Potato and Its Wild Relatives: Section Tuberarium of the Genus Solanum

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Potato and Its Wild Relatives: Section Tuberarium of the Genus Solanum
Donovan Stewart Correll
Manufacturer: Lubrecht & Cramer Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0934454930

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The Potato and Its Wild Relatives: Section Tuberarium of the Genus Solanum (Series of Botanical Studies, Vol 4)
Donovan Stewart Correll
Manufacturer: Texas Research Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GM7TGK

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The Potato & Its Wild Relatives: Section Tuberarium of the Genus Solanum

Manufacturer: Texas Research Foundation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000FMD2BM

Book Description

Must Sees Las Vegas

Customer Reviews:

there is more to vegas than the casinos.......2004-05-24

My husband had a convention in Las Vegas last month and the thought of spending a week there was unbearable. Before I picked up this book, I thought Vegas was all casinos and tacky shows. I was happy to learn (and experience) that there is more to vegas than the casinos! With the guidance of this book, I was able to pick out the casinos I wanted to visit (when in Rome...) and then I was able to plan things to do outside of the casinos. After a few days on 'the strip', I ventured out and went on a few of the 'excursions' - which gave me a great break and I saw some amazing things that I didn't know where right there!

a must !!.......2003-11-11

This book is a great addition to the Michelin collection!! I love it! I was in vegas last week for a convention and this book helped me find things to do in my spare time.

Book Description

"Ricardo Ainslie is that rare writer: a scholar who is also a riveting storyteller. Long Dark Road is a deep, haunting, and impressively researched book that deserves a wide readership."

—Dan Rather, CBS News

"This book truly is a long, dark road—but one that leads to a profound understanding of human nature. It describes the journey of a healer into the pathology of a killer and the wounded community he left behind. One feels both enlightened and consoled by Ricardo Ainslie's probing and empathic mind."

—Lawrence Wright, author and New Yorker staff writer

"Unique and penetrating. . . . In its portrait of Bill King, Long Dark Road offers a glimpse into the mind of a killer that is unnervingly intimate. While never losing sight of the horror of the crime King was convicted of committing, Ainslie makes us understand, through dogged investigation and temperate empathy, the forces that helped warp an otherwise bright and promising individual into one of the most notorious criminals of our time."

—Stephen Harrigan, author of Gates of the Alamo, A Natural State, Water and Light, and Comanche Midnight

On a long dark road in deep East Texas, James Byrd Jr. was dragged to his death behind a pickup truck one summer night in 1998. The brutal modern-day lynching stunned people across America and left everyone at a loss to explain how such a heinous crime could possibly happen in our more racially enlightened times. Many eventually found an answer in the fact that two of the three men convicted of the murder had ties to the white supremacist Confederate Knights of America. In the ex-convict ringleader, Bill King, whose body was covered in racist and satanic tattoos, people saw the ultimate monster, someone so inhuman that his crime could be easily explained as the act of a racist psychopath. Few, if any, asked or cared what long dark road of life experiences had turned Bill King into someone capable of committing such a crime.

In this gripping account of the murder and its aftermath, Ricardo Ainslie builds an unprecedented psychological profile of Bill King that provides the fullest possible explanation of how a man who was not raised in a racist family, who had African American friends in childhood, could end up on death row for viciously killing a black man. Ainslie draws on exclusive in-prison interviews with King, as well as with Shawn Berry (another of the perpetrators), King's father, Jasper residents, and law enforcement and judicial officials, to lay bare the psychological and social forces—as well as mere chance—that converged in a murder on that June night. Ainslie delves into the whole of King's life to discover how his unstable family relationships and emotional vulnerability made him especially susceptible to the white supremacist ideology he adopted while in jail for lesser crimes.

With its depth of insight, Long Dark Road not only answers the question of why such a racially motivated murder happened in our time, but it also offers a frightening, cautionary tale of the urgent need to intervene in troubled young lives and to reform our violent, racist-breeding prisons. As Ainslie chillingly concludes, far from being an inhuman monster whom we can simply dismiss, "Bill King may be more like the rest of us than we care to believe."

Customer Reviews:

long dark road.......2006-07-14

I have to admit that the only reason I initially read this book was my curiosity at how the town of Jasper and the events which took place in said town would be portrayed. Jasper is my hometown, and I was 12 years old during that dreadful summer of 1998.

Ultimately, when I found out that a professor at the very university I attend current day had written a book about my hometown and Bill King, I wanted to see if he, like nearly all others who had written or spoken of the topic, had made my town and fellow townspeople out to be some sort of ignorant, backwoods armpit in East Texas. Almost immediately, my attentions were diverted elsewhere...Ainslie does a terrific job of showing that this crime could have happened to any person in any town...ANYWHERE in the world.

Although I may or may not agree with his diagnosis of Bill King, since I did not know him personally, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, if enjoyed is even an appropriate word. Coming from the mouth of a Jasper resident who has to deal with the horrid looks and comments from people who learn where she is from...that's saying a lot. This topic is quite sensitive to me, and that degree of sensitivity has not lessened in any way since July 1998. If any changes have happened, it's only gotten stronger.

I strongly suggest reading this book for a better and less bias view of Jasper and James Byrd, Jr's murder.

fascinating look.......2005-11-15

I thought the author did an outstanding job of writng about the humanity of a person who did what we call a "inhunman" crime. It is all the more chilling that these acts were not done by some sort of monster, but a person, who is to some extent a result of his environment. The best part of the book, however is the description of the community of jasper and the very real people who tried to do the right thing in the midst of lots of media hype.

Rehash.......2005-02-01

I was so looking forward to reading this book, LONG DARK ROAD,(Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004) when I purchased it. I was very disappointed after the first two chapters. The 44 pages of the second chapter read almost word for word like a rehash of what Joyce King wrote with freshness and eloquence in her book, HATE CRIME, which was first published by Random House in 2002 and then by Anchor Books in 2003. On several pages, it looks like Ainslie simply rearranged some of Joyce King's wording. So I found myself desperately looking for originality in Ainslie's text, because he never acknowledges Joyce King's all-too obvious influence on his writing. Ainslie introduces some interesting psychoanalytic theories re: King in the middle of the book, including some, but not entirely new info on family history. Missing, however, is attention to the fact that most prisoners suffer from some form of mental illness, are usually poor, often come from dysfunctional families and have fallen through the cracks of the mental health care system in this country. Clear recommendations for early mental health care intervention for juvenile delinquents would have made Ainslie's efforts here more compelling and plausible. It is not clear why Ainslie interviewed King at all without clear recommendations in place for what could have been done to prevent Bill King's violent, criminal behavior. Instead of researching the failures of a system that places mentally ill juvenile delinquents in penal institutions with violent offenders, Ainslie focusses on the point that Joyce King already made clear in HATE CRIME--that there is a need for prison reform. We already read that in HATE CRIME. Moreover, Ainslie does not offer any comparative analysis of Bill King with other poor, bi-polar, traumatized young men or women who are housed in U.S. prisons or on death row. It is not at all clear where Bill King, then, stands in the broader analysis of the type of psychological study Ainslie is engaged in. The reader learns little that is new here. Moreover, they learn nothing new about Bill King's psychological condition that can not already be easily gleaned from news reports on the case, Joyce King's HATE CRIME, or other previously published materials on the dragging of James Byrd, Jr. I found this book lacking in depth and breadth of analysis.

Dark road to a darker place.......2004-10-10

Authors and psychologists can spend lifetimes trying to know what shadows know. They prowl the obscure corners of human behavior, seeking to drag something back out to the light. But sometimes, the path only leads them deeper, darker.

Dr. Ricardo Ainslie -- both an author and a psychologist -- has been chasing shadows along Huff Creek Road in Jasper, where James Byrd Jr. was dragged to death in one of the past century's grisliest hate crimes. And each step has taken him deeper into the darkest recesses of a decayed mind.

Countless articles, books and films have documented how King and two white friends -- fellow ex-con Russell Brewer and Shawn Berry -- offered the drunken Byrd a ride in the wee hours of June 7, 1998. But they didn't take him home. Instead, they chained him by the ankles to the rear bumper of Berry's truck and literally dragged him to pieces on a hard-pan logging road. They purposely left his dismembered corpse in the front yard of a small African-American church and cemetery.

And King -- whose body was almost completely swathed in racist and Satanic tattoos, whose apartment concealed a stash of racist literature and clothing splattered by Byrd's blood, and whose distinctive cigarette lighter was found at the scene -- was the first of the three to stand trial. Widely seen as the ringleader of the butchery, he was convicted and sentenced to die. Unrepentant and his appeals all but exhausted, the 29-year-old King now awaits execution.

But those trials didn't answer a central question: What made Bill King a monster?

Partly at the request of King's father, the 55-year-old University of Texas psychology professor was drawn deep into the sometime savage, sometimes frighteningly ordinary world of a small-town killer.

"Bill King, the man, is much more human than we would care to think," Ainslie writes. "When the global media descended ... in a relentless hunt for sensational material, they constructed a perhaps comforting, but ultimately obscuring, myth about King's monstrous nature. ... The truth is that King is all too close, in kind and in temperament, to me or to you."

In King, we see a dim and distant reflection of ourselves, Ainslie suggests. Author Hannah Arendt coined the phrase "banality of evil" to portray the Nazis who perpetrated the Holocaust, and Ainslie invokes it for other acts of evil.

"To attempt to understand the motives at work in Bill King's life, to understand that there were reasons for his behavior, is not to exonerate him," Ainslie explains. "If we avoid examining King's life for fear that such an effort might appear to excuse him, then we risk missing precisely what we most need to know about this story."

One of the most unsettling elements of the 254-page "Long Dark Road" is its hypothesis that "given the right alchemy, perhaps anyone might become capable of monstrous cruelty."

"The transgressions involved may not be as momentously horrifying as the dragging death of an innocent man," Ainslie says, "but I believe that human beings, by nature and perhaps by wiring, struggle with our dark sides. This is one of the key premises of Christianity."

Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Southern History

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Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Southern History
James W. Lomax
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Thomson Gale on November 1, 2005. The length of the article is 898 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: Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas.(Book Review)
Author: James W. Lomax
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 71 Issue: 4 Page: 954(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Long Dark Road : Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas

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Long Dark Road : Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas
Ricardo C. Ainslie
Manufacturer: University of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORIBQ4

Book Description

Parson and Jack Russell Terriers are known for being energetic and hard-working companions. Discover fun activities to make the most of these spirited dogs.

Parson Russell Terrier (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series)

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Great Book

Parson Russell Terrier (Kennel Club Dog Breed Series)
Christina Pettersall
Manufacturer: Kennel Club Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1593782403

Book Description

A pocketful of energy and skill, the Parson Jack Russell Terrier was born for the hunt. While not all Jack Russells are afforded the opportunity to show off their fox-hunting acumen, the breed has happily found other ways of keeping busy! Today's Parson Russell Terriers are prized companions, show dogs, watchdogs and helpmates, adding fun, excitement and spontaneity to every family outing. This book provides the much-needed factual information about Parson Jack Russells and their history in Britain and America, breed character and standard, as well as puppy selection, feeding, training, preventative health care and behavior of the breed. The new owner will welcome advice about puppy-proofing the home, preparing for the pup's arrival, housebreaking and preventing puppy problems.

In addition to an authoritative, comprehensive text, this book presents over 135 photographs in full color, which prove to be as informative as they are attractive. Helpful hints and important information are highlighted to provide easy access to everything the reader needs to know about life with a Jack Russell from puppyhood to the senior years.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book.......2006-05-29

I think this is a great book. I am a new owner of a Parson Jack Russell, and this book has really helped. It has a lot of great information on everything from training to grooming. I highly recommend this to anyone with a Jack Russell.

The Parson and Jack Russell Terriers (Terra Nova Series)

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The Parson and Jack Russell Terriers (Terra Nova Series)
Sheila Webster Boneham
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0793836395

Book Description

Parson & Jack Russell Terriers are petite and lovable--and extremely energetic! In this book, which combines these two breeds, discover how to keep these dogs happy and healthy, while still maintaining a sane household.

The making of the Parson Jack Russell terrier

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The making of the Parson Jack Russell terrier
Jean Jackson
Manufacturer: Boydell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Veterinary Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Animal Husbandry | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0851154379

Parson Jack Russell Terriers: An Owner's Companion

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Detailed history & care

Parson Jack Russell Terriers: An Owner's Companion
Jean Jackson , and Frank Jackson
Manufacturer: Crowood Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1852233923

Customer Reviews:

Detailed history & care.......1998-07-24

Details the origin and purpose of the breed, differentiating them from the Fox Terrier and the numerous white terriers called Jack Russell Terriers. Also covers history, UK and US standard, caring for the new puppy, breeding, showing, judging and working the terrier, and health care and the law. 281 pp. / photos / UK

Parson Jack Russell Terrier (Excellence - Razas De Hoy/ Excellnece- Today's Breed)

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Parson Jack Russell Terrier (Excellence - Razas De Hoy/ Excellnece- Today's Breed)
Christina Pettersall
Manufacturer: Hispano Europea Editorial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 8425517281

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Le Jack et le Parson Russell Terrier
Leclercq
Manufacturer: Artémis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 2844161642

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PARSON JACK RUSSELL TERRIERS
JEAN & FRAN JACKSON
Manufacturer: TRAFALGAR SQUARE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KVCLL0

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The Chinese Rug Book
Mary Churchill Ripley
Manufacturer: Frederick A. Stokes Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NX60UI

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The Chinese Rug Book
Mary Churchill Ripley
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Rugs | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Chinese Rugs: A Buyer's Guide

ASIN: 1432601857

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Superb portraits, English and French, 1650-1830, English period furniture, antique rugs, enamels, silver, Chinese porcelains, and books;: The distinguished ... American Art Association, Anderson Galleries
Alfred Henry Mulliken
Manufacturer: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008B7EZU

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Beginners Guide to American Bonsai
Jerald P Stowell
Manufacturer: Kodansha International/usa Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 4770013027

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Best parenting book

Excellent advice for parents

Practical advice that you can put right to use

Over all, excellent

All parents should read this one!

Kid Cooperation: How to Stop Yelling, Nagging, and Pleading and Get Kids to Cooperate
Elizabeth Pantley
Manufacturer: New Harbinger Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Household Hints | How-to & Home Improvements | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Child Development | Babies & Toddlers | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Sears, Dr. William | Authors, A-Z | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Perfect Parenting

The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers: Gentle Ways to Stop Bedtime Battles and Improve Your Childs Sleep (Pantley)

Hidden Messages : What Our Words and Actions Are Really Telling Our Children

The No-Cry Discipline Solution: Gentle Ways to Encourage Good Behavior Without Whining, Tantrums, and Tears (Pantley)

When Anger Hurts Your Kids: A Parent's Guide

Accessories:

Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)

RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 1572240407

Customer Reviews:

Best parenting book .......2007-08-18

I dont know how to thank the author but she did a great job in this amazing book,she has mentioned almost all of the problems im facing with my 5,3 and 2 year old kids...and she knows exactly how a mother can feel and how she acts and at the same time she gives amazing ( i tried most of them) solutions..its one of the best book i have ever read and i highly recommend it to every parent.

Excellent advice for parents.......2007-05-03

This book is easy to read, in a friendly, conversational tone. I do not find Pantley patronizing or lecturing as a few other readers have suggested. I rather find that she comes across as "a good friend in the same boat". It works fine to read just a little at a time of this book if you are a busy parent with little time to spare for reading. I actually found myself reading it as slow as I could because I wanted it to last, and I would give myself a few days of reading other books between each chapter to reflect on what I'd learned before I moved on to the next part. I will most certainly refer to it again later.
I am a mother of three children and have used this with my 1st grader and my toddler/preschooler. And as the baby gets into toddlerhood I am sure that I will continue to use the advice from this book with all three.

Practical advice that you can put right to use.......2007-04-25

I have had this book for about a year, and it literally made a difference immediately. There are practical, common sense ideas that I put to use as I was reading it (like the 5, 3, and 1 minute warning before leaving). My family laughs at me for reading books for everything, but I am always looking for new solutions to make our lives easier.

I recommend this to everyone I know. Parenting is more than just common sense, and it is helpful to get sound, good advice. It is true that are usually just expected to "know" how to parent without ever having taken any classes. It's great to have a handy reference to help me along this parenting journey.

The author does a great job of explaining that discipline is about teaching and not just about trying to get the immediate result. I LOVE this book...

Over all, excellent.......2007-03-07

Clear, common sense, multiple-option resource for you and your child. Only a few things I don't agree with, such as not rewarding good grades (money). It's helped me a great deal to quit fighting with my 13 y/o and I see immediate changes in his behavior when I employ her suggestions. Much more useful than The Anger Habit in Parenting, Carl Semmelroth.

All parents should read this one!.......2006-11-26

I just got this book in the mail today & I've already finished it! It was THAT good. So many helpful tips & tricks in this book. I'm a 20 something with an 18 month old daughter, and though she is very young now I definitely feel this book will help me to become a better parent for her starting NOW going into the future - her future! The part that touched me the most was when the author writes about how just because things have always been done a certain way doesn't mean it's the right way. This books makes me want to become not only a better parent, but a better person in general. Just a great read. I'm very happy I found this book.

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One of the best books writtien about the bohemians

Real life of an artistic community

a real history book

The Bohemian spirit

Squalid But Fascinating Lives

Among the Bohemians: Experiments in Living 1900-1939
Virginia Nicholson
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Artists, Architects & Photographers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | England | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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Snapshots of Bloomsbury: The Private Lives of Virginia Woolf And Vanessa Bell

Charleston: A Bloomsbury House and Garden

All-Night Party: The Women of Bohemian Greenwich Village and Harlem, 1913-1930

Bohemian Manifesto: A Field Guide to Living on the Edge

Bloomsbury Recalled

ASIN: 0060548460
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Book Description

They ate garlic and didn't always bathe; they listened to Wagner and worshiped Diaghilev; they sent their children to coeducational schools, explored homosexuality and free love, vegetarianism and Post-impressionism. They were often drunk and broke, sometimes hungry, but they were of a rebellious spirit. Inhabiting the same England with Philistines and Puritans, this parallel minority of moral pioneers lived in a world of faulty fireplaces, bounced checks, blocked drains, whooping cough, and incontinent cats.

They were the bohemians.

Virginia Nicholson -- the granddaughter of painter Vanessa Bell and the great-niece of Virginia Woolf -- explores the subversive, eccentric, and flamboyant artistic community of the early twentieth century in this "wonderfully researched and colorful composite portrait of an enigmatic world whose members, because they lived by no rules, are difficult to characterize" ( San Francisco Chronicle).

Customer Reviews:

One of the best books writtien about the bohemians.......2006-05-25

This book tells it like it is. Its so good I bought it twice!!

Real life of an artistic community.......2005-10-25

For someone interested in the 1st. quarter of the past century's artistic and creative environment in Paris - this is a book not to be missed. In spite it's novelistic approach, it resembles the life almost every artist, painter, writer, etc. lived in those days.
I have a special interest, in the development of artistic evolution - particularly painting - of those days, and reading this book gave me an overall insight of what the 'bohemian' life was exposed to - and intelectually/socially influenced by, rather than a merely account of their somewhat called 'eccentric' lifes.
As an avid reader in the matter, I could also mention "Women of the Left Bank", "Bohemians in Paris", "Bohemians of the Latin Quarter", "Kiki's Paris: Artists and Lovers 1900-30", and books written by Gertrude Stein, to broaden the perspective of the early twentieth century's artistic generation.

a real history book.......2005-05-27

This book is a truly historical and sociologic analysis of the early 20th century movement known as Bohemianism. This movement and the individuals who comprised it are a frequently misrepresented group, and shallower attempts have been made to identify the impetus and driving force behind it and/or reproduce one's own simulacrum overnight. This book, unlike such endeavors, is clearly well-researched, thoughtful and well-articulated.

The reminder that the reader gets from this book is that if not for the artistic aspect that made these individuals remarkable and noteworthy, they would have been ordinary people who were living in or on the brink of poverty, and the reason that modern society remembers or cares is because of redemptive writing or art: something which is rather left out of the retrospective equation when we think of Bohemianism from a present-day point of view. Time, coupled with the artistic aspect, has twisted this somewhat into a romantic image. At the time, however, the "starving artists" themselves were not seeking a name for their lifestyle or trying to package their look or sensibility. They were muddling through quandries related to their work and linked to money issues: the idea of "I am an artist, therefore i despise wealth" (p.25), yet on the same page, "How I loathe poverty!" This paradox -- the clutching of the very chains that bind them -- is one of the analyses that really makes the book work. Other aspects of the lifestyle that are examined include concepts of value, aesthetics, sexuality and taste.

Perhaps the most fascinating investigation involves the evolution of the Bohemian world, which just can't be reproduced with an after-the-fact "how-to". This exploration is the genuine article: the history of an era as it evolved, versus an exaggerated mock-up after the fact (you don't have to look far to find an example of the latter).

This can all be distilled down into one quote, from Arthur Ransome: "A Man does not set out saying 'I am a Bohemian'..."; this is the fundamental difference between the thoughtful and intelligent research of this work and the comparatively parodic, pop-culture leanings of other sources on the subject. If you're looking for something of substance on the subject, here it is.

The Bohemian spirit.......2005-01-20

Among the Bohemians is a fascinating and thorough excursion through the colorful streets, homes and cafes of bohemian England during the early 20th Century. Virginia Nicholson, who is related to both the painter Vanessa Bell (often mentioned in this book) and the writer Virginia Woolf, handles the subject in a rather scholarly manner, covering a range of topics chapter by chapter. This organized approach may seem out of tune with the book's subject, but it works well here, allowing the reader to meet the same cast of characters from different vantage points. Like a naturalist studying the behavior of animals in the wild, Nicholson examines almost every conceivable aspect of bohemian life. Using memoirs from that era, we learn all about the homes, love lives, dress, eating habits, parties and child-rearing practices of these flamboyant characters.

Some writers (e.g. Herbert Gold) have successfully examined Bohemia from the inside, using a poetic and meandering voice, but Nicholson prefers the more sociological/ anthropological method. The fact that she is writing about a past era also makes a certain distance inevitable. Despite this methodical approach, Nicholson is not detached from her subject in a coldly objective way. She is clearly sympathetic and admiring of the people she describes. Indeed, she credits bohemians with creating much of the freedom we take for granted today. As she states in the introduction, Nicholson does not confine her study to famous people, though the well known (e.g. Dylan Thomas, Carrington, Robert Graves), are certainly not neglected. As an American, I had always associated Bohemia with places like Paris (which, Nicholson confirms, has always been the Bohemian capital), Greenwich Village and North Beach, but never England. This book filled in some rather large gaps in my knowledge, illustrating the very significant role played by bohemian Brits.

Nicholson has a genuine appreciation for the bohemian spirit, and acknowledges the sacrifices made by many obscure artists, poets and others existing (often marginally) at society's fringes. For some, the idealistic decision to forsake conventional society for a life dedicated to art, romance, poetry or perhaps a vaguer idea such as beauty or authenticity was never rewarded with any kind of material success. Was there any compensation for those living such marginal lives? Nicholson makes the case that for many, a life dedicated to art, romance and freedom is its own reward. For those who embody the bohemian spirit, material comforts and security are not worth the price of suppressing one's creativity and individuality. Bohemia during this era was a radical negation of the conservative Victorian values that were dominant. Similar to the Beatniks of the 1950s and the hippies of the 60s, but to an even greater extent, these early rebels in many ways charted the course for what was to become the modern world. Nicholson presents them as revolutionaries who helped to create a freer and more creative world for everyone. Many of these people lived in abject poverty, and at those days there were few resources to help those who became destitute. There were virtually no government social programs, and relatives were seldom in a position (and often unwilling) to help those who fell between the cracks. The decision to "drop out" of mainstream society had potentially far more dire consequences than for, say, the mostly middle class hippies of the 60s who operated with a safety net of affluent parents, free or very inexpensive education and a growing economy (arguably, we may now be moving back towards a harsher economic climate similar to the Victorian times, at least for those outside the mainstream).

Among the Bohemians is a very readable, informative and enjoyable look at bohemians, who are always among the most interesting and creative members of any society.

Squalid But Fascinating Lives.......2004-05-26

Virginia Nicholson's "Among the Bohemians" is an evocative account of the revolt against Victorian and Edwardian values engaged in by the artists and writers of the early 20th Century. The freedom from the constraints of convention that these bohemians fought for was won at a price - and the price was usually poverty, disease and, more often than not, a squalid and disquieting end.

Given the desperate nature of their lives, and their sometimes shocking deaths, the amazing thing is that the book is a fun read. Nicholson is an engaging prose stylist who knows how to pluck out that little detail that will interest her reader. It's not enough, for example, to point out that the artist Eric Gill engaged in incestuous relations with his daughters - he also refused to wear underwear. Dylan Thomas preferred to steal shirts from friends and acquaintances rather than launder the ones he had. The painter Augustus John leapt on just about every female in sight, and went about in his younger days like a bedraggled gypsy.

There are some omissions. I would have liked Nicholson to have included George Gissing's "The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft," simply because it includes so much of the essence of what these people thought and felt, and not to mention Quentin Crisp, the author of "The Naked Civil Servant," is a definite loss to the book.

"Among the Bohemians" is a bit too British and Bloomsbury-centric (understandable enough, given that Nicholson's grandmother was Vanessa Bell and her great-aunt Virginia Woolf), and the Americans who came over to Europe between the wars are practically ignored, but given the limits of what she's chosen to work with, it's a splendid job.

Like it or not, though, we live in the world that the rebels that Nicholson describes brought about. Our attitudes about just about everything are a lot more free-spirited and a lot less censorious than they would have been a century ago, and we owe those people who paid the price of their rebellion for the social freedoms that too many of us take for granted. That's reason enough, I think, to read this book.

Average customer rating:
AMONG THE BOHEMIANS. Experiments in Living 1900-1939.
Virginia: Nicholson
Manufacturer: Pan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000W35EBK

Average customer rating:
Among The Bohemians: Experiments In Living 1900-1939
Virginia Nicholson
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OF2YTG

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