Nightmares in the Sky: Gargoyles and Grotesques

Customer Reviews:

Monsters Of Stone.......2006-04-06

Gargoyles in their manifold glory, from the small, twisted and misshapen, to the majestic and terrible, this coffee table collection of the rooftop monsters of New York is highlighted by text composed by none other than Stephen King. A lovely and atmospheric gathering of these sculpted nightmares, captured at varying angles and conditions of shadow, light, and sometimes in the rain, deftly calculated to heighten the effect of staring these treasures almost in the eye. I find a lot of meaning in this book, too, because, knowing how much I love old stone sculptures and gargoyles and the like, my grandfather gave it to me as a gift while I was home on spring break from college in the year 2000, and it was the last time I ever got to visit him.

Did not catch the many-century old value of these gargoyles.......2001-08-10

This is a coffee table book. But it does not have to be bad. The pictures, by f-stop Fitzgerald, of those gargoyles are interesting, some of them very original, but the introductory text, by Stephen King, is definitely too long for what it has to tell. The only idea of some value is that these gargoyles, and yet some of them are not gargoyles, are alive. Fine. And then what ? Why are they ugly, though some of them are not ? What is their symbolical value on twentieth century houses or buildings in New York or Chicago ? This is not answered.

Originally those gargoyles, a long time ago indeed, were there to protect the buildings they were sitting on, many churches among others, by fending off the real devils and monsters they were supposed to represent, and people believed these monsters and devils did exist in those days. That was the first function. The second function was to teach people (essentially on church porches or inside churches, and they were not gargoyles any more) the dangers of sinning, the devils that were waiting for us or the suffering we may be condemned to. That was a pedagogical function. They were thus alive because they represented some faith, some belief that gave them life.

With the passing away of religion as the center of our life, these values have disappeared, and yet they survive in a less religious value. These gargoyles, these monsters, who are not always monsters, protect our homes against the outside world that is dangerous or against our fears they are supposed to keep out. Pedagogically, they do not teach us religion anymore but they have taken over an artistic value. They have become a decoration, and they are intended to be monstrous or frightening. They are supposed to be a way the people in the house tell us to stay away, they are like shouts from those people directed at us to frighten us away, most of them. But they also have another value. They are references to classical gods, to natural elements, to cultural characters that only exist in our literatures or mythologies. Then they become some kind of showing off ordered by the owner to decorate his or her house to show everyone he or she has some culture : here Jove or Zeus, here Neptune or some Sun-God (p. 121), etc.

What would have been interesting, would have been the following questions. Why are some not frightening at all (p. 116, 86, 78), and why are some not looking at us at all (p. 117) ? Why are some not Christian at all, not western at all ? A Chinese one for instance page 110, if it is Chinese. And finally why are so many just plain nice and friendly, like page 90, or some kind of clown like page 115 ? They probably represent the fantasms, fears, likes and desires of the owners, builders, artists, but they cannot be reduced to nightmares in the sky. They are interesting declarations someone we donýt even know is throwing at us with the hope we may understand, appreciate or like them. In other words they are not cathartic. They are a discourse directed at us and we are supposed to understand it.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Paris Universities II and IX.

Gargoyles up close & personal.......2000-11-19

This coffee table book is long out of print, but well worth my years of searching! F-stop Fitgerald's photographs capture the true essence of the Grotesque in their natural habitat and illustrate how Mother Nature and Father Time enliven the personalities of these strange creatures rather than detract from them.

Stephen King's essay is entertaining and true to his genre, but don't expect any historical information here. It is purely a showcase for the photographs and that is enough!

Photography, gothic architecture and King...........2000-05-05

I'm surprised to read that this is a hard-to-find book; I still occasionally find copies of it in the bargain bins of large booksellers. That will probably change now that the paperback version is being released.

I really like this book. The photos are simple, but they capture the beauty and mystique of gargoyle images throughout New York and other American cities. I must admit, I bought this bargain book because Stephen King's name was on the cover and because I thought it was a quirky addition to my book collection. However, once I brought it home and started flipping through the pages, I was captivated by the grainy, sometimes eerie images. King's words add some interesting views and anecdotes, but the book stands alone just on Fitzgerald's photos. Some of the gargoyles are menacing, some are macabre, some are playful and some are downright comical. All of them attest to the creativity and imagination of their creators.

This hardcover, 128-page (or so) volume would be right at home on your coffee table (it's an awkward size to try to squeeze into most standard bookshelves). King's writing shares page space for about 35 pages; the book is focused on the pics (as it should be). It's not for everyone; if you don't like "picture books" then stay away. But if you like interesting photos capturing a unique subject, and/or if you are at all a Stephen King fan, this is one to bring home.

good for more than a name.......2000-03-31

personally, i don't even like steven king. actually, i hate his writing. he's a feminist with no talent.

however, despite adding his drivel to these pages, the book is excellent. i enjoy just sitting down and flipping through the wonderful photographs.

a must for any gargoyle lover.

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Nightmares in the Sky, Gargoyles and Grotesques
Stephen and f-stop Fitzgerald KING
Manufacturer: Viking Studio Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000GT878C

Book Description

If you imagine black velvet painting to be limited to tacky, throw-away portraits of matadors, sad eyed clowns, and pool playing dogs, this book will make you think again. Black Velvet takes us into the world of velvet painting and opens our eyes to the unique, offbeat beauty of this fascinating genre, tracing its Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Victorian origins and examining its widespread appeal.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting Rhetorical Utterance with Great Images.......2006-05-12

This book is a catalog of sorts for an exhibition that the author was trying to promote. It is full of all sorts of black velvet painting images with many of the most common images (Elvis, etc.) featured. The color images are of good quality and the selection well represents the genre. It is a great reference just to have a visual example of the form at your fingertips.

There is one short esay by the author at the beginning. It is an easy, albeit convoluted, read. It is more a laundry list of the types of perspectives the author would like for you to have about black velvet art. I remain unconvinced that the genre is above being anything but kitsch. But, that's why I like the stuff.

At the very least, though, the author is honest about the fact that much black velvet art is mass produced. Several people work, assembly-line, on a single piece. The guy running the factory signs it, not anyone who actually painted it.

Yet, there are some pieces shown in the catalog that are clearly listed as having a known single artist. I don't think any of these folks ever really got famous, but what do I know? I just wish there had been more writing about the artists themselves. As is, the essay is superficial in its treatment of how the paintings are made, speaking only in bold generalizations. Still, it's fun.

Book Description

The third collection of Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz award-winning creator Evan Dorkin's Hectic Planet brings readers another unhealthy dose of Dorkin's pop culture-obsessed future of 2074. Welcome back once again to a universe filled with aimless youth living on broken-down spaceships, alien ska bands, overbearing security robots, psychotic mercenaries on the run, multi-species anti-gravity sex clubs, guerilla tele-journalists, and, of course, cheap beer--all colliding with humorous, dramatic, and violent results. The Young and the Reckless is a 96-page trade paperback collecting Hectic Planet number five and six, as well as the Vroom Socko: Paid in Full one-shot. It also includes new linking material and art, pinups, ska and punk album art from Mr. B's Ballroom, and all new packaging art. A nifty addition to the Evan Dorkin library of craziness!

Customer Reviews:

The Best One Yet! (Hey Dork....Where's Book Four?!?!?!?).......2002-12-10

Evan Dorkin's growth into one of the masters of the Comic-Book form is on display yet again in Hectic Planet Book Three: The Young and the Reckless. It's the best volume yet; Unfortunately, aside from three 8-page stories (Published by Slave Labor Graphics as "Hectic Planet: The Bummer Trilogy"), it's also the LAST volume. (Dorkin says there are more Planet stories planned for 2002, but I'm writing this in December 2002, and there hasn't been a peep yet....)

The book itself is fairly slim, but Dorkin packs in a lot of entertainment. Most of the plot revolves around Halby and Renensco out on the town; After an ill-advised hot-dog theft, the duo is thrown behind bars. There's a few great laughs, more than a few tear-jerking moments, and the Vroom Socko interlude has got to be the most brutally violent scene I've ever seen in a comic. (I still laughed, though.) Despite the futuristic setting, Dorkin's characters seem, if not just like us, at least like people we've known. (Except for Vroom Socko. I've never known anyone QUITE that bad!) The art is spectacular- Dorkin packs a ton of detail into each panel, yet his storytelling never seems cluttered. Highly recommended!

(I'd advise new readers to skip Volume One entirely- It's some of Dorkin's earliest work, and it shows. Everything you need to know is in Volumes Two & Three.)

Customer Reviews:

From the backcover.......1999-04-07

New Dreams...New Hopes...Second Chances

Joey, a bright intense seven year old, still can't read, so he plays class clown for approval... Eric, a withdrawn kindergartner, is left speechless by the horrors he's witnessed at home... Alice, a winning fifth-grader; scorces zero on every math test... Charlie, a confused eight-year-old, struggles in his own distorted mirror-image universe... Ben, a rich kid, has been called stupid so often be believes it. These are some of the learning-disabled kids who were deep in trouble until Mary MacCracken, an extraordinary therapist and teacher, worked miracles with them - and changed their lives. Her heartwarming book is a testament to her talent, compassion, and love...

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Complexities of a Debacle-marvelous documentation

A Better War and the Abrams Chronicles

Military History: You Are There

An Intensely Interesting Book on the Vietnam War

Huge contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War

Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972 (Modern Southeast Asia Series)

Manufacturer: Texas Tech University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Vietnam War | Military | History | Subjects | Books
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A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and Final Tragedy of America's Last Years in Vietnam

Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam

Thunderbolt: General Creighton Abrams and the Army of His Time

The Army and Vietnam

Honorable Warrior: General Harold K. Johnson and the Ethics of Command (Modern War Studies)

ASIN: 0896725332

Book Description

During the four years General Creighton W. Abrams was commander in Vietnam, he and his staff made more than 455 tape recordings of briefings and meetings. In 1994, with government approval, Lewis Sorley began transcribing and analyzing the tapes. Sorley's laborious, time-consuming effort has produced a picture of the senior U.S. commander in Vietnam and his associates working to prosecute a complex and challenging military campaign in an equally complex and difficult political context.

The concept of the nature of the war and the way it was conducted changed during Abrams's command. The progressive buildup of U.S. forces was reversed, and Abrams became responsible for turning the war back to the South Vietnamese.

The edited transcriptions in this volume clearly reflect those changes in policy and strategy. They include briefings called the Weekly Intelligence Estimate Updates as well as meetings with such visitors as the secretary of defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other high-ranking officials. In Vietnam Chronicles we see, for the first time, the difficult task that Creighton Abrams accomplished with tact and skill.

Customer Reviews:

Complexities of a Debacle-marvelous documentation.......2006-01-09

The first words I noticed about "The Abrams Tape" was its dedication by Lewis Sorley, "For the people of South Vietnam." A few pages later, a quote by the eldest of Gen. Creighton Abrams's three sons appears, "He [Gen. Abrams] thought the Vietnamese were worth it."

This book is an unfathomable work that captures the period in Vietnam from June 1968 through June 1972. Its main character is Abrams, whose approach to the second half of the Vietnam War greatly differs than that of William Westmoreland. Sorley transcribes and edits the recordings from the Weekly Intelligence Estimate Update (WIEU) sessions and other meetings attended by nearly all key American and South Vietnamese players of that time. No matter of one's opinion on the war, readers will uncover difficult decisions that were made about Vietnamization, pacification, the Cambodian incursion, the invasion of Laos (Lam Son 719) and the Easter Offensive. How important was gaining the release of American POWs? How much did that desire play into Kissinger's negotiations for a settled "peace with honor" and a unilateral U.S. withdrawal?

If you're looking for an exact history and not a journalist's analysis, a historian's rehash or a grunt's memoir, Sorley's "The Abrams Tape" and its predecessor "A Better War" are must-reads.

A Better War and the Abrams Chronicles.......2005-09-08

I was present during a year of the meetings and all I can say is that after more then 30+ years of disinformation by the media and other anti-war, anti-military I am tired of the facts not being generally available. Now all I can do is hope people may evaluate todays events in somewhat of a pragmatic knowledge of the real world. To my knowledge all of the principals at the WIEW's are deceased, my job in MACV Current Intelligence Indications branch was to present the intelligence.

Military History: You Are There.......2005-08-18

Vietnam Chronicles, The Abrams Tapes 1968-1972 is the product of Herculean efforts by Lewis Sorley, editor, annotator, and transcriber of excerpts from nearly 500 tape recordings of weekly command briefings at MACV (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam) headquarters at Ton Son Nhut air base in Saigon, Vietnam. In these transcription excerpts of the tapes of the weekly and other special briefings for General Creighton W. Abrams, U.S. Commander in Vietnam, Sorley has put together significant portions from his voluminous notes on the still highly classified tapes held in a special collection at the U.S. Army Military History Institute. It took one year in the transcribing, and one year of mandatory declassification review to bring this collection to the general public. The result for the historian and general reader is a wealth of material regarding the nuance and persona of high command which makes for very interesting reading.

But what is more important it reinforces Sorley's basic thesis put forth in an earlier work, A Better War, that the modus operandi significantly changed when General Abrams took command in mid-1968; and by capitalizing on earlier efforts, our arms and those of the South Vietnamese were able to begin steering a course toward what might, just might have been a very successful outcome of the long Vietnam conflict.

An Intensely Interesting Book on the Vietnam War.......2005-05-02

This is an important historical work and a valuable reference that historians, biographers, and others writing about or studying the Vietnam War will want to consult. It is a remarkable record of the briefings and meetings attended by General Abrams, the U. S. commander in Vietnam, during four of the most critical years of the war.

Sorley spent a year in a secure vault, wearing earphones to listen to over 2,000 hours of highly classified 1968-72 audio tapes. He transcribed 835,000 words by hand and then edited them into this volume of about 450,000 words and over 900 pages. The U. S. Army, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency all had to give their clearance before publication.

As we all know, meetings can be deadly dull. However, Sorley has apparently cut any inconsequential chatter and mundane topics because what is left is intensely interesting. We can read the exact words of General Abrams and his subordinate commanders, staff, and visitors. They are amazingly frank and express strong opinions about the conduct of the war, their contemporaries, and the Vietnamese. I knew, or at least met, many of the participants in these conferences and their personalities come through in their recorded remarks. It was especially interesting to read what the most senior generals in Vietnam were hearing and saying about the 1972 Easter Offensive while I was fighting in it at one of the lower levels.

Sorley provides lists that identify the Americans and Vietnamese who participated--or were mentioned--in these meetings and 64 illustrations that show what many of them looked like. There is also a glossary of terms, acronyms and abbreviations, and a good general index.

We are fortunate that these sessions were recorded and that a historian of Lewis Sorley's ability expended the time and effort to transcribe and edit them into a usable form that will be preserved for future generations.

Huge contribution to our understanding of the Vietnam War.......2005-04-10

Vietnam is still an amazingly painful topic for many people. A huge number of regular folks read about the American Civil War (or whatever other name you want to give it), both World Wars, the Revolutionary War, and other important events in American history. Our Vietnam experience is very hard for the living generations to investigate for a number of reasons. One reason is that those of us who were alive during the 60s and 70s and at least teenagers all developed strongly held views and emotional commitments to a position on the war. Revisiting those years with the kind of open mind required by serious scholarship requires more strength than most of us mere mortals can muster.

However, I believe emphatically that it is time to do so. It seems clear to me that much of what was being fed to Americans via the media was couched to promote an anti-war view. Yes, it is true that the press, say, in WWII was more uniformly supported the war effort (but not as completely as is remembered today), but the point in both instances is that we reach a point in time when it is essential to go back, examine the evidence with fresh eyes and an open heart, and get as close to the truth as we can.

This book is one of those treasures that provides essential primary information that none of us had access to previously. This book provides edited transcripts of tapes made of various briefings and meetings of General Creighton Abrams when he was the commander of US forces in Vietnam from 1968-72. It makes surprisingly fascinating reading. You do have to get used to some of the military terminology, but the author does provide helps for the reader. There is some introductory material, and guide to all the participants in the back with their full names, titles, and the dates of their service. There is an essential guide to all the acronyms as well. And of course there is a useful index.

It is painful to read these accounts as they struggled to manage the war effort, getting the right forces in place, reacting to bad reporting back home, and their reactions events and politicians back home. There are a couple of quotes that I think that struck me especially forcefully.

The first is between Abrams and his boss, Admiral John McCain (father of our Senator John McCain) pg 573:

McCain: "I think when this d___ thing comes out in clear writing sometime, maybe 5 or 10 years from now, you're going to find out that we were a g__d___ sight closer to some sort of a successful conclusion to this d___ thing than the politicians and newspapers in the United States won't [sic] admit, and a few other things."
Abrams: "I thought we'd read that in your memoirs."
McCain: "I'm not going to write any g__d___ memoirs. I decided that a long time ago." "Sure going to be interesting to see what some other people say about me in their memoirs, though. I hope I'm around long enough to read some of them."
Abrams: (serious, not joking): "Well, I think on that score, Admiral, none of us can hope for any of that to be good."
McCain: "Memoirs won't be read if they're good. That's a fact. I can tell you that right now."

What have we done as a country to make such dedicated men who have sacrificed so much of their lives on our behalf to have to eat that much pain?

Then at the end of the book when Abrams is leaving, Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker provides these comments to him pg 877-8:

Abrams: "Mr. Ambassador?"
Bunker: "Yes, I'd like to say a word, General Abrams. When you and I came here, a little more than give years ago, I was hoping we could exit together. I just want to say that these five years I think have had the most rewarding of a fairly long career that began with the horse artillery in 1916. And they certainly have been fateful years, for the Republic of Vietnam and for our own country. I suppose, when the history of this war is written, it will be very clear that no country ever put as many restraints on itself as we did. And I think it's been probably the most difficult war that we've ever tried to fight. And it's been fateful for our country, because I think the question is whether we have the patience and the determination and the will to accept the responsibilities of power."

There is more to this statement, but that will do for my purposes.

We can learn from history, and we are now in a situation in Iraq where we are also being tested in much the same way by some on the home front. We will see if we "we have the patience and the determination and the will to accept the responsibilities of power." I pray we do.

A fabulous contribution to scholarship and can add a great deal to your own understanding of this middle period of the Vietnam War.

Lost victory: Creighton Abrams might have won the Vietnam war.(Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972)(Book Review) : An article from: The Weekly Standard

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Lost victory: Creighton Abrams might have won the Vietnam war.(Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972)(Book Review) : An article from: The Weekly Standard
Mackubin Thomas Owens
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000BD9WCS
Release Date: 2005-09-12

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Weekly Standard, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1348 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Lost victory: Creighton Abrams might have won the Vietnam war.(Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972)(Book Review)
Author: Mackubin Thomas Owens
Publication: The Weekly Standard (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 10 Issue: 43 Page: 35(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Recent books.(Cruisers and Battle Cruisers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact.)(The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, ... An article from: Naval War College Review

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Recent books.(Cruisers and Battle Cruisers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact.)(The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, ... An article from: Naval War College Review
Gale Reference Team
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000I2K26W
Release Date: 2007-07-11

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Naval War College Review, published by Thomson Gale on March 22, 2006. The length of the article is 859 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Recent books.(Cruisers and Battle Cruisers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact.)(The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, 18th Ed.)(English/British Naval History to 1815: A Guide to the Literature. Bibliographies and Indexes in Military Studies)(Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972)(Book review)
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: Naval War College Review (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 59 Issue: 2 Page: 179(2)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972.(book by Lewis Sorley)(Book Review) : An article from: Parameters

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Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972.(book by Lewis Sorley)(Book Review) : An article from: Parameters
Richard G. Trefry
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Science & Technology | Subjects | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000BD9TUI
Release Date: 2005-09-12

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Parameters, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1171 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972.(book by Lewis Sorley)(Book Review)
Author: Richard G. Trefry
Publication: Parameters (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 35 Issue: 2 Page: 141(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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History of Humanity, Volume I:: Prehistory and the Beginnings of Civilization
S. J. De Laet
Manufacturer: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBMPY6

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