Book Description
Lust. Infidelity. Betrayal. Murder.
On a summer evening in Stratford, Ontario, the errant thrust of agardener's spade slices a telephone cable into instant silence. The resulting disconnection is devastating. With the failure of one call to reach a house, an ambitious young actor becomes the victim of sexual blackmail. The blocking of a second call leads tragically to murder. And when a Bell Canada repairman arrives to mend the broken line, his innocent yet irresistible male beauty has explosive consequences.
In Spadework, Timothy Findley, master storyteller and playwright, has created an electric wordplay of infidelity and morality set on the stage of Canada's preeminent theater town. In this fictional portrait, intrigue, passion, and ambition are always waiting in the wings. Findley peoples the town with theater folk, artists, writers, and visitors (both welcome and unwelcome), and with lives that are immediately recognizable as "Findley-esque" -- the lonely, the dispossessed, and the sexually troubled.
A story that ripples with ever-widening repercussions, a sensual, witty, and completely absorbing novel, Spadework is another Timothy Findley winner.
Download Description
Lust. Infidelity. Betrayal. Murder. On a summer evening in Stratford, Ontario, the errant thrust of a gardener's spade slices a telephone cable into instant silence. The resulting disconnection is devastating. With the failure of one call to reach the house, an ambitious young actor becomes the victim of sexual blackmail. The blocking of a second call leads tragically to murder. And when a Bell Canada repairman arrives to mend the broken line, his innocent yet irresistible male beauty has explosive consequences. In Spadework, Timothy Findley, a master storyteller and playwright, has created an electric wordplay of infidelity and morality set on the stage of Stratford, Ontario, Findley's home territory. In this fictional portrait of Canada's preeminent theater town, intrigue, passion, and ambition are always waiting in the wings. Findley peoples the town with theater folk, artists, writers, and visitors (both welcome and unwelcome), and with lives that are immediately recognizable as "Findley-esque" - the lonely, the dispossessed, and the sexually troubled. A story that ripples with ever-widening repercussions, a sensual, witty, and completely absorbing novel, Spadework is another Timothy Findley winner."=
Customer Reviews:
Spadework - Bury this book.......2006-11-25
This novel is to books what "Plan 9 From Outer Space" is to movies. So laughably bad, the only thing that kept me reading it was the wonder that the author could go on for so long and be so consistantly terrible in his writing. I'm not going to reprise the plot, but here's a little background and an example. The main character, Jane, flees from her controlling and straight-laced Southern lady of a mother. When she announces her intention to leave the mother replies (and so help-me-God this is a quote), "...You don' just stan' up an' walk away f'm Cloud Hill. F'm family. You just don' do that. All them years o' history..." It goes on like this, but I'll spare you reading the rest. Real believable dialogue from well-mannered Southern lady isn't it? That's just a small example. The dialogue in this book is all pretty horrible, and the descriptions of conversations only make it worse. People will be having an argument, then suddenly "beam" at each other. The act of opening bottles of wine should really be thought of as a main character it happens so often and with such over-blown description. None of the interaction of any of the characters is believable, in fact, they are so odd there is a kind of sick fascination to reading this as you have never, will never, know people who react or talk like Mr. Findlay's characters. This book is billed as a "National Bestseller". The only plausible explanation I can think of is; (a) Guam is suddenly declared a sovereign nation (b) a shipment of these books is mistakenly shipped to Guam (c) a bookseller on Guam unfortunately sells 3 of these books and is subsequently lynched. A far-fetched scenario you think? Good Lord, let's hope Timothy Findlay doesn't read this review as he would probably think it was a reasonable plot line and explore it for an excruciating number of pages.
Love under pressure in what it's all about............2004-04-18
Timothy Findley's "Spadework" doesn't conform to any specific type or genre in literary fiction. To begin with, it's most certainly not a murder mystery or thriller the blurb suggests it is - Penguin Books, its UK publisher, should be rapped for being misleading. So, what kind of book is it ? A tale of marital breakdown, lust and ambition among members of a theatrical community in Ontario ? Hard to say.
But love - all sorts of love - takes centre stage in "Spadework". There's conjugal love between struggling stage actor Griffin Kincaid and his prop designer wife Jane, love between parent and child (as between the Kincaids and their son Will), love between family members (as between gardener Luke and his young troubled uncle Jesse), homosexual love or lust of stage director Jonathan for Griffin, mature love between housekeeper Mercy and Luke, and Jane's idealised love for the Bell repairman Milos. According to Findley, love caves in under pressure, its manifest qualities change albeit temporarily. Like an elastic band, it finds its original shape eventually.
Findley's characterisation doesn't always succeed. His supporting characters like Mercy, Luke, Milos and Claire fare much better than his protagonists. With each page, I found Jane increasingly shrill and irritating and I began to feel she deserves what's happening to her.....until Milos turns up and she wanders into a dream world of her own and becomes interesting as a human being once again. Griffin's character is the most problematic. He's supposed to be desperate and ambitious and his sudden abandonment of his family for Jonathan's casting couch is a move that suggests he has sold his soul to the devil - remember Rosemary's husband in "Rosemary's Baby" ? - but in truth, he's a wimp and his return to the family fold after Jonathan's confessional is a bizarre twist that strains credibility and ends the story on a hastily executed feel-good note.
Quite apart from revealing his roots as a playwright, Findley's liberal use of asides and self directed utterances to punctuate his narrative is also a devise that doesn't quite work. Indeed, I found it unhelpful and distracting and gives the novel an incongruous feel about it. There is nevertheless much to enjoy in "Spadework". The good parts are excellent and they'll make it all worthwhile for you.
Not even bad enough to be good.......2004-03-22
I have read good reviews of this book and the only thing to conclude is that there's so little good writing coming out of Canada that anyone who can actually spell is considered a genius.
This so-called novel is full of bizarre, unbelievable people who are supposed to be all connected but aren't. There are about three separate storylines running through the pages and the only thing they have in common is that the characters know each other.
The whole mess is really a screenplay with no character development, no plot, no suspense and no thought. What it has, though, is a lot of hand mannerisms for the director to use when filming starts. Cigarettes are lit--excuse me, "lighted"--and bottles of wine are uncorked, with grim and relentless monotony. The ending is a montage of saccharine resolutions that belies everything that the author himself put in place.
The main character, Jane Kincaid, has supposedly fled her repressive Southern upbringing to get as far north as possible, ie. Toronto (right). You don't believe a word of it. Her mother is a foolish caricature of the psychotic Southern matriarch. Her husband is either straight or gay, but not even the author knows. They have a few sketchy friends, a housekeeper, a kid and a dog. They all drink and smoke and wring their hands, then the book ends.
Oh yes, keep a look out for bizarre appearance of Troy, Jane's old boyfriend. This has got to be the most useless and inane thing ever written in the history of the world. I finished the book last week and I still haven't figured out what the hell purpose he served.
Jackie Collins writes trash that's so bad it's fun to read. Timothy Findley writes trash that's leaden, pretentious, and no fun at all. Why does he get all the respect? I wanted to give this thing no stars, but one is the minimun. Sorry about that.
Canadian Goodness.......2003-08-23
Griffin Kincaid gets involved with another man, while his wife Jane becomes obsessed with the telephone repairman. Loved this book, especially the scenes with Milos Saworski. (A+)
Easy, readable novel from Findley.......2003-06-24
The Kincaid family lives a superficially contented, easy life revolving around the theatre in Stratford until one day their gardener slices their phone cable, some vital calls are missed, and their lives begin to unravel.
A very readable, suspenseful novel, a bit different from what I'm used to from Findley. I'm a big Findley fan, but this is not my absolute favourite of his... and Findley himself called it his "slightest book," although I'm not sure I'd go that far. It still goes to say that this is a really great book with believable characters and a complicated plot with common but complex themes. It may even make you question your own character and what events it would take to make you break away from what you think is most important in your life.
Note also that anyone who's ever been to Stratford, Ontario, will recognize a lot of landmarks and even people in this story!
Average customer rating:
- 1002nd Tale of the Arabian Nights
- Exciting and fast-paced
- not as occult or romantic as many of her other gothic novels
- A tedious enchantment
- Most memorable of all Stewart's books
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The Gabriel Hounds
Mary Stewart
Manufacturer: M. S. Mill Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Stewart, Mary | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0688016650 |
Customer Reviews:
1002nd Tale of the Arabian Nights.......2002-09-06
When Christy meets up with her second cousin, Charles, on a street called Straight in Damascus, she has no idea that her harmless foray into the Middle East will end behind a locked hareem door. As members of a well-to-do and filthy rich banking family, both Mansels are a little spoiled and very used to getting their own ways. Hence, it does not seem out of order or intrusive for them to look up great-aunt Harriet, an eccentric old lady who has shunned life in England while living like a pasha for almost a decade in a palace called Dar Ibrahim in the high Lebanon. On impulse, Christy goes solo to the palace, meeting an ecletic cast of characters straight out of the Arabian Nights. Strangest of all is her elderly aunt who has taken the pasha descriptor a little too seriously, dressing in male Arab garb and smoking a hookah. The backdrop, in true Stewart style, is drop-dead-gorgeous; the palace, its gardens, the prince's divan, the seraglio, the darkened corridors and treasure troves are all perfectly illumined for the reader by the author's rich use of language and a seemingly photogenic memory for even the smallest detail--the baying of the locked hounds as Christy wanders about the crumbling palace is just the thing to raise the hair off the back of any reader's neck, while the heady scents of herbs and flowers act as a profuse intoxicating calmative. Of course, there is a mystery which Christy unwittingly stumbles upon like all the other Stewart heroines. But, in this case, as well-off Christy is so very different from the working girls of the other novels, she meets mayham with an outraged aplomb which is marvelously comedic especially during the novels more crucial dramatic moments.
I listened to the audio version of this book read by Davinia Porter who has read other Stewart novels but somehow manages to get across Christy's spoiled yet kindly dispostion in a fresh style that makes the listener wish the reading would never end. There is romance, again underplayed in Stewart's signature style; as with all her male leads, the hero acts as a buttress to make sense out of Christy's spirited insights.
I recommend this whole-heartedly; the language is unsurpassed; the conjuring of the Middle East of the 60s romantic and whimsical.
Exciting and fast-paced.......2002-02-24
With her usual magic, Mary Stewart brings to her readers resourceful and forthright young people involved in intricate webs of danger and intrigue in an exotic location. Mary Stewart's top-notch success is displayed in her fast-paced and action-packed sequences that never bore her readers. Each character and location of the action as it is played out is always vividly described with a superb and real sense of detail. It is because of this superb sense of detail that a half dozen reads may not even be enough for most of her novels.
From the back cover - "The Gabriel Hounds is rich with authenticity, warm and lively people, and a story line that will hold you fast till the very end. Against the exotic backdrop of the Middle East is unfolded the tale of Christy Mansel, a spirited young Englishwoman who pays an unexpected visit to an eccentric old aunt in a crumbling Arabian Nights palace in Lebanon. Christy does not know it, but the moment she passes through the gates of Dar Ibrahim she unwittingly sets in motion a dark sinister force that carries with it both terror and death."
not as occult or romantic as many of her other gothic novels.......2002-02-19
I love all of Mary Stewart's books and am especially drawn to them because of the elements of paganism and the occult that Stewart adds to her stories. The Gabriel Hounds is mysterious and has slight spiritual overtones but doesn't really have the occult flavor I've come to expect from Stewart's writing. There is a romance in the story, revealed in the first pages, but it is not the typical Mary Stewart romance, either. In many ways, despite the exotic setting and mysterious events, this is a rather subdued book compared to Stewart's other writing in the gothic romance genre. Still, those who love Stewart's writing -- or who love a good gothic romance -- will not be disappointed by The Gabriel Hounds. The mystery is built up thrillingly slowly but the climax is explosively tense. As always, Stewart uses language in a way that is simultaneously down-to-earth and lyrically poetic. Altogether, an enchanting story.
A tedious enchantment.......2000-05-23
Ms.Stewarts language and descriptive skills never fail her in this tale of the mysterious East which comes complete with an eccentric old Englishwoman living in self imposed exile and an Arabian nights style crumbling palace. However the events that take place are highly implausible and leave one wishing for the gripping suspense and drama of Ms.Stewart's other novels like'Madam,Will you talk','Touch not the cat','airs above the ground' etc.The unlikeliness of the events and their quick occurence are typical of the stereotype attached to Eastern lands,and characterization is very sketchy but the Mary Stewart style is there.I especially enjoy her practice of having a preceding quotation from a poem for each chapter that captures the mood.A good read for a gloomy afternoon.
Most memorable of all Stewart's books.......1999-05-13
"I met him in the street called Strait." This is the line that comes immediately to mind when I think of a Mary Stewart book....the first line of this book. This my favorite; however I love all her stories. The Merlin trilogy +1, Rose Cottage, Thornyhold, Touch Not the Cat, etc., etc., etc. Ms. Stewart writes to entertain and mystify and does a totally terrific job of both. I highly recommend all her books.
Pat Schulte, Ft Myers, FL
Customer Reviews:
A fine exhibition of the work of Mary Stewart.......2000-03-31
This compilation is a true example of the fine work of Mary Stewart. She is a master craftsmen in the field of literature, her books are interesting and enjoyable to read. The fine exhibition of her work is praiseworthy. Although now out of print, it is quite worth the wait if you buy this book through Amazon.com. My reccommedation: seek this book out!
Average customer rating:
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The Gabriel Hounds
Manufacturer: Mill-Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IGN7GA |
Average customer rating:
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The Gabriel Hounds
Manufacturer: Fawcett Publications, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HU462G |
Average customer rating:
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About-Face Space Race (Astrokids)
Robert Elmer
Manufacturer: Bethany House
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0764223607
Release Date: 2001-10-01 |
Book Description
Everybody knows you should love your neighbor and help those in need, but does that apply when you're in the middle of the biggest race of the year? That's what the ASTROKIDS find out in this book from Robert Elmer. It's time for the spacepod race and the ASTROKIDS are determined to win. Boys against girls sounded like such a good idea-and each side was convinced they'd beat the other. But when unexpected problems force them to work together or not compete, will they be able to put aside their differences?
Product Description
I wish there were some way that I could get this message out to every single one of you. A message that would touch your lives and have you see that happiness is not sold in little baggies or a 40 oz. glass bottle. I wish that there were some way to show you, my own generation, that we can all be happy and free without drugs. I wish I could stop you from hurting your body and make you see how much you will regret it later in life. Most of all I wish that I could unite all of you and show you that every single one of you is beautiful and miraculous and that life would not be the same without you. Unfortunately, that is impossible, because the only way of teaching is actually not teaching at all! The only way I can get others to follow is by being a good example and sharing my story when asked. The words of even the wisest man are worth nothing if no one wants to hear them!
Customer Reviews:
5 Stars! Ambitious undertaking for these young authors.......2007-09-04
Sergei and Valya Boutenko have put together a very fine Raw Food cookbook. Although I felt much of the early chapters were identical to their Mom, Victoria Boutenkos, "12 Steps to Raw Food" (another great Raw Food book for the uninitiated), they made up for it in their recipe section with photos and great easy to prepare recipes. So far I haven't found one recipe I don't like! I especially enjoyed the individual forward by each telling of their own testimonial to the Raw Food lifestyle. These kids are champions, I highly recommend this book.
Great for someone with 3 months min. experience in raw foods.......2007-07-22
I'm very pleased with my copy of this book. It seems to have been compiled by an older adult, and some recipes are not complete. There are a lot of sweets in it, and most of the recipes use nuts and oil. Okay if you're a teenager, but those of us who are older need sprouts. The recipes are easy to follow. Yesterday, I spent the whole day in the kitchen with it. By end the of the day, I made spicy almond cheese (delicious), truffles (I'm afraid to open the refrigerator), crackers (first time using the dehydrator that I found at a thrift store), and cocount dressing (the BOMB). This book is for people who already have at least three months experience with raw foods. I really like the first chapter, because it discusses the five tastes and how to acheive a balance in foods. For absolute beginners, I suggest Jenniffer Cornbleet's "Raw Food Made Easy." The DVD complements the book. She has a nice web site, too.
Very accessible for teens and adults, plus tasty recipes.......2006-12-29
I am trying to get my young teen to eat more raw food. Salad is out of the question for her! I gave her this book and she now seems somewhat interested in both the motivation to eat raw and a few of the recipes in the book. I've made a couple of the recipes and they are delicious. This is an accessible book for kids and adults. The approach seems genuine and practical. It won't be your only raw foods book, nor was it intended to be. It is a nice addition to a raw foods library and a great way to motivate older kids to eat more healthful food.
Light-Hearted, Light Recipes.......2006-09-18
I already own a number of uncookbooks, so I borrowed this one from a friend. Will I buy it? Well...
- the testimonials are light-hearted and inspirational, geared toward teens. I enjoy the passion. My only concern is the level of promise implied... to read these stories is to think that raw food will work major miracles in my life not only on the physical level but also on the mental and emotional levels. (Raw foods certainly do provide a great deal of benefit, but the promises here seemed almost utopian.)
- the pictures are inviting... I want to make more of these recipes, because they look so good
- the notes on balancing the 5 tastes are instructive, though I have the same instructions in The Complete Book of Raw Food. That book also has more information on sprouting, juicing, gadgets, and additional resources
- the recipes are light, simple, and tasty. These kids are great uncookers, who seem to realize that many of us don't have time for gourmet cooking (though our tastebuds still have high standards)
- gosh, it has chapters on candies, cookies, puddings, and ice creams? ? Whoa, Bessie...
Anyway, it's time to return the book to my friend, and though the philosophy is a little overboard and the tools/techniques are a little underboard (?), I just have to get this book. Any uncookbook that makes cabbage salad taste as good as the one I just finished up while writing this is worth owning. Besides, the book is less than the price of three cabbages...three pricey organic cabbages, that is.
Worthwhile.......2006-08-11
This is a good raw cookbook for any age! A good variety of recipes and pictures of food displayed beautifully! I passed this book many times because I thought it was a book for teens eating raw but as shared, it is great for anyone.
Book Description
You finally gave into that adorable puppy or friendly adult dog and now Fido’s a member of the family. You just can’t get enough of those big soulful eyes or his cute little antics…until you step in his not so adorable doggy mess on your new beige carpet. That’s when you know – it’s really time to start housetraining.
So you’ve made the decision to start housetraining Fido but you have no idea how to go about it. Do you yell, do you praise, do you give him the evil eye? Housetraining for Dummies takes all the guesswork out of housetraining your dog and demystifies the entire process. Award-winning author, Susan McCullough, who specializes in dog training and care gives you all the answers to potty training your dog – whether it’s a puppy or an adult – in plain English so you can train Fido faster and save your carpet from those tell-tale stains. You’ll get practical advice about:
- Your dog’s instincts and learning style
- The right approach for housetraining your dog
- Housetraining gear, including crate, collar and leash, and cleanup equipment
- Indoor training
- Outdoor training
- What and how to feed your dog
McCullough shares all of her insider advice as well as her own horror and success stories to make housetraining as easy as possible for you and your pooch. Housetraining for Dummies includes helpful tips, reminders, warnings, and information on:
- Puppy versus adult housetraining
- Recognizing your dog’s potty style
- Training your dog to pee on command
- Avoidable housetraining mistakes
- Problem potty-ers and how to help them
You don’t have to keep sending Fido to the doghouse because of those puddles or piles. Housetraining for Dummies makes it easy for you to housetrain him so you can both enjoy the great indoors again.
Customer Reviews:
fine for puppy owner, not for adult dog owner.......2007-04-25
This book has some great ideas and I believe that they do work, that is why I gave the book 4 stars. For me, however, it didn't work. I have an adult dog and I felt a lot of the tips were geared more toward puppies and the normal puppy potty training. My dog goes to the bathroom in secret and usually in the early morning hours when I can't see her. Putting her in a crate overnight would probably emotionally damage her not to mention keep our entire family up all night with her crying (she's way too used to sleeping with us at night). Maybe I'm just not consistent enough or something, I don't know, I guess I'm just looking for that " magic pill" that will instantly train my dog! If anyone finds one, please give me a call!
House Training.......2007-03-09
Ummm-I think the dog just has to want to do the correct thing. Good ideas in the book but it didn't work for us, but we have 7 dogs.
Housetraining for Dummies.......2006-06-30
I was pleased with the format of this book, and the simple instructions ands explainations. I bought it to help me train my new puppy, and it was very useful. I'm not exactly a pro at dog training. This book made a big difference.
Very informative and well written.......2006-03-20
This book gives a great deal of very good advice for housetraining your dog in several different ways. I have employed many of the techniques described in this book. My only wish is that more space had been devoted to indoor housetraining for smaller dogs and toy breeds. But, since indoor training is a relatively new concept and this book appears to have been published about five years ago, I can understand why more space was not devoted to the subject. And, admittedly, it is likely a rather small percentage of us for whom indoor training would apply. Overall, worth the read.
Accessible and comprehensive.......2002-08-30
McCullough covers every aspect of housetraining, a very important part of living with a dog. Her writing is lively and accessible and she leaves no stone unturned. She doesn't shy away from any aspect of the topic and doesn't resort to cutesy euphemisms. Whether you're about to acquire a dog who will need housetraining or are already living with a dog who has potty problems, Housetraining for Dummies will provide the information you need to tackle the task.
Customer Reviews:
Awesome Betty Boop finally gets the attention she deserves!.......2003-11-25
Finally! Someone bright enough to give Betty Boop her due! Mr. Ellis obviously loves his subject, and by showing us how Boop's endearing image has been immortalized through the years, he not only reminds already loyal fans just how special she is, but has also created a tool by which future generations will learn to love her. I can't wait to see Volume 2!!!
Betty Boop deserves a book!.......2003-11-01
For over 70 years, companies have been producing Betty Boop dolls, figurines, cookie jars, pins, keyrings and about everything else you can imagine. Collectors have been busy buying everything from trinkets to limited edition porcelain dolls. At long last, Mr. Ellis has compiled a reference guide that highlights some of these items, detailing their origins and history. A price guideline goes along with the description so collectors have some idea of what a reasonable value is for a particular item. The first reference guide dedicated to the queen of cartoons, an invaluable guide for collectors. The number and quality of the photos is outstanding, even though only about 10-percent of the collectibles on the market are shown in this book.
Book Description
Fragments of glass, stone, and clay are pieced together in the mosaic art form to create intricate patterns within a unified whole. Functional or decorative, abstract or pictorial, mosaics can be naive in their simplicity or designs of polished sophistication. Once again, this ancient craft is in vogue. This time, mosaic artists are firmly grasping the wheel of its centuries-old techniques, and changing course toward modern aesthetic standards.
"The Art of Mosaic Design" gathers some of the best contemporary works into a striking gallery of images, ideas, and information. Colorful photographs accompanied by enlightening text dramatically document the work of 42 international artists. Much more than a beautiful picture book.
"The Art of Mosaic Design" is a comprehensive study of this unique art form now poised for resurgence.
Customer Reviews:
The in-mosaics.......2003-05-29
Authors Joann Locktov and Leslie Plummer Clagett praise the multi-talented mosaic-maker. Mosaic-makers color like painters, shape tesserae like sculptors, and weave like fiber artists. They go way back, to ancient Chinese pebbled streets.
About 2,500 years ago, mosaic-making reached Europe and the Mediterranean area. There, mosaic-makers cut rocks into small, regular pieces, known as tesserae. Mosaics then worked in wall and ceiling murals.
In the 20th century, artists pioneered using ceramics, glass and rock in mixed-media mosaics. Glass had been used for about 2,200 years. It was easier to cut down than stone, into much smaller pieces. Many different colors of many small pieces gave spectacular lighting.
For 1,400-1,500 years, Ravenna, Italy has been the place for traditional mosaics, for churches. Nowadays, alternative designs and uses crop up. For example, Ellen Blakeley makes household items, mirrors, picture frames and tabletops, from the shattered safety glass of vandalized bus shelters and store windows. Such thick pieces often break inside. This gives stunning lighting and looks.
Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, with murals, and Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi, with buildings, set the standards for today's ceramic mosaic-makers. Gary Stephens joins them, with his sculptures made from colorful pottery and tile pieces. He grew up in an Arizona border town. He then went on to travel. So he brings together the simple directness of Mexican folk artists, with the brassy busyness of Thai mosaic-makers.
Thailand, with its temples, is also one of the countries where stone mosaic-makers are rightly proud of their works nowadays. Another is Portugal, with its pathways. Both influence Linda Beaumont's mosaic columns, floors, fountains and pavements.
One mixed-media mosaic-maker is Raymond Isidore. It took him almost 25 years to cover the outside of his house with thrown-out crockery and dishware pieces. His mosaic-making style is called pique assiette, or stolen from plates.
So THE ART OF MOSAIC DESIGN packs beautiful illustrations and clear wording into just the right space. Along the way, I picked up another favorite art style in Ilana Shafir's stained glass and mosaic. She mixes traditional and unexpected materials, such as seashells and natural stones. Her works beautifully catch light and move viewers skywards, as in her window for the Netzach Israel synagogue in Ashkelon.
An inspiring collection.......2002-12-18
This is an interesting, inspiring and beautifully presented book of work from mosaic artists around the world. There is so much variety in terms of style, technique, materials, and colour, and I very much like the fact that there are many photos of works in their entirety as well as pieces showing closeups of the same work in detail. There are generally between four and six pages for each artist, showcasing their work and talking a little bit about their artistic background, their technique used for certain pieces and their inspirations, all of which I found fascinating and brought me to a greater understanding of how the piece was created.
I admit that not everything in the book is to my own personal tastes: my preferences lean towards the more colourful. Among my favourite mosaicists in this collection are Erin Adams, whose compositions are based on intricately patterned oriental rugs; Gary Stephens, whose weird and wonderful designs feature brightly coloured fruit, fish, frogs, and ukelele-playing mermen (!); Linda Beaumont, especially for the assortment of objects she incorporates into mosaics; and Candace Bahouth, who I feel has a great eye for colour and shape. Nonetheless, there is a lot of creativity and enthusiasm evident in all the work in the book, whatever your tastes.
It also has possibly the best introduction I have ever read in a book about mosaic: "Mosaic design is a fascinating art based on paradoxes that must be embraced. Among these are the pieces, multiple objects of simplicity fused into a singular, complex wholeness; the irregularity that springs from deliberation; and, more often than not, the creation that is wrought from destruction. Such paradoxes are put into context by the mosaicist when the principles of other visual arts are applied. By shaping tesserae like a sculptor, choosing colors like a painter, and weaving patterns like a fiber artist, the mosaicist presents his or her vision."
What a wonderful way to introduce what mosaic is all about! I also feel that there is just the right balance between text and photographs - enough to enhance understanding, but not so much as to detract from the art itself. I recommend this book to all lovers of art, not just of mosaic.
NOT Cutesy!.......2002-04-27
This book convinced me of the serious nature of new mosaic work being done around the world. This book made me want to be a mosaic artist!
WONDERFUL, COFFETABLE BOOK!.......2002-04-05
NOT ONLY IS THIS BOOK A EXCELLENT VIEW OF MANY UNIQUE ARTISTS BUT IT'S FORMAT IS BEAUTIFULlY LAYED OUT. A GREAT BOOK FOR AN UNBELIEVABLE PRICE!
A stunningly impressive, full-color artbook.......2002-03-21
The Art Of Mosaic Design: A Collection Of Contemporary Artists by JoAnn Loctove and Leslie Plummer Clagett is a stunningly impressive, full-color artbook filled with photographs of both two-dimensional and three-dimensional mosaic works by forty-two bright, talented, and inspirational modern artists drawn from the U.S., Italy, England, Norway, France, Israel, and Japan. Amazing arrays of color, design, theme, and texture abound in this vibrant modern artbook make The Art Of Mosaic Design strongly recommended addition to any personal or art school reference library collection.
Average customer rating:
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James the Just and Christian Origins (Supplements to Novum Testamentum)
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 9004115501 |
Product Description
Eta kniga prednaznachena dlya tekh pol'zovatelej, u kotorykh ne khvataet vremeni ili terpeniya dlya sistematicheskogo izucheniya vozmozhnostej pro grammy podgotovki prezentatsij Power Point. Instruktsii pomogut pri minimal'nykh zatratakh vremeni podgotovit' prezentatsii na transparantakh, na bumage ili dlya publikatsii v Internete.
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Microsoft Power Point 2000 - Edicion Especial
Tom Mucciolo , and
Patrice -. Anne Rutledge
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8483221705 |
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Microsoft Power Point 2000 - Paso a Paso
Perspection
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Interamericana
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8448125010 |
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Microsoft Power Point 2000
Stephen L. Nelson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Interamericana
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8448124529 |
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Microsoft Power Point 2000
Manufacturer: Axcel Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 8573231122 |
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- A warm and affectionate memoir
|
My Father, Sholom Aleichem
Marie Waife-Goldberg
Manufacturer: Sholom Aleichem Family Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1929068018 |
Book Description
This memoir of Sholom Aleichem by his youngest daughter is at once the first complete biography of a great writer and a warm and charming evocation of family life in pre-Revolutionary Russia.
Although critics in many countries have commented voluminously on the world that Sholom Aleichem created in his stories -- that world of simple villages, of humor and wisdom and moral sensitivity -- his own life, astonishingly, has never before been fully told. And much of it may come as a surprise to the vast audience that has read his stories in English, in Yiddish, in almost every major language spoken today, or seen them transmuted as Fiddler on the Roof. For this man whose writing conjures up the naive magic of folklore was himself a Kiev stockbroker, urbane, sophisticated, an early supporter of Zionism, a contributor to literary journals -- the memoir provides fascinating insights into literary and theatrical circles of the time -- an intellectual and a man of the world.
Sholom Aleichem's ebullient nature and intellectual civility, triumphing over early hardship, over ill health and the anguish of world crisis, pervaded even his will: he asked that the anniversary of his death be celebrated by reading "one of the very merry" of his stories, so that his name might be "recalled with laughter".
Customer Reviews:
A warm and affectionate memoir .......2005-01-18
This memoir by Marie Waife- Goldberg Shalom Aleichem's fifth child is an attempt to give the world a fuller picture of her beloved father. She writes in her preface that Sholom Aleichem had written his life - story to the age of twenty- one,and had always wanted the story completed. She thought her mother would do it but her mother was unable to. Another sister wrote vignettes but did not write the story. So with her husband's urging she wrote the story of a writer who went through many difficult times in his life but who became a legend throughout the Jewish world . Anyone who has an interest in Yiddish literature and in one of mankind's remarkable humorist storytellers should enjoy this work.
Books:
- Tales from a Troubled Land
- The Attack on the Mill and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
- The Baby Trail: A Novel
- The Book of Hard Things: A Novel
- The Brutal Language of Love: Stories by
- The Clarinet Polka: A Novel
- The Closet Devil
- The Day Laid on the Altar
- The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Master and Man
- The Death of Picasso: New and Selected Writing
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