100 Roadside Flowers of Southwest Uplands in Natural Color

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100 Roadside Flowers of Southwest Uplands in Natural Color

Manufacturer: Southe West monuments Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000G65ZL2

Product Description

Pictures of and descriptions of Roadside Wildflowers in Southwest Uplands!

Roadside Flowers of Texas ( No Natural Feature of Texans exerts such unfailing Charm as Profusion of Wildflowers which every spring transform state into Fairyland of Color ) with Note on Paintings, Beautiful & Accurate paintings of 257 of the lovelies

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Roadside Flowers of Texas ( No Natural Feature of Texans exerts such unfailing Charm as Profusion of Wildflowers which every spring transform state into Fairyland of Color ) with Note on Paintings, Beautiful & Accurate paintings of 257 of the lovelies
Howard S., Color Illustrated Paintings by Mary Motz Wills, blank endpapers former owner name Pencil, Beautiful color Frontispiece yellow Flutter-Mill Flower text by Irwin
Manufacturer: Austin,Texas: University Of Texas Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JCY1IG

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Texas Flowers in Natural Color

Manufacturer: Texas Book Store
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GKMK2U

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Texas Flowers In Natural Colors
Eula Whitehouse
Manufacturer: Eula Whitehouse, Dallas, TX
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O6KA1E

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Texas flowers in natural colors
Eula Whitehouse
Manufacturer: Published By the Author
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Texas flowers in natural colors;: Including many common plants of the Southwest,

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Texas flowers in natural colors;: Including many common plants of the Southwest,
Eula Whitehouse
Manufacturer: Priv. pub., distributed by Texas book store
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Book Description

Elizabeth Speller's superb illustrated guide to the Eternal City offers surprises and delights for both the first-time visitor as well as the seasoned traveler.

As well as all the glories of Rome, this handsomely illustrated guide explores neighborhood markets, tiny parks, convents, traditional Jewish restaurants, the treasures of fading palazzi, and of museums to be visited at night. It leads you down narrow cobbled streets as charming as in any small provincial town. It tells you where to row a boat, visit waxworks, see a talking statue, or buy a handbag. It will lead you to the most beautiful views, the most spectacular mosaics—and the very finest coffee. Use this guide, arranged around ten walks, to explore beyond the familiar tourist sites to discover the living city and the layers of its glorious past.

Elizabeth Speller read Archaeology and Classics at Cambridge; her previous book was Athens: A New Guide.

Book Description

On October 2, 1919, Woodrow Wilson suffered a major stroke which paralyzed his left side and robbed him of speech. His wife, Edith, was a strong-minded woman who chose for much of the president's remaining 15 months in office to make governmental decisions and help the president sign documents based on what she thought he would have done. Many of the 44 women in this book served as First Lady (though few had the sway of Mrs. Wilson); others did not live to see their husbands inaugurated, or were divorced before that occasion. But each in her own way helped shape and support the career of a United States president, and in doing so contributed something of herself to the nation's history.

Amazon.com

Robin Hemley, author of the illuminating nonfiction book "Turning Life into Fiction," relates the poignant story of his brilliant but schizophrenic sister, Nola, who died at age 25. But it is more than just her story; this is a tender examination of a talented life lost too soon, and of a family that loved each other desperately, despite the pain that Nola's illness cost them all.

Hemley takes the memoir form further than mere recollection of familial events, and delves into the arena of imagination and what if. His mission to tell Nola's story is complicated by the fickleness of family members' memories, the mystic nature of much of Nola's work, and his own admission that he covets her strange and wonderful story himself. The result is a surprising and honest process of both writing and discovery--finding the "facts" and revealing the truths about the way we remember and what we try to forget. This is not a book to rush through, but one to savor and think about for a good long time. --Susan Swartwout

Book Description

The evidence at hand: an autobiography-- complete with their mother's edits-- written by his brilliant and disturbingly religious sister; a story featuring actual childhood events, but published as fiction; perjured court documents hidden in a drawer for decades. These are the clues Robin Hemley gathers when he sets out to reconstruct the life of his sister Nola, who died at the age of twenty-five after several years of treatment for schizophrenia. But Hemley, hampered by a "larcenous heart" that covets his sister's story for himself, discovers that finding the truth in any life-- even one's own-- is a fragmented and complex task.

Nola: A Memoir of Faith, Art, and Madness is much more than a remembrance of a young woman who was consumed her entire life by a passion for God. It is also a look at what people choose to reveal and conceal, and an examination of the enormous toll mental illness takes on a family. Finally, it is a revelation of the alchemy that creates a writer: confidence in the unknowable, distrust of the proven, tortuous devotion to the fine print in life, and the sacrifice to writing itself as it plays the roles of confessor, scourge, and creator.

Customer Reviews:

From one crazy to another: This book is wonderful!.......2005-01-24

I have so often experienced some of the feelings, thoughts, and ideas that Nola and her brother Robin Hemley share in this touching book. Robin shows us sides of her that are at turns comical, beautiful, and eventaully tragic. She was a beautiful person who died young, but should not be forgotten. Her memory will live on in this powerful and penetrating biography.

truly excellent.......2003-03-04

I'm the author of "Fevers of the Mind", a memoir about bipolar disorder. "Nola" is truly an excellent account of the author's sister's struggle with schizophrenia. Nola, the woman, is a complex, almost mystical person who is both extremely talented and unique. The reader is also offered an intimate description of Nola's family and their complex interactions. The writing is first rate- highly detailed, fluid, and pleasing to read. Overall, an excellent book. Probably would be enjoyed by anyone who likes quality nonfiction.

Part I, Robin Hemley Interview.......2001-11-27

I interviewed Robin Hemley five years ago for a start-up literary magazine. Unfortunately, financial woes prevented the magazine from ever actually starting up. It's too bad the interview was never published b/c his thoughtful responses offer tremendous advice and insights for aspiring writers.

Be sure to check out Nola -- it's an excellent read.

Here's Part I of the interview:

Q: What have you found to be some common weaknesses in the work of young, aspiring writers?

Hemley: All of the weaknesses Iým about to mention are syndromes I suffered from (and sometimes still do), so I have plenty of first-hand knowledge. When I first started writing, I wanted to dress like a writer and hang-out at coffee shops, and make profound statements, but I didnýt care for writing that much. I also tended to wait for inspiration to strike. Now I think that inspiration is much over-rated. Iýd prefer to work through the natural frustrations of writing and work towards inspiration rather than waiting for it to knock me over ý a rare occurrence. Young writers also tend to be wary of revision, in my experience, but the more I write, the more I value revision. I like to quote Audenýs adage about poetry ý ýA poem is never finished, merely abandoned.ý And of course, sometimes writers want to write but not read. And I think thatýs a mistake. No one writes in a vacuum. The techniques of other writers can sometimes be our best teachers. Along those same lines, sometimes writers (young and old) want to publish their work in literary magazines, but donýt want to read them. And it think thatýs a mistake, both professionally and culturally. We have a lot of wonderful literary magazines in this country with very low subscription bases.

Q: Conversely, what are some of the strengths shared in the work of todayýs young writers?

Hemley: Iýve been noticing a kind of open-mindedness in young writers in terms of form and content that I didnýt notice when I was in grad school fifteen years ago. What was valued when I was in grad school was a kind of hyper-realism, brand name fiction people called it, or K-mart fiction. This seemed to be the province of North American writers, and while Magical Realism was valued, that was something that South American writers wrote. I think those false boundaries have been eroded, and that many young writers are exploring the magical and mysterious. I think weýve always had North American writers whoýve written as magically as any South American writer, but I think that in our writing classes at least, a certain kind of bland and bloodless psychologically real story was held up as a kind of model ý we were taught to be almost ironically detached from our characters. Bobbie Ann Mason comes to mind as the model for this kind of writing, as opposed to someone like Toni Morrison. This might all be in my imagination, but I think thereýs a tendency in the better young writers now to acknowledge mystery in fiction.

Thereýs also been this boom in short short stories over the last ten years. Robert Shapard and James Thomasý collections of short shorts (Sudden Fiction, Sudden Fiction Continued, and Sudden Fiction International) have sort of blazed a trail, as well as the late Jerome Sternýs ýWorldýs Best Short Short Story Contest.ý This form sometimes lends itself to absurdity and whimsy, and the young writers Iýve taught have done some of their best work in this form. It teaches them a lot about revision, and the importance of finding the right words. And it allows them to experiment. If a short short doesnýt work, that seems less of a tragedy than a novel not working.

Q: What advice, then, would you give to a group of twentysomethings who all yearned to be successful writers of fiction and poetry?

Hemley: I think my advice is more or less embedded in my previous answers. I feel a little sheepish giving advice, but I can add that the writing life is generally a bit of a struggle. Itýs important to try not to give in to self-doubts, which are natural. Even the most successful writers suffer from numbing self-doubt, and one must work past that. On the other hand, one must constantly see oneself as a student, a kind of supplicant to the form, rather than its master. For me at least, Iým learning to write all over again with each new project I undertake. I also try not to give in to petty jealousies or career frustrations ý someone elseýs success does not undermine your own.

Q: If you had to write a biography, whom would you choose to write about?

Hemley: Actually, in a sense Iýve just completed a biography of my sister Nola, who was 11 years older than me and who died in 1973 of a prescription drug overdose. She was a spiritually-obsessed person, and in my book I tried to rediscover who she was, with the help, in part, of an autobiography she wrote during the last year of her life.

But, if by biography, you mean someone famous, I love reading biographies, but I donýt think Iýd be the right person to write a biography. One of my favorite biographies is Ernst Pawellýs biography of Kafka, The Nightmare of Reason. But if I had to write a biography, I suppose Iýd choose either More of The 3 Stooges or Houdini (both of whom Iým related to, though Moe only through the marriage of a cousin). But Houdini has had plenty written about him already . . . so I guess Iýd have to settle for Moe.

Q: Other than the books youýve read, who or what have been some of the significant influences on your own writing?

Hemley: My parents were both writers, and they influenced me a great deal. My mother was always having me dictate little poems to her, and I was constantly making little books to sell to my relatives.

Part II, Interview with Robin Hemley.......2001-11-20

This is a continuation of my interview with Robin Hemley.

Q: Among the famous authors of the past few centuries, whom do you consider to be the most boring to read?

Hemley: For me, the hands-down winner is the French author Robbe-Grillet who could write a three-page description of a slice of tomato.

And many literary theorists are quite adept at boring readers in the name of edification. But the list of those would be far too long.

And even the most celebrated authors have written wonderful works as well as boring works. What we find boring changes over time. Shakespeare's epic poem, "Lucretia" comes to mind. In his own day, this was a famous work of his - I had to read it in college, and though I adore many of his plays, this poem was incredibly dry to me.

Q: If you were asked to compile a three-book required reading list for the college students of America, which three books would you select?

Hemley: Ack! I'd probably start with that biography you're forcing me to write.

For me, that's one of those impossible questions. How could one possibly choose? Three books would be much too narrow for me. For that reason, I'd probably choose The Tao of Lao-Tze, The Illiad, and maybe the Old Testament. I'd want them taught in the original language, so the students would have to learn Chinese, Greek, and Aramaic. I might remove one of the latter two in favor of The Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, which I used to read as a kid. It has an introduction by Robert Graves and is pretty comprehensive, thought the version I have does not include Judaeo-Christian mythology, and should before I'd want to use it. I know the term "mythology" is out of vogue, but I'd use it as long as all belief systems fell under that category. That might be a substantial education: culturally, historically, spiritually, and in terms of language.

Q: What is the function of your work? Entertainment? Social message? Something else altogether?

Hemley: I'd like my work to be both entertaining as well as working towards discoveries. I'm not a writer who has a message in mind when he writes. Personally, I'm after discoveries, not messages. The highest kind of discoveries, and the most elusive, are spiritual discoveries. And to me, this is what many literatures have their roots in, the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece, or the ontological tales that most cultures share.

Q: What is your greatest work?

Hemley: We end with a trick question. I'd love to have a greatest work, but right now I only have a "goodest work." And right now, my goodest work is, of course, the last book I wrote, which is something I think most writers want to believe. The last work they completed is the best, and the next one will be even better.

a brilliant and enlightening journey into family.......1998-11-25

This is simply the best non-fiction piece I have read in many years! In all seriousness, Nola compares with the "classic" non-fiction such as Capote's "Du Sang Froid" and Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Hemley presents his reader with a cacphony of stories and evidence about the life and death of an American icon - the family.

Book Description

This book was written to help humans understand how important it is to bring lonely and homeless pets into their homes. Walk through any animal shelter and look at those dogs who are pleading for you to choose them. They are aware that they are not going to live if they are not helped.

This little story is about one dog that looked as if he had just given up, but a woman walked by his cage. He didn't jump up and beg to be taken home, like all the others were doing. With very sad brown eyes peering at the woman, he just lay there with a hopeless look. Probably many people had stopped and looked before, but he was big, and so skinny he almost didn't look well. Chances are no one wanted him. He also looked like a breed that some people fear...The German Shepherd Dog!

He was in luck. The woman wanted him. She thought to herself that if he were sick, who better to take care of him. She had taken care of sick German Shepherds for the past 14 years. So she paid the fee, signed the adoption papers, and made all the arrangements to pick him up the next day after he had been neutered.

As she was leaving, the man who was handling the dog thanked her and told her that the dog was going to be euthanized that night. She burst into tears. Her last beautiful German Shepherd Dog had died only six weeks before.

And so Jacob's story began. He wasn't sick, just a con artist. He wants everyone to know how to communicate with, love and care for, and laugh with a furry stranger.

Those things will bring more than happiness...and not to just the dog!

Book Description

The fifth Foxfire volume includes rain-making, blacksmithing, bear hunting, flintlock rifles, and more.

Customer Reviews:

ANOTHER ONE TO ADD TO YOUR FOXFIRE COLLECTION.......2007-04-22

As one reviewer has pointed out, there are more words in this one, and less pictures than previous works. This work, Volume V, is like the others. A wonderful history of how it was. In this day and age of having most needs meet and something for everyone on the Wal-mart shelf, we tend to forget just what it was like in our not too distant past. These books, the Foxfire books, brings to light skills, attitudes and a way of life that is all but forgotten. This is a good thing. When a people lose their history, they lose part of their soul. As the title of this work states, from blacksmithing to rain making,this work addresses many of the old forgotten skills and there is so much more. The editors have done a wonderful job. They have made a very honest effort to replicate the dialect of those places and times and I feel that this is a big part of the charm of these books. I am old enough to have known many of the kinds of folks featured in these books, being only one generation past them, and have a great appreciation for what and how they did all the little things we take so for granted now. I might also suggest that you actually try some of the things mentioned in these volumes. It will give you even more of an appreciation for what they did, and hey, who knows, the skill you develope just might come in handy one of these days! Recommend this and the other Foxfire books highly.

Foxfire 5 is excellent........2006-03-07

The information contained within Foxfire 5 has come in handy for Duane many a times for learning how to do stuff. Most of the old methods are now lost to the current generation of Americans. It is a good reference for someone who wants to learn hands-on skills, such as blacksmithing and other independent living skills.

Some information useful to black powder gunsmiths.......2004-10-03

There are some good pictures of gun smiths in this book, performing various techniques. Also a pretty good history of gun smiths, if that sort of thing interests you. The guns they show are flint lock.

The black smithing, horse shoeing and iron making are pretty slim. How to make a horse shoe, cow bell, and stove poker are about it. They discuss how they rebuilt the iron furnace, but not how to use it.

I would recommend this book only to black powder gunsmiths, or those interested in rifle history.

Another "MUST HAVE" for your bookshelf.......2002-04-10

If you enjoy the Appalachian culture, you'll love the FOXFIRE books. Volume No. 5 covers bear hunting, blacksmithing and gun making. If you've never read these books, it may be difficult, since the text is written in the vernacular of the mountain folk, but this adds to the charm and "character" of the books. The bear hunting stories wer entertaining, but I really enjoyed reading about Hacker Martin and Hershall House. If you want to know how life really was in the Smokey Mountains, read this book.

As always, a pleasure to read and apply.......2001-05-21

One of our nation's treasures is being lost one person at a time, and because of Eliot Wigginton, at least some of the treasure is being documented. The people of Appalachia have been marginalized and treated as backwoods hicks and hillbillies, only because of their poverty. That is what makes the richness of their culture all the more amazing. These people live on what an average family throws away every day. They're frugal, resourceful, and highly intelligent. This book only serves to prove it.

If you haven't spent time with hill people, your live is incomplete.

Average customer rating:
Foxfire (4, 5, 6; 3 Book Set; 1970, 1977, 1980)

Manufacturer: Anchor Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000M7KE84

Average customer rating:
Foxfire 4: Foxfire 5: Foxfire 6
Eliot (ed.) Wigginton
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P1GO86

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Foxfire 5: Ironmaking, Blacksmithing, Flintlock Rifles, Bear Hunting, and Other Affairs of Plain Living
Eliot [ed.] Wigginton
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000UVDE7K

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Foxfire 4, 5, 6 (3-Book Set) (Foxfire, 4, 5, 6)
Anchor Books
Manufacturer: Anchor Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KVOB40

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Foxfire 4, Foxfire 5, Foxfire 6

Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 038517215X

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Foxfire 4: Foxfire 5: Foxfire 6 (3 Book Boxset; 1970, 1977, 1980)
Eliot Wigginton
Manufacturer: Anchor Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WAC3OY

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Foxfire Set 1 - 7 (The Foxfire Book, Foxfire 2, Foxfire 3, Foxfire 4, Foxfire 5, Foxfire 6, and Foxfire 7)

Manufacturer: Anchor Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WUVYGW

Book Description

A fully illustrated, practical guide for the millions of dry-climate professional and amateur gardeners who crave beautiful, low-maintenance gardens using native plants. The ultimate book for the southwest and southern California: both an innovative guide to design and a comprehensive resource to indigenous plants. Full-color photographs.

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Native Gardens For Dry Climates
Wasowski Sally & Andy
Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UIM9XI

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Native Gardens for Dry Climate
Sally Wasowski
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0517176874
Release Date: 1997-08-19

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Native Gardens for Dry Climates
Sally Wasowski
Manufacturer: Crown Publishing Group, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PS07CS

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At last!

Accessible Piaget

Clever use of comics and stories for illustration

Wonderful book!

A Piaget Primer: How a Child Thinks; Revised Edition
Dorothy G. Singer , and Tracey A. Revenson
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Development | Child Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Developmental Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Theories of Childhood: An Introduction to Dewey, Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky

Psychology Of The Child

The Child's Conception of the World: A 20th-Century Classic of Child Psychology

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Mind in Society: Development of Higher Psychological Processes

Accessories:

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

ASIN: 0452275652

Customer Reviews:

At last! .......2006-09-29

At last, Piaget's concepts are presented in an enjoyable, memorable manner. For decades, teachers have drilled themselves on mastering the concepts of this famous psychologist as they diligently sought to help children make the most of their capacities to learn. This author explains many of Jean Piaget's ideas by using examples from children's literature. It's even illustrated with cartoons. Writers for children have used this book to help them connect their writing to memories of how they thought as children.

Accessible Piaget.......2005-04-25

This is a very nice book that uses children's literature, popular comics, and very good writing to demystify Piaget for beginners. I tried to read parts of Piaget's How a Child Thinks and had to put it down. The authors recognize the difficulty in reading Piaget's original works and have written this book for non psychology students. This was a very useful book for a research paper on Piaget for a special education graduate course.

Clever use of comics and stories for illustration.......2005-02-05

Piaget is the most influential figure in child psychology ever known. However, it can be rather daunting to plough through his monumental works. So we have books like A Piaget Primer that come to our rescue-books that help to explain the concepts in simpler, more reader-friendly terms. Of course, we cannot expect such books to do justice to the scope and breadth of the original works, but for a thin volume like A Piaget Primer, it has done reasonably well to introduce the most essential concepts of Piaget's theory on child development. Among the essential ideas are assimilation and accommodation, various stages of development, play, language development, number concept, and moral development. There is also a last chapter on the implications and applications of Piagetian theory in the education of our young. What I find most impressive about this volume is its witty use of comics such as Peanut and stories such as Alice in the Wonderland to illustrate many of the confusing concepts. Wish I had this book when I was doing my psychology course.

Wonderful book!.......2000-03-28

The author provides very clear explanations of Piaget's theory of thought and play. Complete with comic strips about children, this book is a must for new teachers who are learning about Piaget and also for parents who do not know how children think and learn thru' play. You won't want to put the book down after picking it up, because the contents are so simple yet interesting.

Amazon.com

What confidence and ambition it requires to approach a biography of Diego Rivera, the larger-than-life Mexican muralist who in recent years has been reduced, in some circles, to being known as Frida Kahlo's evil husband. The myths and mysteries begin at his birth, in 1884. His mother seemed to die just after Diego, a firstborn twin, emerged, and her body was laid out for burial, until an old servant insisted she was still breathing. She recovered fully (Diego's twin died at age 2). This macabre event was but the first in a fabulously eventful life.

Under the brutal regime of the dictator Porfirio Díaz, whose legacy included human slavery on an unprecedented scale, Mexico City became "The Paris of the Americas," with imperial palaces, European music, and decorations by artists who had studied under Ingres. "It was in this exuberant, chaotic, and occasionally dangerous world that Diego Rivera grew up," writes Patrick Marnham, who casts a spell of such strangeness, beauty, and black humor that the reader is utterly hooked by the end of the first few pages. Marnham repeats and analyses all the fables Rivera spun about himself and his family; he describes Rivera's enchantment with Italian fresco cycles and his friendship and rivalry with Picasso in Montmartre in the 1920s; he reports Rivera's countless amorous conquests; and he presents the supposedly feminist view of Rivera as a monster of appetite, arrogance, and authority. Marnham also does an excellent job of picking apart the personal, political, and artistic threads of the disastrous brouhaha over Rivera's Rockefeller Center murals. In prose that is poetically rich and frequently tinged with not-so-gentle irony, he has written a thoroughly believable book about an all but unbelievable life. --Peggy Moorman

Book Description

This engrossing biography of Diego Rivera, the brilliant Mexican artist and revolutionary, captures the explosively passionate nature that made Rivera one of the twentieth-century's most gifted and controversial painters.

Customer Reviews:

Author Has Better Understanding of History than People.......2004-02-16

I am surprised that other readers enjoyed this book, especially readers who like Rivera. I had the distinct impression that the author, Patrick Marnham, did not like Rivera. Rivera's larger than life personality can probably not be claimed to be understood by many people, and perhaps Marnham's total want of understanding is the source for his dislike.

While this could be one of several books to read about Diego Rivera it should not be relied heavily upon. Marnham does not seem to approve of many of the characters he writes about in this book . I don't think he has an appreciation for colorful people. I felt he was a very supressed and uptight person writing about some very free spirits.

A biography of Rivera seemed a poor subject choice for him. Perhaps being an art critic would be a better suited undertaking for him. Or maybe since his grasp of history seems good his temperment would be better suited to writing dry fact based history than attempting to discern the subtlties of the human character.

He made several assertions that he represented as fact. One that springs to mind was that Frida Kahlo commited suicide. While that May be true, it also may not be true.

Marnham collected information about Diego Rivera, where he went, when he went , etc, but gave no real sense of warmth of Diego Rivera. Since Rivera was a man of such great passion it was disappointing to have only a two dimensional portrait of him drawn. I felt I knew alot more of Marnham's personality after reading this book than of Rivera's. But touché I felt much the same about Marnham as he did Rivera, I didn't like him much.

Great Biography of a Flawed but Great Artist.......2003-09-28

Diego Rivera was born in the magical city of Guanajuato. This fact alone made me pick up this book and then buy it. I visited Guanajuato in 2002 and fell in love with the twisty roads, the Baroque facades of the Templos and the Basilica, the Easter-egg colored houses and the general feeling that one had been dropped down in a 18th Century Spanish town. Rivera left it with his mother at the age of six, but the city of his birth, with its recent mummies and Day of the Dead festivals left its mark on him.

Rivera lived in Mexico City until 1907, when he left for Spain and for the next 15 years lived there and in France. He picked up a common-law wife and then a lover- a portent of things to come. He met and was friends (or sometimes enemies) with some of the greatest artists of the period, including Picasso, Mondrian, Modigliani and Matisse. He worked in classic style until he accepted Cubism, only to move toward Cezanne-style art, and eventually to develop his own style. He eventually became one of the greatest of modern fresco painters. However, his character was far from flawless. He lied about his past often and in different ways, depending on the situation, was not very careful about personal hygiene, and also often ran away from relationships to avoid unpleasant realities.

Rivera joined the Mexican Communist Party (MCP) in 1922. After three failures at having a permanent relationship with a woman, he married the rather obsessional young Communist Frida Kahlo (who was twenty years his junior) in 1929. In that same year he was expelled from the MCP because of various internal party intrigues. He then became friends with the exiled Leon Trotsky, who repaid him by having a short affair with Frida. Frida, to make matters more complicated, was repaying Rivera for his affair with her sister. Because of his association with Trotsky, Rivera was not readmitted to the party again until 1954, after the death of Stalin. This summery only touches on and can hardly do justice to the complicated world of Diego Rivera, one of the most complex of men.

Patrick Marnham presents in this book the convoluted ins and outs of Rivera's life, his many affairs and his association with the art world and the Communist Party in vivid detail.

This is a fascinating study of this very complex and often selfish man who was also a great artist. It is also a window into a very confusing and turbulent time in the history of the World. It is a work that should be read by all interested in understanding this period and the modern world that rose from it.

The many loves of Rivera.......2002-06-06

With various books written on the life of Diego Rivera this one is a must have. Anytime a subject is studied, it this case the life of arguably the greatest Mexican muralist, it is worthwhile to have various perspectives before coming to one's own conclusion. In that regard this book is invaluable as the author doesn't give you a softball and is quick to point out the inconsistencies in other versions of the larger than life Diego Rivera's exploits, including his own autobiography. The book itself is a fascinating portrait into the life of the celebrated Mexican muralist's life, beginning with the unusual circumstnances of his youth, his sojourn to Europe and studying art in France, his mingling in the bohemian lfestyle with various artists and intellectuals of his era, including his at times not so friendly rivalry with Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, his return to Mexico, his politics(communist) and the troubles he had since he usually mixed art and politics, his many, many love affairs, his multiple marriages including several to soul mate Frida Kahlo, his association with Trotsky(and his wife), his work in the United States and his later years in Mexico where he remained productive in spite of failing health. It is all here, both the believable and the unbelieveable, meshing together for a fascinating look at a man that could literally charm the pants off of the most beautiful women of the world. Included are two seperate groups of pictures that include rarely seen vintage photographs and color prints of his most famous works. Every now and then I read a book that I want to savor and take my time. Like a special meal or an intimate moment, this book was one that I wanted to savor once I began. I wanted to make it last because it was so enjoyable, knowing that the inevitable consequence of my reading would make it end I almost regretted finishing the book. I took days to read the final chapters in the hope that somehow the experience would not end. I would highly recommend this book to those that are interested in Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Mexican art or history. It is a book that paints more than a picture, it is more like a grand mural that captures the fantastic life of Diego Rivera. This is a highly enjoyable book and an indispensable aid in understanding the complex makeup of one of the true giants of art in the twentieth century.

Marnham on Rivera.......2001-09-01

No footnotes, inadequate bibliography, and surprisingly, almost no mistakes. He reports on time and place in a constructive way and dispels Rivera's own myths about himself humorously. Very good read.

A Rotund Biography Worthy of the Rotund Rivera.......2000-09-23

Marnham's biography provides a rotund, finely textured portrait worthy of the rotund Rivera. Marnham's Rivera is a technically blessed meta-Mexican eternally adapting his extraordinary gifts and solitary vision to the economic and political exigencies of Europe, Mexico, and the United States. Marnham's Rivera loves only art and as a consequence was - as we all now know - a bad husband, bad father and horrible politician but - as we may not know- never truly a bad man. Marnham is able to write with enormous respect for Rivera without losing his critical edge. For example, throughout the book, Marhnam's continuously tests Rivera's own autobiographical assertions against more conventional notions of truth with amusing irony but without condescension. Marnham never loses sight of Rivera's genius.

The biography contributes fascinating details about Rivera's European years from his studies in Spain to his days/nights as a sometimes participant of the cafe society of the Free Republic of Montparnasse. Likewise, Marnham's discussion of the Rivera/ Kahlo visits to the United States is fascinating. Though this fills in large gaps in Rivera scholarship, my major criticism is that Marnham failed to dedicate comparable effort to Rivera's role in the intellectual currents of post-revolutionary Mexico. For instance, scarce mention is devoted to the contrasts and rivalries between Rivera, and the other notable mutalists of his day, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Marnham also ignores Rivera's artistic legacy in Mexico or the United States. While Rivera did not invent nor perhaps truly even master mural art, Rivera is certainly the premier inspiration for "public" artists on both sides of the border.

For an interesting and literate discussion of Rivera and Mexican muralism, I recommend Octavio Paz, Essays on Mexican Art.

Average customer rating:
Dreaming With His Eyes Open - a Life of Diego Rivera
Patrick Marnham
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LZD2CM

Average customer rating:
Dreaming with His Eyes Open: A Life of Diego Rivera
Patrick Marnham
Manufacturer: Alfred A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IMMXKA

Book Description

The Cambridge History of Southeast Asia is a multi-authored treatment of the whole of mainland and island Southeast Asia from Burma to Indonesia. Unlike other histories of the region, it is not divided on a country-by-country basis and is not structured purely chronologically, but rather takes a thematic and regional approach to Southeast Asia's history, aiming to present the current state of historical research on Southeast Asia as well as stimulating further thought and investigation. This volume, the first of the two volume series, covers the period from the region's pre-history up to the early nineteeenth century of the Christian era, tracing the development of early politics, the integration of religion with social and cultural life, the great changes caused by the advent of the Europeans in the region and the incresing incorporation of Southeast Asian trade into international markets.

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