Club Revelation: A Novel

Book Description

Appel's hilarious novel follows three interfaith Jewish/Christian couples who unwittingly rent the ground floor of their brownstone to a charming Southern evangelist. Serving his own blend of Christian cuisine, he opens a restaurant in the space, hoping to convert the Jews of the Upper West Side. His scheme destroys the harmony of the building when one of his six landlords finds comfort in the preacher's conversion-by-gastronomy methods.

Appel's mix of comedy and theology conjoin effortlessly in an entertaining, fast, and funny story which reevaluates our meanings of faith and marriage in twenty-first century America.

Allen Appel is a novelist and playwright whose books include The Rabbi of Casino Boulevard and the anthology A Pocket Apocalypse: A Handy Guide to the End of the World. His work has appeared in The National Jewish Monthly and The Progressive. He lives in New York City.

Also Available by Allan Appel:

High Holiday Sutra

TP $13.95, 1-56689-065-9 CUSA

Customer Reviews:

Flat characters, stilted dialogue..........2002-07-02

While the premise of this novel sounds quite interesting, Appel has managed to write a tale of surprisingly little depth. The first problem is the characters. It takes Appel a great number of pages to make one Jewish husband distinct from another or one non-Jewish wife distinct from another. Even then, the characters usually seem like mouthpieces for the religious musings at hand, rather than flesh and blood people. And then there's the dialogue... While apparently many reviewers are pleased with the snappy New York repartee, the letters to home by the fundamentalist would-be restaurateur simply don't ring true: for example, snake-handling and St. Jerome aren't usually in a shared fundamentalist lexicon. Also, the characters are said to be "fiftyish", but they don't sound like (or act like) "fiftyish" people, seeming to be far more unsettled and breezy. I wonder if the ages given were necessary to make them ex-60s liberals; it seems a bit convenient. Finally, the ending is quite disappointing: suffice it to say that Appel manages to build one round, convincing character, then dramatically finishes her story in an unsatisfying (and unfair) manner.

The Big and the Little.......2001-12-18

Some books I love because the characters are fun and the situations so novel, I can't put the books down. Other books I love because the writer, through the story, taps into Big Questions of life, that make me question my own existence. THis book did both. It was a rollercoaster ride.

Average customer rating:

Intriguing Read
Breakdown of Society
Magnum Opus
Captivating
Asphalt acclaim

Asphalt : A Novel

Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books

Terrorism | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

September 11 | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: B000BZ6UJ4

Book Description

Already a celebrated performance artist, vocalist, poet, playwright, and visionary, Carl Hancock Rux now presents a brilliant debut novel--a profound and lyrical portrait of urban life that will take its place among the classics of American literature.

Racine is a reserved young man, but his passion for music lights him up inside. He's just returned from Paris where he'd been invited by a friend to produce music, make recordings, and earn a living. The plan didn't quite pan out, and now he's back in New York, where fate, providence, or just plain chance leads him to a once-glorious brownstone turned into a squat by a few eccentric loners.

There's Manny, who wears sarongs and glitter but has no trouble attracting beautiful women, and Couchette, a gorgeous second-generation dancer whose mother has gone to Bali to live and bear a child with a man who built her a house in the midst of a rice paddy. What binds the characters is a deep sense of loss. Each is--like the city they live in--wounded and seeking healing and connection with and through the other housemates.

Rux's poetic fiction blurs the lines between characters' dreams, memory, and reality. Asphalt--the name representing the essence of the city and the hard, layered, yet vulnerable sensibility of its inhabitants--is part post-modern parable, part urban mythology, and altogether relevant to contemporary reality. Asphalt is daring and unforgettable, marking the arrival of an original and astounding new voice in American literature.

Customer Reviews:

Intriguing Read.......2005-04-16

In the lush heady atmosphere of a house party in a decaying Brooklyn mansion Racine mixes A Tribe Called Quest, Arvo Part, Rakim and Mary J. Blige. The DJ moves the crowd through a throbbing bass line. Loc's, Betty Paige bangs and sheared heads abound in the rich aesthetic of the underground in a post-war New York. The nuances of the urban moment and the self-discovery of colorful characters provide the backdrop for an artful piece of literature for the hip hop and neo-soul generation.

Racine is the quiet DJ who deftly blends genres and sounds and expresses himself through his wheels of steel. He finds himself in the deteriorating yet vibrant post-war Brooklyn after the death of his older brother and dearth of love under the care of foster parents in the south and New York City. While finding lodging in a neighborhood devastated by poverty and despair, he meets a band of intriguing souls. Manny, the ambiguously gay free spirit with a penchant for architectural history, Mawepi the stout bouncer and translator for the clairvoyant Holy Mother and Couchette, the scarred dancer mired in denial comprise his new family.

Immediately Racine finds himself creating the sonic backdrop for intense parties, orgies and conversations while Manny and the other residents chase their dreams in a transitional New York. Couchette is the troubled spirit with whom Racine shares physically intimate and emotionally frustrating moments. The story weaves in depictions of Racine's childhood, including his experiences in fostercare and ultimately forces a young man to reconcile his past and move on.

Rux infuses a tale set in a modern urban environment with ancient Greek mythology that informs several themes in the book. Racine the character is influenced by Hippolytus' Phaedra which was re-written by J.P. Racine. The story of a young man who is physically dismembered by a monstrous force on his journey is a recurring thread throughout Asphalt . The characters have to lose parts of themselves that they may not be aware are hindering their growth, in order to move on. And the personalities in Asphalt all employ different strategies for abandoning experiences that have consumed and distorted their views of reality and themselves.

As an Obie-winning playwright, spoken word artist and now novelist, Carl Hancock Rux has a masterful use of language which is evidenced throughout Asphalt . His description of a taciturn woman lying on the road and an intimidating lanky street orator selling socks are examples of the imaginative supporting characters. Similarly, Rux 's portrayal of the glorious yet depressed New York and the intensity of Racine's past, deeply orient the reader. At times the language is a bit too cerebral which obscures the clarity of events. Yet the descriptive quality of Rux 's work differentiates him from other contemporary young authors. Asphalt is compelling due to its complex and beautiful handling of topics such as child abuse, sexuality and the urban environment. Ultimately, the empirical emotion Rux integrates into his work coupled with his gift for prose makes Asphalt a challenging yet intriguing read.

Breakdown of Society.......2005-03-22

No one is better equipped to deal with the breakdown of society than the poet and playwright Carl Hancock Rux, who incidentally is also an awesome interpreter of his own work. Who knew that among his many skills was the ability to write a novel too? ASPHALT stands by itself as one of the year's most interesting novels. Have you ever seen the Altman movie, QUINTET, with Paul Newman? If so you will be viscerally reminded of that movie when you begin creezing through the opening chapters of ASPHALT, the ones that establish Racine as an underground DJ par excellence and the rundown brownstone he camps out in becomes a sort of United Nations of lost souls, each tenant lonely and frustrated, and frightened for the future, each one coming from a different post-colonial background.

In the Altman film, which treats a similar post-apocalyptic future, the survivors were largely white, even blue-eyed (including Newman, and co-stars Bibi Andersson and Nina Van Pallandt). There were a few "Latin types" including Fernando Rey and Vittorio Gassman, but outside of that it was all about racial blankness amid the Alaska tundra. Here the Brooklyn setting and the rapid back-and-forth flashbacks jarred by the frequent musical interludes give the reader the sensory excperience someone like David Mitchell is aiming for in books like CLOUD ATLAS.

Magnum Opus.......2004-12-01

Just finished this book. OUTSTANDING! Complicated in the most divine way. Rux is on to something that has nothing to do with the average easy read bookstores are pumping right now. This book is so relevant to right now and I haven't seen any other new black writers dealing with the political climate in America from the standpoint of people of color. Correction; Rux doesn't even paint a picture of the current political climate, he's on to the next canvas and it's stunning and heartbreaking.

Captivating.......2004-11-01

An urban tale written in a refreshing challenging intellectual style. Set in post apocalyptic Brooklyn, the main character struggles to build a life in a war zone. His physical surroundings play as an apt metaphor for his internal quest to make sense of who he is, where he came from and where he ultimately belongs.

Asphalt acclaim.......2004-10-31

LA Times
"Asphalt," (is) a hallucinatory journey...set in a sooty, just-a-day-after-tomorrow future. The book blends speculative fiction and myth with real-life post-9/11 unease embroidered throughout...enamored with densely arranged assemblages -quirky juxtapositions, blurry borders-spinning dross into gold...a grand-scale collage."

Jill Nelson, author of Sexual Healing
"Daring, intense, and provocative, in ASPHALT Hancock Rux fast forwards the novel form into a future that is unexpected, seductive and healing."

New York Press
"Asphalt, (is) a book taken with future apocalypses and the funky, oddly swaddled cast of characters littering that not-too-distant time in Brooklyn. In Asphalt , you get hetero guys in sequins and sarongs, back-from-Paris DJs and couch dancers named Couchette all vying for attention in a newly gentrifying netherworld that Rux ably and surrealistically, sweetly, ties together before the next set."

The Daily Pennsylvanian
"(Asphalt is) both arresting and disorienting. The cryptic opening scenes illustrate Rux's masterful use of language-remarkable....Asphalt is a triumph in several senses...a piece of true urban literature that appeals to the jaded sensibilities of young modern readers."

Greg Tate author of "Everything But the Burden"
"Asphalt gets at how the urban myth of 'keeping it real' must continually run up against the abstracting roadblocks and revelations of one's fractured inner truth and the even sexier surrealism of a Cosmopolis determined to remix your imagination at every turn. Like Celine's Journey, Baraka's System and Delany's Dahlgren this is a novel where the mythopoeic modern city is the real protagonist and the ostensible hero, like all of us, is just a squirrel trying not to nut out."

LA Weekly
"Asphalt...is thick with images of and meditations on terror and terrorism...underscoring emotion and politics, allowing Rux to excavate the damaged inner lives of his characters while ruminating on how the world around them feeds their despair and dares them to rise above self and surroundings. "

Booklist
"Rux's lyrical writing blurs the lines between dreamscape and reality. A dazzling portrait of urban life."

Publishers Weekly
"Lyrically drawn...an elegantly gloomy addition to Rux's artistic achievements."

Brooklyn Rail
"Asphalt is a beautifully written book...as horrifying to read as it is full of hope."

Black Issues Book Review
"The first lines of this first fiction effort promises a mélange of literary forms and edgy melancholy characters...part postmodern parable, part contemporary urban portrait...parts aside, it is fully formed, like an existential poem."

Blether Book Reviews
"Carl Hancock Rux provides a deep look at disturbed individuals in environs in which no one can dodge a world on the abyss."

Average customer rating:

Brownstone,: A novel of New York
Arthur David Kahn
Manufacturer: Independence Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006ATL1I

Average customer rating:

Brownstone: A Novel of New York
Arthur Kahn
Manufacturer: Independence Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NRDEJ4

Average customer rating:

Brownstone: a Novel of New York
Arthur Kahn
Manufacturer: Independence Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GURSB8

Average customer rating:

BROWNSTONE. A Novel of New York.
Arthur. Kahn
Manufacturer: Independence Publishers,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NYH560

Book Description

Maiden, Matron, and Crone-the three aspects of the Triple Goddess-have representations in various ancient cultures, religions, and mythologies. Now, thirteen masters of fantasy present brand new tales that draw upon these classic archetypes.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful, uplifting collection.......2005-12-24

As a pagan, I picked up Maiden, Matron, and Crone to see how these thirteen authors dealt with the manifestations of the triple goddess. I was not dissapointed. I love Martin Greenberg's anthologies, and absolutely love several of the authors in this collection including Tanya Huff, Jody Lyn Nye, Rosemary Edgehill, and Fiona Patton. So, I had high expectations for this anthology.

I am pleased to announce that this book passed with flying colors. As a fantasy author, I loved the varied settings, from original fantasy worlds to modern day urban fantasy, and the myriad of incarnations the goddess took in these stories. Each story felt real and whole, a complete world in and of itself.

As a pagan woman who believes in the goddess, I found these stories to be uplifting, spiritual reading. I found my faith renewed, my belief in the many faces of the goddess reaffirmed, and am promptly recommending this anthology to all of my pagan friends.

Whether you love good, female-centric fantasy, or seek to read more about the goddess, or simply want entertaining reading, this anthology will not dissapoint.

Average customer rating:

Maiden Matron Crone
Martin H Greenberg
Manufacturer: PENGUIN PUTNAM * TRADE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000Q1BXP4

Average customer rating:

Wonderfully Exciting and Humorous

Truly classic material of genious proportions

Good Book

gvjh,gc,cgj,cjh,

Imaginative!

The Universe of Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy/the Restaurant at the End of the Universe/Life, the Universe and Everything/So L
Douglas Adams
Manufacturer: Pocket Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Adams, Douglas | ( A ) | Authors, A-Z | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0671922319

Customer Reviews:

Wonderfully Exciting and Humorous.......2000-06-15

One of the greatest Sci-Fi series of all time. Adams spins an amazingly twisted story of hitchhiking through the Universe. A wonderful and imaginative series that will have you guessing at every turn with the most improbable outcomes. This is a must read for every Sci-Fi fan!

Truly classic material of genious proportions.......2000-06-08

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy represents some of the most original, funny, spellbinding material that I've ever read. The first book contains the most creativity, but the least linearity because of the original format (radio shows). The second and third take off from there and create a crescendo of momentum that I wasn't able to put down (I quite literally read all 5 books within a few days time). The last couple of books might be the weakest, but that's mainly because they must follow such incredible prequels. I cannot overemphasize the entertainment that this series offers. The Hitchhiker's Guide represents a true genre-bursting collection. While at first glance these books might seem to appeal mainly to science fiction readers, they actually have very little in common with sci-fi and readers wishing for a sci-fi environment and story may not find what they expect. These books should appeal to any reader, but those old enough to recall some of the 1980's will especially be able to understand the author's period and setting.

Good Book.......2000-02-26

I usually dont read by choice but Ive read this and im hooked on the series. This book is good stuff.

gvjh,gc,cgj,cjh,.......1999-06-18

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Imaginative!.......1999-04-12

This book is great! The whole concept of two men one alien, one human getting picked up by a space ship is really amazing. This book is really great and fun to read for teenagers and adults.

Book Description

This essential and groundbreaking reference gives a comprehensive overview of one of the most fascinating, important, and controversial trends in the world of wine: the scientific and technological innovations that are now influencing how grapes are grown and how wine is made. Jamie Goode, a widely respected authority on wine science, details the key scientific developments relating to viticulture and enology, explains the practical application of science to techniques that are used around the world, and explores how these issues are affecting the quality, flavor, and perception of wine. The only complete resource available on the subject, The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass engagingly discusses a wide range of topics including terroir, biodynamics, the production of "natural" or manipulation-free wines, the potential effect of climate change on grape growing, the health benefits of wine, and much more.

Covers some of the most hotly debated issues including genetically modified grape vines, sulphur dioxide, the future of cork, and wine flavor chemistry
More than 100 illustrations and photographs make even the most complex topics clear, straightforward, and easy to understand
Engagingly written for a wide audience of students, winemakers, wine professionals, and general readers interested in the science of wine

Customer Reviews:

A must read for wine geeks.......2007-01-05

A generally well-written, informative, balanced, and certainly provocative look at a wide variety of subjects. Brings a welcome dosage of reality to wine, a topic that tends to produce flights of fancy in those who discuss and comment on it (me included), but at the same time the author is careful not to destroy our dearly-held beliefs. In other words, reading this book will enhance your drinking and thinking about wine. I did find myself wondering about how well some of the studies/experiments cited in the book were designed, and I kept hoping for the author to comment on that subject...

Out to Pasteur.......2006-06-27

I'm not much of a scientist. In fact, my career as a doctor ended abruptly in the first week of college when I discovered that a required chemistry course also required my attendance three days a week at 8:00 AM. So I approached this book with trepidation on several levels. Would it be pitched too heavily in science-speak for me to understand? Was it really more of a textbook than consumer's guide? Was it a soulless sucker punch for the reductionist school of winemaking so hideously embodied in companies like Enologix that use modern "science" to manufacture high-scoring Parker wines? Truth be told, I would probably have never gone near it but for a favorable blurb in a recent issue of Decanter magazine.

Well as Johnny Carson might have said, "Wrong, brettanomyces breath". This is in fact an astoundingly wonderful book for anyone with a passion for wine. It's too detailed and complex for beginners or people who don't really care about some of the factors that affect the taste and quality of wine. But it's also a remarkably humane pitch for the application of the scientific method to wine growing and wine making without in any way denigrating the mystery or romance that enshrouds the subject. Maybe a better quote would come from Joe Friday: it's "just the facts, Maam," wherever the facts that underlie the magic of wine can be ascertained.

The chapters in The Science of Wine systematically address the major factors and issues that contribute to the quality of wine from the vineyard to the winery. Each one is structured like a consumer-friendly, mini-version of an article in a refereed scientific journal. The author starts out with a description of what he will talk about, states his hypothesis, and then examines the evidence before ending with a conclusion. After a while I picked up the rhythm and realized it reminded me of the hundreds of clinical study write-ups I read while working in the marketing department of a pharmaceutical company.

What's really cool about this book is the way it tackles so many controversial subjects head-on, assessing the available evidence on the way to proving its points. It seems at times like the author has read and interviewed everyone who has written a scientific paper on wine anywhere in the world (especially Australia) in the last 10 years, and he quotes these authorities extensively. Here are a few of the critical topics he systematically examines and a quick summary of his findings (close your eyes now if you don't want to know the answers):

Brett-it's everywhere-you can run but you can't hide
Terroir-sorry, no one's ever proven you can taste the soil in the wine, so stop thinking the minerals come from the Kimmeridgean limestone
Sulfites-they don't cause headaches, try drinking less
Global warming-the Rhone will be making Algerian wines and Burgundy will have 15% alcohol before much longer
Tasting-humans can't discern more than about 4 flavors at a time (don't tell Parker or the Spectator)
Terroir-oops, since it isn't the soil,you're probably tasting reduced sulfur compounds
Actual rate of cork taint: about 5%
Best closure on the planet right now: screwcap
Average effective lifespan of a synthetic cork closure: 2 years
Biodynamics-no proof yet

Just to prove I'm not a complete spoil sport, here are some of the other subjects you'll get to learn about (this time without the answers):

Impact of oak
Micro-oxygenation
Wine and health
Precision viticulture
Regulated deficit irrigation
Pruning and trellising systems and more!

I suppose the major weakness of the book isn't what's covered, but what's still undiscovered. If you come to it hoping for the definitive answer to every question you've ever had about wine, you'll be disappointed. A lot of what we'd like to believe is the truth about wine has yet to be definitively proven, so many chapters end with the promise of future revelations instead of a real resolution. That certainly leaves room for a revised edition in 5 years! And truthfully, a few chapters have passages that are written in impenetrable scientific jargon that most of the book assiduously avoids. Finally, while it's a pretty book from an art director's viewpoint, the layout often presents massive amounts of block type on a page and the many sidebars, while illuminating, are as visually distracting as they are helpful.

All that being said, this book is well nigh indispensable for a wine lover. If you meet this criterion, and you know who you are, you need to get your own copy. Me personally? I feel like I need to start re-reading it right now to figure out how to scientifically approach the lovely bottle of A-F Gros Echezeaux I'm drinking tonight.

FINALLY: High-Tech Discussions on Wine.......2006-05-23

I am in the wine trade and a MW student. This book compiles some very high-tech arguments on various topics in an organized, compelling, and clearly-written style. It was a joy to see all of these topics in one book, rather than searching 100s of journals and university studies on the web! I was able to use my new found knowledge immediately in discussions with colleagues--sounding like a true expert.

A great read for true "wine geeks".

Book Description

When you acquire a new puppy you need to meet six developmental deadlines before your puppy is five months old. "AFTER You Get Your Puppy" covers the last three developmental deadlines.

4th Developmental Deadline: Socializing Your Puppy to People - Your Most Urgent Priority is to socialize your puppy to a wide variety of people, especially children, men, and strangers, before it is twelve weeks old. Well-socialized puppies grow up to be wonderful companions, whereas antisocial dogs are difficult, time-consuming, and potentially dangerous. As a rule of thumb, your puppy needs to meet at least one hundred people before it is three months old. Since your puppy is still too young to venture out to dog parks and sidewalks, you'll need to start inviting people to your home right away.

5th Developmental Deadline: Teaching Bite Inhibition - Your Most Important Priority is that your puppy learns to inhibit the force of its bites and develop a "soft mouth" before it is eighteen weeks old. Whenever a dog bites a person or fights with another dog, the single most important prognostic factor is the degree of bite inhibition and hence, the likelihood and seriousness of injury. Accidents happen. Someone may tread on the dog's paw, or a child may trip over the dog while it's gnawing a bone. A dog may snap and lunge at a person when hurt or frightened, but if the dog has well-established bite inhibition, it is unlikely the dog's teeth will puncture, or even touch the skin.

6th Developmental Deadline: Continuing Socialization in The World at Large - The Most Enjoyable Priority of dog ownership is to introduce your well-socialized puppy to the world at large. Your dog will only remain sociable and confident if it continues to meet and greet at least three unfamiliar people and three unfamiliar dogs every day. Meeting the same people and dogs over and over again is not sufficient. Your dog needs to practice meeting, greeting, and getting along with strangers, not simply getting along with old friends. Regular walks with your dog are as essential as they are enjoyable.

Customer Reviews:

Informative and easy to follow.......2007-03-13

I am on the verge of getting a puppy, so all this is in theory as of right now, but the book was very informative. The author delivered the information in a easy to read format The socialization and bite inhibition sections were particularly useful. After reading this book I feel like I am better prepared to be a new dog owner.

Excellent Preparation for A New Puppy Arrival.......2006-02-25

This is a book I read cover to cover and took many reference notes. It deals with understanding the new puppy and preparing him for socialization with people, vets and other pets. With the skills taught in the book, the puppy can grow into a well-trained adolescent and into a well-mannered adult.

Took the fun out of having a puppy..........2005-12-27

I bought this book because it was referenced on the Dog Scouts of America website, which is a site dedicated to developing positive relationships between owner/dog. I was so disappointed when I received the book, from the moment I got a good look at it's cover and read the subtitle ("...The Clock Is Ticking!"), which I had missed when ordering the book, or I would have thought twice about buying it... This book turned having a delightful puppy into a race against time to prevent having an evil, rotten dog. It took all the fun and optimism out of raising my puppy. I'm glad I stopped reading it, and looked to more upbeat sources for advice on raising my puppy. Many of these sources I found on the internet. I looked to Karen Pryor and her clicker training theories, as well as such books as "Boxers for Dummies" and "The Boxer Handbook" and "I Just Got A Puppy What Do I Do." All these emphasize the power of bonding with your dog, the pleasures of socializing your puppy, and while they don't downplay the significance of socialization, etc. they don't turn the cute puppy you have just made a part of your family into some ticking timebomb set to go off and bring nothing but pain and misery if not socialized absolutely correctly. I grew up with dogs, in a time before "socialization," in a time where you just loved your puppy, and took him places, and tried your best with him/her, and those dogs all turned out fine. I am grateful for all the information that we have these days on how to better raise a puppy to be a happy well adjusted pet, and am doing my best to put that information to good use on my own Boxer puppy.

New puppy help........2005-09-14

This book was very helpful with my new German Shepherd puppy, evn though I already have 3 other dogs, it's nice to read new/different styles and ideas for giving your BIG dog the right start.

A must-read for anyone who has a dog or wants one.......2005-08-20

Funny, straight-forward, and full of brilliant advice so intuitive it seems obvious once you've heard it, this book will change your relationship to your dog. I have one dog I "trained" before I read Dr. Dunbar, and one I trained after, and the difference between the experiences was night and day. You'll be forever grateful that you read this book, whether you already have a dog or, ideally, if you're thinking of getting one.

Book Description

This is the first comprehensive guide to flower frogs, the decorative devices that hold flowers upright in an arrangement. 900 of these fascinating collectibles are described and shown in over 600 color photographs. The book is divided into three sections: pottery, glass, and metal, with histories of the manufacturers followed by their wares. Collectors of Beagle, Brush-McCoy, Cambridge, Cowan, Dazey, Fenton, Fostoria, Fulper, Heisey, Haeger, Rookwood, Roseville, L.E. Smith, Van Briggle, Viking, Weller, Westmoreland, and numerous other ceramics and glass companies will find their favorite flower frogs grouped together. Flower frogs from Germany, Japan, England, Czechoslovakia, and other countries are abundant. Hundreds of flower frogs in the forms of gorgeous dancing ladies, frolicking children, delightful frogs and turtles, colorful backyard and exotic birds, butterflies and dragonflies, large and small elephants, jumping fish, blooming plants, and sailing ships are included, plus an amazing array of metal wire and loop creations.

Customer Reviews:

Flower Frogs for Collectors.......2007-10-11

Great reference book for flower frogs. Good clear pictures and every item had a photo; clear, concise discriptions.

Flower Frogs or One of a Kind.......2007-03-22

Bonnie bull is probably one of the most knowlegable collectors of flower frogs. Her descriptions of the many kinds and the materials used to create these not quite antiques is wonderful. The book is easy to read, and is an excellent resource for new or seasoned collectors. Grandmothers used flower frogs to arrange their flowers and now collectors use these aids to decorate their homes. If only Bonnie could have captured the tale each flower frog could tell. An intelligent and informative read.

flower frogs.......2007-02-12

great book, found many items that we have had for years and were unaware of
there value. this book is one of the better price guides in our collection

Beautiful color and content.......2007-01-10

We collect frogs and this is a perfect gift for a collector

Book Description

The understanding of adhesion and interfacial effects has benefited from various technological advances in recent years. Advances in laboratory equipment, analytical tools such as the nanoindentor, SIMS, and ESCA, and improvements in computing technology have greatly expanded the relevant body of knowledge. Rapid progress in adhesion and interfacial science has made dissemination of results in a timely fashion more important than ever. Accordingly, the editors of this book organized an ACS symposium, sponsored by the Division of Polymer Chemistry, entitled Fundamentals of Adhesion and Interfaces. The papers in this volume were selected from those presented at the symposium.

Fundamentals of particle adhesion (Polymer surfaces and interfaces series)

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Fundamentals of particle adhesion (Polymer surfaces and interfaces series)
Don Rimai
Manufacturer: Global Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: 1890086045

Solid lubrication fundamentals and applications properties of clean surfaces : adhesion, friction, and wear (SuDoc NAS 1.15:107249/CH.3)

Average customer rating:

Solid lubrication fundamentals and applications properties of clean surfaces : adhesion, friction, and wear (SuDoc NAS 1.15:107249/CH.3)
Kazuhisa Miyoshi
Manufacturer: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center National Technical Information Service, distributor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0001118VI

Average customer rating:
Roy Lichtenstein's ABC
Bob Adelman
Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0756754798

Product Description

The American master Roy Lichtenstein appropriated his classic modern high-art style from the pop art of comics. His distinctive look -- filled with brilliant color, dots, & stripes -- is one of the most identifiable in all contemporary art. Here Lichtenstein's unique style celebrates our beloved ABCs, with results that are surprising, delightful, & amusing. D is for a comically vicious growling Dog. H is a Horse that races by in dizzying dots & stripes. And A is for ART. This mini-retrospective is a must for art lovers, letter lovers, & those just cutting their teeth on the alphabet. Bob Adelman, photojournalist & longtime friend of Lichtenstein's, collaborated with him on this book.

Average customer rating:

A book for all ages

Roy Lichtenstein's ABC's
Bob Adelman
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Pop | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Contemporary Art | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 082122591X

Amazon.com

This little ABC book is so wonderful that adults may have trouble sharing it with the babies, toddlers, and growing children in their midst. Every two-page spread contains an alphabet letter and a painting by Roy Lichtenstein, one of the first and most successful of the pop artists. The 26 letters here were each lifted from one of Lichtenstein's prints, drawings, or paintings, and each has a style and a presence all its own, apart from the art on the facing page. Finally, below each member of the alphabet, in comic-book type, are a few words that begin with that letter and refer to objects or ideas pictured in the art on the opposite page. Lichtenstein, who died in 1997, was a witty and subtly classical artist who combined humor and whimsy in his work with an effortless dignity and a broad knowledge of art history. His comics-derived imagery was so crisp and stylish when he first rose to prominence--so now, as one might have said in the '60s--that viewers were surprised when in the 1980s he began painting monumental images of abstract friezes from ancient temples. This little book is tremendously appealing, showing paintings of water lilies, dogs, a sweet kiss, a "Matisse" still life with goldfish (and a golf ball), a nurse, a cup of coffee, an ice-cream soda, and other recognizable images. Babies and toddlers especially will love to peruse its pages, and art-loving parents everywhere will be enthralled. --Peggy Moorman

Book Description

The Amercian master Roy Lichtenstein appropriated his classic modern high-art style from the pop art of comics. His distinctive look-filled with brillant color, dots, and stripes-is one of the most identifiable in all contemporary art. Here, Lichtenstein's unique style celebrates our beloved ABCs, with results that are surprising, delightful, and amusing. D is for a comically vicious growling Dog. H is a Horse that races by in dizzying dots and stripes. And A is for Art, Lichtenstein's first pop comic masterpiece, Look Mickey, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

This mini-retrospective is a must for art lovers, letter lovers, and those just cutting their teeth on the alphabet.

One of the founders of pop art, Roy Lichtenstein is best known for large-scale renditions of comic-stip art and for fusing comic images with "high art" in his appropriations of such artists as Picasso and Mondrian.

Customer Reviews:

A book for all ages.......2000-06-13

I originally bought this book for my husband, who loves Roy Lictenstein, to read to our son. I bought it because I thought that my huband would love it. In fact, my son, who is a year and a half, also LOVES it, and it helped him learn the alphabet as well as some words. For those familiar with LIctenstein's work, it is interesting because all of the work existed and was put together for each letter. For example, the letter O has a picture of the oval office. It is an easy way for children -- of all ages -- to learn about words and art.

Book Description

" The Last Jews in Baghdad is a brilliantly written précis of interlinked miniatures that serves as a metonymy of life in the Middle East in the twentieth century. It tells the tale of a young man who struggled along with his family to survive materially and developed socially into a luminous intellectual homme de lettres in a world that was being shaken to its very core."

— Sephardic Heritage Update

"This is a book to be enjoyed by the general reader interested in a productive Jewish community that has completely disappeared, and by scholars, who will consider it a valuable source for their studies."

— Jerusalem Post

"This book offers a rare look—detailed and vivid—into a culture that is no longer extant. An autobiography of place, it is a portrait of the making of a young intellectual and of Iraqi society in the thirties and forties. It tells the story of the end of the once rooted and vibrant Jewish community and serves as a wonderful resource for both the scholarly historian and the casual reader."

—Nancy E. Berg, Washington University, author of Exile from Exile: Israeli Writers from Iraq

" The Last Jews in Baghdad is the real deal—it is a breath of pure spirit, oxygen, and reality in a realm of depictions and representations that rely on half-truths, false expertise, ideological axe-grinding, and a whole plethora of other ills. The book is crucial; there is nothing at all out there nearly like it."

—Ammiel Alcalay, Queens College, CUNY Graduate Center, author of After Jews and Arabs: Remaking Levantine Culture

Once upon a time, Baghdad was home to a flourishing Jewish community. More than a third of the city's people were Jews, and Jewish customs and holidays helped set the pattern of Baghdad's cultural and commercial life. On the city's streets and in the bazaars, Jews, Muslims, and Christians—all native-born Iraqis—intermingled, speaking virtually the same colloquial Arabic and sharing a common sense of national identity. And then, almost overnight it seemed, the state of Israel was born, and lines were drawn between Jews and Arabs. Over the next couple of years, nearly the entire Jewish population of Baghdad fled their Iraqi homeland, never to return.

In this beautifully written memoir, Nissim Rejwan recalls the lost Jewish community of Baghdad, in which he was a child and young man from the 1920s through 1951. He paints a minutely detailed picture of growing up in a barely middle-class family, dealing with a motley assortment of neighbors and landlords, struggling through the local schools, and finally discovering the pleasures of self-education and sexual awakening. Rejwan intertwines his personal story with the story of the cultural renaissance that was flowering in Baghdad during the years of his young manhood, describing how his work as a bookshop manager and a staff writer for the Iraq Times brought him friendships with many of the country's leading intellectual and literary figures. He rounds off his story by remembering how the political and cultural upheavals that accompanied the founding of Israel, as well as broad hints sent back by the first arrivals in the new state, left him with a deep ambivalence as he bid a last farewell to a homeland that had become hostile to its native Jews.

Customer Reviews:

A book rife with errors.......2007-02-03

This book is probably rife with errors. Throughout the book, the author displayed a penchant to capriciously impute appellations to others. I pointed out several of these errors in e-mails with him in the summer of 2006. He grudgingly admitted some of his mistakes. He labeled one of the most glaring ones as "silly", perhaps, a gross understatement by any standard.

These errors were compounded by his propensity to expatiate on a small Christian-Chaldean town (located in the Iraqi North) named Talkeif, a topic about which the author exudes crassitude. I am of Talkeifi origin.

The author regurgitated an insipid urban legend from the 1920s and alleged that "Nazzaahs", or drain/toilet cleaners were almost exclusively from Talkeif. He employed a convoluted and twisted understanding of the concept of national identity to conclude that "our nazzah [was] Talkeifi". Needless to say, Talkeifis seldom engaged in this kind of work. Rather, they had many stellar accomplishments, and were known for their entrepreneurial spirit during that time. The author went further and stated that the derogatory, indeed racist, epithet of Talkeifi nazzah was extrapolated so as to cover all Christians in Iraq. In doing so, the author has followed the example of the rabble in those days. Respectable segments of Iraqi society jettisoned such phraseologies. Based on research I conducted with highly educated and accomplished Talkeifis, many of whom are several years the author's senior, I endeavored to disabuse Mr. Rejwan from the myth of "Talkeifi nazzah". However, I fell on deaf ears. To the author his "impression", albeit dead wrong, is what counts. Facts, in this case, seem to be just beside the point.

Also, citing many excerpts from the "Shi'is of Iraq" by Yitzhak Nakash, I pointed out to the author that his statements about what calls the exclusive Persian character of the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala are replete with problematic assertions, to say the least. He acknowledged Nakash's scholarly work, but dismissed his sources; an oxymoron indeed. By the way, Nakash's sources were an amalgam of Iraq's early generations of intelligentsia, blended with many well known Middle Eastern and Western scholars. Ironically, the author cites the very same book by professor Nakash to buttress the claim of Jewish domination of Baghdad's trade in the 1930s. However, he seems to have completely disregarded the main theme of Nakash's book, which directly flies in the face of his assertions about Najaf and Karbala. Rajwan's mere "impressions" are, again, paramount.

The author's "silly" mistake I mentioned above is, probably, tantamount to asserting that the Pope is an ardent communist. It deals with "Fahd" (nom de guerre), who is one the founding members of the Iraqi communist party. Fahd was executed in 1949. In previous writings the author almost made a habit of touting his personal knowledge of "comrade Fahd". In this book, and after elaboration, he concluded that Fahd was a Sunni Muslim. You guessed it: Fahd was a Christian, a well known fact among Iraqis, particularly the Christians. If I had not invoked the "Old Social Classes, and the Revolutionary Movements in Iraq" by Hanna Batatu, where Fahd is listed as a Christian, I wonder if the author would have still clung to his "impression" that Fahd is a Sunni Muslim.

The author strikes a cord with the vast majority of Iraqi expatriates by stating that his "deeper roots are firmly dug in the soil of Iraq". However, these roots and/or the renowned Iraqi karma seem to have done little to temper his proclivity to spew rather intimate details about himself, his family, and others. Believing that Sigmund Freud is in his corner, he saw fit to practically flaunt his alleged early potency (age 4), probably while still in diapers, soiling other Iraqi Jews in the process. Many of these details were superfluous. I wonder if members of the Iraqi Jewish community are offended or embarrassed by his account. In addition, and along these lines, the author's insinuation about the illness of his friend Adnan Al-Chalabi was utterly gratuitous.

I contacted the publisher, University of Texas Press, regarding these errors. Their response was very prompt and professional. I asked the author in the name of journalistic integrity to list these errors on an errata sheet to be kept by the publisher so that corrections can be made on future editions. He petulantly replied that he might submit two errors. The first was about Jabran Malkon, a Christian Journalist, whom the author whimsically designated as Talkeifi. The second was about Fahd. He left his most egregious one about Talkeif out of the list. My belief in his journalistic integrity may have been exaggerated. I doubt if he submitted any list at all.

I have come across Rejwan's writings almost a quarter of a century ago, and have indeed appreciated some of his previous work. I wish I could say the same about this one. I hope this book meets with the opprobrium it most certainly deserves.

Falah Yeldo

A must read.......2004-10-31

This wonderful book, adds to the paucity of literature on the Jewish community of Iraq, which vanished and was forced to flee following the creation of Israel. Forced to flee many of its members still harkens back to their times in Iraq, with fond memories of a Jewish community that had been deeply intertwined with the life of Iraq. The Jewish community of Iraq was the oldest in the world, stretching back to Abraham, who came from modern day Iraq and of course including the Babylonian exile as well as the great Sages who wrote the Talmud. This wonderful reminiscence of a time gone by and an era gone is a wonderful introduction to the lives of Jewish communities from Arab lands, and a great testimony to the Iraqi Jewish community and its legacy.

Seth J. Frantzman

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