Average customer rating:
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Biology Of The Chemotactic Response (SYMPOSIA OF THE SOCIETY FOR GENERAL MICROBIOLOGY)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Microbiology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
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General
| Plants
| Biological Sciences
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| Books
Microbiology
| Basic Science
| Medicine
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General
| Medicine
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| Books
Microbiology
| Basic Sciences
| Medical
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ASIN: 0521403138 |
Book Description
Until recently the description of environmentally directed behavior had been at the phenomenological level. However, over the past decade, the mechanisms of movement, environmental sensing, and sensory transduction are being understood at the molecular level in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic single-celled organisms. This book covers the entire range of single-cell sensory transduction, from theories of gradient perception in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells to the detailed molecular structure and function of sensory receptors, their respective secondary messengers, and the mechanisms of movement. The authors have also attempted to put the complex mechanisms of sensory transduction into the context of the organisms in their natural environment.
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SEBS 12 Biology of the Chemotactic Response (Society for Experimental Biology Seminar Series)
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Cell Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
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Molecular Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
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Molecular Biology
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
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ASIN: 0521298970 |
Book Description
Fodor’s
see it Vietnam is perfect for travelers who want to understand Vietnamese history and culture before they arrive, and experience the country like a native while they’re there.
Overflowing with brilliant color photography, this is
the ONLY illustrated guide that provides the practical information that you need while traveling–complete restaurant and hotel reviews with exact prices for lodging and dining (not ranges), plus time-saving tips and how to avoid crowds, exact admission prices to key sights, great photo stops, and special notes on “kid-friendly” attractions throughout.
Hotels
Our detailed reviews represent the best accommodations in Vietnam, in all price ranges. From five-star luxury hotels to family hotels and homestays with local people, we’ll tell you what to expect in terms of price and quality through extensive coverage of hotels and their surrounding neighborhoods,
exact prices of double-occupancy rooms (including breakfast), plus pictures of hotel facilities and guestrooms.
Restaurants
If you want to experience the best that Vietnam has to offer, pay particular attention to our
outstanding restaurant coverage that will help you choose from the thousands of local eateries that cater to every budget and dining experience. From affordable, food stands to places where you can splurge –like Au Manois de Kahi in Ho Chi Minh City–you’ll find it in see it Vietnam. Each review covers
house signature dishes,
ambiance,
ACTUAL prices for a two-course lunch and a three-course dinner
(for two people), hours of operation, and what transportation will get you there.
The Sights
Whether you eat pho bo in Hanoi, swim at China Beach, take a boat on the Perfume River, or drive a motorcycle around Saigon, see it Vietnam will take you there. Accessibly written to help you navigate throughout the country without missing a thing, each attraction includes exact admission prices, what galleries and museums not to miss, and where to stop for quick bites and refreshing drinks along the way. Sights are also rated for their
“value”,
“walkability”,
“historic and cultural interest”, plus we suggest fantastic
“photo stops” and entertaining and age-appropriate
“kid-friendly” attractions throughout the book.
What to Do?
Our
shopping walks will lead you to cutting-edge fashions to fit all budgets, from hip streetwear to expensive fashions for your feet. But, Vietnam has much more to offer than just sight-seeing and shopping. Fodor’s see it Vietnam provides insider information on
classical, theatrical, and cinematic performances,
Vietnam’s music scene (live jazz to underground youth centres),
nightlife, spectator and activity sports, and festivals and events.
Atlas and Maps
Detailed neighborhood maps are incorporated throughout the book to help you navigate on historic walks, shopping tours, or to find a restaurant. Plus, a
16-page atlas details each road and path with highlights of important landmarks, parks, metro stations, and car parking areas.
Fodor’s see it™
A brand-new series that
shows you before you go,
guides you while you’re there, and
makes the perfect keepsake on your return
Customer Reviews:
Information at best........2006-02-07
Fodor's See It Vietnam does have a lot of information about the country, it's history and people. Valuable information on how to get there, yet for a book just published it is a little out of date. Lonely Planet's Vietnam has better coverage of places to stay and see. If you are going to Saigon or Hanoi and have a lot of money then this is the guide for you. If you plan to visit other parts of Vietnam and are on a budget, then one of the other guides is your best choice. Buy this one for information and pictures, but get one of the other guides to take with you.
Average customer rating:
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Cochise, Chief of the Chiricahaus I.E. Chiricahaus
Vada F. Carlson
Manufacturer: Harvey House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| United States
| History & Historical Fiction
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Baby-3
| Children's Books
| Subjects
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ASIN: 0817849513 |
Book Description
This book contains stunning images for use as a graphic resource, or inspiration. All the illustrations are stored in high-resolution format on the enclosed free CD-ROM and are ready to use for professional quality printed media and web page design. The pictures can also be used to produce postcards, or to decorate your letters, flyers, etc. They can be imported directly from the CD into most design, image- manipulation, illustration, word-processing and e-mail programs; no installation is required. For most applications, single images can be used free of charge. Please consult the introduction to this book, or visit our website for conditions.
Average customer rating:
- 1000 Decorated Inintials
- 1,000 Fancy Initials to play with and enjoy!
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Decorated Initials
Shambhala
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Illustration
| Commercial
| Graphic Design
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Design & Decorative Arts
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1570624836
Release Date: 1999-06-15 |
Book Description
One thousand amazing initials dating from medieval times to the early twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
1000 Decorated Inintials.......2000-04-15
Compulsively purchased MANY books on Illuminations, Calligraphy and Decorated letters. This is by far the most useful. Pleasantly surprised to find it had a CD included. While not using any of the illustrations exactly, the clear, black and white designs and the ability to "reverse" them and size them on the computer gave me a head start on an alphabet carving project I am undertaking. Will definintely use this publisher for research again.
1,000 Fancy Initials to play with and enjoy!.......1999-09-10
Wow! Another great publication by Shambhala. 1,000 black and white images of fancy, decorated initials make up this fat little volume. Most of the initials are florid Victorian and Art Nouveau in style, but there are some nice black letter and gothic styles as well. Better still, the companion cd-rom contains all 1,000 initials in hi resolution format for both Windows and Macintosh platforms. The PC images are saved as tiffs, a format that is supported by just about every graphic and desktop publishing software out there.
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1000 Decorated Initials
*
Manufacturer: PEPIN PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K7D7QM |
Average customer rating:
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Roman antiquities: or, An account of the manners and customs of the Romans: Respecting their government, magistracy, laws, judicial proceedings, religion, ... the rites and customs to which they refer
Alexander Adam
Manufacturer: Published by E. Duyckinck, G. Long, Collins & Hannay, Collins & Co. and O.H. Roorbach. W.E. Dean, printer, no. 3 Wall-street
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008ASWWU |
Average customer rating:
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Curious Cats
Morag Neil
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
History & Criticism
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
| Criticism
| General
| Regional
| Themes
| Women in Art
General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
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General
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
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General
| Cats
| Animal Care & Pets
| Home & Garden
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General
| Foreign Languages
| Reference
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Animal Husbandry
| Agricultural Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
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ASIN: 0847819418
Release Date: 1996-04-15 |
Book Description
The perfect gift for cat fanciers, Curious Cats is an irresistibly whimsical collection of felines, from wily alley cats to sophisticated Siamese. The domestic tabby has won the hearts of admirers all over the world, and this charming book presents a treasury of cat lore to please every last one.
Revered and worshipped as gods by the ancient Egyptians, cats have been respected, feared, and, of course, adored ever since. The many moods of the mysterious cat are captured here in clever selections from writers and cat commentators such as Mark Twain, Beatrix Potter, and Garrison Keillor. Delightful pictures drawn from ancient art and decoration, painting, prints and cartoons reveal all the humor, dignity, and affection of the feline personality. Instructions for simple homemade gifts for cats and their owners make Curious Cats a treat for every creative cat lover.
Book Description
This is a biography of the cat, beginning in ancient times when it was revered as a goddess and following it as it emerges as enigma, playmate and companion. There are also tales of great and famous cat-lovers throughout history and literature, such as Dr. Johnson, Horace Walpole (and his noble Maida) or Sir Walter Scott, whose own constant companion waited for a snap of his master’s fingers to rise and lay his head on his knee. The book is illustrated throughout with noteworthy and intriguing images of cats through history including ancient egyptian tomb paintings and medieval engravings and drawings.
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Curious History of Cats
Manufacturer: LITTLE BOOKS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GRFA3Y |
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The World of Cacti: How to Select from and Care for over 1000 Species
Danny Schuster
Manufacturer: Facts on File
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
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| Gardening & Horticulture
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Cacti
| By Plant
| Gardening & Horticulture
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Cacti & Succulents
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ASIN: 0816025061 |
Average customer rating:
- great wealth of info
- Mostly AutoCad drawings.
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Architectural Elements: Interior Construction Details on CD-ROM (single-user)
Andy Shelander , and
Karm M. Wahab
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Professional
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Architecture
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
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Reference
| Architecture
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General
| Drawing & Modelling
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Building Construction
| Construction
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Building Materials
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| McGraw-Hill Engineering Store
| McGraw-Hill
| By Publisher
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ASIN: 0071370773 |
Book Description
*For architects and interior designers using CAD to draft plans, this CD-ROM is an indispensable tool that saves time and money
*Details are organized by element, such as windows treatments, closets, and kitchen cabinetry, making them easy to find and incorporate into CAD drawings
*Compatible with both Windows and Macintosh
Customer Reviews:
great wealth of info.......2006-05-20
This was a great addition to my library, and was worth every penny. Great amount of detailed info.
The authors other cd roms were also VERY helpful.
Mostly AutoCad drawings........2001-07-17
I am an Architectural Engineer and just love to learn more every single day. I just bought this Architectural Elements CD and didn't find the Autocad drawings very much helping me for interior detailing projects.It wourth getting this Architectural item,but I don't belive it wourth its price for now.That's why I only gave it two stars.
Book Description
Originally published as Good Practice in Construction, this is a remarkable collection of detailed construction plates selected from the files of ten leading early 20th century architectural firms including McKim, Mead & White, Carriere & Hastings, Cross & Cross, and Delano & Aldrich. These plates were reviewed and modified by experienced professionals in the various building trades, who added much useful practical information not usually found on working detail blueprints. The result is an amazing collection of 104 highly detailed plates reflecting the finest construction methods of the period. Included are doorways, windows of various types (including palladian and oriel), stairs, cornices, fireplaces, moldings, paneling, sliding and secret doorsQall sorts of interior finishing as well as exterior construction. This is a treasure house of information not found elsewhere. Invaluable for anyone involved in design, restoration, construction, joinery and woodworking, or anyone who has an interest in how such work was done by experts. We showed the original of this book to people in the construction, restoration, and woodworking fields and they were unanimous in recommending that we reprint it; they all felt that there was nothing else like it available anywhere. 126 pages. 104 plates. 81/2" x 11". Soft cover.
Average customer rating:
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Panasonic Camcorder Handbook (Video Handbook)
Hove Foto Books
Manufacturer: Hove Foto Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
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General
| How-to
| Photography
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ASIN: 0906447860 |
Customer Reviews:
A fly on the wall perspective on a great story.......2006-06-24
She's gutsy and candid and a bit naughty- I loved this book because of it's particular insightfulness. Joan makes sure that we "get" her essence. Although only slightly familiar with her music ; I have become much more so after reading about her passion and ambition. there are some great snapshots of people; of course we see Dylan from a slightly scorned woman perspective- but tale hasn't hurt this unwashed phenomenon's career one bit. Truly engaging is hearing firsthand from Joan what it is like to be flying high ( while selling records) to being tossed around as a second stringer as the fads shift. The chapter on Live Aid is a hoot- the "latest thing" was madonna of all people. I would love to read a sequel- C'mon Joan-let's go.
Worth reading if you're interested in the period........2005-04-30
I'm accustomed to cut non-professional writers some slack when I assess their memoirs, but, really, why should I? It's to Ms. Baez's credit that she apparently didn't use a ghostwriter. It's not to her credit that she apparently didn't use an editor either.
When this book is on, it's very good. Ms. Baez's description of the college and coffeehouse folk Bohemian scene is vivid and too brief. Unfortunately, the book overall is rambling. Its diction is inconsistent. It lapses into the second person unaccountably. It is peppered with often inscrutable pseudo-poetic purple passages. It tends to be candid about things I don't especially care to know of, the author's rampaging libido, undiminished by age, for example, and vague or circumspect about things that most arouse my curiosity, the nit and grit of the recording industry, for example.
There are, however, enough enticing tidbits of information to make this worth reading if the zeitgeist of the fifties and sixties has any pull on you. I don't know about buying. In any case, a figure looming this large on the cultural landscape, so to speak, deserves to be heard.
Moving, intelligent, and haunting display of self.......2002-04-22
An excruciatingly lovely, honest portrayal of Joan Baez' life, from self-conscious childhood through more self-confident adulthood (she speaks of self demons that haunt her yet). Includes photographs of self, family, performances, and other public appearances. A professed non-reader, non afficionado of public (regimented) learning, Joan intelligently writes about non violence, her public issues, and relationships, and in doing so, encourages readers to make more of their own personal and public lives. Powers to be: Please give this woman a Grammy for all of her talent!!
And a Voice to Sing With : A Memoir.......2002-04-22
An excruciatingly lovely, honest portrayal of Joan Baez' life, from self-conscious childhood through more self-confident adulthood (she speaks of self demons that haunt her yet). Includes photographs of self, family, performances, and other public appearances. A professed non-reader, non afficionado of public (regimented) learning, Joan intelligently writes about non violence, her public issues, and relationships, and in doing so, encourages readers to make more of their own personal and public lives. Powers to be: Please give this woman a Grammy for all of her talent!!
Sensitive and delicate in the personal sense........1998-07-28
This is the only "novel" I have read twice and would like to pick up again. I found the truth more fascinating and heart-warming than any good fiction! Ms. Baez's openness in sharing personal information gives the reader insight into understanding her motives/lyrics and direction. It is also interesting to "see" inside the workings of one who is trying to make a difference in the world versus personal and public views of a performer. Ms. Baez literary style displays her intelligence, forsight, and concerns. I would like to read future works by Ms. Baez reflecting, as a woman, how she acquired her aspirations and confidence...familial and/or inborn!
Product Description
Sixty-six songs from the repertoire of America s best loved folksinger, with historical and musical commentary, arranged for voice and piano with guitar chords. Includes: House Of Rising Sun, We Shall Overcome, Amazing Grace,Where Have All The Flowers Gone, and Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.
Customer Reviews:
Guitar Lessons With Joan.......2006-05-25
In 1965 - this book taught me how to play guitar. The songs are shown in their original keys and are not easy for a beginning guitarist. HOWEVER, all songs are transposed and with the use of a CAPO (song book says CAPO at 3rd Fret) you are playing the same chords Joan plays. If your guitar is tuned.. you play right along with her.. sure beats Volga Boatman!
Excellent for beginning guitarists!.......2006-02-22
The Joan Baez Songbook is an excellent foray into the folk music that put Ms. Baez on the map. All the songs included are classics, and easy to play. Fans of Joan Baez or folk music should have this songbook in their repertoire.
Joan Baez Songbook.......2005-08-09
Excellent...it is a replacement for one that I lost in a flood several years ago.
I play guitar but............1999-12-19
Haunting, beautiful melodies..Timeless tunes the likes of "Jackaroe" & "Fenerio" make this a treasure.. the only thing missing is Joans' perfect voice!
A Classic.......1999-10-17
This book is filled with classic folk songs/ballads/hymns/lullabies, etc. that shouldn't be forgotten. They're songs for adults and children alike that have formed the roots of many current songs and stories.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
David Hajdu (pronounced HAY-doo), the prizewinning author of the magisterial jazz biography Lush Life, now steam-cleans the legend of the lost folk generation in Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña. What a ripping read! It's like an invitation to the wildest party Greenwich Village ever saw. You feel swept up in the coffeehouse culture that transformed ordinary suburban kids into ragged, radiant avatars of a traditional yet bewilderingly new music. Hajdu's sociomusical analysis is as scholarly as (though less arty than) Greil Marcus's work; he deftly sketches the sources and evolving styles of his ambitious, rather calculating subjects, proving in the process that genius is not individual--it's rooted in a time and place. Hajdu says Dylan heisted many early tunes (e.g., "Maggie's Farm" from Pete Seeger's "Down on Penny's Farm"): "Dylan [told] a radio interviewer that he felt as if his music had always existed and he just wrote it down ... [in fact], much of his early work had existed as other writers' melodies, chord structures, or thematic ideas." But Dylan and company made it all their own, and Hajdu vividly evokes the scenes they made.
Positively 4th Street is very much a group portrait. When something amazing happens, Hajdu puts you right there. The unknown Baez barefoot in the rain, bedazzling the Newport Jazz Festival and becoming immortal overnight. The irresistibly irresponsible Fariña talking his folk-star wife out of shooting him dead with his own pistol. The "little spastic gnome" Dylan transmogrified into greatness onstage, bashing Joan with the searing lyrics of "She Belongs to Me." A stoned Fariña advising Dylan to cynically hitch his wagon to Joan's rising star and "start a whole new genre. Poetry set to music, but not chamber music or beatnik jazz, man... poetry you can dance to."
The book is as delectably gossipy as Vanity Fair (one of Hajdu's employers). Richard married the exceedingly young beauty Mimi and helmed their career, but he might have dumped her for big sister Joan, whose madcap humor and verbal wit harmonized with his--except that he ineptly killed himself on a motorcycle first. Bob mumblingly courted both sisters, but when he cruelly taunted the insecure Joan, Mimi yanked his hair back until he cried. The account of Bob and Joan's musical-erotic passion is first-rate music history and uproarious soap opera. Hajdu's research is prodigious--even Fariña's close chum Thomas Pynchon granted interviews--and his anecdotes are often off-the-cuff funny: "[Rock manager Albert Grossman] was easy to deal with.... It wasn't till maybe two days after you would see Albert that you'd realize your underwear had been stolen." Full disclosure: Hajdu was one of my long-ago bosses at Entertainment Weekly, but that's certainly not why I heartily endorse this book. It's scholarship with a human face, akin to "poetry you can dance to." --Tim Appelo
Book Description
When twenty-five-year-old Bob Dylan wrecked his motorcycle near Woodstock in 1966 and dropped out of the public eye, he was already recognized as a genius, a youth idol with an acid wit and a barbwire throat; and Greenwich Village, where he first made his mark, was unquestionably the center of youth culture.
In Positively 4th Street, David Hajdu recounts the emergence of folk music from cult practice to popular and enduring art form as the story of a colorful foursome: not only Dylan but also his part-time lover Joan Baez -- the first voice of the new generation; her sister Mimi -- beautiful, haunted, and an artist in her own right; and Mimi's husband, Richard Fariña, a comic novelist (Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me) who invented the worldly-wise bohemian persona that Dylan adopted -- some say stole -- and made his own.
A national bestseller in hardcover, acclaimed as "one of the best books about music in America" (Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post), Positively 4th Street is that rare book with a new story to tell about the 1960s -- about how the decade and all that it is now associated with were created in a fit of collective inspiration, with an energy and creativity that David Hajdu has captured on the page as if for the first time.
Customer Reviews:
Must Read.......2007-04-11
I was reading this book while filming a movie on Bob Dylan this summer-I lost the copy before I was finished but had to buy it again to see how it ends-really a fascinating insight on the whole West Village Folk music scene of the 1960's.
Bob and Joan and Mimi and Richard.......2007-03-26
My Hadju has very little sympathy for any of the characters in this narrative. In his view, Bob is a self-centered jerk, Joan is priggish, Mimi is callow and Richard is a self-promoting charlatan who probably needed medical intervention. Mr. Hadju's only sympathies lie with Mimi who is little and beautiful and sorely used. Oh please. What I found missing was any sense of forgiveness for just how young they were. Only Richard can be held accountable for his caddish behavior because he was older and should have known better. The others were all painfully young and their behavior, reprehensible, naive, touching and all should be interpreted through the highly charged haze of youth. I doubt that anyone's life could withstand this level of strutiny at the age of 22.
I am not a fan of Mr Hadju's writing style, but the book is packed with information.
Sure to become a classic.......2007-03-01
American folk in its both in its development and maturation held the same drama and pathos as any other American music that fused with social movement. The figures that Hajdu chose to focus on in his excellent book became very influential artists of the time, Dylan even attaining a cult-like status.
Like any biography of young people it is filled with betrayal, misunderstandings and bruised egos. As they are portrayed, Dylan and Farina were by far the larger and more fragile of the egos and they hint of the "me" generation's self-importance. The Baez sisters remained "truer" to folk, being less inclined to wed it to rock and other styles. The tragic death of Richard Farina is one of the many turning points in this book that treads lightly on nostalgia. The genius and fallibility of the four figures is portrayed distinctly and without foreshadowing what will become of them outside of this exciting time when music moved people to change the nation.
A disappontment.......2006-12-29
Positively 4th Street had received adulatory reviews. I looked forward to reading it, but was enormously disappointed. The book tells of the tangled relationships among four young people. Nobody comes out looking especially well. My experience has been that people in their twenties often do not behave commendably in their romantic lives. By focusing on these relationships, the book has the distasteful smell of dirty laundry.
Secondly, by presenting four interlocking biographies, the book implicitly equates the four lives covered. Unfortunately, there was an enormous difference in stature among Bob Dylan and Richard Farina and Joan and Mimi Baez. In order to make a go of his book the author must exaggerate the flaws of the mighty and minimize those of the lowly. This authorial imperative makes for an unfair book.
Finally, Mr. Hajdu has a fine magisterial voice - even when he does not know a thing about the subject at hand, like harmonica playing, for example. If he gets every fact wrong on that, how can he be trusted on other matters?
Hero worshipers, stay away.......2006-11-21
Though he is almost, but not quite, forgotten today, Richard Farina was once a hot property. He wrote a novel, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me," that swept the college campuses; and he and his wife, Mimi Baez, recorded two albums, "Celebrations for a Grey Day" and "Reflections in a Crystal Wind" that were both artistic and commercial successes.
Farina was ambitious for much more. He wanted to be bigger than Bob Dylan. He wanted Dylan's fame, Dylan's sales, Dylan's girlfriend, Dylan's respect and a motorcycle like Dylan's.
David Hajdu's meticulously detailed "Positively 4th Street" tells a tale that might just as well have been called "Grabbing for the Brass Ring."
Nobody ever came closer more times without getting it than Farina.
It all started with Carolyn Hester. When the "folk revival" began in Boston in the 1950s, the beautiful Hester was an early coffee house star. If anyone was going to break out to national fame, Hester would have seemed the favorite.
But bursting out of the pack of unknowns to surpass her came Joan Baez, with a bell-like voice and, in Hajdu's interpretation, lots of luck.
Farina, a charming schemer, was on another track but he latched onto Hester, moving from first meeting to marriage in 18 days.
From then on, "Positively 4th Street" is an appalling and almost Byzantine account of the ambitious and the unscrupulous climbing over each other's backs for the brass ring.
Baez caught it first. She helped Dylan, who treacherously overtopped her. Farina made his bid, dumping Hester and pursuing Baez.
But he and Dylan were both also angling for Joan's beautiful young sister Mimi. The sisters are supposed to be the models for the story in the Lovin' Spoonful song "DId You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" but Hajdu debunks that and some other rock and roll myths, notably the one about Dylan being booed off the stage at the Newport Folk Festival for playing a Stratocaster.
A witty writer, Hajdu never seems to be caught off balance in all this confusion. A typical example of his waspish reporting is this line about Farina and his friend Alfredo Dopico: "Richard and Alfredo were largely redundant: of Cuban ancestry, about the same age and size, strong-featured, impetuous, and volatile, they were both treacherously fond of beautiful women, marijuana, and Richard Farina."
In this crowd, Hajdu sees more clay feet than a shoeshine boy at the Congressional barber shop, but he never confuses that with the impact of the music on the rest of us.
It doesn't hurt, for dramatic purposes, that Farina wrote more than once about death on a motorcycle and with almost perfect timing got killed on one the day of the booksigning party for "Been Down So Long." (Meticulously, Hajdu clears up the misconception that it was on the book's release day; that was two days earlier.)
Only Mimi Farina comes out of this book as an appealing human being.
Hero worshipers should stay away. Music lovers will be fascinated.
Average customer rating:
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A Year in Baghdad
Joan Baez , and
Albert V. Baez
Manufacturer: Daniel & Daniel Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Asia
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Iraq
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Look Inside History Books
| Trip
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ASIN: 0936784385 |
Customer Reviews:
Quite Charming.......2005-12-19
Despite the rather luke-warm opinions of the "experts" as shown, I wanted to offer a more positive review. To me, a good travel book is not defined by the number of its adventures but by the quiet observation, honesty and empathy of the author(s). And this book is loaded with those fine qualities.
It is written by the parents of the famous Joan Baez, Albert and Joan Baez. But instead of being written as a pure collaboration, the chapters instead flip back and forth between their two voices, and perspectives. As Albert struggled to launch his chemistry lab at a Baghdad University, Joan the mother tried to bring a domestic normalcy into the home, mostly for the sake of the three young children. The children for their part suffered some trials, including hepatitis for Joan the daughter, and some bad days at school with the mean old nun.
But probably the most affecting pieces are the ones where the authors lovingly describe the people and the sights around them. I was moved by Albert's description of the old city, as observed from his roof, while he mused about the town of Bethlehem at Christmastime. And Joan's description of the local woman bearing endless gifts of spinach, was also touching in its own way.
There's lots of quoted expressions in the book that are not soon forgotten, such as "Izzent it?", and "Me Chris" translated: "I'm Christian". It was clear that the language barrier created a huge obstacle in reaching out to the locals, and as a consequence the book has a feeling of a hole in it, like a sizeable pothole in the road.
But all in all it was good reading, and quite well written, impressively so for "non-writers". I only saw one mention of Quakerism in the book, so don't believe that it's filled with propaganda, because it's not. The family does seem quite astonishingly liberal, considering the time, and the respect that the parents give to the ideas and opinions of their daughters is truly admirable.
In the afterward, there is a bit of an explanation as to why the book was written the way it was, because apparently the authors weren't living together at the time. You'll have to read the book to find out why.
Oh, and not to forget, the drawings were quite charming as well.
It's really a shame that the book isn't in print anymore, I was a bit surprised at that. So check it out at your local library, and perhaps you'll be charmed too!
Average customer rating:
- Encounter with a wise one
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The Beat Of My Drum: An Autobiography
Babatunde Olatunji , and
Robert Atkinson
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Similar Items:
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Drums of Passion
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Circle of Drums
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Healing Session
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Drums of Passion: The Beat
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African Drumming
ASIN: 1592133541 |
Book Description
Babatunde Olatunji's record album Drums of Passion proclaimed that the time had come for America to recognize Africa's cultural contributions to the music world. Through his many albums and live performances, the Nigerian drummer popularized West African traditional music and spread his message of racial harmony. In this long-awaited autobiography, Olatunji presents his life story and the philosophy that guided him.
Olatunji influenced and inspired musicians for more than forty years—from luminaries to music students and the many ordinary people who participated in his drum circles. He writes about rhythm being "the soul of life," and about the healing power of the drum. Ultimately, The Beat of My Drum shows why at the time of his death in 2003, Olatunji had become, according to The New York Times, "the most visible African musician in the United States."
Customer Reviews:
Encounter with a wise one.......2007-01-10
Haven't gotten deeply into this book yet, but from the little I've read I know I'm going to love it. Baba was a cultural ambassador, healer and drummer who lived on two continents and had a huge influence on African-American culture and thought as well as inspiring the formation of numerous drum circles which are now universally popular. Reading this book is like listening the voice of a very wise, good and humane individual. There should be more Babas in the world.
Product Description
Markus Jaeger wrote a detailed study on the way singer and activist Joan Baez combined two outstanding components of peace studies - art and activism - to protest against the Vietnam War. The study shows that the 1960s (and early 1970s) are by far more than an era of hippies overloaded with clichés. Baez is depicted as a timeless heroine making timeless music and proving the timeless relevance of peaceful protest against violent authorities. She is still active and creative today (she released a new album and performed at numerous demonstrations against the war in Iraq). The author: Markus Jaeger, born in 1976, finished his studies (English and American Studies, Political Science) at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, and is currently working on his Ph.D. in Political Science about the spirituality of non-violence. He has focused on peace studies and political change throughout his whole university career. Several of his literary publications (in various magazines and anthologies) also deal with that topic.
Customer Reviews:
Art and Activism versus Conventionality.......2007-03-29
This study deals with an extraordinary woman. Joan Baez is a singer who has proven the fact that "[...] politics has long outgrown matters of government[...]."(Salim Kemal, Ivan Gaskell, eds., Politics and Aesthetics in the Arts). Her way of combining art and activism to exercise politics is exemplified in this book, which analyses her artistic and political activities in regard to the issue of Vietnam.
Joan Baez has always used her popularity as a singer to support her long career as an activist. The consequences she had to deal with were imprisonment, a partly declining recording career, and often finding herself a target of calumniation between the far right and the far left of the political spectrum; in spite of that, she has become a successful singer, "[...] whose politics and music melded magnificently to capture the temper of the 60s." (Barbara Goldsmith, "Life on struggle mountain," The New York Times Book Review)
Baez's art and activism did not only fit into the 1960s, she is still active and creative today, at the age of 62. Baez is still making records, still giving concerts and still using her musical career to voice her activism. She claims that "[...] my beliefs stayed rock solid, which I'm glad about because it proves I was right about choosing them in the first place." (Baez in: Nigel Williamson, "The return of Saint Joan,")
Joan Baez has sung on countless stages all over the world: in the famous coffee houses of Cambridge at the end of the 1950s and in racially tensed colleges in the South of the United States at the beginning of the 1960s. She has given concerts worldwide: in Eastern and Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Northern Africa, South, Central and North America, Canada, the Middle East, and the Far East. She also sang in the bomb shelters of Hanoi during the Vietnam War, in the Laotian refugee camps, and in the makeshift settlements of the Malaysian boat people.
Her profession as a singer has enabled her to work together with the most creative artists of her time, from Scottish Folksinger Donovan to Bob Dylan, from the hard-rock group the Grateful Dead to the Beatles, from singer/actor Kris Kristofferson to Luciano Pavarotti.
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