Elephant House: Or, The Home of Edward Gorey

Book Description

An intimate photographic journey through Edward Gorey's home.

Customer Reviews:

A home filled with curiosities and wonders........2007-08-09

This is a beautiful book of photographs and text that allows the reader an intriguing view of the home in which Edward Gorey lived and the collections of curious objects, books, and cats he filled it with.

The photographs are large and beautiful - haunting even - and there are lots of them. There is just the right amount of text to cast some light on the man behind the house and his elusive character - anecdotes about his life, his work, his friends and the things that inspired him.

If you are fan of Edward Gorey, or of eclectic interior decorating and design, and displaying collections of antiques, this book will be a treasure in your library.

Amazing.......2007-04-10

That's really all I can say. I have been waiting for this book for a long time, and it was the most incredible thing. Amazing photos. Read up on Gorey first, though. The details are some much better when you get the little visual jokes Gorey set up in his day-to-day life.

Inside Edward Gorey's house..........2006-02-01

If you are an Ogdred Weary fan...this is a truly wonderful book. Photographs of the exterior (peeling paint and kind of saggy porch) and the interior rooms of the house on Cape Cod in Gorey lived and worked, along with his cats and figbashes, piles of thousands of books, assorted rocks and oddish things, and the expected miriad of curiosities. Alas, or delightfully...just the environment one would expect of the eccentric Edward. A cabinet of curiosities...a delight!

Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have.......2005-09-10

This book wouldn't mean much to anyone who isn't already a Gorey fan. I own (and love) the compilations 'Amphigorey', 'Amphigorey Too' & 'Amphogorey Also', so have a head start. I also have the auto(?) biography 'Ascending Peculiarity', which is almost a necessary co-requisite to this book - it helps explain the cats, and many other Gorey details. Now that the individual books are available again, I'm tempted to get them too, because they are such nice objects - but only if the kids promise to share with me!

A specialty item for the true Gorey collector.......2004-04-05

Even dedicated fans of Edward Gorey will probably know very little about his personal life: he was an enigmatic recluse and few were permitted past his front door. Photographer Kevin McDermott's Elephant House will delight students of architecture and photography, providing rich duotone works of Gorey's intriguing home and its contents. A specialty item for the true Gorey collector, Elephant House is an impressive photographic showcase and a welcome addition to both architectural studies and photographic studies reference collections.

Average customer rating:

best book on the history of the art business

The Rare Art Traditions: The History of Art Collecting and Its Linked Phenomena Wherever These Have Appeared (Bollingen series)
Joseph Alsop
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Study & Teaching | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Principles of Art History

ASIN: 0060100915

Customer Reviews:

best book on the history of the art business.......2006-01-10

The book was a revalation to me. I'd been searching for some text to explain the origins of the art trade. A shocking breadth of study.

Book Description

When a mission is too weird for the U.S. Army, the brass calls in the Lost Squad! It's 1942 - and the seemingly unstoppable Wermarcht is on the march. As the Nazis swallow more and more of Europe, Hitler's scientists perfect a mechanism that could guarantee his ultimate victory! The U.S. Army has only one place to turn to stop this from happening: the mysterious unit known as the Lost Squad! It's the Dirty Dozen by way of the X-Files - weird war tales created for a new audience!

Customer Reviews:

Inspiring, yet fun to read !.......2001-03-03

Since I've had the pleasure of meeting the author, I was impressed with her vivid descriptions of life on wheels. Her handicap of cerebral palsy presented her with many challenges, but not obstacles ... her faithful determination continually rises to the occasion ... yes, an inspiration to be your best ... yet keep a sense of humor.

Average customer rating:

More Hell on Wheels: With Short Stories
Jean Starnes
Manufacturer: Writers Club Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Special Needs | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Women | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Journalists | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 059517857X

Book Description

“The stories in this book mirror the image of the author. Jean Starnes is a strong and gutsy lady whose high courage and quirky sense of humor show up in every line she writes. Good reading for all comers.”
—Wayne Burton, Author of Manhunt, Fairchild’s Passage and Lockhart’s Nightmare

Average customer rating:

I absolutely do NOT recommend this book. Nothing but filler.

Thank God for Barry Stone

Fabulous Book

Not worth reading

Great teaching tool for homeowners

The Consumer Advocate's Guide to Home Inspection: Avoiding the Nightmare of Purchasing a Money Pit
Barry Stone
Manufacturer: Kaplan Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Buying & Selling Homes | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Real Estate | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Buy It, Fix It, Sell It...PROFIT

Find It, Fix It, Flip It!: Make Millions in Real Estate--One House at a Time

ASIN: 0793160324
Release Date: 2002-11-12

Book Description

Find the dangers are lurking inside your new home. Put ""The House Detective"" on the Case!

100% of home inspections reveal either a series of defects or safety hazards. And every home inspection can result in a renegotiation of the terms of sale, that is, if homebuyers understand their options. Barry Stone, author of the definitive guide on this issue, The Consumer Advocate's Guide to Home Inspection, can offer the knowledge you need in order to understand how to benefit from the home inspection process.

Customer Reviews:

I absolutely do NOT recommend this book. Nothing but filler........2005-02-12

The first 120 pages of the book do nothing but drone on and on about why you should get a home inspection done and about the legal liabilities of the inspectors. I think most people who've bought the book have probably already decided to use an inspector and don't need to be told through 120 pages that they should!

Every other page is a reprint of a question that someone had sent him in his newspaper articles and are mostly redundant.

For example, he'll tell you that in most parts of the country Inspectors don't consider swimming pools to be part of the inspection. He'll then use up a full page for a q&a letter that says, "Barry, I recently got an inspection done and the inspector didn't include the swimming pool in the report. Wasn't he supposed to do this?".

I consider all of the Q&A letters to be redundant and insulting my intelligence by assuming I need the point repeated like a preschooler. It is nothing more than filler so that you won't realize you are buying what is essentially a 75 page book that is nothing more than a checklist.

Lastly, once the interesting part of the book commences (the checklist) he puts up pictures of common problems. The problem is that the pictures are black and white and are so small that you can't even see what the problem he's describing in the picture actually looks like!

In short, I think you could find the checklists you need for free on the internet and skip this book. It is nothing like what I expected based on the title.

Thank God for Barry Stone.......2003-11-16

I bought this book to help through the process of buying a home that I had inspected already but felt as if the inspection wasn't accurate. The inspector found barely anything wrong with the 50 year old home I was buying. I was concerend, especially considering the inspector was a personal friend of my real estate agent. I chose this book over others due to Barry's national status as a columnist and after reading it, I hired my own inspector based upon Barry's insights. What I learned about the home in terms of what had not been disclosed to me was enough to consider action against both my agent and home inspector. Above all else, the old furnace was emitting hazardous fumes into the home. Thank God for Barry and this book.

Fabulous Book.......2003-11-16

I've been reading Barry Stone's columns in my newspaper for years. As an avid investor in residential propoerties, I have followed Barry's advice with pinpoint accuracy as his advice has kept me from making mistakes that would have cost me a fortune.

I bought his book and have found it to be a remarkable warehouse of information that serves to protect both everyone including the buyers, sellers and even the many real estate agents who in my opinion often lead unknowledged comsumers down the path of home purchase without a clue as to how to protect them from buying a home that could be riddled with defects.

I applaud this book and Barry Stone's continued efforts to place into the marketplace the most sound and sane advice I've read from any home inspection manual.

Not worth reading.......2003-03-14

Not a good book to read. There are other books that provide useful information but this book had very little good ideas to use. The price is very but that still just justify spending the time to read it due to the lack of help I got from this book. Get something else and don't waste your money.

Great teaching tool for homeowners.......2003-01-10

Mr. Stone has managed once again to provide the consumer with a wealth of practical knowledge. His easy-going nature and vast experience is translated into a must read for any potential, or current, homeowner as well as anyone in the real estate and inspection professions.

Average customer rating:

this book was very untruthful

How to Raise an Adopted Child

How to Raise an Adopted Child: A Guide to Help Your Child Flourish from Infancy Through Adolescence
Judith Schaffer
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Adoption | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
General | Parenting & Families | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Are Those Kids Yours?: American Families With Children Adopted From Other Countries

Accessories:

Braun IRT 4020 ThermoScan Ear Thermometer

ASIN: 0517079267
Release Date: 1991-11-16

Customer Reviews:

this book was very untruthful.......2002-07-09

As a teenage adoptee, I feel that this book over emphasized the negative sides of adoption. Many of the issues presented in this book do exist, but in very few situations. The authors of this book make adoption and the effects after adoption sound very negative, while many adoptive children and families live very normal lives, just as families who share blood.

How to Raise an Adopted Child.......2000-04-27

This is an excellent resource for anyone interested in adopting a child, has adopted a child or wants to understand the issues surrounding the adoption of children. It gives excellent examples of how to present information and how to address issues specific to adopted children. Also, breaks down the specific issues by age. Great compendium of information and a guide to raising a special child.

Book Description

Considering he has been and will remain to be one of the most studied personalities of the 20th century, relatively little has been written about the military service and war experiences of Winston Churchill - even his own writings give scant coverage of this important part of his life, despite his own admission of the impact it had upon him. Most biographies limit their coverage of his days in uniform but this learned and thorough volume gives a full understanding of how Churchill's military service molded his character, and how it served him in his political career.

His legendary qualities of leadership, personal drive and commitment to a cause were all very much honed in his early years when military life influenced his thinking and demeanor.

Did the Army make a man of the boy? Did it prepare him for spirited leadership? And what faults and failings did his military life identify to Churchill himself and his contemporaries?

This most comprehensive examination yet of his soldiering career is destined to become a core work in Churchillian studies.

Customer Reviews:

Terrible, boring, dreadful, and misses the picture........2007-02-26

I've read many books about Winston Churchill and this by far is the worst! It almost seems as if Churchill was punished for serving in the military.

I wish the book would have discussed what I believe motivated Winston Churchill for military acceptance, an example; his childhood in boarding school: He was rarely visited by his mother, Lady Randolph, whom he wrote many letters begging her to either come or let his father permit him to come home and stay. I believe his father wanted Winston at home and to be part of his life, unfortunately back then (the late 1800's) a mother always seemed to get her way concerning the children, no matter how wrong she was.

Another note, Churchill participated in what has been described as the last significant British cavalry charge at the Battle of Omdurman. He also served as a war correspondent for the Morning Post. What's terrific is that Sir Winston Churchill wrote and served in the military at the same time! I wonder if that was ever used against him when he ran for office??

Back to the book, Winston Churchill was a great leader and hero, but it is not conveyed to me in this book. It seems the author did not take into account or see all sides of the picture concerning Churchill's military life, especially the truthful people who took the time to show up and support Winston in his endeavors.

To me, the book was vacant, dreadful, and very one-sided. I'm sorry to say that I would never recommend this book to anyone, not even my worst enemy.

Two great books to read regarding Winston Churchill's military life are "Concerning Winston Spencer Churchill," written by Sir George Arthur and "Winston Churchill: The Era and the Man," written by Virginia Cowles.

I hope my review enlightened you and made you think.

A Hero In the Making.......2006-11-11

This book is a labor of love and it shows. In an overture to his political career, Winston Churchill was graduated from Great Britain's royal military academy in 1894, aged twenty, and served as a professional officer (and part-time war correspondent) t for the next six years. He saw action on India's northwest frontier, in Cuba as an observer with the Spanish army during the Cuban insurrection of 1895, in what was then Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1898, and in the Boer War in 1899-1900. Then in 1915, after losing his post as a Cabinet Minister, a middle-aged Churchill returned to duty on the Western Front for a year. He thus saw colonial war in Africa and Asia in the late days of the British Empire, when it was considered something of a moderately dangerous sport for gentleman cavalry officers, and in his own middle age when it had become an industrial-scale slaughter in the mud of the trenches of Flanders. Russell tells the story with thoroughgoing attention to detail based on exhaustive research--including visits to the scenes he describes--skipping nothing, from details of uniforms and daily patterns of army life, to tactics and moment-by-moment experiences in battle. No one interested in military history should miss this book.

But the general reader, too, will find it fascinating because the central figure, never lost sight of, is young Winston Churchill--ambitious, outspoken (sometimes to his disadantage,) eloquent, completely loyal to class and country, and absolutely without fear on the battlefields where he narrowly missed death several times. Likewise gifted with a sense of the sweep of history that he later poured into many books. Everyone should make the acquaintance of this genuine and colorful giant in his formative years to learn why he became a great wartime leader. Those of us, like this reviewer, old enough to remember that deep voice using the mightiest resources of the English language to rally Britain and the free world against the Axis even in the darkest moments of World War II will be especially thrilled. Those younger should make his refreshing acquaintance in this age of cookie-cutter politicians.

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Australian Journal of Politics and History, published by University of Queensland Press on June 22, 1997. The length of the article is 762 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: The Pacific Basin Since 1945: A History of the Foreign Relations of the Asian, Australasian and American Rim States and the Pacific Islands. (book reviews)
Author: Clive Moore
Publication: The Australian Journal of Politics and History (Refereed)
Date: June 22, 1997
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Volume: v43 Issue: n2 Page: p282(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

The tragedy of extinction is explained through the dramatic story of a legendary bird, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and of those who tried to possess it, paint it, shoot it, sell it, and, in a last-ditch effort, save it. A powerful saga that sweeps through two hundred years of history, it introduces artists like John James Audubon, bird collectors like William Brewster, and finally a new breed of scientist in Cornell's Arthur A. "Doc" Allen and his young ornithology student, James Tanner, whose quest to save the Ivory-bill culminates in one of the first great conservation showdowns in U.S. history, an early round in what is now a worldwide effort to save species. As hope for the Ivory-bill fades in the United States, the bird is last spotted in Cuba in 1987, and Cuban scientists join in the race to save it.

All this, plus Mr. Hoose's wonderful story-telling skills, comes together to give us what David Allen Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds calls "the most thorough and readable account to date of the personalities, fashions, economics, and politics that combined to bring about the demise of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker."

Customer Reviews:

Lord God, what a book!.......2006-04-01

At the risk of sounding blasphemous let me simply say "Lord God, what a book!" This book belongs on your MUST READ list!

This is a perfect example of how nonfiction should be written. Every school and public library should have a copy of this book. It is a valuable addition to the study of man, nature, and the environment.

Phillip Hoose's wonderful book captures the reader's attention and doesn't let it go till the very end of a beautifully written account of one of the most magnificent birds ever to grace this land. The cover of the book, not to mention the title, immediately attracts attention and after reading it the reader clearly understands why this bird was referred to as the Lord God Bird.

Hoose introduces us to collectors like Brewster and Wayne who helped lead to the bird's demise. There are the corporate villains in the form of the Chicago Mill and Lumber Company and the Singer Manufacturing Company who could have saved the last real refuge of the Lord God Bird but who chose profit over conservation when the Singer Tract was not spared from the woodcutter's ax. There are heroes to this story. You will meet Jim Tanner, "Doc" Allen, and J. J. Kuhn who worked tirelessly to save the species. Having read this book I felt that Jim Tanner was definitely someone I wished that I had known personally.

Educators will find countless lessons on environmental awareness, extinction of species, and the recklessness with which man has "civilized" the wilderness.

Well done Mr. Hoose, well done.

Engrossing Non-fiction .......2006-03-23

I picked this book up based on recommendations from online reader groups who said it would read more like fiction than non-fiction. They were right! Hoose has meticulously researched the plight of the "Lord God Bird", the ivory-billed woodpecker, documenting the efforts to locate the dwindling population and the sad effects of man vs. nature. Well highlighted by photographs, we follow the loss of this magnificent creature as its habitat is swallowed up by man's greed in the first half of the twentieth century. Hoose's writing is vivid and engrossing and caused me to do that rarest of things---go online and research more for myself. Most interesting of all is that just after this book was published, there have been reports of the rediscovery of the ivory-bill! This is a wonderful book appropriate for people of all ages and especially those who are worried about the endangerment of species by mankind's shortsightedness. Recommended!

The Lord God Bird.......2005-11-18

I thought that this book was well written, reasearched, and thought through. But as a 12 year old I didn't enjoy it quite as much as i think an older person would. I think that the author wrote the stories well, and made them very drawing. This book was not one of my favorite books, partially because it was very hard to read. The other reason was beause to me it was a bit confusing. I could see him doing a kids version of the same book, but making it a bit simpler or shorter. I thought that the author did a great job in writing this book, but I think you should wait to read it until you are a bit older. Some people I know thought it was a great book, but they're older than me. So again I thought that this was an o.k. book, but not a great kid's read.

The Lord God Bird.......2005-11-17

I thought that this book was well written, and thoroughly researched, but I didn't enjoy it very much. It was a very sad book. The author did a great job writing the story's fact for fact, but there were some parts where you say "awwww" and feel bad for these birds. In one story he wrote, a man went on a hunting trip to find a "Lord God Bird" and killed a family of them, including two babies. The hunter also killed many more birds that trip. I would not recommend this book unless you enjoy sad stories. It is one of those books that draws you into certain stories, but in between them you really want to put the book down.

Studying the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker and Trying Too Late to Save It........2005-11-08

"The Race to Save the Lord God Bird" is a chronicle of the history and demise of the ivory-billed woodpecker. It was written for children ages 9-12 but is perfectly suitable for adults as well. The book is large format in size, which makes the font bigger, but there is just as much text on each page as in an adult book, and there is nothing conspicuously juvenile about it. The large dimensions allow for nice black-and-white photographs of ivory-bills, their habitat, and the people who studied the birds.

Author Phillip Hoose follows human interest in the ivory-bill woodpecker from Alexander Wilson's encounter with the bird in 1809 as he was working on his 9-volume "American Ornithology" to John James Audubon's work sketching the bird in natural poses around 1820. By 1900, large scale deforestation in Southern states had made the ivory-bill rare. At this point, "The Race to Save the Lord God Bird" turns its attention to the collectors who were continuing to mine the population when they clearly shouldn't have been and the beginnings of organized conservation efforts, starting with the "Plume Wars" that sought to end the slaughter of birds to decorate ladies' hats. It describes the 1935 Cornell University expedition by Jim Tanner, George Sutton, Arthur "Doc" Allen, and Paul Kellogg to record bird calls of nearly 100 species in the Tensas Swamp in Louisiana. That's followed up by an account of Jim Tanner's 3 years studying the few remaining ivory-bills for the Audubon Society, 1937-1939, from which he wrote his still-famous book.

As Tanner was creeping around in it, the Singer Manufacturing Company sold logging rights to the Singer Tract, where the last known ivory-bills lived, and efforts to preserve the forest by purchasing it failed. The ivory-billed woodpecker was declared extinct. A couple chapters are dedicated to recent searches for the ivory-bill in Cuba and the United States, but this book was published before the announcement in April 2005 that the ivory-bill may still live. In the back of the book, there are maps of the shrinking ivory-bill habitat 1800-present, a chronology of important dates in ivory-bill and bird conservation, a glossary of terms, a detailed list of sources, and an index. "The Race to Save the Lord God Bird" is a readable and informative account of the actions and circumstances that brought the ivory-bill woodpecker to near-extinction in spite of a persistent human fascination with the bird and concerted efforts to save it. For more information on sightings of the ivory-bill since it was presumed extinct in the 1940s, see Tim Gallagher's book "The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker".

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.(Nonfiction Award Winner)(Book Review): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine

Average customer rating:

The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.(Nonfiction Award Winner)(Book Review): An article from: The Horn Book Magazine
Leda Schubert
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Horn Book Magazine, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 2030 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: The Race to Save the Lord God Bird.(Nonfiction Award Winner)(Book Review)
Author: Leda Schubert
Publication: The Horn Book Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 82 Issue: 1 Page: 29(5)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Average customer rating:

The Race To Save the Lord God Bird
Phillip M. Hoose
Manufacturer: Melanie Kroupa Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N75GKO

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