The Devil's Pool & Other Stories (Suny Series, Women Writers in Translation)

Book Description

Newly translated into English, "The Devil's Pool" is the most popular of George Sand's novellas and her best-selling work in France today. Illustrating Sand's brevity, liveliness, and exemplary storytelling, the tale deals with many of her characteristic themes—the relations between the sexes, the plight of the underprivileged, and the role of fantasy in human life—making it an ideal introduction to her work. Also included are translations of two of Sand's most admired short stories, "Lavinia" and "The Unknown God," as well as various relevant essays and documents.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing!.......2005-02-26

This book, each short story sucked me in and had me rushing home to read more. I loved it. Even the Devil's Pool, which I found a bit awkward with the dialogue (something Sand herself addresses, and can be attributed to translation to a degree) was still a great story, I loved its follow up even more, "The Country Wedding." "The Unknown God" was a great story as well, very timely in my studies too as I am currently reading abt the time in history it is relevant to (the Christianization of the Roman Empire). I loved "Lavinia" it had a sort of Bronte feel to it as far as the setting goes but with a more Jane Austen like prose, more wit than melodrama. Her letters are my favorite, I would have to say, without charcters as her mouthpeices George Sand is amazing. She spits out one witty remark after another, filled with insight and passion. I am blown away. I highly reccomend this book as a great introduction to her works.

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Do You Have One of Those Groups?

Creature Collection II: Dark Menagerie Core Rulebook (Sword

Excellent sourcebook

Dark Monsters

Good, but not the Monster Manual
Creature Collection 2: Dark Menagerie Core Rulebook (Sword and Sorcery)
SSS STAFF
Manufacturer: White Wolf Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Role Playing & Fantasy | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
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Creature Collection Revised (Scarred Lands D20)

Relics & Rituals (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying, Scarred Lands)

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The Divine and the Defeated (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.0 Fantasy Roleplaying)

ASIN: 1588461602

Book Description

CREATURE COLLECTION II: DARK MENAGERIE

THE TWISTED LEGACY OF DEAD GODS

Over 200 horrifying aberrations, undead and other creatures ready to corrupt or kill the most stalwart heroes. Picking up where CREATURE COLLECTION leaves off, CREATURE COLLECTION II: DARK MENAGERIE presents a host of NEW MONSTERS for use in your 3RD EDITION D20 FANTASY CAMPAIGN. Revisit the Carnival of Shadows, and witness the twisted servitor races the titans fashioned in their war against the gods.

FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH 3RD EDITION RULES

OVER 200 BRAND NEW MONSTERS ADD UNIQUE CHALLENGES TO YOUR 3RD EDITION CAMPAIGN.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MONSTERS RELATED TO THOSE IN THE CREATURE COLLECTION.

A HARDCOVER, 224 PAGE HARDCOVER CORE RULEBOOK B Y THE FOLKS AT SWORD & SORCERY STUDIOS!

SEE ALSO THESE OTHER SWORD & SORCERY CORE BOOKS FOR THE SCARRED LANDS SETTING:

CREATURE COLLECTION (ISBN: 1565044878)
RELICS AND RITUALS (ISBN: 1588461599)

SWORD & SORCERY BOOKS ARE PUBLISHED UNDER THE OPEN GAMING LICENSE AND ARE 100% COMPATIBLE WITH 3RD EDITION RULES AND THE D20 SYSTEM.

ARTISTS INCLUDE:
Guy Davis, Steve Ellis, Ron Spencer and others

Customer Reviews:

Do You Have One of Those Groups?.......2007-08-07

Once of those groups who have been playing for years, and they know every single monster and all their stats from all the Monster Manual books? Are you a DM who is sick of every time you start to describe a Cockatrice they already know what you are talking about before your sentence is finished? If so, you are like me, and this book plus the others from Sword & Sorcerery did the trick. Finally some monsters no one had heard of! This book has a great selection of all kinds of things, perfect for any campaign. My only complaint is that its not in color.

Creature Collection II: Dark Menagerie Core Rulebook (Sword.......2002-12-27

Shipped immediately. Received in excellent condition. Very Satisfied. Would do and will do business with in the future.

Excellent sourcebook.......2002-06-03

I love Sword & Sorcery Studios. I've loved 'em since they came out with the Creature Collection 1, before the official Monster Manual came out. They're a high quality publisher, backed by one of the biggest companies in the biz, White Wolf, and it shows. This product is of great quality, much better than the first Creature Collection, which was admittedly mediocre in several departments. There are a huge range of monsters and other assorted things tailored for the Scarred Lands setting, but most if not all of them can be dropped into any setting with little if any change.

Also, you get a wide range of different sorts of monsters, because the book was not just written by a few individuals. Rather, they had open writer calls, so anyone could send in a permission form and their own monsters to be included in the book, so you get the cream of the crop from the collective minds of the entire D&D community.

Dark Monsters.......2002-04-19

This is probably my favorite monster book for D&D so far. The monsters are dark, scary, and threatening to all player characters. They are interesting to read about and good to throw at players and surprise them if they are expecting standard monster manual type creatures. A pretty good investment compared to a lot of other stuff out there :)

Good, but not the Monster Manual.......2001-12-05

This book is good. Really good. It shows what the Open Gaming License can do.

The monsters in this book are for the most part creative and interesting. Swords and Sorcery Studios obviously put some thought into a lot of the monsters. True, there are monsters in the book that lack the pizazz that you would want in a campaign of heroism that Dungeons and Dragons is suited to. Yet with 300 monsters or so, it would be irrational to expect them all to be perfect.

I have to complaints with the book, each of which cost the Creature Collection II a star.

My first gripe is a personal one, but I think it's significant. The CC2 is in black and white. While this is usually issue, I feel that in role-playing, hardcover books should come in color. You may disagree, and if you're happy with black and white, then consider this book a four star supplement.

Gripe two is more significant. Whoever came up with the challenge ratings (CR) for the monsters has (...) never played the D20 system (...). They are way off. There are monsters in there with CRs of 5 who I would pit my not-so-buff group of 1st level PCs against without any fear for their lives. On the other hand, there are monsters who have Crs way lower than they deserve. Example: The "Time Killer" has a CR of one, yet can use a touch attack to send players ahead in time, thus seperating the group, and it's touch attack also ages players 1d10 years. It also has a sizable number of hit points. I would have reservations pitting 4th level PCs against this monster.

Two notes that are neither pros nor cons: The book is a bit campaign specific (for the SSS campaign "Scarred Lands"), but with minimal work the DM can change the monsters to any campaign. Also, this book is very dark. Lots of undead and grisly aberrations. You could call them demons or devils and have all of the Planes fleshed out with evil. If you want some scary monsters, here they are.

Overall, good, but not the MM.

Book Description

The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction is a lively account of the role of women and feminism in the development of American science fiction during its formative years, the mid-20th century. Beginning in 1926, with the publication of the first issue of Amazing Stories, Justine Larbalestier examines science fiction's engagement with questions of femininity, masculinity, sex and sexuality. She traces the debates over the place of women and feminism in science fiction as it emerged in stories, letters and articles in science fiction magazines and fanzines. The book culminates in the story of James Tiptree, Jr. and the eponymous Award. Tiptree was a successful science fiction writer of the 1970s who was later discovered to be a woman. Tiptree's easy acceptance by the male-dominated publishing arena of the time proved that there was no necessary difference in the way men and women wrote, but that there was a real difference in the way they were read.

Customer Reviews:

Removing the Vaccuum: SF as Community.......2007-04-06

For me, the most useful aspect of Larbalestier's book was that she insisted on viewing SF as community. Because she treated fan feedback, editorial pages and newsletters with as much gravitas as the fiction itself, her discussion of female voice, gender exploration and battle-of-the-sexes clashes is placed firmly within the larger context of the creative community. After all, literature isn't written in a void -- it's written in response and reaction to other art and the outside world.

I really enjoyed the book, and I think that the Publisher's Weekly review was unfair. Sure, Larbalestier is an academic and it certain shows in her language, but she's also an SF-writer and a contributing member of the SF community, and that's who she's writing for. (And SF, after all, has always self-consciously been a community of thinkers and intelligentsia.) As a historical survey, Battle of the Sexes is a significant contribution to SF lit-crit.

A Different Perspective Of Science Fiction.......2006-07-23

"The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction" by Justine Larbalestier is the fourth book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series from Wesleyan University Press, and is unlike any of the other books in the series up to this point. The previous books in the series included whole works of science fiction along with supplementary material. This book is a study of the history of science fiction with respect to women as fans and authors.
Justine Larbalestier looks at the period starting in the mid 1920's and continuing up to today. She limits her look to that period, because that is when the genre of science fiction was first identified, and because the 1920's are the starting point for the pulp magazine publications of science fiction.

The book covers the portrayal of women in the stories themselves, and how poorly they were written by the male writers and how the male fans objected to the inclusion of female characters. It also covers the female fans and how their letters were treated compared with their male contemporaries. Ms. Larbalestier also talks about the women authors, how there is a perception that they didn't appear on the scene until the late 60's, and the reaction to their stories by fans, other authors, and editors. Lastly, she spends a great deal of space discussing James Tiptree Jr. (i.e. Alice Sheldon) and the award named after him/her.

In the stories from the earlier days, the female characters were mostly included to be saved, or purely as a diversion from the meat of the story. The objections of the male fans to these characters thus seemed reasonable to them and the editors, but at the same time they seemed unable to accept the idea that female characters might actually be central to the stories. It is amazing to think that the idea of women as scientists or astronauts would be more unbelievable than the aliens and civilizations which were portrayed in many of the early science fiction stories. Women were clearly seen as a threat to the male dominated genre. One area which is not talked about is the effect of science fiction being dominated by the pulps and shorter fiction. She does not mention or discuss the dynamic of female characters from the few longer works from the early days.

The fan letters are at the same time humorous, for how they sound today, and upsetting, for the sexist ideas which many of them contain. Some of the male fans of the time went on to become authors, such as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and others. Equally surprising are the responses from the editors, who patronize the few female fans who take the time to write in, although I do think that Ms. Larbalestier sometimes reads more into their responses than is actually there. However, in many cases when I initially thought this, I changed my mind after trying to view the situation from another viewpoint.

When discussing the presence of women authors, I can only agree with her conclusions based on my experience. I have been reading a lot of science fiction from that period, and there were several woman authors from the early days of science fiction, and their stories fit right in with those by male authors. The idea that there weren't any, or that their stories are easily identifiable as being by a woman is ridiculous, although I suppose that their ability to write believable female characters might be a give away in some cases, but then again there are some male authors who were able to do that.

The discussion of James Tiptree Jr., is a little too long in my opinion; it feels a little repetitive as she already discussed some of the same things earlier in the book. There is a large amount of detail in the discussion of the award which, though interesting within their context, seem out of place with regard to the rest of the book. These problems are small though, and there are few weaknesses in this very interesting discussion of women in science fiction, and the reaction from the male fans, writers, and editors.

fun facts to know and tell.......2002-07-24

A witty and informative book. Larbalestier's research is as deep as it is provocative. This book is a fascinating look back and Larbalestier's clean, clear prose and delightful details make it a very happy reading experience.

best book on feminist sf ever.......2002-07-07

The book is not only well researched and insightful it's also amusing and sometimes moving. Not what you'd expect from an academic book. Larbalestier goes back to primary sources looking at - among other things - letters to science fiction magazines from the 1920s. Some are screamingly funny, some are moving - people in dust bowl towns writing about being transported to other planets by the stories. She uses material it's very difficult to get hold of opening up the field of science fiction so that it is richer and larger than you could have imagined. Guess what? Women have always been part of sf.

The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. .(Book Review): An article from: Extrapolation

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The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. .(Book Review): An article from: Extrapolation
Javier A. Martinez
Manufacturer: Extrapolation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Extrapolation, published by Extrapolation on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1218 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction. .(Book Review)
Author: Javier A. Martinez
Publication: Extrapolation (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Extrapolation
Volume: 43 Issue: 3 Page: 354(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Justine Larbalestier. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction.(Book Review): An article from: Utopian Studies

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Justine Larbalestier. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction.(Book Review): An article from: Utopian Studies
Kristine J. Anderson
Manufacturer: Society for Utopian Studies
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Utopian Studies, published by Society for Utopian Studies on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 1514 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Justine Larbalestier. The Battle of the Sexes in Science Fiction.(Book Review)
Author: Kristine J. Anderson
Publication: Utopian Studies (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Society for Utopian Studies
Volume: 14 Issue: 1 Page: 223(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

Love it.

Far More Reveries than Recipies

Great recipes - and yes, they are slow and challenging

Hilarious Reading and Great Recipes to Boot!

So well-written

The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups: Recipes And Reveries
David Ansel
Manufacturer: Ten Speed Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
Soups & Stews | Meals | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1580086519

Book Description

With just a custom-made yellow bike, a used bike trailer, and a few two-quart containers of homemade gumbo, David Ansel began peddling soup to his friends and neighbors in the close-knit community of Bouldin Creek in Austin, Texas. Many flat tires and gallons of soup later, his delivery route has grown from 17 soup subscribers, or "soupies," to more than 700 and counting. In SLOW AND DIFFICULT SOUPS, Ansel (aka the Soup Peddler) ladles out generous bowlfuls of some of the most delicious and lovingly seasoned soups you'll ever taste. This heart-and belly-warming illustrated memoir is an offbeat homage to the art, science, and joy of soup, offering a utopian vision of a community brought together through their love of spoon-licking comfort food. The Soup Peddler shares humorous stories about the eccentric folks who populate Bouldin Creek, along with classic and exotic creations like South Austin Chili, Smoked Tomato Bisque,Chompy-Chomp Black Bean Soup, and Bouillabaisse Marseillaise. A taste of simpler times in our modern fast-food nation, SLOW AND DIFFICULT SOUPS is a rousing reminder of our basic need to connect to our food —and those who cook, deliver, and slurp it.

Customer Reviews:

Love it........2007-10-11

This book is absolutely wonderful. It has some great recipes to match up to the adventures that "Soup" went through. Not a thriller, but definitely a wonderful read.

Far More Reveries than Recipies.......2007-02-11

If you think you are buying a book filled with recipies you are mistaken. In its 181 pages there are 35 recipies--wonderful and tasteful.

If you are intersted in reading David Ansel's reveries, then this is primarily what the book is about. They are fascinating.

Since I expected to find more or the former and less of the latter, I was disappointed.

Great recipes - and yes, they are slow and challenging.......2007-01-16

This is a truly great cookbook. In my experience soup recipes are sometimes afterthoughts, as if soup isn't worth the attention of a main course, but these have been carefully considered, and tested extensively on many happy Austinites. The story behind the author's soup business and regional Austin flavor is entertaining as well, so this book makes a great gift.

Hilarious Reading and Great Recipes to Boot!.......2006-06-02

This is a well-written, easy-reading HILARIOUS book that gives one a magnified glimpse into the life of an Austinite. The characters David reveals, the places to which he takes you, and the adventures he shares are guaranteed to give you that "warm, fuzzy feeling". Oh -- and the soup recipes are great, too! I haven't tried all of them, but the ones I *have* tried are delicious. Get this book, and be weird vicariously!

So well-written.......2005-12-16

David's writing is almost better than his soup. I notice this everytime I read something of his, whether the weekly Soupie email, article or something else. He beautifully brings to life the South Austin scene, and does it without condescending, something non-Texans seem hard-pressed to avoid. In fact, his love for the landscape and people in his adopted home comes through in every paragraph. For this, for his soup, for his talent with the written word, I am eternally grateful.

Average customer rating:

Chinese Crested :A Comprehensive Guide to Owning and Caring for Your Dog

Great in depth breed book

Surf the Web INSTEAD!

Excellent book about Chinese Crested!

Really very informative about every subject!

Chinese Crested: A Comprehensive Guide to Owning and Caring for Your Dog (Kennel Club Dog Breed)
Juliette Cunliffe
Manufacturer: Kennel Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Breeds | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Hairless Dogs - The Naked Truth: The Chinese Crested, Xoloitzcuintli & Peruvian Inca Orchid

ASIN: 1593783051
Release Date: 2005-05-30

Book Description

Distinctive for its hairlessness, the Chinese Crested is the world's most popular breed of hairless dog--a curious distinction, for certain. Beneath its sometimes purple skin is a rare and delightful canine. Compared to a graceful prancing pony in miniature, the Chinese Crested, with its tufted head, feet and tail, makes a feisty, fun-loving pet for those folk clever enough to fall in love with a near-naked dog. The breed, in actuality, comes in two varieties, with the Powderpuff coated in a soft veil of hair. For the right owners, the Chinese Crested makes a loyal and enthusiastic pet, happily praticipating in sports, outdoor outings, shows and the like.

This book provides the kind of information Crested owners require. The author shares her insight into the breed's characteristics and personality plus handy first-hand advice about caring for the breed's skin, coat and teeth. Owners will welcome the detailed chapter on house-training and obedience training, all based on positive training techniques.

Whether it's housebreaking problems, acne, sunburn or toothaches, this new volume provides the necessary guidance from puppyhood through the Crested's senior years.

Customer Reviews:

Chinese Crested :A Comprehensive Guide to Owning and Caring for Your Dog.......2007-08-08

Very beautiful book with very beautiful photographs of the heaps of explanations for the care and grooming and in more it is not published in French , very invaluable.

Great in depth breed book.......2007-05-17

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Excellent detail oriented breed book for Chinese Cresteds. Lots of wonderful background information on where the breed originated. This is a must have for anyone considering or even who owns a Chinese Crested. One of the much better written breed books.

Surf the Web INSTEAD!.......2006-05-13

I purchased a hairless Chinese Crested. First, I read this book. The 8 week old pup I had flown to me developed coccidia (stress of weaning, leaving mom, travel, new home, new owners) after two days, which then led to hypoglycemia (stopped eating and blood sugar crashed) and died within one week. This book doesn't stress the fact that "toy" puppies can easily have this problem and what to do at the early signs to save its life. Unfortunately, my Vet didn't know what to do either. I learned from surfing the web, after the problem. That would be your best bet to learn about this breed, including possible problems that the book does not cover.

Excellent book about Chinese Crested!.......2006-03-05

I am going to be owning one of these dogs very soon and I wanted to have as much information about them as possible. This book provided history (such as all American line Chinese Crested can be traced to Gypsy Rose Lee!) as well as health, grooming and training information. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to learn more about this wonderful breed.

Really very informative about every subject!.......2005-09-26

This Book is just great because it has a lot of good structured information in it about almost every thing. I also like a lot that it has a lot detailed medical info with tips and advise about (even natural) treatments and preventions. I think its oneof the best dog books I ever read without the book being too huge/redundant.

Book Description

THE PRICE GUIDE WITH ALL THE ACTION!

MORE THAN 9,000 PRICES LISTED!

It is estimated that 750 new action figures appear each year--that averages out to more than two per day! Now, to keep pace, The Official Price Guide to Action Figures has been completely revised and updated--including the newest characters from the epic blockbuster Star Wars: Episode 1.

- COMPREHENSIVE. From Xena Warrior Princess to G.I. Joe, Batman to Spider-Man, the A-Team to VR Troopers, Captain Action to the Bionic Woman, Marvel Superheroes to Masters of the Universe, The Official Price Guide to Action Figures lists more than 9,000 different figures from hundreds of series--with separate introductions to each series and its significance, history, and collectibility.

- SPECIAL SECTIONS. Information on new action figures through Toy Fair 1999, including direct-to-comic-shop exclusives, plus a company history and an interview with a renowned action figure designer.

- PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. Helpful tips from the experts on starting, building, and maintaining an action figure collection.

- WRITTEN BY EXPERTS. Stuart Wells III is the former executive editor of Collectible Toys & Values and Triton: Comics, Cards, and Collectibles, monthly magazines covering all types of action figures. Jim Main is the editor and publisher of Action Figure Collector and Barracks: The G.I. Joe Collectors Magazine.

- FULLY ILLUSTRATED. The Official Price Guide to Action Figures is packed with more than 700 photographs for easy identification.

Customer Reviews:

The Official Price Guide to Action Figures (2nd Ed).......2001-08-22

This book had all black and white pictures, and almost all of them showed the item in its package. I needed a book to help me IDENTIFY individual figures, which this book DEFINATELY DID NOT DO. I immediately returned the book.

action figure collectors read this!.......2000-12-29

This was a very informative book. I liked the fact it went back a while to older figures I am missing, as well as all the hints and thips along the way. Kudos to Amazon for featuring this book!!

Average customer rating:

Information and inspiration!!

Accessible Couture Sewing

can't get past the photos

Best techniques, ideas, and photographed sewing book!

Designer Techniques: Couture Tips for Home Sewing
Kenneth D. King
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Decorating | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Couture Sewing Techniques

Accessories:

Health o Meter HDC100-01 "Grow with Me" Teddy Bear Scale for Babies and Toddlers

ASIN: 0806994908

Customer Reviews:

Information and inspiration!!.......2004-05-10

I own "Designer Techniques" and I am perplexed about the review that "lopuff" wrote. She can't get past the photos because they are a "bad re-visit to the '80's...can we say vests and big hair?" I can only assume she didn't look carefully at the photos--she makes them out to be some fashion disaster, when they are really modern, light-hearted and kind-of chic. The photos that illustrate the techniques (as well as the illustrations and text) are informative, and that's what counts here. And, as for the techniques themselves, "lopuff" may feel thse are nothing revolutionary but, if you have ever actually done a lot of sewing, you know how valuable RELIABLE techniques can be in saving time and effot. THAT is what is revolutionary about this book.

Accessible Couture Sewing.......2004-05-09

Finally, someone has written a book on sewing techniques for those of us who also like beautiful clothes. It's fun to see how exciting clothes can be made using techniques and materials accessible to any home sewer. He uses pictures of his own creations to demonstrate the success of his techniques. The instructions are detailed and thorough. He tackles hard techniques and shows you the steps you must go through to get results. I was tired of books that showed me easy techniques, with only so-so results. I find this a book that I use over and over again... and I have many sewing books. I believe this is a book written by someone who actually uses the techniques himself to create beautiful clothes.

can't get past the photos.......2002-09-02

The content is okay--how to do buttonholes and interfacing-- but nothing revolutionary...same as all the other "couture secrets" books (if you've read "The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing," you will know that these couture "secrets" are kind of a farce, since the designers by legal contract cannot reveal their so-called "secrets"). Although the book is published in the 90s, the photos and examples are like a bad revisit to the 80s...can we say vests and big hair? As a result, I couldn't see myself directly applying any of the techniques.

Best techniques, ideas, and photographed sewing book!.......1997-03-11

Mr. Kings grasp of the world of Designer Techniques is immesurable. This book is a treasure. Techniques are shown and techniques described in easy to follow instructions for the home sewer. The book has some real COOL TRICKS to incorporate into your next sewing project for garments and home dec. Mr. Kings life story is just as facinating as his "bag of tricks." This book covers a mirad of subjects from what tools and equiptment you should have in your sewing room, through pocket techniques and tasseled handbags. Don't get the wrong idea, this is not just high end couture sewing techniques, it is shortcut methods and sound advice for any sewer - a great reference. I especially like the descriptions and ACTUAL PHOTOGRAPHS of the different interfacings, and underlinings and cordings and piping, so that I can go into a store and point to what I want!!! If you have limited $$$ to spend on your sewing library, don't leave this one on the store shelf!

Book Description

Vaastu unites the journey into the home with the journey into the self to find equilibrium and peace in both.

Book Description

This opulent and expansive volume, published in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's monumental exhibition Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity,1900-2000, charts the dynamic relationship between the arts and popular conceptions of California. Displaying a dazzling array of fine art and material culture, Made in California challenges us to reexamine the ways in which the state has been portrayed and imagined. Unusually inclusive, visually intriguing, and beautifully produced, this volume is a delight throughout--both in image and in text--and will appeal to anyone who has lived in, visited, or imagined California.
Drawn from the exhibition, which gathers more than 1,200 artworks and pieces of ephemera from many public and private collections, Made in California is an image-driven look at the past century, featuring more than 400 works in a range of media, from painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, and photographs to furniture, fashion, and film. The book also includes more than 150 cultural artifacts such as tourist brochures, posters, labor union tracts, personal letters, and government reports that convey the richness and complexity of twentieth-century California. Arranged provocatively by theme, these objects take us on a visual tour of a state that was promoted as a bountiful paradise early in the century; as a glamour capital by Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s; as a suburban utopia in the late '40s and '50s; as a haven for counterculture in the '60s and '70s, and as a multicultural frontier in the '80s and '90s. The book's exploration of how these themes were reflected and contested in California's visual culture deepens our understanding of the state's artistic traditions as well as its fascinating history.
The volume is divided into five twenty-year sections, each including a narrative essay discussing the history of that era and highlighting topics particularly relevant to its visual culture. Two overarching themes emerge that have been crucial for how we imagine and understand California: first, the landscape, including both the natural and built environment, and second, the multifaceted relationships California has had with Latin America and Asia.
Geographer Michael Dear has contributed a sweeping overview of the social history of California that examines the vibrant and sometimes turbulent conditions out of which the culture emerged. Essayist Richard Rodriguez closes the volume with a uniquely personal meditation on the Golden State.

Customer Reviews:

Warm California Nights.......2006-11-09

It's pretty massive, this book, and it feels like a lot of work went into it, but it's best thought of as a compendium of previous critical thought on the subject. On that basis it would be a good primer for students who are just beginning their work in cultural studies of "Californization," for the editors have done a fine job of summarizing and recommending the best books on the subject. Curatorially, the show was pretty vast, and like many LACMA productions, it was more Hollywood than Hollywood. Yet what works in a museum's large gallery spaces doesn't always translate onto the necessarily smaller page, and some of the best painting (if I may restrict myself to just one genre) that we saw up on the walls looks a little silly here: Agnes Pelton and Henrietta Shore in miniature look like prog-rock LP cover designers of the "Yes" era, suffering the indignity of having their twelve inch album designs shrunk down to CD size for the postmodern era. Something of the hazy beauty of Stanton Macdonald Wright still remains, though . . . What works best here is oddly what didn't really work in the show: the presence of a huge variety of topical items and ephemera, everything from signs that said, "Let's Keep California White," to that humorous can of "Los Angeles Smog" that you could buy as a souvenir if you went to LA in the 1950s (it's a great can with a full color comic book label--it might have invented all of pop art all by itself!) For sometimes in the exhibition so much ephemera seemed to hog your attention away from the more culturally approved "master works," where here in the catalogue, they assume point position in the continuing argument of the curators and the essayists charged with making California visible to us, step by step.

Sometimes this is done in wearisome detail, so that by the Cold War era I was like, oh for goodness sake, I've had enough history, and some of it seemed like rote. None of the scandals of history were omitted, from the Japanese internment camps to the Manson murders, from Upton Sinclair to the cuttings on Cathie Opie's back. Representative? In every way they could think of. And yet for some reason it wasn't one of those life changing exhibitions, probably because its thesis was so unoriginal.

A chance stroll into the LA County Museum.......2002-01-02

The exhibit was astounding - this museum is HUGE! The works of art featured are very diverse, both in theme, style and culture. The book really is a nice tribute to this grand exhibition. Any Californian who likes both popular art and "marginal" or underground art would be satisfied with this book.

Beautiful and important catalog and exhibition.......2000-11-19

Finally, an expansive and critical, although bewildering, survey of California's visual culture and its impact on American culture at large! Beautiful in its design and generous in illustrations, the catalog offers insight into the complexities of America's "wild frontier." What makes this catalog/exhibtion most intriguing is its inclusion of ephemera, framed by the organizers as important historical and cultural documents of life in California. Often overlooked, these items are often more telling than the cultural productions of visual artists and offer interesting juxtapositions to the art also presented. In addition to the discourse between hi and low culture, is the discussion of the cultural and racial diversity of California's population and its effect on culture and identity. The writers and curators bring together important documents, visuals, and art that construct diverse racial, gender, and sexual identities and also offer critical insight to these.

California trip: ... the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's reviled "Made in California: Art, Image and Identity, 1900-2000" ...: An article from: C: International Contemporary Art

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California trip: ... the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's reviled "Made in California: Art, Image and Identity, 1900-2000" ...: An article from: C: International Contemporary Art
Daryl Elaine Wells
Manufacturer: C The Visual Arts Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008GOVPG
Release Date: 2005-07-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from C: International Contemporary Art, published by C The Visual Arts Foundation on March 22, 2001. The length of the article is 2517 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: California trip: ... the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's reviled "Made in California: Art, Image and Identity, 1900-2000" ...
Author: Daryl Elaine Wells
Publication: C: International Contemporary Art (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2001
Publisher: C The Visual Arts Foundation
Volume: 69 Page: 8-13

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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Doesn't Live Up To Its Potential

Diaspora below the Mason- Dixon

It takes a loving family (you-all!)

Mogen David meets the Magnolia state in wistful memoir

Candor and Universality Guide Peddler's Grandson

The Peddler's Grandson: Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi
Edward Cohen
Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Jewish | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
South | Regional U.S. | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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Shalom Y'All: Images of Jewish Life in the American South

When It Was Our War: A Soldier's Wife on the Home Front (Shannon Ravenel Books)

Sons of Mississippi : A Story of Race and Its Legacy

The Provincials: A Personal History of Jews in the South (With Photographs and a New Introduction by the Author)

ASIN: 0385335911
Release Date: 2002-01-02

Book Description

Edward Cohen was among the tiny minority of Jews in Jackson, Mississippi, the heart of the Bible Belt. As a child, he grew up singing “Dixie”in his segregated school and saying sh’ma in synagogue. And in his powerful, luminous memoir, Cohen tells a story as universal as it is particular, at once a deeply personal account of growing up an outsider and a vibrant family story of three generations of American Jews.

To Edward Cohen, it seemed the entire world was Jewish. Then he went to school, where he was the only child who didn’t bow his head during Christian prayers, the only child not invited to dance class.

As the polite ‘50s segued into the racially explosive ‘60s, Jackson, Mississippi, would never be the same. And Edward would escape to the University of Miami in search of a new identity.

There, he thought he would find other Jews and finally gain the acceptance he never had. But once again he found himself an outsider — this time as a southerner.

A stirring memoir for anyone who’s ever felt a loss of identity or pressure to conform, The Peddler’s Grandson is sure to touch readers everywhere who have grappled with who they are.

Customer Reviews:

Doesn't Live Up To Its Potential.......2007-02-12

If you think you're getting "Driving Miss Daisy", you're mistaken. I thought I was going to read about a Southern Jew inviting his goyish friend over, and the friend would call matzo balls "them big old balls that Jews toss in the soup" or matzos "them big old Jew-crackers" and I was sadly mistaken. This book has no humor.
This book isn't funny, interesting, educational, or even worth reading. I didn't learn anything new about the Jews of the Delta. All I learned was that Edward Cohen was a typical Jewish baby-boomer growing up in Mississippi, blissfullly ignorant of the lives/habits of his fellow Dixies, white or black.
The only interesting thing is where the NAACP comes to town, and demands that stores hire more black employees, or face boycotts. The Cohen store (and others) suffer because of this, and eventualy all the stores go out of business. It shows you the dark side of the Civil Rights Movement.
Some of the greatest literature/film/drama come from the South. But this is no "Southern Gothic" like John Grisham or "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." It's not a Southers comedy like "Steel Magnolias" of "Fried Green Tomatoes." There's nothign original or plot-driven about this book. It's just plain dull.

You can't tell a Southern story that's "dull."

Diaspora below the Mason- Dixon.......2003-11-20

A wonderful tale that had me captivated from the first page. Whether you're Jewish, southern or just an appreciative reader... the descriptive flow of this tale is unparalleled.

Cohen writes an excellent tale that weaves the stories of his immigrant grandparents into the time of his owning "bringing up" and struggle with his ethnicity, spiritual and regional. The characters are interesting and personal. The descriptions of the region and of the family scenes create clear mental pictures.

This is a book that I intend to add to my own collection.

It takes a loving family (you-all!).......2002-06-17

Interesting insights abound in this wonderful book about growing up Jewish in Mississippi during the 50's and 60's. Mr.Cohen introduces us to his family, friends and surroundings in a way that kept me from putting the book down. I read it in two sittings on a rainy weekend in Rhode Island and I felt like I was on vacation in Mississippi.

Mogen David meets the Magnolia state in wistful memoir.......2002-05-24

Exploring the consequences of straddling two cultures, "The Peddler's Grandson" proves that being Jewish in the deep South is a lot more than playing Dixie with a klezmer band. Accurately subtitled "Growing Up Jewish in Mississippi," Edward Cohen's enjoyable and instructive memoir recounts the author's childhood in post World-War II Mississippi and explores the dynamics of being a dual outsider: A Jew in the Bible Belt and a southern Jew in a cosmopolitan Jewish university. Written with perceptive sociological insight and engaging self-deprecatory humor, this memoir sheds light on the profound issue of marginality. As Edward Cohen grows up, he leaves the safe cocoon of his protective Jewish home and discovers the strangely alluring and frightening Christian South.

The grandson of an intinerant peddler, Cohen explains both the coherence of a Jewish life and the centripetal influences the dominant culture exerts on that identity. Once in the public school system, Cohen feels a need to reinvent himself, from invisible Jew to iconoclastic rebel. Yet, with each recreation, Cohen feels less complete, even more dissatisfied. Where he yearns for a fusion of his dual Southern/Jewish identities, he experiences alienation and distancing from both. Culminating with four experimental years at Miami University, his story both extols and berates the divisive nature of his existence.

At its best, "The Peddler's Grandson" serves as a model for every immigrant seeking authentic identity in his/her new land. At once desperately seeking inclusion but discovering that the price of admission is cultural abdication, Cohen warns about the notion that one can gain identity by erasing one's past. "From the first day my Jewish self was suddenly full-immersion baptized into that southern world, I wanted to reconcile what couldn't be joined." We watch, with admiration, as Cohen reaches an adult acceptance of who and what he is. "I've learned the difference between discovering who I am and inventing it. Invention for me meant erasure, and whether it was my southern or my Jewish half that I hoped to lose, each time I tried, I got smaller."

"The Peddler's Grandson" is not pedantic in the least. Delightful family history and marvelous anecdotes pepper this memoir. Cohen's battles with the dyspeptic Rabbi Nussbaum over issues ranging from the existential meaning of life to the Edward's refusal as a child to eat a hard-boiled egg at Passover ring with Jewish humor. With characteristic grace, however, is Cohen's admission that he admires his adversary as a civil rights' leader. The author does not have to mention that Nussbaum's home was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan; yet in so doing, Cohen reminds us of his own profound ambivalence over racism during the late 1950s and early 1960s. One senses that the adult Cohen has not forgiven himself for his acquiescent silence during that crucial decade; indeed, his compassionate recounting of the African-Ameicans who worked in his family's clothes store indicate a sensitivity that began during that formative period.

Cohen writes with an assurance he lacked as a child. His memoir is warm, comforting, and, in parts, genuinely inspiring. The author's adult confidence derives, however, from that childhood, both Southern and Jewish. His adult confidence in his roots and his place in both worlds blossoms from a family which, although profoundly assimilated, nevertheless recognized its marginality. His Jewish identity, compromised by an alien culture which celebrated physicality instead of intellectualism, emerges secure; his Southern roots, nurtured by three generations of life in Jackson, Mississippi and tarnished by national denigration of the very name of his state, endure. Thus, Edward Cohen, child of a Jewish peddler who settled in a locale far beyond the reaches of Northern urban Jewish influence, represents the best of the Ameican expeience; his cultural dialectic results in the best of all possibilities -- a genuine multiculturalism.

Candor and Universality Guide Peddler's Grandson.......2002-03-03

Edward Cohen has written an autobiography whose candor, extraordinary insights, and universality allow the reader to delve deeply into questions and issues that demarcate each of our lives to one extent or another. With events of his childhood, adolescence and early adulthood depicted with the sensorial, emotional, and socio/political specificity of a first-rate novel, Mr. Cohen has accomplished a remarkable feat, both as an individual and a writer: He has escaped the solipsism that can easily extinguish a seemingly narrowly prescribed life. His vivid imagination has allowed him to take us on a journey into a world and time filled with intolerance and social upheaval which he, with painstaking honesty, intertwines with self-revelations regarding his own role within this/his/our eternally imperfect world. Like a good bildungsroman, Peddler's Grandson succeeds in enticing the reader to care deeply for the protagonist, whose pratfalls we laugh at, whose loving renderings of people and places we love as our own, and whose ultimate discovery of his road to liberating self-acceptance fills us with hope. A work of great depth and breadth, Peddler's Grandson is an extraordinary tour de force.

The Peddler's Grandson; growing up Jewish in Mississippi

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The Peddler's Grandson; growing up Jewish in Mississippi

Manufacturer: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000I2Y2TK

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