalefsky for uncovering much of the skullduggery. Although most of the information on Mr. Lennon that was unearthed as a result of this effort was largely already known to any diligent reader of, for example, "Rolling Stone" magazine, following the trail of the hearings and legal arguments is a fascinating and worthwhile one, and the book's final chapter was (for me, at least) an eye-opener.
Books:
- Boy Still Missing: A Novel (P.S.)
- Cäsar läßt grüßen. Die Geschichte der Römer.
- Cape Random: A Novel
- Carry Me Down
- Chung Kuo: The Middle Kingdom: Book 1 (Chung Kuo)
- Conversation with Spinoza: A Cobweb Novel (Writings from an Unbound Europe)
- Cry Of The Peacock
- Daffodils at High Meadows: and Other Stories
- Desirada: A Novel
- Doctor Who : Coldheart
Books Index
Books Home
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- Visual Culture: The Study of the Visual after the Cultural Turn
- Changes in Scenery: Contemporary Landscape Architecture in Europe
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Through the Safety Net: stories
A Relative Stranger: Stories
Harmony of the World: Stories
The Feast of Love: A Novel
Shadow Play: A Novel
