Yersinia, Pasteurella and Francisella (Contributions to microbiology and immunology)

Amazon.com

Guy Debord was one of the founders of the situationist movement of the 1960s; his Society of the Spectacle has become an indispensable text for anyone seeking to understand the pop culture of global capitalism. But despite the fame and notoriety he accrued during the Paris street revolution of 1968, he did his best to escape the burden of celebrity, refusing all interviews, publishing very little, and spending most of his time in bars. ("I wrote much less than most people who write," he once conceded, "but I drank much more than most people who drink.") Len Bracken copes with the dearth of biographical information by focusing primarily on Debord's writings and "anti-films" and his relationship to France's political and philosophical avant-garde. Numerous photographs identify key figures for the reader and give a sense of the turmoil of the '68 riots. This is an interesting historical supplement to, but not a substitute for, reading Debord's work.

Customer Reviews:

Best Introduction to Situationism.......1999-12-24

The life of Debord is used as a springboard for discussing the ideas that motivated him. This book gives the best introduction to Situationism I have yet seen (I asked one individual, who is much more into the Sits than I, what he thought was the best English language introduction. He agreed with me that this was it). The typical reader will certainly find it far friendlier than The Society of the Spectacle, the main work of Debord himself. Debord's writing is wrapt in Hegelian jargon that was opaque even to a former Marxist I know. The book has some small deficiencies (e.g., the first several chapters have a hurried, first-draft feeling), but really, this might be the best biography I have ever read.

Slip it in.......1999-07-31

Christ, there's more to life than reifying praxis and abhorring ideology

falsifier's work.......1999-04-04

One reads in this book that Jean-Pierre Voyer is now on the extreme-right. Well, he's not... So I guess Bracken is a cretin. (And no mention is made of Voyer's criticisms of the S.I....)

"Guy Debord, revolutionary" is an indispensable resource........1998-11-19

In his autobiography, Guy Debord described himself as "an extraordinary example of what this era did not want." As the years since his 1994 suicide flow through us, accelerating, without distinction or meaning, it becomes more and more obvious that Debord and his comrades were precisely what this era needed most of all.

The "movement" Debord founded, this construction of situations, is simply the blunted lance of a broader movement of consciousness, embedded in absences.

The biography "Guy Debord, revolutionary," by Len Bracken, offers the first comprehensive description of the most unitary of unitary critiques, as it evolved in Debord's thought, and in the thought of a very few others.

The vivid historiography of Bracken's research; his partisan, passionate descriptions; and the wealth of insight and data he provides, make this biography absolutely indispensable.

In "Minima Moralia," Theodore Adorno wrote, "in psychoanalysis, nothing is true except the exaggerations." Much the same could be said of the life of Guy Debord. Now there is a resource to begin to bring perspective to an increasingly important life and body of work.

Debord bio fills niche and introduces him to wider audience.......1998-10-24

I take strong exception to the Melbourne reader's critique (well-written as it is) of Len Bracken's book. The Situationists were far and away the most seminal and influential of the radical groups fomenting the May `68 revolts in Paris, and Bracken performs an important service with his on- target intellectual biography of their leader Guy Debord, a reclusive and prickly misanthrope whose masterpiece, Society of the Spectacle, quietly influenced numerous more high-profile intellectuals like Jean Baudrillard and Malcolm McLaren. It's true that sources about Debord are scant, but the late master's widow and friends are well-known for their reluctance to go on the record. Bracken's approach is authentic and, I feel, gives a strong image of the Situationist milieu as well as of Debord through the lens of Debord's ideas. Most of the SI's critique of the banality of everyday life is just as on-target today, as are their experience of the city as a "psychogeographical" mental map. I believe Bracken (editor of the zine Extraphile), has written an important book that both fills a long-empty niche in Situationist literature and makes Debord's brilliance available to a popular audience.

Book Description

An investigation into the death of Franklin B. Gowen, who was one of the most controversial personalities in American labor history. Gowen, when president of the Reading Railroad in the 1870s, was responsible for the trial and execution of twenty Irish mine workers -- known as Molly Maguires. When he was found dead in a Washington D.C. hotel room in 1889, a gun by his side and a bullet in his head, the coroner claimed it was suicide, but the family claimed he was murdered. The author analyses the forensic evidence and the circumstantial evidence and concludes Gowen was murdered. Three modern medical examiners agree with him.

Customer Reviews:

Sheep Dip from New Joisey.......2003-08-12

Look out, Sherlock Holmes! This is a WONDERFUL book and remarkable bit of deep deep investigative journalism by a sheep dipper of long standing from the auld country. This man has it all figured out. (Way to go, Unc!) Next he will be solving the mysteries of UFOs and crop circles!! Please buy this book and support your local pub and don't ferget to watch yer back, boyo!

Book Description

TERRIERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES By Darley Matheson A VINTAGE DOG BOOKS CLASSIC REPRINT Originally published in 1922 as "Terriers", this scarce early work on British terrier breeds is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS have now republished it, using the original text and photographs, as part of their CLASSIC BREED BOOKS series. The book's two hundred and thirteen pages discuss nineteen breeds of terriers originating within the British Isles. (with the possible exception of the Boston Terrier which although bred from a British Bulldog cross, can now rightfully claim to be an American breed). The first part of the book deals with the origins, history, description and standards of each of the nineteen breeds, and includes thirty one vintage photos of typical dogs: The Fox Terrier. - The Sealyham Terrier. - The Welsh Terrier. - The Scottish Terrier. - The Cairn Terrier. - The West Highland White Terrier. - The Skye Terrier. - The Clydesdale Terrier. - The Dandie Dinmont. - The Border Terrier. - The Bedlington Terrier. - The Airedale Terrier. - The Irish Terrier(Dare-Devil). - The Kerry (Blue) Terrier. - The Bull Terrier. - The Boston Terrier. - The Black and Tan Terrier. - The English White Terrier. - The Yorkshire Terrier. Part two of the book contains chapters on Feeding. - Washing, Grooming, and Exercise. - The Stud Dog. - The Brood Bitch and Her Management. - Some Terrier Ailments and Accidents. This is a fascinating read for any Terrier enthusiast or historian of the breeds, but also contains much information that is still useful and practical today. Many of the earliest dog breed books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. VINTAGE DOG BOOKS are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Average customer rating:

Very interesting!

love this book from my childhood!

Not what I expected.

What I needed!

An reference rather than a book of diagrams

Complete Origami: An A-Z facts and folds, with step-by-step instructions for over 100 projects
Eric Kenneway
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sculpture | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Origami | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Papercrafts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books | Adult Coloring Books | General | Paper Dolls | Paper Models
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Origami Zoo: An Amazing Collection of Folded Paper Animals

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Origami The Secret Life Of Paper

ASIN: 0312008988

Book Description

A unique collection of origami facts, anecdotes, and techniques.Over 300 step-by-step diagrams, with easy-to-follow instructions on how to make professional looking objects.An essential source book for all origami enthusiasts--whatever their age or level of skill.

Customer Reviews:

Very interesting!.......2007-10-03

This book is not what I expected. Instead of a collection of origami patterns, it's more of a collection of folding trivia, history, and folding projects, everything from paper cranes to how to put a cloth diaper on a baby.

It is set up A-Z, with at least one entry for every letter of the alphabet. If you are looking strictly for a book of patterns, this is not for you. If you want to find out about the history and quirky side of origami, go for it!

love this book from my childhood!.......2006-11-10

I had this book when I was 5 or 6 and absolutely adored it. I lost it and found interest in it again when I sat for an origami class and was reminded of it. The instructions are really easy to follow and there are great models for all ages.

Not what I expected........2006-03-02

The directions in this book can be hard to follow. I don't think there are 100 great projects in this book. Maybe 10? This book is pretty disappointing.

What I needed!.......2006-01-29

I bought this book to learn some simple things to fold in a Kindergarten I used to work in, and it was an instant success! I was sat at the table for hours folding frogs and boats to the kids, and they seemed to really enjoy the creations! This is a great book for parents and pre-school teachers, and it is a great way to learn a little bit about geometry too. Some of the models are difficult to understand, but folding is about taking your time. A great way of finding a corner of peace in our rush-hour lifestyle!

An reference rather than a book of diagrams.......2005-09-09

If you're looking for nice models to fold, this is not the book you'll want. Instead, if you have some experience with folding and would like to understand the more advanced books and articles you may find on the Internet, you will appreciate the information provided by Complete Origami. As a glossary, it defines most words and concepts of Origami, and the projects complement nicely the definitions.

Complete Origami/an A-Z of Facts and Folds, With Step-By-Step Instructions for over 100 Projects

Average customer rating:

Complete Origami/an A-Z of Facts and Folds, With Step-By-Step Instructions for over 100 Projects
Eric Kenneway
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000Q7XRA2

Average customer rating:

Complete Origami/an A-Z of Facts and Folds, With Step-By-Step Instructions for over 100 Projects
Eric Kenneway
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OT5CNC

Average customer rating:

Thoughtful and insightful reading

great reminder of the garden-gardener interaction

Amazing! Taught me alot!

Very Enjoyable

Excellent and very insightful.

Growing Myself: A Spiritual Journey Through Gardening
Judith Handelsman
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds, Butterflies & Backyard Wildlife (National Wildlife Federation)

ASIN: 0452275172

Customer Reviews:

Thoughtful and insightful reading.......2006-08-09

People always said I "had a knack" for growing and nurturing sick plants back to health. I have alot of houseplants and enjoy taking care of them, watering, pruning, repotting, etc. I could never understand why other people couldn't "grow" plants (afterall, plants grow themselves!) or even didn't like plants! But when I read Judith Handelsman's book, it became very clear that this "bond" with nature/plants comes naturally to some but it IS something that can be learned. Through this book and her shared experiences, I learned about myself and how I relate to people, plants, and situations. I loved the book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to understand and/or further expand his relationship with nature.

great reminder of the garden-gardener interaction.......2004-06-16

I just ran across a used copy of this book and have heartily enjoyed it. Handelsman's experiences with the remarkable presence and intelligence of plants mirrors my own. Learning to meet plants on their own terms is truly an art and such a rewarding one. Handelsman tells her experieces very simply and honestly. Anyone who has approached plants, trees and gardens as a place to grow both their own spirit and sense of community with the natural world will recognize a kindred spirit in this writer. I particularly enjoyed her focus on interacting and learning from houseplants since that opens the experience up to both urban and rural folks who want to explore interacting with plants in a deeper rather than just decorative manner. I'm thrilled to have found a simple book with simple wisdom that opens another level of love and awareness of life.

Amazing! Taught me alot!.......1999-06-07

I thought this was going to be some sissy spiritual thing, but i could not put it down!!! I am definately ordering the whole "collection" For any gardener who cannot walk past a neglected plant in a supermarket or so-called "plant store"

Very Enjoyable.......1999-04-17

I love this book although sometimes it does veer a bit too much to the left. She's an excellent story teller and I thoroughly enjoyed reading hers.

Excellent and very insightful........1999-02-13

I loved this book. She risks it all to explain how she has come through many personal trials and tests in her life. This is not an easy topic for any person to relate, but Judith takes it one step further and finds nurturing messages in the care given to her plants and herself. Well written, not hoaky, but honest. Highly recommend it!

Growing Myself : A Spiritual Journey Through Gardening

Average customer rating:

Growing Myself : A Spiritual Journey Through Gardening
Judith Handelsman
Manufacturer: Dutton/Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RA2P5Q

Average customer rating:

Excellent Resource

Good ideas and stories but too wandering and disorganized

Read it and share it with your offspring before they go off to college!

Every parent should read this book

Important if you're a parent

Sex and Sensibility: The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex
Deborah Roffman
Manufacturer: PERSEUS PUBLISHING
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Sex | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books | General | Psychology | Sex & Religion | Sex Instruction
General | Parenting | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
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Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask): The Secrets to Surviving Your Child's Sexual Development from Birth to the Teens

Accessories:

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

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0738202932
Release Date: 2000-12-26

Amazon.com

Is there any topic more controversial than the sexual education of our children? Parents worry about telling too much or not enough, schools are restricted in what they're allowed to discuss, and kids are filled with a combination of surprising misinformation and depressing detail on disease without ever having been taught about the possible benefits and enjoyment of feeling comfortable with their bodies. Deborah Roffman, a longtime teacher of sexual education for both children and adults, has assembled a thorough book that attempts to address moral and physical issues for every age. The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex is decidedly not for those whose sex speech begins and ends with "just say no." Roffman's take on sexual education is that it is a lifelong exploration that should encompass changing cultural values and an individual's personally evolving ethics as well as the practical facts of proper health care. Put plainly in one section's title, "sexuality is about people, not body parts." Including a discussion of gender roles and history, and appropriate levels of information for everyone from toddlers to teens, Roffman attempts to cover all the bases with a mix of theory, historical perspective, personal stories from her own classrooms and kids, and practice questions and situations that parents can eventually expect from their children. Breaking down this complicated subject, she identifies five core needs that all questions fall under: affirmation, information giving, values clarification, limit setting, and anticipatory guidance. This last category relates to parents' ultimate goal of making themselves "dispensable," secure in the knowledge that their children have been raised with all the information needed to make the right decisions for themselves--decisions that will result in a sexual health that blends their emotions, minds, and bodies with ultimate success. --Jill Lightner

Book Description

A new paradigm for talking honestly about sex and sexuality with our children. How young is too young to talk with children about sex and reproduction? Are we clear as adults about the meaning of the words "sex" and "sexuality," or "gender" and "sexual orientation"? Do we know what we want our children to think and value about sexuality, and how to combat unhealthy cultural influences? With a rare directness and clarity about these profoundly important issues, nationally recognized sexuality educator Deborah Roffman challenges and teaches readers to develop a blueprint for opening the lines of communication with children of all ages. Raising sexually healthy children requires that we master what Roffman identifies as five core parenting skills: we must affirm our children's emerging sexuality; provide accurate sexual information; demonstrate the connection between values and action; set safe and healthy limits; and provide constant and effective anticipatory guidance. Powerfully instructive on how to talk in ways that will be meaningful to kids, Sex and Sensibility will help parents confidently interpret and comfortably respond to virtually any question a child might pose or any situation that arises.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource.......2007-06-12

This is an excellent resource for parents with young children or anyone considering having children. This book will help you communicate more effectively with them concerning sex, sexuality and gender issues.
It is informative, funny and easy to understand. She gives a lot of examples of what she is writing about so that you have something to go on in discussing the topic with your own child or children.

Good ideas and stories but too wandering and disorganized.......2007-02-12

I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this book. The idea is revolutionary and necessary in modern society: a generation of parents who genuinely talk to their children about sex and maintain an open and reasonable dialogue throughout their child's life.

Roffman does a good job of arguing for why we need this. What she does not do well, in my opinion, is get to the point: just how are we to instill these dialogues into our relationships with our children? After pages of being told how important it is, I was frustrated not to find how she recommends going about it. So I skipped around. However, due to the poor organization of her book, I had no idea where to skip to. I left it back at the library I got it from with only a vague idea of how she recommended I speak to my child.

Don't get me wrong: her stories are good and there a few I feel glad knowing. But she simply does not get to the point soon enough. The path of her narrative is wandering and her direction at times unclear. I simply could not sit through it long enough to give her a chance to get. to. the. point.

After some disappointment and some searching, I found a book that *does* get to the point:

-Everything you NEVER wanted your kids to know about SEX (but were afraid they'd ask)-
by Justin Richardson and Mark Schuster

While Roffman has the advantage of many first-hand discussions with parents children, Richardson and Schuster have the advantage of not only that but also enlightening statistical, psychological, and sociological research. Not to mention a much more straight-forward writing style.

I applaud Roffman's efforts on a difficult topic. But this simply is not the book to read. I wish she would organize her personal stories so I could find the ones on topics I'm interested in and assimilate them. But unfortunately, I do not have time to dig through all of them to find the ones I feel are relevant.

Read it and share it with your offspring before they go off to college!.......2006-12-28

I don't know what are the rates for teen pregnancy in the US, but I KNOW that unwanted pregnancy is a reality for young adults. Every year one or two of my college students becomes pregnant. I can only recall three times in over ten years when the student was either married or in a committed relationship. If your offspring is planning to go off and live on his/her own, read this book so you can talk about sexuality before they leave your house. The book is somewhat verbose and some sections could be shortened, but I gave it 5 stars because what Roffman has to say, and how she says it, it's very important.

Every parent should read this book.......2006-11-02

Just what parents need to know - the big picture, not just biology and warnings. Very thoughtful.

Important if you're a parent.......2002-02-28

I saw Deborah Roffman speak before I read this book. When she told us that her students (she teaches at a local private school) call her "the sex lady," I wasn't surprised. When she explained some of today's kids' (we're talking kids, not even teens) attitudes about sex, sexuality, and sexual activity, I was very surprised.

I've always considered myself enlightened and pretty progressive, but when it comes to what our kids are thinking and doing, I felt like a Puritan. According to Ms. Roffman, the roles that we as a society thrust on our kids put them under an incredible amount of pressure about themselves, their sexuality, and their values.

Average customer rating:

Eurocentrically Selective

From a Critic

What a great book; what a great artist!!!

Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence
Peter T. Nesbett , and Michelle Dubois
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Lawrence, Jacob | ( J-L ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000FA4U1A

Book Description

Over the Line: The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence includes essays by eight distinguished art historians examining the ways in which Jacob Lawrence's art speaks so powerfully to different audiences. It is the first multi-author, in-depth probe of the artist's entire career: the nature of his work, his education, the critical climate in which he worked, and his use of materials and techniques. It reproduces, in full color, more than 200 works, most of which have not been published in color, or at all, in other books on the artist. An extensive chronology, collating events in his life with his public reception--including selected exhibitions, publications, honors, and awards--is illustrated with family photographs.

Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) spent his childhood in New York City, attending classes at the Harlem Community Art Center and the American Artists School, and later working for the Federal Art Project. While still in his twenties Lawrence exhibited his paintings at major museums across the country, including the Phillips Collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he became the first African American artist represented in the permanent collection. He lived, painted, and taught in New York City until 1971, when he moved to Seattle to join the faculty of the University of Washington. He was the recipient of numerous awards including the National Medal of Arts.

The paperback edition of Over the Line is published in conjunction with a major exhibition opening at the Phillips Collection, Washington, DC, on May 26, 2001, and traveling to the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Customer Reviews:

Eurocentrically Selective.......2007-06-17

True, this is a large collection of Lawrence's work, however it is very incomplete. In the beginning of Lawrence's career, only 21 years old, he produced the Toussaint L'Ouverture Series. A 41 panel series dedicated to the struggle of enslaved Africans and their victory, which was never more blatantly successful than that of Haiti under the slave-born revolutionary known as Toussaint L'Ouverture. In 1938, when this series was completed it was so monumental for the Pan-African American experience, yet this book refuses to acknowledge it.

First, there is only one print, and one that is subtle and not graphic (such as black soldiers defeating whites which was a major theme of the series). It is an insult to the origin of Lawrence's genius and his legacy, especially in regards to pre-Civil Rights African America:which was his community, not the pseudo-intermingled America of today that is now trying to claim him as an "American" artist, taking away his true existence as an African American artist, not American, especially during an era when his people were so restricted from full citizenship.

Only purchase this book if you want a false story, one that ignores and criticizes (the author had the audacity to ridicule Lawrence for the Toussaint Series because the author claims Lawrence was not knowledgable about the Haitian revolution). Though I think Lawrence was aware, it is irrelevant. As a black man descended from slaves, the revolution was within him, he did not have to read about it. He felt it. The Haitian revolution belongs not to just Haiti, it is a symbol of the enslaved African's struggle against white oppression and the ability to be victorious at it. Even if that is all he knew, it is enough. He did not have to read about a struggle for equality, it was his very existence.

From a Critic.......2005-07-15

"Lawrence (1917-2000) grew up in Harlem, then worked and studied in many parts of the country and in New York until 1971, when he joined the faculty of the U. of Washington in Seattle. Editors Nesbett and DuBois, both of the Jacob Lawrence Catalogue Raisonn <'e> [sic] Project, bring together eight in-depth essays by distinguished art historians who explore and interpret Lawrence's work and life[,] his brilliant art and his identity as an African American artist. Also included is an essay on the binding media and pigments found in Lawrence's paintings and a chronology of his life and reception. This edition was published in conjunction with a major retrospective organized by The Phillips Collection, Washington D.C. in 2001 (and scheduled to travel to several venues through 2003); a previous edition was published in 2000 (minus 50 pages of information about the exhibition) as part of a two-volume set titled [?]. The essays are illustrated with about 140 color reproductions, and the catalogue section features small reproductions of works in the exhibition."--Booknews

What a great book; what a great artist!!!.......2001-07-20

Jacob Lawrence, who died a year ago at age 82, was one of the great American artists of the 20th century -- or any century for that matter. I had the privilege recently of viewing "The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence" at the Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, and was extremely impressed. If you can't make it to the Phillips Collection, this book is the next best thing, with more than 200 full color reproductions of Lawrence's work.

And what a powerful body of work it is, mainly -- but not only -- on the African-American experience. Themes include: slavery; escape via the Underground Railroad; heros and heroines like Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman (plus Haitian revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture); black migration to the North; continued persecution (lynchings, Jim Crow) well into the 20th century; the Harlem Renaissance; and more. Lawrence's style is simple (but NOT simplistic!), urgent, and direct, using inexpensive materials (cheap store-bought poster paints on hardboard -- whatever Lawrence could afford), which give new meaning to the expression, "less is more!" You get the feeling in looking at these paintings that Lawrence HAD to paint, to bear witness, and to let the world know the situation of his people.

"Over the Line" is a valuable book for many reasons. For one thing, my understanding is that these paintings, sketches, etc. have never before been published in color, or at all, in any other books on Lawrence. "Over the Line" also give you information on Lawrence's life, which was very interesting in its own right. Finally, these painting are simply a joy to look at, over and over, which this book will allow you to do. I strongly recommend that you get a hold of it!

Average customer rating:
Over the Line : The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence
Jacob] Nesbett, Peter T. (editor); DuBois, Michelle (editor) [Lawrence
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Lawrence, Jacob | ( J-L ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000KW0FYE

Average customer rating:
The Complete Jacob Lawrence - Over the Line (The Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence) and Jacob Lawrence (Paintings, Drawings, and Murals).
Peter T. and Michelle DuBois. Nesbitt
Manufacturer: University of Washington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Lawrence, Jacob | ( J-L ) | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000UWW36C

Amazon.com

Richard Sheridan is primarily remembered for three brilliant plays: The Rivals, The School for Scandal, and The Critic. With these elegant comedies of manners, he almost single-handedly revived the comic spirit of the Restoration, deemed too coarse by the more refined society of the latter 18th century. In Sheridan's work, the clichés of traditional melodrama are turned on their heads (The Rivals, for example, features a man who forces his son to marry the woman he himself is in love with), and romantic intrigues become a forum for discussing political issues and the nature of theater itself. Sheridan's major plays were all written by the time he was 28. While melodramas, adaptations, and pantomimes followed, his career as a playwright was just a prelude to a long involvement in other fields, most notably managing London's Drury Lane theater and a political career that eventually led to a seat in the House of Commons. Little has been written about his later political and business life.

There are romantic intrigues, political battles, and dodges from the debt collectors aplenty in Sheridan's later life, though they seem but a lengthy epilogue to the wit and creativity of his early years. O'Toole is wonderfully lucid, however, in explaining the struggles for Irish autonomy in this period (Sheridan would all his life, to the detriment of his social standing, identify himself as Irish), and he offers an in-depth analysis of the elaborate political and social arena of the time. Particularly well drawn are Sheridan's complex romantic relationships with his wives, involving infidelities and duels. But when compared to the brilliance of his early plays, the historical details of his later life seem somewhat lackluster. --John Longenbaugh

Book Description

The great Irish-English playwright--his politics, his impassioned life.

A tale of stunning literary success, political celebrity and intrigue, early death, murder, treason, and revolution, this extraordinary book takes as its subject one of the most exciting and enigmatic figures in Irish and English history.

Dramatist, politician, entrepreneur, philanderer, duelist, and revolutionary (or traitor), Richard Brinsley Sheridan was a man of many contradictions: a Protestant gentleman who cared about the rights of the Irish Catholic peasantry; a creative writer who was best known as a politician; a believer in sincerity yet a role-playing chameleon; a radical who masterminded the crisis following the madness of King George; a member of Parliament who associated with insurrectionists against the Crown.

His unusual and still-relevant life has been captured superbly by the masterful young scholar Fintan O'Toole, in an innovative work that opens up a radical new perspective on a great writer. O'Toole shows that Sheridan must be understood as an Irish writer and dissident, a complicated man who walked a thin line between success in London and extreme danger as a supporter of democratic reform and Irish independence.

Customer Reviews:

A wit, poet and a gentleman........2004-09-16

This is a wonderful biography of a fascinating and engaging personality. Sheridan is a fine poet and an honorable politician (a nearly impossible achievement in the eighteenth-century as it is today), a genuine wit, he was also one of the greatest playwrights in the London theater of his day.

Sheridan was a man of fashion and society, but not a fop. He wrote clever, romantic comedies, liked to live on the edge and yet always held fast to his principles -- supporting the American colonists, for instance, in their struggle for independence -- while refusing to be bought at any price.

He lived in grand style from the first moment that he arrived in London (despite having nothing but his wife's dowry), spending all of the money that he made as quickly as he earned it -- sometimes MORE quickly than he earned it. He was passionate about few women but appreciative of the beauty of many, and he was a devoted and caring father. (His poem "If a Daughter You Have" is a small gem.)

When he came home one night to find his theater burning as a result of a fire (probably set by his enemies in parliament), he calmly sat and sipped some wine, explaining to shocked witnesses: "Surely a man can have a glass of wine by his own fire."

Toward the end of his life, although he was burdened by crippling debts, he refused an offer of a large sum of money in compensation for his support offered by the American colonists. He explained that his support had been a matter of principle.

Read this biography and anything by Sheridan himself.

What an excellent book!.......2002-07-24

It's enough to say that a major artist has met with a superb biographer and this happy marriage has produced a very moving and absorbing account of this great man's life. Thank you Mr O' Toole!

a terrific book.......1999-04-25

I was familiar with Sheridan from his theatrical comedies, plays that have become standard in the repertoire. I was dimly aware of his service in Parliament. I wasn't aware of his extensive involvement in the great political questions of the day, particularly the Irish questions, nor of his centrality in the great debates of the late 18th century--the American war for independence, the expanding power of the East India Company, and many others.

The book covers all of this, but what elevates this bio from the typical is the author's focus on Sheridan's rhetoric--his use of language. The richness of wordplay, situation, and satire in his plays turns out to be just a special case of a characteristic lifestyle of thought and interaction. It's just splendid to read this sort of thing from an intelligent writer. The book gets you thinking, and there are points at which you may challenge the author's conclusions, but you're not going to find many biographies of this depth, thoroughness, and thoughtfulness. A great read!

a really good biography that could have been much better.......1999-03-17

Sheridan (1751-1816) is best known for a few plays, superficially comedies of manners and morals, mainly The Rivals and The School for Scandal. O'Toole's work explores beneath the surface of these and other literary works, showing them as the products of Sheridan's personal and political life.

Widely praised in the English and American press, this biography portrays Sheridan as a passionate (and compassionate) politician. He was a major player in a struggle for various complicated and sometimes seemingly contradictory causes and parliamentary power in the era of the American Revolution, King George III's intermittent madness, the French Revolution, and troubles in the British empire.

Sheridan is shown to be a humanitarian, and, less convincingly, an Irish patriot in the guise of an English politician who happened to be Irish by birth at a time when Ireland was at times openly rebellious toward England. The family heritage in Ireland was actually Protestant, but tolerant of Catholicism to the point of having Jacobite tendencies, i.e. favoring the return of the Stuart monarchy that had ended with James II in the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688. Sheridan's father, Thomas, was a man of the theatre, and also a scholar, concerned particularly with propriety in matters of language and spoken discourse. Richard was not his father's favorite and his mother, herself a writer, died while Richard was still a young boy.

O'Toole's biography manages to relate the playwright's works to his family circumstances without indulging in psychological speculation. For example, the memorable character Mrs. Malaprop, in The Rivals, (immortalized by our word "malaprop" or "malapropism") is shown to be in part based on Thomas, who had pedantic tendencies. (Malaprops are best when they come from pretenders to perfection in language. An especially good one appeared a few years ago in The Smithsonian magazine when James J. Kilpatrick, a conservative political commentator and sometimes word policeman, referred to a mistake in diction as a "solipsism" instead of a "solecism".)

The many portrayals of hypocrisy and venality in Sheridan's plays are well explained by reference to the politics and society of the period, but are timeless in their effectiveness. The book is most interesting in describing the realities of theatrical performances, whether the particulars are staging details, audience characteristics, or financial exigencies. But this is a political biography of a character whose political accomplishments and enlightened ideals outshine his well known literary works.

Many of Sheridan's Irish contacts and English partisans in the intrigues within England in the years after 1789 were openly sympathetic to, or even allied with the French revolutionaries. Yet Sheridan was during this time a prominent member of the House of Commons and close to the Prince of Wales, later George IV. Some of his personal and political friends were tried as traitors during the peak of Sheridan's political prominence; he survived primarily because of his political acumen, eloquence, and insight.

To the general reader, not well acquainted with the intricacies of English history, the work will nevertheless be interesting and convincing in portraying Sheridan as a politically adroit and ingenious man, even an Enlightenment figure. Sheridan's speeches and writings were well known to the American revolutionaries, and remained popular even after his death. He eloquently advocated religious toleration, freedom from colonial oppression, even feminism, and opposed slavery so effectively as to influence the young Frederick Douglass.

Sheridan's personal flaws (he was a drunk and an adulterer), theatre life in London, political intrigues, the struggle for religious and political freedom in Ireland, and the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings for mismanagement of affairs in British colonial India, all well explained, make this book accessible and interesting. I offer three points of criticism.

First, and most importantly, characters, terms, or events not known to the general reader or history reader, should be explained briefly. The English reader may know what a "rotten" borough was, and what a "pocket" borough was, in the days before parliamentary reform, but a sentence or two would explain this and give the reader a better understanding of the electoral politics involved.

Second, an attempt at a definitive biography, published by a prestigious house such as Farar, should include illustrations. It is frustrating to read descriptions of presumably extant political cartoons of the day, some involving Sheridan's Drury Lane theatre, or major political figures, and not be able to see reproductions-surely the private collection or library would give permission. (In fact, the New York Review of Books included one cartoon in its review of this book.)

Finally, O'Toole's prose is afflicted with some of the unfortunate mannerisms of academic style. He repeatedly uses the awkward, almost always disruptive "former...latter" construction, and equally often uses the term "context" when referring to real relationships or circumstances-the term should be reserved for relationships between words. These usages may be epidemic in doctoral dissertations or in the "scholarly" journals no one reads, but that does not excuse their appearance in a work like this-the author is the drama critic of the New York Daily News. In the age of word processing, surely an editor at Farar should have caught these irritating errors of style, possibly in preparation of the American edition. Then again, a careful editor might have noticed that at the end of the "Preface to the American Edition" the date is incorrectly listed as May 1988.

If this clever and talented author had made his entertaining book more accessible, he would be open to the charge of "popularizing", anathema in academic and some literary circles. But it is a measure of his success in eliciting the nature of Sheridan that one wishes he had done so. After all, the political and religious difficulties in Ireland persist, and one could as well look beyond the Emerald Isle and argue that we too live in an age of comparably flawed, but ultimately noble political actors and causes, in need of better understanding of their human qualities.

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A Traitor's Kiss: The Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 1751-1816
Fintan; Farrar Straus & Girouxt Otoole
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OXCK6U

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