Book Description
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Introduction.
"Nielsen has compiled an outstanding collection, including many letters and photos that are being published for the first time. And even if you didn't grow up in Alabama, you may still marvel about how a little girl from Tuscumbia not only beat the odds but also blazed trails."
—Dallas Morning News
"Stunning final chapter."
—The Yale Review
"If you have not read Kim Nielsen's The Radical Lifes of Helen Keller, then I highly recommend it. As a person who has labored through numerous thick volumes on the life of this remarkable deaf-blind woman, I am delighted with Nielsen's concise and refreshing scholarly work. She examines Keller's life from a Disability Studies perspective. The book is enjoyable and easy to read, and it captures Keller's political dimension with great detail, based on such additional-and sometimes chilling-sources as military intelligence and FBI files. Nielsen does great justice to both the subject of her book and to Disability Studies as an emerging field."
—Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education
"This is an important book."
— Altar Magazine
"Nielsen's study challenges our impoverished cultural memories of Keller, which may have for too long served to "flatten" both our understanding not just of Keller's complex, contradictory life, but also the politics of disability, U.S. racialism, and women's political activities."
—On Campus with Women
"The Radical Lives of Helen Keller thus is an important, essential guide for any who would receive a well-rounded survey of her life."
—The Midwest Book Review
"Radical Lives fills out an important dimension of our cultural memory of the adult Helen Keller."
—www.msmagazine.com
"Nielsen's account is thoroughly researched, well organized and extremely well written....a truly important and exciting work."
—Ragged Edge Online
"Nielson examines Helen Keller's radical politics and the various reasons her politcal views were so often neglected."
—Library Journal
"Based on expansive research in wide-ranging materials, including military intelligence and FBI files, Kim Nielsen unveils Helen Keller's political life. This finely written biography helps us understand the movement for disability rights in our own time."
—Linda K. Kerber, author of No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies: Women and the Obligations of Citizenship"The book's compactness, straightforward writing style, and revolutionary approach make The Radical Lives of Helen Kellerinvaluable for both teachers and scholars. Keller would be delighted that Nielsen allowed her her Scotch." —Journal of American History
"Nielsen's book gives us a Helen Keller for our times. We meet a complex person whose politics defy our reductionist knowledge about her, whose lived experience makes for compelling reading. The Radical Lives of Helen Keller renders three-dimensional, perhaps for the first time, a figure who all too often is known to the world, but known in minimalist flatness merely as a symbol of overcoming disability. Nielsen shows us that there is so much more to Keller—a political activist, theorist, and intellectual with unconventional, and, yes, even uncomfortable, opinions. She forthrightly explores these contradictions, in lucid, readable prose, to allow a very real version of Helen Keller to emerge from the darkness."
—Lennard J. Davis, author of Bending Over Backwards: Essays on Disability and the Body
Several decades after her death in 1968, Helen Keller remains one of the most widely recognized women of the twentieth century. But the fascinating story of her vivid political life—particularly her interest in radicalism and anti-capitalist activism—has been largely overwhelmed by the sentimentalized story of her as a young deaf-blind girl.
Keller had many lives indeed. Best known for her advocacy on behalf of the blind, she was also a member of the socialist party, an advocate of women's suffrage, a defender of the radical International Workers of the World, and a supporter of birth control—and she served as one of the nation's most effective but unofficial international ambassadors. In spite of all her political work, though, Keller rarely explored the political dimensions of disability, adopting beliefs that were often seen as conservative, patronizing, and occasionally repugnant. Under the wing of Alexander Graham Bell, a controversial figure in the deaf community who promoted lip-reading over sign language, Keller became a proponent of oralism, thereby alienating herself from others in the deaf community who believed that a rich deaf culture was possible through sign language. But only by distancing herself from the deaf community was she able to maintain a public image as a one-of-a-kind miracle.
Using analytic tools and new sources, Kim E. Nielsen's political biography of Helen Keller has many lives, teasing out the motivations for and implications of her political and personal revolutions to reveal a more complex and intriguing woman than the Helen Keller we thought we knew.
Customer Reviews:
A powerful social, political and literary biography.......2004-05-05
Kim Nielsen's Radical Lives Of Helen Keller is part of the New York University Press "The History of Disability" series and provides a powerful social, political and literary biography of Helen Keller's life based on research into both literary sources and FBI files and military intelligence. The result is an unusual focus on Keller's involvement in disability rights and activism a focus which has been lost in other concentrations on her blindness and literary achievements. Radical Lives thus is an important, essential guide for any who would receive a well-rounded survey of her life.
Amazon.com
Sir John Mandeville, a medieval English knight, was either one of history's greatest explorers or one of its greatest liars, depending on how one reads the pages of his Travels. Christopher Columbus took his words as a veritable guidebook, using it, Giles Milton writes, to convince the Spanish crown to fund his American voyages. The Victorians were not so kind, dismissing the wanderer--who, after all, wrote that in the Indian Ocean "there is a race of great stature, like giants ... they have one eye only, in the middle of their foreheads"--as an uncritical fabulist at best, a charlatan at worst.
Giles Milton, a student of exploration history, gives us reasons aplenty to question Mandeville's accuracy at points, but he is inclined to think that the knight actually did see at least some of the things he reported in his enormously influential book. Tracing Mandeville's trail to the Middle East and beyond, he considers the historical realities that underlie Mandeville's tales, from the gems that lie strewn among the reeds of Indonesia (which Milton guesses might be crystal-like secretions from bamboo plants) to the fabulous Christian kingdom of Prester John somewhere far out on the plains of Mongolia (where, Milton reminds us, Nestorian Christians were once common). His conclusion, well argued in the course of this witty and delightful book, is that although Mandeville is not always taken literally, he really did go crusading off in distant lands, and he certainly deserves to be rediscovered today, not least for what his work tells us about the medieval mind.
Readers new to Mandeville will find this a spirited introduction, and those already fond of The Travels will enjoy following Milton's parallel voyages. --Gregory McNamee
Book Description
Giles Milton's first book, The Riddle and the Knight, is a fascinating account of the legend of Sir John Mandeville, a long-forgotten knight who was once the most famous writer in medieval Europe. Mandeville wrote a book about his voyage around the world that became a beacon that lit the way for the great expeditions of the Renaissance, and his exploits and adventures provided inspiration for writers such as Shakespeare, Milton, and Keats. By the nineteenth century however, his claims were largely discredited by academics. Giles Milton set off in the footsteps of Mandeville, in order to test his amazing claims, and to restore Mandeville to his rightful place in the literature of exploration.
Customer Reviews:
The best book from Giles Milton...........2005-09-06
This book was awesome! So much adventure and neat information. I liked how Giles Milton included his travels in following Sir John's book to find things -- it was like being on a scavenger hunt from the past. The only thing that would have made this a better book would have been some color pictures of the churches visited! It was a slight disappointment that the Mandeville book was not real...but a fun to follow!
A trip worth taking..........2002-12-17
A fascinating read! The satisfaction comes not in finally putting to rest the historical debate whether Sir John Mandeville ever made his epic pilgrimmage but rather in going along with Milton as he makes his journey. Settle into your favorite armchair and take off on a most engaging travel narrative. Along the way you will decide for yourself the truth about Sir John's narrative, which is exactly the way all such quests should be pursued.
Entertaining -- but what's new? --.......2002-02-23
This book wears two faces: 1) a travel book, and 2) an attempt at some serious historical research. The author, Giles Milton, a professional writer/journalist, sets out to retrace the path of the legendary fourteenth-century traveler and writer, Sir John Mandeville. Milton's ostensible goal is to rehabilitate Mandeville's controversial reputation.
Sir John Mandeville was the alleged author of one of the most famous early-renaissance books. From about 1350 to 1800, his "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville" was incredibly popular and influential, rivaling the Bible and Euclid's Elements. Then, about 1800, scholars began to question whether "Mandeville wrote Mandeville" -- or indeed whether there ever was such a man. His book is still in print (see Penguin Classic, The Travels of Sir John Mandeville), and is even making something of a comeback,
Mr. Milton is a good writer, and as a travel book his work is quite entertaining. Minimally, it gives us a chance to compare the Middle-East-now with what it was in Mandeville's time. For those who like travel books, that might be enough to make the book worthwhile. Some woodcuts taken from a 1481 edition of Mandeville are real gems. (Penguin should have included these.)
But as serious historical research I have problems with the book. Mr. Milton tries to convince us that Sir John Mandeville really did exist. The historical evidence he presents is weak, at best, and consists chiefly of a barely legible epitaph in St. Albans Abbey. But even here some rigorous scholarship is missing. (What is the earliest mention of this epitaph? To whom is it attributed? Have other scholars noted the inscription, and at what dates? What are their opinions regarding its authenticity?)
My overall impression is that Mr. Milton was not able to gather the evidence he was hoping for, and so had to temporize. I was particularly disappointed that the second edition does not address any of these weaknesses.
P.T. Barnum, Ripleyýs Believe It Or Not and the nightly news.......2002-01-01
A fairly irritating book about an important subject, this book is loaded with a collection of traveling non-sequiturs that are collated and vaguely related to findings of the author as he makes the same trip that Sir John Mandeville made starting in 1322. Mandeville wrote a book after his 34-year journey called The Travels that influenced many important people after him. For example, Christopher Columbus, influenced by Mandeville's book, proposed his voyage to the new world to Queen Isabella of Spain and was turned down. Months later, after Isabella had read Mandeville's book she was approached again by Columbus and she changed her mind, funding his history making voyage to the new world. Mandeville's book was used by many others as a reference for hundreds of years until somewhere in the 1800's when he and his book were discredited and Mandeville generally became known as a fraud, never having actually traveled to the places he claimed to have visited. In The Riddle and the Knight, Milton's trip to all the same places starts off with the promise of getting to the bottom of a very old debate, "Did Mandeville actually take the trip he claimed he took? By actually making the same trip today, what could be found to either prove or disprove Mandeville once and for all?" That's a great idea but the writer got bogged down including almost everything that happened to him on his 20th century journey whether it added to proving Mandeville's journey or not. On page 189, Milton is staying in a monastery in Egypt and two U.N. peacekeepers stumble upon the ancient institution. One of them is an American who is remarkably like Gomer Pyle. Halfway through this jewel, I paused and thought, "This episode will have no bearing whatsoever on what Milton is doing with his story." True enough, it didn't. It was simply a loud and colorful, intrusion into the quiet life of the monastery Milton was staying in. "What the heck. Let's put it in the book." Milton was fair in citing the frequent number of times that almost every ancient author would plagiarize one another and that Mandeville was not much different. Unlike the book's title, The Riddle and the Knight, any references to a riddle somewhere in the book were sparse, casual, and hugely unfulfilled. The author also missed the opportunity to properly observe that all early discoverers and travelers were at some point liars who all knew that keeping the attention of those who listened would sometimes require mention of the strange men foreign lands who have no heads, or really giant women from another distant land or strange elixirs that have remarkable healing powers. It's all part of giving the audience what they want or need to hear, from P.T. Barnum to Ripley's Believe It Or Not to the nightly news.
The Riddle .....Still left Wondering.......2001-12-31
What a disappointment . After reading one of Milton's other books I was excited to get this for Xmas. The book is a soft introduction to some of the history of both the Middle Ages, the Middle East, but thats it . I felt that the author had stumbled onto a possible winner but in the end it didnt pan out but had to publish a book to justify his travels ( and perhaps his advance ). Best I can say about the book is the bibliography. This alone was worth one star , otherwise I would have only given a rating of one star. Not a recommended buy
Book Description
Ideal's blockbuster dolls include Shirley Temple, Toni, Betsy Wetsy, Miss Revlon, Patti Playpal, Thumbelina, Tammy, Crissy, and many more. Identify these dolls and ascertain their values in Judith Izen's latest edition of Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls. This third edition will help you distinguish between the more common dolls and those worth thousands of dollars. Hundreds of full-color photos of each doll Ideal produced from 1907 onward and their outfits are included. A fun read, the book is well organized and gives collectors the story behind these wonderful dolls. With the addition of new photos and up-to-date information and values, this book is a highly readable reference guide, providing sweeping coverage of every known doll produced by this amazing company. It is an invaluable addition to the doll collector's library. It is written by a doll historian and toy industry researcher who can be depended upon for her accuracy. Judith Izen is also the author of American Character Dolls and co-author of Collector's Encyclopedia of Vogue Dolls, Second Edition, and her books are cherished by collectors. AUTHORBIO: Judith Izen is the author of two bestselling doll books, Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls, now in its third edition, and American Character Dolls, and is the co-author of the Collector's Encyclopedia of Vogue Dolls, now in its second edition.
Customer Reviews:
Good reference guide.......2007-07-08
This is a very good refence guide to use to find out information and value of all Ideal dolls. Lots of nice pictures!!
Guide to Ideal Dolls.......2007-01-11
I am a Shirley Temple Collector. I use this book all of the time to identifiy valuable dolls and outfits. I have learned so much from this book. A must have for anyone who collects dolls.
In a word.....SUPERB!.......2006-07-12
Judith Izen has hit another homerun with this excellent book for collectors of Ideal dolls. There are literally hundreds of wonderful color photos throughout the book. It is a pleasure just to leaf through the high quality, glossy pages. Even if you are not a collector, it would still be interesting to have the book as a conversation piece. Anyone who ever had a doll when they were young would love to look through to see if their favorite dolly is here. The book is also very well written with plenty of information about individual dolls and the different types of dolls. The 5 stars are well deserved.
Judith Izen knows Ideal Dolls.......2006-03-02
I have several of Izen's books and I'm never disappointed with them. I especially like the section on the PlayPal family group; I found a couple of variations that I don't remember seeing before. There are a few I'd like to have seen more pictures and info on, but I guess something has to be saved for the next book.
Customer Reviews:
Another Great Book By Judith Izen!.......2004-01-14
The Collector's Guide to Ideal Dolls ID & Values 2nd ED by Judith Izen is another great book by this author. I have been looking for information on a Miss Revlon doll for years and I opened the box and right on the cover is the information I have been looking for. I am thrilled! Any doll collector or lover would love this book. Thanks Judy for another great job! Very fast shipping and a signed copy, it doesn't get any better than this!
Excellent Ideal on Dolls.......2002-11-03
Enjoyed this book and also the prompt manner in which it was delivered to me by userbro128. It was a used book and let me tell you it did not look used at all. Highly recommend the seller and the book to any one intrested.
Ideal Book.......2001-07-29
The majority of the pages in this 350-page book are loaded with color photos and information on the Ideal dolls manufactured from 1907 up through the 1980s. Most dolls are pictured in their original outfits and some photos are packages of the original outfits. Also included are photos of ads for specific dolls. The book starts with a short history of the Ideal Toy Co., while the back of the book gives more information on issue dates, characteristics, and current prices.
This book is a must have for those doll collectors that want to restore a doll to original condition.
A must have for doll collectors and dealers.......2001-03-25
Fabulous color pictures of all the dolls in the book- tons of dolls you will recognize and some you won't. Also features the manufacture marks you will find on dolls to identify them. Most of the dolls are shown in original outfits- some with original packaging and a small percentage are shown redressed. Complete with price guide.
Fabulous & Fascinating.......2000-04-25
I truly recommend this book, not merely for finding out your Ideal doll's monetary value, but more as a walk down memory lane. Being 56 years old, I remember growing up with many of Ideal's dolls. I especially enjoyed the brief mention of the Snuggles' doll and rocking horse(which many books on dolls leave out). So, if you are tired of reading dribble..., then snuggle up with this pictorial walk down memory lane.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book for the Tammy Fan
- THE DEFINITIVE and WONDERFUL Guide for the TAMMY Collector!
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Collector's Guide to Tammy: "The Ideal Teen" : Identification & Values (Collector's Guide to)
Cindy Sabulis , and
Susan Weglewski
Manufacturer: Collector Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Dolls
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| Home & Garden
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General
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Manufacturing
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ASIN: 0891457739 |
Customer Reviews:
Great Book for the Tammy Fan.......2003-03-28
I used to own this book when it was first printed but unfortunately I lost it in a flood a year after i bought it. anyways this is an awesome book fro the Tammy collector and an even better book for beginners to get to know Tammy and her family. With so many books out there about Barbie and her family many people forget there were other popular and collectible dolls from the sixties or as I like to call it the "Golden Age" of Fashion Dolls. My only problem with this book is that they should have shown the Dad/Ted fashions out of the package and they should really update the book because the pricing is a little outdated(even for Tammy which is still relatively cheaper than Barbie). Other than that great book for anyone interested in the world of Tammy
THE DEFINITIVE and WONDERFUL Guide for the TAMMY Collector!.......1999-01-27
Cindy and Susan have done a FABULOUS job of cataloging Ideal's Tammy from 1961 to 1965! Full-color photos of all the the Tammy ephermera are most welcome (and so needed) for collectors who may not be able to easily identify Tammy items after 35+ years.
As a Tammy collector, this guide has helped me refamiliarize myself with the Tammy line once more - and 'tweeners' like myself truly enjoy the comprehensive and very clear manner these items are reintroduced!
Drawback: Suggested prices simply 'beg' to be updated, as most of the online trading world and antique collectors recognize that the suggested secondary market prices for Tammy items are not completely 'in sync' with what's currently being offered.
This book will have you falling in love all over again with Tammy ... !
Book Description
The 'Phabulous' Phantom first took to the air on 27 May 1958 and has been in service around the world for many decades. The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Turkey have all operated this powerful aircraft. The Phantom starred in both the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, and in its service career has flown every traditional military mission. With many F-4 variants in service (from FG.1s to 'Wild Weasels'), and some 25 scale model kits currently available, the possibilities for modelling this subject are endless. There are few guides currently available to the F-4 modeller: this book seeks to redress the imbalance, providing an in-depth and step-by-step approach to modelling this plane across a variety of scales, types, and national schemes.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I was expecting, but suitable for its purpose.......2006-03-03
If you're looking to scratch build a Phantom, or looking for dimensions, details, or plans, look elsewhere. This book contains nothing along those lines.
If you're looking for tips on how to make a plastic model look more realistic, this seems to be an outstanding publication, though it contains little in the way of new or creative ideas...experienced modelers will find it to be a dissapointment.
Review of "Modelling the F-4 Phantom II".......2003-12-07
I just purchased a copy of the new book "Modelling the F-4 Phantom II" by Geoff Coughlin and Neil Ashby. Having worked on F-4Cs and F-4Es for five years back in the 1980s I believe I have a somewhat unique perspective on modeling this airplane.
The book is six chapters plus a foreward by an RAF Phantom pilot, an introduction that suggests different modelling tools and materials, a section on weathering, duplicating the bare metal areas, displaying the completed model and photographing the model, a biography and reference section, and a list some of the currently available Phantom kits with some comments about each. One possible problem for American purchasers of the book is the liberal use of British brand-name paints, materials and chemicals, calling for the use of such materials as "Rotring air brush cleaner" and "Halford's screen wash." I would have no idea of what the US equivalents of these would be, but of course with the internet we can get that info readily from our Brit friends I'm sure. The authors also describe using different gauges of "fuse wire" for cockpit details, but as an American, even being an electronics tech, I'm not sure what fuse wire is nor what an American equivalent would be. FWIW, I've found several gauges of lead wire at a fishing tackle shop (for tying flies) that work very well for detailing, perhaps this is the same stuff?
The book doesn't really give too many insights about the F-4 and it's unique characteristics; rather, it shows several models in three scales, 1/72, 1/48 and 1/32, discussing construction, detailing with resin and photoetch, painting, decaling and weathering with washes and pastels. If you are looking for a project as super-detailed as Pierre Greutert's superb 1/32 F-4S (those of you who are members of the Yahoo groups F4sForever and F-4Discussion know the model I'm referring to), you'll be disappointed. This book has each subject model built more-or-less out of the box, with the additions of detail parts in the cockpits and other areas but no major surgery or scratchbuilding.
The first project is an 81st TFS (Spangdahlem AB, Germany) Hill Gray painted F-4G in 1/48 scale by Hasegawa with Eduard photo etch, Aires exhaust nozzles, and AirDOC decals. There are a couple of very minor errors in this chapter, referring to AGM-88 HARMs as AGM-45 Shrikes in a couple of places for one, as well as mentioning cutting and dropping the "Moulded-in flaps on the main wings... just inboard of the wing-fold", the "flaps" which of course are the ailerons. I would have hoped a book on the F-4 would have mentioned the unique-to-Phantoms (AFAIK) characteristic that when the stick is deflected one aileron goes down while the opposite side has a spoiler that comes up (with that side's aileron traveling upwards only a couple of degrees as the spoiler comes up). As the book says, when the hydraulics aren't pressurized, both ailerons tend to droop over time. The F-4G is shown with the left side aileron fully down, which was possible but rare to see. Generally the ailerons would droop to a maximum of only 30 degrees or so, and most often the ailerons on each side would be at noticeably different angles from each other.
Interestingly, in this chapter the authors describe a mistake they made, planning to use the Aires resin exhaust nozzles but failing to make sure they fit before gluing the major assemblies of the aircraft together. Because of some plastic structure inside the rear fuselage of the Hasegawa kit that should have been cut away for the nozzles but wasn't, the author had to cut the nozzles much shorter so they would fit. I liked that they so readily admitted their mistakes and how they compensated; who among us has never done something similar?
The authors also heavily tint the center windscreen green on this and most of the other models in this book, which is incorrect. The three-piece windscreen on a Phantom consists of the side panels which are Plexiglass plastic roughly 1/2 inch thick, and the center panel which is laminated glass, roughly an inch thick. Glass is less transparent than plastic (compare a large acrylic aquarium with a glass aquarium of similar capacity at a pet store if you want to see this for yourself), and really thick glass takes on a very faint green tint. I'd seen many models of Phantoms with tinted center windscreens before I joined the Air Force, so when I was working on them I took a good look to see if this was accurate. In most lighting conditions, the center windscreen looked clear, but perhaps VERY slightly darker than the side panels. However, in certain lighting conditions (hazy no-shadow days as I recall) the glass would appear a beautiful shade of green. The center windscreens on book's models are tinted far too dark. If you are going to tint the glass on your models, make it subtle!
The second chapter in this book illustrates the Revell RF-4E in 1/72 scale, using Eduard Photo etch, part of the Aires Cockpit and afterburner nozzles, and AirDOC decals to finish the model in AG51 marking in the two dark greens, dark gray Luftwaffe scheme of the 1980s. This is a short chapter, but does a nice job of showing the detail that can be incorporated in this small scale.
The third chapter details the 1/48 scale Hasegawa FGR.2 in 23 Squadron markings painted light grays, using the aires F-4E/F cockpit with modifications, Airwaves seats for British Phantoms, and AeroMaster decals. They show the difficulties involved in getting the Aires cockpit to fit, and have a few good detailing ideas. One minor quibble I have is that the author deflects the rudder and rudder pedals (correct) and the nose wheel is turned to match (maybe not so correct). On the Phantom (as with most other aircraft with hydraulic nose wheel steering) the nose wheel position is independent of the rudder pedals with the hydraulics depressurized. The rudder is mechanically as well as hydraulically connected to the rudder pedals, but the nose wheel steering is hydraulic only with a small hydraulic motor and gears. Whatever position the nose wheel is after engine shutdown or after the tow bar is disconnected is where it will stay. The rudder and rudder pedals will go to a neutral postion, unless a stiff breeze blows the rudder off to one side in which case the pedals will deflect accordingly. As an addendum, on the Phantom when the hydraulics are depressurized the control stick goes to the centered neutral position no matter what deflection the stabilator was set to during shutdown. The stab will retain whatever position it was when the hydraulics were depressurized even as the control stick goes to centered neutral. The ailerons were always at neutral and the spoilers closed when the jet was shut down in my experience. The spoilers could be pried up by the crew chief during his preflight inspections. Normally they'd close themselves after he let them go, but sometimes they'd stay up a little. Still, it was extremely rare to see them open even a little without the hydraulics pressurized and the stick deflected. Do note Phantom spoilers were used in conjunction with the ailerons only; the left and right wing spoilers couldn't be raised simultaneously like you might see on an airliner or cargo aircraft. Anyway, it is possible that the nosewheel, rudder pedals and rudder would all be in alignment off to one side on a parked Phantom, but it's much more likely that the nosewheel would be centered. If you want to throw contest judges for a loop, cock the nosewheel off to the opposite side from the rudder and pedals; you'd be just as correct but it'd sure look unnatural!
The next chapter features the 1/32 scale Tamiya F-4J in the RAF's 74 Squadron markings from Yellow Hammer, Eduard PE, Cutting Edge Sidewinders and Navy Wheels, a CAM SUU-23A gunpod on the centerline, and Reheat seats and intake covers. This model features a scratch-built Ram Air Turbine and landing gear downlocks made from thin plastic tubing. Most Phantom models I've seen don't have the downlocks in place, which clamped over the rod portion of the gear retraction actuators. Those downlocks were in place until just before the crew "stepped" to the jet when we maintenance folks would remove them, and reinstalled by us as the aircrew was still getting out of the jet after they shut it down. Accurate downlocks would be a nice thing to have Cutting Edge or someone else market.
The authors did an excellent job depicting the worn paint on the canopy sills, worn from personnel getting in and out of the aircraft. The only problem I see with it is that they have the left and right sills equally worn. In reality the right sill was never badly worn, and we entered and exited the cockpit from the left side only. The righthand sills got only very minor wear from the crew chief standing on it as he polished the interiors of the open canopies.
This model also has an open dragchute door with a chute packed inside. This is inaccurate, as the door would be pulled closed as soon as the chute was stuffed in the canister, or the door left open with no chute inside. You could display a model with the chute inside like this if you also position a maintenance stand under the rear of the jet and have a crewman on the stand about to close the door.
This model uses the Cutting Edge wheels for Navy Phantoms which are bulged to represent aircraft weight. The True Details Company seems to have started this trend, but Phantoms' and many other high-performance fighters' tires don't bulge with weight. The tires have extremely strong sidewalls. As weight is added to the aircraft, the bottoms get flatter and flatter, but the sidewalls don't bulge at all. As a side note, forgetting to move the chocks away from the tires before we refueled and loaded up the jet would mean the jet would settle onto the chocks with all its additional weight. Once the aircraft was started and the pilot gave the signal to "pull chocks", we'd discover the error. We'd have to pound, kick, cuss and otherwise struggle to get the chocks out. I personally ruined a couple of pairs of boots from kicking out stuck chocks! If you could get one chock loose, you could use it to knock the others loose. Sometimes it was a real battle! We tried not to forget to move the chocks away from the tires before servicing the jet.
The authors include a photo of a real Phantom in which the three access panels on the sides of the intake bulge out slightly. The caption points this out and says "Tamiya accurately represented these panels... contrary to some views". These are the panels that some modellers have mistakenly called "Battle Damage Repair patches". I have similar photos I took of other Phantoms in which these same panels were flush. I don't remember them bulging out like this on any of the Phantoms I worked on. Why are they bulged out on this particular aircraft (and the Tamiya model)? Darned if I know. Perhaps they had a thicker than normal layer of sealant on the lip that the panels mount to. Personally, when I finally get around to building a Tamiya Phantom I'm sanding those panels flush.
The last model featured is another 1/32 scale Tamiya model, this time the F-4E. The authors also used several Eduard photoetch sets, Reheat seats and intake covers, Cutting Edge resin leading edge slats and wheels, and decals from CAM, AirDOC, and Superscale. The model is finished in Greek Air Force markings; interesting to me on a personal note, 68-0408 is the tail number they picked. I worked on this very tail number at Ramstein AB, Germany in the 1980s when she belonged to the 526TFS. This model is painted in the Hill Gray scheme 408 was in when it was received from the USAF, and is depicted by this model very faded. Paint touch-ups are represented by darker gray, including the spot where the American "star and bar" was painted over by the Greeks when they received the jet. The authors show a number of "faded paint" and oily, greasy stain weathering techniques. This model is very well done. The paint and weathered finish is spectacular.
There are a few extremely minor errors. One is that the author put on all the correct downlocks and REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT flags, but they put the 370 gallon wing tank safety pin RBF flags on the outboard sides of both pylons. The pins should be on the left side of both pylons, so on the right wing the RBF flag ends up on the main landing gear side of the wingtank, not the outboard side.
The second minor error involves the little antenna at the rear of the panel directly behind the rear canopy. This is the antenna for the SST-181X rendezvous beacon. The Tamiya Phantom was first released as an F-4C or D version. On the F-4D, the SST-181X antenna was mounted on the aircraft centerline as you see here. On the F-4E version, it was relocated to the righthand side of the same panel (Door 19). Tamiya didn't make this correction in their F-4E release, and the authors didn't catch it either.
The last error I spotted is that 68-0408 had the modification done in approximately 1984 while it was at Ramstein in which the upper UHF comm antenna was relocated from inside the cap at the top of the vertical fin to the right side of the upper fuselage. The authors didn't add this antenna to the fuselage. There is another antenna on the top fuselage centerline between the SST-181X antenna and inflight refueling receptacle that I'm not familiar with; it wasn't on 408 when I worked on her. Navy Phantoms have an antenna located there, so I think it was more likely a mistake on this F-4E and should've been removed.
For the cockpit, the authors used the new pre-painted Eduard photo-etch set, and the effect is outstanding. I was interested to see that the authors added the gunsite video tape recorder on the front cockpit right console, the first time I've ever seen this on a model. This was added to real F-4Es and Gs to replace the old film gunsite camera approximately 1985. It was great for smacking your right elbow against when you were reaching for switches on the right console.
Again, scratch-built downlocks are put on the landing gear actuators, greatly enhancing the authenticity of this model. I would have liked a bit of a written description of how those were constructed, or perhaps a step-by-step series of photos.
The last chapters suggest ideas for displaying Phantom models, for weathering and painting, for photographing the models, and a bibligraphy of good references.
This book relies more on photography than text to show modeling techniques such as cockpit detailing and weathering. It appears geared toward an intermediate modeller, one who has basic construction and painting techniques down, but needs to learn weathering techniques.
Scott R Wilson
Phormer Phantom Phixer
Comm-Nav Avionics
149 CAMS, 149 TFG, Texas ANG, Kelly AFB, Texas 1980-82 (F-4C)
35 CRS, 35 TFW George AFB, California 1982-83 (F-4E)
525 AMU, 86 TFW, Ramstein AB, Germany 1983-86 (F-4E)
Book Description
As a loving parent, you want to do the very best for your baby. That's why learning to use the art of baby massage will make a world of difference to the well-being of your infant. Very likely, your baby already adores being kissed, patted, and caressed. Now, with this enchanting book, and with extra knowledge at your fingertips, you?ll be able to express your love with a new purpose. Massage is the perfect way of connecting with your baby, and has many positive benefits?it soothes colic, calms crying, boosts confidence, improves sleep, stimulates muscle tone, promotes healthy digestion, alertness, coordination, and creates an extra-special bond between you. You?ll find detailed, practical know-how and techniques on how to massage every part of your baby's body, from head to toe. The funny, affectionate illustrations by the well-known Swedish artist Bo Lundberg capture every nuance of baby's reactions, and will steal your heart away!
Average customer rating:
- A poor epitaph for a great performer
- A "must read" for Gene Vincent fans
- Not very original.
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Gene Vincent: There's One In Every Town
Mick Farren
Manufacturer: Do-Not Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Composers & Musicians
| Arts & Literature
| Biographies & Memoirs
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Rock
| Musical Genres
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ASIN: 1904316379 |
Customer Reviews:
A poor epitaph for a great performer.......2005-08-07
That Gene Vincent had a major impact in the UK out of all proportion to his record success here in the late 1950s/1960s comes across very early in this book with Farren's description of attending a live show in 1961 when Gene had virtually made Europe his home, having no future career prospects in the US.
The personal image reconfigured by Jack Good for the UK and powerful live performances matched by great 1950s recordings (unique voice and great luck in choice of sidemen) and variable 1960s recordings are well covered but this short tome ends up being simply a paean to a doomed hero. While still revered by the many people who saw him live in their formative years such as Jeff Beck, the story is ultimately one of success too early for a great voice with unique early true rock 'n' roll credentials, a naive personality undermined by continual bad management, and the initial personal tragedy of a leg accident that was nearly amputated then becoming an albatross that helped fuel his personal demons and leading to a downward slide via alcoholism to an early death at 36 years of age.
By its brevity the book is a quick read but does not compare in terms of insight or coverage with either the Britt Hegarty factual bio or the more recent John Collis book based around the origial UK tour by Gene and Eddie Cochran.
Also bad marks for the sheer number of typo errors - I have never noticed so many in a recent book.
A "must read" for Gene Vincent fans.......2005-01-04
Gene Vincent was the legendary bad-boy of rock: his early records were banned and censored, his shows incited riots, he wrecked hotel rooms, and he was a boozer and drug addict before these conditions were popular among musicians. Author and biographer Mick Farren was an underground newspaper correspondent and is in the perfect place to write up Vincent's life. A full discography and recording session information accompanies Mick Farren's impressive biographical sketch, Gene Vincent: There's One In Every Town, and makes it "must reading" for Gene Vincent fans.
Not very original........2004-12-22
This author simply recaps that which has already been written about Gene Vincent. There does not appear to be any original material.
Also, this seems to be more of a gossip fest about a dead artist.
Average customer rating:
- Heartfelt but somewhat dated
- Sharing faith only helps towards peace
- Interesting But Outdated
- Excellent and informative
- Before making a decision to convert, I read this book
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Ordained to Be a Jew: A Catholic Priest's Conversion to Judaism
John David Scalamonti
Manufacturer: Ktav Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
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Contemporary
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General
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How To Run A Traditional Jewish Household
ASIN: 0881254126 |
Customer Reviews:
Heartfelt but somewhat dated.......2004-08-05
This is a quick and easy read, and it's obvious that Mr. Scalamonti's spiritual journey and the doubts he had about his faith of origin were very sincere, genuine, and heartfelt. His love for first Catholicism and later Judaism were really evident. John's love of his first religion went way back; when he was a small boy he often played being a priest, leading Mass, and giving Communion. Basically as far as he could remember he wanted to be a priest, so much so he secretly wrote to a priest at a junior seminary about this wish and how his mother didn't approve. The priest visited the house and eventually swayed John's mother to let him go, at 14 years old. Even though many Catholic families in this time in history wanted at least one son to be a priest, Mrs. Scalamonti didn't want John, her firstborn, to be the one to do that. After leaving for the junior seminary, John spent the rest of his adolescence and his early adulthood in strict and highly-regimented training and living conditions, going from junior seminary to the adult-level seminary and then on to his novitiate and finally becoming ordained as a priest at long last. It's the happiest day of his life when he celebrates his first Mass, but before long his life's obsession begins to disappoint him and he runs into all sorts of trouble with the higher-ups.
This is the primary reason why the book is dated; John became a priest in the early days of Vatican II, and was really excited over the sweeping changes it brought, but the higher-ups didn't feel the same way. He was happily running a mission catering to the dregs of society, hippies, broken families, people marginalised by the Church, but the priests in charge were very uncomfortable with that kind of element. John also didn't like how he had taken a vow of poverty yet he and his brother priests were living like kings in a huge old mansion, and how they hadn't been allowed to read any non-Christian theology while in seminary, or even Catholic writings that disagreed with Church policy. Because of this unpriestlike behaviour, they sent him off to take college classes in Washington, DC, hoping this would whip him back into shape. The questions and doubts remained, though, and because they wouldn't grant him a sabbatical, he had no other choice but to leave the priesthood, after which he became adjusted to working in the real world, met a Jewish girl, and converted.
Nowadays all of John's questions would have been answered and dealt with; there are still some problems in the Church, but certainly not the same type there were back then. Nowadays he would be allowed to study different religions, run a mission catering to the type of people he had been working with without muttering and outrage from the other priests, and probably wouldn't have been living in a mansion and living like a king during his training and after his ordination. And junior seminaries no longer exist; nowadays young people who want to become nuns or priests are encouraged to go to college and experience the world first, not cut off all ties with things secular at age fourteen. It was a genuine and sincere account, but had he become a priest twenty or thirty years after he did, he probably would not have left the priesthood.
Sharing faith only helps towards peace.......2002-04-30
I am a former seminarian and am a student of Catholic Theology. The story is well written and easy to read. I can certainly relate to the seminary life and to the unanswerable & unasked questions. Judaism is an attractive religion and perhaps Catholicism can still learn something from the Jews (John 4:22), e.g. passing on our story to our children at home within a ritual. If all peoples shared their personal conversion stories rather then defending one's own to the exclusion of others, then perhaps we can have peace in our world. I am not convinced that he ever had a religious conversion of the heart with Christianity; only when he encountered Judaism.
Interesting But Outdated.......2002-02-06
The book is way outdated. Scalamonti was raised a Catholic in the 40's and became a priest before Vatican II. His Catholicism was *very* different from mainstream Catholicism. For example, in the seminary he was not allowed to study any theology other than Christian/Catholic types. He did not learn a thing about Judaism. Today this is just not the case. Priests get all kinds of religious training, and are not ignorant of other religions. Also, the priests in his parish were portrayed as lazy drunks who had disdain for the needy and poor in the community. Today, Catholic parishes are staffed by one or two priests who are usually heavily involved in civic and charitable work with the community's needy.
Also the title is a little misleading...it implies that he left the priesthood to become a Jew when he left the priesthood out of a crisis of faith. He knew nothing of Judaism until he began dating a Jewish woman...which is what eventually led to his conversion, so he could marry her. Sound familiar?
So, I found his story interesting but you have to look at it in a historical context. Scalamonti was a religious Catholic who left the priesthood and became a religious Jew. His beef with the Catholic church was valid at the time, but a modern day priest would probably not have the same kinds of experiences as Scalamonti. The Church really has come a long way since then.
Excellent and informative.......2001-10-21
In this book, Scalamonti explains his gradual disillusionment with the church and his discovery and acceptance of Judaism. It is very important to recognize that in writing this book, he is in no way trying to convert Christians away from their faith. He is trying to explain why he, himself, converted.
This book is not only for people who may be contemplating conversion to Judaism, but also for Jews who may not see the beauty of Judaism for themselves and therefore cannot understand why someone would choose to become Jewish. After reading this book, I believe that he wrote it primarily for this latter group - to inspire assimilated and ambivalent Jews to appreciate their own heritage and religion more.
The writing style is smooth and easy to read. It is interstingly written and hard to put down.
Before making a decision to convert, I read this book.......2001-05-27
I found this book through a Jewish website on conversion. I ordered it from Amazon, and read it in a day! I was amazed at how similar our spiritual journeys were, even though I was not Catholic. His courage to follow his own spiritual path inspired me to step out in faith and to convert. His book details the conflict with his family which usually (and inevitably) follows conversion.
John David Scalamonte is truly an inspiration and a pioneer to those of us searching for meaning and truth in a world of man-made religions. His experiences will inspire anyone seeking to follow his own spiritual path.
Books:
- The Thousandth Man: A Biography of James McGregor Stewart (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History)
- Thomas B. Reed (American Statesmen Second Series Volume Four)
- Thomas Lanier Clingman: Fire Eater from the Carolina Mountains
- THOMAS WORTHINGTON: Father of Ohio Statehood
- Tightrope Passage: Along the Refugee Route to Canada
- Understanding the Cold War: A Historian's Personal Reflections
- Untitled Autobiography Kris Kristofferson
- Wendell Willkie: Hoosier Internationalist
- Zilliacus: A Life for Peace and Socialism
- A Biography of Elihu Benjamin Washburne Congressman, Secretary of State, Envoy Extraordinary
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